With this tablet you are buying a piece of primeval forest and helping to preserve it, it is much more than just a tablet Chocolate. To'ak means land and tree and that's what it's all about. To'ak originated from a project to preserve the rainforest on the coast of Ecuador. In Piedra del Plata, nine cocoa trees were found that still consisted of pure Ancient Nacional cocoa.
It was believed in 2009 that this cacao had died out in the 19th century due to the so-called "witches' broom" disease. Before that, Nacional cocoa was one of the most popular types of cocoa in Europe, prized for its aromas. Jerry Toth, founder of the rainforest project "Third Millennium Alliance", Dennise Valencia and Carl Schweizer from Piedra del Plata, Manabi, where the Ancient Nacional cacao trees were found, joined forces to preserve this cacao. In collaboration with the university, they began to grow seedlings, which were later planted in the jungle of the Coaque Reserve. This is how To'ak was born. The cocoa grows naturally in this protected area. More and more trees are growing, which are passed on to cocoa farmers who want to preserve the jungle and support the project.
Barrel-matured cocoa and vintage chocolate
The founders want cocoa and Chocolate to be understood in a similar way to whisky or wine and allow the cocoa beans to mature in old whisky or rum barrels, which later gives the Chocolate its very own taste. To'ak has already made a name for itself for this, and the harvest years taste as different as different vintages of a wine. Depending on the type of barrel or container in which the cocoa was stored, it takes on the taste of barrel-aged whisky.
Alchemy of local ingredients and artist-designed packaging
The Alchemy range was developed by Charles X Michel, a well-known culinary artist and food educator. He uses local ingredients and recipes and combines them with the 65% To'ak Chocolate from the Ancient Nacional cocoa beans . Each bar comes in individually designed packaging created by an artist to match the ingredients. Each pack contains 4x14g bars to try.
