Tràng An, Ninh Bình, Vietnam
Vietnam is a developing country with a lower-middle-income economy. It has high levels of corruption, censorship, environmental issues and a poor human rights record
TIEN GIANG
Cacao in Vietnam is currently undergoing a tremendous renaissance. One special region in the Mekong delta is Tien Giang.
Tien Giang is a province on the northern branch of Vietnam’s Mekong Delta, a low-lying, tropical region with a vast network of rivers, rice paddies, and swamplands. It has hundreds of miles of canals that reach far into the farmland. The land is extremely fertile, known for its alluvial soil, and has been used to grow rice, cashews, dragon fruit, mangos, guava, and coffee.
Cacao arrived in Vietnam in the late 19th century. It remained a small crop until about 15 years ago, when development organizations began encouraging the planting of seedlings in this region. While this dramatically increased the amount of cacao grown in Vietnam, it still remains a tiny share of Vietnam’s agriculture.
The cacao from this region is noted for its distinctive flavors of brown sugar, nuts, and cinnamon, with subtle undertones of figs and persimmon set against a rich chocolate background.
Covering approximately 2,000 hectares it is comprised of mainly small holder farms of less than one hectare each.
Box Fermented cocoa beans are dried on bamboo mats in the sun for 7 days.
We Care
About 15 years ago chocolate makers began to take a fresh interest in the cacao from the region. The Vietnam based company Marou Chocolate led the charge. They began to work with the farmers throughout the region looking for a reliable source of high quality cacao. Marou now works directly with these farmer associations to insure access to the fine cacao market but also provide excellent technical support as well as financial assistance as needed.
Because Marou has worked to increase the quality of the cacao, they insure that the farmers are paid well above fair-trade premium prices for their beans, receiving continuous financial aid, feedback, and technical support throughout the harvest as well.
The luxurious cacao has resulted in the recent attention it has received from the craft chocolate industry.
