FARM TO BAR CHOCOLATE
EDUCATION & EXPERIMENTATION
FARM TO BAR
La Iguana started life as a cacao farm in 1985, selling fermented, dried cacao beans as part of a small cooperative. Three generations of our family helped to establish the cacao orchards that we continue to farm today.
Sales of cacao alone did not generate sufficient income to support our family and so we opened our farm, our lives and our remote rainforest village to volunteers from all over the world.
In 2005 La Iguana Chocolate was formed and we started to host hundreds of volunteers for a life changing 10 years. With their help we began the slow process of learning how to make chocolate with our own cacao, without internet access or books or any kind of resources or machinery. Through a process of trial, error and an infinite number of experiments we began to make small batch craft chocolate using home made machines.
Building on over 30 years of farming knowledge we are in the fortunate position to have control over the full chocolate making process, from farm to bar.
Our farm and our chocolate have come a very long way since 2005.
ORGANIC.
HANDCRAFTED.
COSTA RICAN.
Our organic cacao orchard is maintained entirely by hand, all pruning, mulching, disease management and harvesting is done by our family and our amazing staff.
After years of experimentation we now produce an ever increasing range of delicious, handcrafted chocolate and cacao based products.
Although we no longer host volunteers our farm is open to visitors for our hands-on chocolate tour.
BIODIVERSE
ABUNDANT
BEAUTIFUL
We farm in harmony with nature, mimicking its systems; following the cycles of the moon and the season. Our work to protect natural resources, minimise waste and our impact on the land is recognised by the Blue Flag sustainability program.
Cacao makes up just a small part of our extensive agroforestry system, which provides an abundant supply of vegetables, salad greens, fruits, herbs and spices. Many of which we use to flavour our chocolate and are eaten daily by both family and visitors.
Located in the foothills of La Cangreja National Park and the Biological Corridor of the Scarlet Macaw we work hard to safeguard habitats and the unique species within them.
In recent years we have reforested much of our land, re-establishing wildlife corridors and bringing the tree line within metres of the family home and chocolate kitchen.
