Cacao of Excellence: Standardizing Chocolate Quality and Boosting Producer Incomes

In 2009, Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT, a sustainable-agriculture nonprofit in Rome, launched Cacao of Excellence to address the lack of an internationally agreed rubric for tasting and rating cacao, unlike wine or coffee. The program aimed to enable consistent communication about bean quality across the tropics.

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The protocol requires a fixed sequence: beans are sifted, roasted, shelled, milled into nibs, blended with exact amounts of sugar and cocoa butter, tempered, and molded. A panel of fifteen trained tasters uses a flavor-wheel to rate acidity, bitterness, astringency and other attributes, producing scores that translate into a common language for pricing cacao by quality.

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Program manager Julien Simonis, a chocolate scientist, guides the rubric’s development. Lab assistant Julia Butac processes beans and records sensory notes. Thai founder Roong Kumpan of TinTin Chocolate earned an award after certification, while Peruvian farmer Rosaura Laura of the Juan Laura farm reported a 30 % sales increase following participation. The Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT continues to sponsor the global rollout.

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Thousands of producers, traders and stakeholders now apply the protocol daily. The Ivory Coast and Ghana together supply more than half of global cacao, yet many growers live below poverty lines. Training and certification involve a fee, while the processing guide and flavor-wheel remain free. The Juan Laura farm’s 30 % sales rise exemplifies early economic benefit.

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Simonis says the common evaluation framework lets buyers and sellers discuss quality objectively and can justify higher consumer prices, channeling revenue back to farmers. Kumpan notes that guidance on fermentation and drying has raised his farm’s visibility and may boost future income. Laura describes the initiative as a means to dignify laborers, reshape public perception of cacao producers, and provide a shared language across the supply chain.

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Simonis indicates the program aims to work with every cacao-producing country, expanding training, certification and access to the flavor-wheel toolkit. Wider adoption could further align global markets around quality-based pricing.

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• “Each time I taste this, I'm always amazed. You have a boost of acidity. This burst of fresh flavors.” — Julien Simonis, Chocolate Scientist

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• “A lot of the cacao producers live under the poverty limits,” — Julien Simonis, Chocolate Scientist

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• “Cacao of Excellence gives small producers a chance to be seen and recognized internationally, he says.” — Roong Kumpan, Founder, TinTin Chocolate

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• “Despite the recipe being exactly the same, flavors are completely different.” — Julien Simonis, Program Manager

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