Fine Chocolate:
“The Food of the Gods”
Today, 85% of fine grade cocoa beans with aroma consumed in the world are Ecuadorian.
TEXT : P. VIROT WITH APROCAFA
PHOTOS : WHIB / P.VIROT
INFOS AT WWW.WHIB.ORG AND WWW.PHOTOSWISS.COM
In Aztec mythology, cocoa (cacahuatl) was
given to man by Quetzalcoatl, a god who
came to the world as a high priest. He later decided
to bring cocoa beans from heaven and
teach man how to plant and cultivate them. He
went to the heavens promising to return.
Ecuador, an Andean country, mounted on
the line that divides the two hemispheres, is
one of the most diverse countries in the
world, although it only relies on 256,370 km2 of surface. The country is divided into three
regions : mountains, coast and the high Amazon
Basin of the wilderness.
The exceptional climate and ground conditions
favour cocoa planting from sea level up
to the height of 1200m. Approximately
263,800 hectares are cultivated in eleven
provinces mainly in the coastal area.
