Sueños Chocolates

Farmer Direct • Heirloom Cacao Varieties • Shade Grown Regenerative Agroforestry

Small batch vegan dark chocolates exclusively made with single origin heirloom ‘Nacional’ cacao imported directly from independent organic farmers in Northwestern Ecuador.

Dark Chocolate Bars

Ceremonial Drinking Chocolate

Tastings, Reception Catering and Custom Orders

Shop all the chocolate!

What is heirloom cacao?

Heirloom cacao varieties are old, pre-industrial varieties that were bred over millenia for flavor and aroma quality and not yield. Cacao is native to Northwestern South America, and this region (including Ecuador/Peru/Colombia/Venezuela) has more cacao diversity than anywhere else in the world. The yield of older heirloom varieties is much lower than modern industrial hybrids, but the flavors and aromas from heirloom cacao are incomparably richer.

The flavor and aroma differences between heirloom cacao varieties and modern industrial cacao hybrids is like the difference between summer’s peak heirloom tomatoes and canned tomatoes. Sometimes you want the consistency of the canned tomato, but all year you anticipate that short window of late summer when the local markets fill with the riotous assortment of colors, shapes, flavors, aromas, and textures of heirloom tomatoes.

Below is a small sampling of the mesmerizing diversity of shapes, textures and colors of cacao pods from the heirloom trees on Nueva Esperanza farms. The unique genetic and flavor profiles of Nueva Esperanza cacao has also been certified by the Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund