The Maximizing Opportunities for Coffee and Cocoa in the Americas (MOCCA) program is a five-year initiative, funded by USDA, aiming at helping more than 100,000 farmers to overcome the barriers limiting their capacity to effectively rehabilitate and renovate their coffee and cacao plants.
MOCCA with Lutheran World Relief (LWR) leading cacao activities, in collaboration with ZOTO, invites you to join a cocoa flavor journey through Central and Latin America!
Discover how an innovative online tool highlights the flavor diversity of cocoas from 6 cocoa-producing countries; the #cocoaflavormap was first launched in 2017 and it helped cocoa farmers from Honduras, Nicaragua, and El Salvador diversify their cocoas, get recognition, and reach new markets.
The map is now being expanded to include 53 new flavor profiles from Guatemala, Ecuador, and Peru, bringing a new dimension to the cocoa quality diversification and appreciation of these renowned cocoa origins!
Our main objective is to show the world the origins and organoleptic characteristics of each cocoa product on display, through a virtual tool. This will help producers access new markets and create awareness about the richness of Central American cocoa flavor for chocolate manufacturers looking for special products.
With each of the products on the Regional Cocoa Flavor Map, the following has been done:
- Research into the current quality available from farms and cooperatives.
- An application of modified post-harvest protocols, with close supervision for optimal flavor expression.
- Sensory and chemical analysis of the samples obtained
- Geographical and statistical mapping of the entire data set collected.
Thanks to the USDA-funded MOCCA (Maximizing Opportunities in Coffee and Cocoa in the Americas) project, new origins and profiles from Ecuador, Peru and Guatemala are added.
