Cacao Corner

At Silva we believe that sharing knowledge is the best way to promote specialty cacao and chocolate.

In our Cacao Corner, we want to share our knowledge so you can learn more about flavour diversity, which will in turn allow you to better understand this beautiful product and its evolutions.

Key Insights, Takeaways and Best Practices for EUDR Compliance

October is Forest Month -the perfect time to explore insights and best practices on the much-discussed yet often misunderstood EUDR regulations....

MAD ABOUT MADAGASCAR

Exploring the Island's distinctive terroir and its unique, rare, exquisite cacao in limited supply ...

LEAFING THROUGH AGROFORESTRY PRACTICES

As you may know, at Silva, we take pride in our unique focus on the forest, the farmers, flavours, and the future, all while having fun. Given...

Reflections on the ‘World Cocoa Conference

The World Cocoa Conference, held in Brussels from April 21st to April 24th, offered a rich platform for cacao stakeholders globally to explore the...

AN EXCITING AND NEW TWIST ON DOMINICAN REPUBLIC CACAO FLAVOURS

As we welcome the arrival of spring, we're eager to unveil some fresh additions to our lineup. Prepare to discover a variety of new flavours and...

COFFEE & CACAO I Two Players on the Bean Team, Rocking their own Moves, but Scoring Big Together

Even with their distinct characteristics, specialty coffee and specialty cacao share more similarities than we might expect. This connection...

CHOCOA 2024 – SPOTLIGHT ON SUSTAINABILITY, QUALITY AND CRAFTMANSHIP

The Amsterdam Cocoa Week was a bustling hub of educational sessions, keynotes, tastings, panel debates and networking opportunities Here you will...

Let’s Plan(t) The Future Together!

As we embark on the journey of a new year, we are eager to reveal our ambitious plans for the upcoming months. But first and foremost we would lik...

Chocolate & Wine

Indulging in chocolate is more than just a guilty pleasure: it's a scientific shortcut to happiness. This has been claimed by sweet tooths all...

Celebrating five years of Silva

We are celebrating Silva Cacao's 5th anniversary this month. In our opinion the perfect moment to pause, look back, reflect, adapt, learn and plan...

Peruvian Cacao Symphony | Unprecedented Flavour Diversity

Amidst Peru's rich biodiversity, the cacao industry stands out, boasting genetic diversity and quality that has earned international acclaim. As...

Behind the Scenes: Silva’s Cacao Lab

How do we determine which beans are high quality or which cacao boasts great flavour? How do we do quality control? Have a look behind the scenes...

Raising the Bar with Single Variety Cacao

Slowly concepts as single origin, single region, single farm and single variety are entering the chocolate scène......

SUGAR | Unraveling common questions and debunking myths

Chocolate's Ancient Origins to Modern Misconceptions. Join us on a fascinating journey as we explore sugar and chocolate....

Tracing Taste: Unwrapping Origins, Terroir and Identity in Chocolate

Tracing Taste | Unwrapping Origin, Terroir and Identity in Chocolate

There is a lot of talk about origin, terroir and identity in chocolate. In this insight, we shed light on 'origin', talk about 'terroir' and dive...

Jaguar Cacao – The Best Kept Secret of the Amazon Rainforest

The so-called 'Theobroma Cacao' is always in the spotlight. But deep in the Amazon Forest, we ran across the rare 'Theobroma Bicolor'....

SONIC SEASONING

When tasting chocolate, the general rule is that we need to use all our five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. But did you know...

HACIENDA LA SABANETA, VENEZUELA

The Story of a Young Woman Who Revived the Family Cacao Hacienda

Silva - The Power of Eye-Catching Packaging

THE POWER OF EYE-CATCHING CHOCOLATE PACKAGING

Silva's Ultimate Chocolate Bar Wrapping Guide - Why, and especially How to Presuade with Powerful Packaging....

BRAZIL, THE COUNTRY OF CARNIVAL, CAIPIRINHA & CACAO

Today the origin label (GI South Bahia) is associated with reliable sourcing and sustainable cacao....

THE ART OF CACAO SOURCING

Silva's Ultimate Sourcing Guide: Where, How and especially Why we Source some of the World's Best Cacao...

Happy Holiday Greetings from Guatemala

Silva's 2023 New Year's Resolution : Planting trees in Guatemalan Eco region 'Lachuá', together with our partners of Finca Ana Maria & Finca...

THAILAND, LAND OF SMILES & GENIUS CACAO GENETICS

Recently Thailand appeared on the specialty cacao radar, and suddenly gained popularity in the artisan chocolate scene as the next interesting origin....

UNRAVELING ROASTING-INDUCED CACAO FLAVOURS

Cacao beans are an extremely complex raw material. Its intrinsic nature has such a unique chemical makeup that it can open up endless...

Nicaraguan cacao already turned many chocolate makers into award winners.

What makes certain Nicaraguan cacao so special?

What is High Altitude Cacao, and Why it is Awesome…

Part II of our Ecuadorian Adventure in which we will unwrap a sweet, savory surprise...

Unveiling the earliest domestication of cacao ECUADOR

Our love affair with chocolate is much older than we thought; recently discovered traces of cacao on ancient pottery suggest it started in the rain...

Communicating the sustainability of craft chocolate in a sustainable way

There is an opportunity for the craft to differentiate on sustainable topics, but it requires work and a genuine interest in every single action...

Theobroma grandiflorum, the less-known cousin of Theobroma Cocoa

Chocolate, something that we all know and that has become a household staple for many. People tend to describe it as Food of the Gods, the ultimate...

