Red Hook Chocolate: From Dominican Beans to Brooklyn Bars

All of our Red Hook chocolate comes from heirloom cacao beans grown on our family farm in the Dominican Republic.

Organic cacao fruit growing in Coralina Farms

These heirloom breeds can be traced back to the first cacao trees that were planted in the Dominican Republic more than 500 years ago by Christopher Columbus himself, who encountered them first in the cargo of a native Mayan trading vessel .  Columbus later discovered the unique properties of Cacao and brought the finest of the species to the Dominican Republic for cultivation and distribution throughout the Spanish Empire.  Throughout our farm we discovered examples of rare varietals of Cacao including Cacao Porcelina or white cacao.

A ripe fruit laying on top of a bed of drying beans

Like wine or cheese, chocolate is a fermented food.  Taking our cues from the great wine makers of the world, Cacao Prieto has refined this chocolate fermentation process to control the flavor profiles of our chocolate in the best possible way.

Fermented beans being poured out of holding bins

A bed of drying seeds

A small pile of fermenting beans

Organic beans are then air dried at the farm.

Air-drying beans

Shipped to Red Hook chocolate factory

Once dry they are then shipped to our chocolate factory in Red Hook, Brooklyn where they become the foundation for our delicious chocolate creations. Visit our store to buy these chocolates now.

Beans-to-bar chocolate, for display and sale right here at our Red Hook chocolate factory