From the bottom of our hearts, we want to thank you. Thank you for supporting us and for believing in us. It may sound cliché, but none of the accomplishments we're about to mention would be possible without your support. Thank you for caring about where your chocolate and coffee come from, and for caring about the farmers who grow the beans that we use to craft it. It really means a lot, and we can't thank you enough. With that said, here are some of the incredible things you helped us accomplish in 2024.
HIGHLIGHTS OF THE YEAR
Cameroon farm achievements, new cacao farming partners, Mexico coffee project, factory expansion & more
Cameroon Farm 2024 Achievements
What a year it's been for the Moka Farm team in Cameroon
- they've accomplished so much! This locally-led team has been hard at work year round helping community members start, grow, and maintain cacao and fruit tree farms, with their primary objective being to help create sustainable income and food security for the local community.
2024 Stats
This year alone, you've helped us achieve the following:
96,822: Pounds of beans ethically sourced from cacao and coffee farmers.
100,000: Fruit and shade trees planted in Cameroon and Mexico.
800: Workshops provided to farmers about sustainable agriculture.
Which brings our lifetime stats to:
429,392: Pounds of beans ethically sourced from cacao and coffee farmers.
640,400: Fruit and shade trees planted in Cameroon and Mexico.
3,400: Workshops provided to farmers about sustainable agriculture.
New Cacao Farming Partners
In 2024 we started sourcing cacao from 4 new organizations: Finca La Amistad in Costa Rica, Sanaga Cacao in Cameroon, Revival Cacao in Mexico, and Three Mountains Cocoa in Ghana. All of these partners uphold our high-quality cacao standards both in terms of paying farmers fairly and in terms of producing consistent-tasting, premium cacao that we use to make chocolate.
Finca La Amistad: Costa Rica
Finca La Amistad is a 95-hectare cacao farm in northern Costa Rica. "La Amistad" means friendship, and reflects what the organiation feels for the land, the people and the nature of Costa Rica. They bought the land, with poor soil due to years of cattle ranching, in 1997. Today they operate a sustainable and innovative cacao farm. Around 60 hectares is used for cultivating cacao and around 10 hectares is used to grow native hardwood trees. We couldn't be more proud to partner with an organization that puts farmers and the environment first.
Sanaga Cacao: Cameroon
In 2015, Sylvain Tiako, a Cameroon-native, bought land in the central region of Cameroon to carry on his family's passion for cacao farming. Sylvain (pictured left above) initially set out to restore his grandfather's cacao farm but soon realized that it may be easier to acquire land and start from scratch. His mission is to grow cacao, giving work to local farmers and community members in an area that struggles with economic conditions. With the civil unrest in the southwest region, prices of materials skyrocketing, and the poor road network, Sylvain tackled many challenges while developing his small-holder cacao farm. Today, Sylvain is successfully working alongside farmers to grow premium-quality cacao and hopes to establish a farming cooperative in the near future. We're honored to source these exceptional cacao beans from Sylvain and turn them into craft chocolate.
Revival Cacao: Mexico
Cacao production volumes in Mexico have been falling for years, the country barely produces 1/3 of the cacao it consumes, and a lack of fermentation and export tradition has all but vanished this origin from the fine aroma cacao map.
Mexican cacao is one of the oldest and historically rich, yet one of the most unknown, cacao origins.
Revival Cacao's mission is to revive this legacy by modernizing it. They use state-of-the-art technology and knowledge to offer the best cacao for chocolate makers while upcycling the the pulp and the cacao pod husk to make the most of the whole fruit.
Alejandro, the founder of Revival, is determined to bring back Mexican cacao to its former glory and we're proud to help by sourcing cacao directly from them.
Three Mountains Cocoa: Ghana
Three Mountains Cocoa has its origins in the unlikely setting of rainy England. Its founder, Leslie Agyare (pictured above, laying on bags), just wanted a decent cup of hot chocolate to beat back the English weather. This began an unexpected journey of discovery and enlightenment, leading Leslie back to his family roots in the heartland of Ghana.
Leslie found himself immersed in the cocoa communities of Asante Akim South, in Ghana's mountainous Asante Region.
Inspired by the farmers' stories there, as well as the breathtaking environment - not to mention the cocoa itself
— Leslie's mission evolved. In 2020, Leslie founded Three Mountains Cocoa and worked with the local Ghanaian communities to form the Three Mountains Organic Cooperative Union. Throughout Leslie's journey, he has remained committed to lasting change, starting at the roots.
Today, Three Mountains' mission is to cultivate a brighter future by fostering sustainable, regenerative, and transparent practices in the cocoa industry. They are dedicated to empowering cocoa farming communities in Ghana, protecting the environment, and promoting social and economic equity.
Mexico Coffee Tree Project
This year we collaborated with long-time friend and coffee farmer Arizsandy, who, with his team, planted 7,500 new coffee trees in the Sierra Norte region of Mexico. We funded this project to bolster several coffee farms in the area so that they can produce a higher volume of coffee, and earn a more sustainable income.
During our Mexico Origin Adventure trip this summer we took our trip participants to see this project and planted a few additional coffee trees as a group.
Factory Expansion
2024 was definitely a year of construction for us - we expanded our warehouse, chocolate making rooms, factory cafe and retail store, and got a giant new coffee roaster.
These upgrades have allowed us to more than double our coffee and cacao bean roasting and chocolate-making capacity, which allows us to keep up with demand - especially our coffee demand as it pertains to restaurants, hotels, colleges, cafes and more.
Our updated retail space and cafe have made it much more comfortable to come in and have a cup of coffee with friends, or to get some remote work done. Plus, there's so much more room for our factory tours that we give on Saturdays. Want to come? Tours are completely free and we host them every Saturday at 10am and 2pm with no reservations required. You can learn more here.
New Products
This year we released 4 new, never before seen limited batch bars including Banana Cream Pie (yum), Cold Brew Coffee, Warrior Bar, and Crème Brûlée.
We also released our ethically made baking set this year, including chocolate chips, cocoa powder, cocoa nibs.
Additionally we released our new single origin Cameroon 72% chocolate bar, made with premium cacao from a small cacao cooperative in Cameroon.
Three Origin Trips
This year, we took 5 groups of people to 3 different countries including Uganda, Costa Rica, and Mexico. These trips are a once-in-a-lifetime experience where we take participants to be immersed in native cultures, see breathtaking landscapes and wildlife, and get a hands-on look at where chocolate and coffee really come from. These trips are hands-on and give participants a chance to see why we do what we do while getting to explore other cultures. You can go here to see currently available trips.
Thank you for a great year!
Again, all of this is only possible with your support. From the whole team: thank you for making what we do possible. We can't wait to see what next year brings!
-Jeff and The Moka Origins Team