The Notion of Centralized versus Decentralized Fermentation

As Albert Einstein once said, “Assumptions are made and most assumptions are wrong.” In the world of cocoa, there is the long-standing assumption...

The Magic of Post-Harvesting on Flavour Development

Since the start of Silva, Zoi from ZOTO has been a highly valued partner, and we work together in various projects from the Philippines to...

Cacao Partnerships with Fermentation Expert Zoi Papalexandratou

Since the start of Silva, Zoi from ZOTO has been a highly valued partner, and we work together in various projects from the Philippines to...

Ecuador Zamore Chinchipe Cacao

Allow us to introduce you to the Ecuador Zamora Chinchipe Organic Cacao and the fascinating history and people behind this exceptional cacao....

Uganda: Launching a Brand New Cacao Origin

The fresh cocoa harvest from Uganda has just arrived in the port of Antwerp and is ready to be shipped and turned into delicious chocolate! The...

Happy Holiday Greetings from the Dominican Republic

As Silva team we are sending our warmest Christmas wishes your way. We hope your home will be filled with happiness. Because we want to thank you f...

Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Cacao Genetics

DNA fingerprinting makes it possible to pinpoint specific plant traits and accurately identify cacao genetics. Let's discover what DNA...

Driving for Change with Kokoa Kamili

Did you know “Kamili” means ABSOLUTELY in Swahili? Synonyms of absolutely are precise, exact, unconditionally, unquestionably... All those words...

The Name and Fame of Chuao

CHUAO: A BEST-IN CLASS CACAO Chuao is known as the most mythical, famous and expensive cacao worldwide. We are thrilled to take you on a jour...

Fact or Fiction: Is there such a thing as “pure Criollo”?

We often get inquiries from chocolate makers whether we have Criollo beans in our range. The first question we ask ourselves is "why do customers...

Congo Ituri – Specialty Cacao as a Catalyst for Change

Despite perfect climatic conditions and abundant fertile soils, cacao arrived relatively late in Congo DRC. The first trees were planted in the lat...

Humidity in Cacao Supply Chain: A Balancing Act (Part 2)

If you are interested to read more about our cacao origins (of course, all have perfect humidity), read on!...

Humidity in Cacao Supply Chain: A Balancing Act (Part 1)

If you are interested to read more about our cacao origins (of course, all have perfect humidity), read on!...

Philippines: A Rising Star as a Specialty Cacao Origin

Looking at the climatic and geographical conditions of the Philippines you would think it is a major producer of cacao. However, this is not the...

Boost your Summer Season with High-Temperature Cacao Products

At Silva we picked our brains, and came up with a list of cacao products that work well in the summer season. Read on to find more!...

Nicaragua: A Land of Flavour Diversity

Although cacao has always existed in Nicaragua, it was never an important export product. Only in 1990s the potential of cacao for the national...

Everything You Always Wanted to Know about Cacao Butter

The title of this blog post might seem a bit bold – after reading it you might have many more things you want to know about cacao butter. Please,...

Meet the Makers: Ellen and Luca from GoGround India

We had the opportunity to have a long talk with Ellen and Luca from GoGround and heard their journey from a romance in Hyderabad to a...

Positive Focus on Carbon Negative Supply Chain

At Silva, we generally like to think we are positive: positive mind set, making positive impact in the field, and positive that specialty cacao and...

To Heirloom or not to Heirloom

What is heirloom, besides a beautiful word? When is a cacao heirloom? Why is it important? Dive into this article to discover the world of heirloom....

PLANTATION CACAO – SOCIAL ENTERPRISE – CACAO COOPERATIVE

When sourcing cacao, it is interesting to know who is involved in the production, as it tells you more about the impact you are making on the...

EASTER HABITS AND RABBITS (OH NO, BUNNIES)

All around the world Easter is associated with eggs, bunnies, chicken and lambs, and most of these in a chocolate form. Read on to find out why!...

Making The Cut: Testing Cacao Beans’ Health and Fermentation

You might have seen pictures like the one above. Cut tests are quite photogenic. However, good looks are not the prime reason this test is performe...

The Wonderful Story of How a Woman Put Togolese Cacao on the World Map

Unlike its neighbors Ivory Coast and Ghana, Togo is not known for its cacao. Nor is it recognized as a producer of first class, fine flavor, specia...

Cacao: a basket full of love ingredients

Although they might not have been fully aware of the scientific evidence related to the valuable traits of Theobroma, the Aztecs and Maya's already...

Making Good Use of Cacao Shells

All chocolate makers recognize the excitement of seeing (and hearing) a constant flow of cacao nibs falling out of the winnower, ready for the grin...

Brazilian Cacao History

Read all about the rise and fall of Brazilian cacao due to one of the deadliest diseases known to cacao farmers: witches' broom....

Christmas in Mexico

Christmas in Mexico is a feast unlike anywhere else in the world as Christian traditions beautifully mingled with existing indigenous culture.

Cacao Moth: don’t bug me please

You may have seen striking images of bisected cacao beans. These vivid purple slices aren’t just for show – they’re part of an evaluation method...

What Is a Cacao Cut Test & When Is it Useful?

You may have seen striking images of bisected cacao beans. These vivid purple slices aren’t just for show – they’re part of an evaluation met...

Filipino Cacao Beans Arrive In European Markets

Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Secretary Ramon Lopez congratulated Auro Chocolate for being the first Philippine company to provide cacao...