What is Tree to Bar
Our Own Cacao Origin: Vale Potumuju
The Bean to Bar process is based on 3 pillars:
Sustainability, both social and environmental; Direct and Fair Trade between the farmer and the chocolate maker; and the Chocolate Making process, where the maker uses whole cacao beans and develops his/hers own recipes.
A brand is called Tree to Bar when all of the Bean to Bar pillars are observed but the origin (or farm) where the cacao is sourced from, has the same ownership and the control of all agricultural and farming practices, including post-harvest, a key factor in developing the best cacao flavor.
That is why we can proudly say that Baianí Chocolates is a true Tree to Bar brand!
Tree to Bar Process
1. FARM ACTIVITIES AND MAINTENANCE OF OUR ORCHARDS
Agricultural activities and day to day care of our cacao trees, including planting, grafting, pruning, soil correction, fertilizing, mowing and shade management, amongst others.
2. HARVESTING
Picking the right ripeness of pods to be harvested for best results.
3. FERMENTATION AND DRYING
This is the stage where the precursors of flavors are developed. Careful protocols used here with technology to monitor every micro-lot, recording all the steps of the process.
4. Aging
Every micro-lot is aged in controlled humidity for at least 75 days before is cut-tested and evaluated for sensory qualities. After that it is sent to our factory.
5. Roasting
This is another critical stage, where every micro-lot is evaluated by Juliana to determine the best roasting profile.
6. Winnowing
Careful separation of husks and clean nibs are key to having less bitterness in our bars.
7. Refining and Conching
Reaching the right texture, while keeping flavors is what gives the Baianí bars the smoothness on the mouth, while keeping the cacao flavors intact.
8. Tempering and Molding
The alignment of Crystal Nr.5 is where the magic happens in the tempering process in order to achieve the perfect “snap” on our bars. Our beautiful and unique molds show the sophistication of our entire process and visually define the quality of our chocolate.
9. Packaging
Every Baianí bar is hand packed and we like to keep it that way. The attention to detail and craftsmanship that starts at our farm materializes here at the final stage of our chocolate bar production. We take pride in this perfection and hope every consumer can experience this 5 senses ride while enjoying one of our Baianí chocolate bars.