Where does chocolate grow?

When people step into our shop, the first thing they often ask about is where the chocolate comes from. They expect me to name a country in Europe — perhaps Denmark, since that’s where they’re standing. But chocolate doesn’t begin here. It begins with cacao, and that story starts much farther away.

Cacao trees don’t grow in Europe at all. The climate is simply wrong — too cold, too dry, too far from the equator. It’s a bit like wine: just as you wouldn’t expect vineyards to thrive in northern Europe, you wouldn’t expect cacao to grow in Denmark. For cacao to flourish, it needs the right conditions.

what kinda of environment are we talking about?

Cacao trees thrive in hot, humid climates close to the equator. They need consistent rainfall, shade, and warm temperatures — conditions found in a narrow belt that stretches about 20 degrees north and south of the equator.

To be more precise, regions of South America, Central America, Africa, and parts of Asia.

But where did it all begin?

If you trace cacao back to its roots, you end up in the upper Amazon basin — modern-day Peru, Ecuador, Colombia, and Brazil. This is where wild cacao first grew, long before it spread to other parts of the world. Indigenous communities were the first to cultivate it, turning the seeds into a drink, and in some cultures even using cacao as currency. Centuries before Europeans ever tasted chocolate.

Why do we talk about origins?

Because not all cacao is the same. Where it grows, who cultivates it, and how it’s handled after harvest all shape the flavors you taste in the final chocolate. Just as wine reflects its terroir — the soil, climate, and traditions of a region — cacao carries the imprint of its origin.

When you pick up a bar in our shop, you’re not just choosing “chocolate.” You’re choosing a place, a climate, the people who care for the cacao, and the maker who transforms it. That’s why we talk about origins — and why we’d love for you to explore them with us. Discovering the origins is part of tasting chocolate.