The Discovery

The Cibao Valley has been producing fine-flavour cacao for centuries. Long before 'single-origin' became a marketing term, the farmers of San Francisco de Macorís were growing beans that European chocolatiers sought by name. I came to understand why.

The Dominican Republic is one of the world's most important sources of fine-flavour cacao — not because of volume, but because of what generations of careful cultivation have made possible in its soils. What I found there confirmed something I already suspected: the best chocolate in the world is made by people who have been at it for a very long time.

What Premier Cru Means

Selected for taste before purchase

The Cibao Valley produces more fine-flavour cacao than most people realise — which means there is also more variation in quality than most buyers acknowledge. Premier Cru is not a country designation. It is a lot-level commitment. The beans in this bar were selected from within the cooperative's harvest because they met a flavour standard. The cooperative's reputation made them a candidate. The tasting made them a certainty.

Tasting Notes

San Francisco de Macorís produces the smoothest bar in the LCDI collection — a chocolate of great elegance, with stone fruit and a natural sweetness that does not require sugar to amplify. The texture is silky and full. The finish lingers without effort.

Stone fruit

Gentle sweetness

Silky texture

Lingering finish

The Cooperative

San Francisco de Macorís is the capital of Duarte Province, deep in the Cibao Valley — the agricultural heartland of the Dominican Republic. The cooperative here has roots that predate modern direct-trade frameworks by generations. They did not need an outside buyer to tell them what quality meant. What they needed was a partner willing to pay for it.

Dom. Republic

Origin

Cibao Valley

Growing region

2

Ingredients

1 of 5

Collection origins

What's In It

Cacao. Sugar. Nothing else. The smoothness of this bar is not manufactured through additives or emulsifiers. It is the result of centuries of cultivation practice compressed into a single bean — and the discipline to leave everything else out.

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Dark Chocolate

Dom. Republic

Cibao Valley

2

1 of 5