Cacao Musa’s commitment to producers is based on the professionalising of cocoa production, providing technical training in post-harvest processes and facilitating international logistics. In the medium term, they want to implement training in cocoa tasting for producers, in order to bridge the gap between technique and flavour, as well as implement a digital traceability system to offer total transparency in their processes.
Learn more about Cocoa Musa in the interview with Co-Founder Paulo Cuéllar:
Could you briefly describe the history of Musa Cacao? How did they get into the sourcing of cocoa?
Cacao Musa starts from my father's childhood memory. In 2017 on a Swiss chocolate factory tour that we made with my family, my father told me upon exiting: “The smell of roasting cocoa brings me back to my mother roasting the cocoa from her farm to make Chucula [Shu-ku-la]. I know that Colombia has a lot of quality cocoa. Why don’t we offer it to them?” That memory was the kick-start to an amazing trip into the cocoa world that has allowed us to learn about it, reconnect with our tradition, and come back to the Colombian countryside. Since then, we have been driving across the country discovering resilient farmers, amazing cacao, and the opportunity in our small way to change things for the better in Colombia.
What do you expect from SWISSCO membership? Where would you like to get involved?
We envision an exchange of knowledge, an open dialogue, and an understanding of the opinion and point of view of the big actors in the Swiss chocolate industry. Likewise, we seek to promote the reality and point of view of many Colombian cocoa producers, their progress, and the current situation of Colombia`s cocoa market. Finally, we want to transmit the initiatives born and discussed at SWISSCO directly to our Colombian cocoa producers and find a way to implement them in Colombia. We are interested and already involved in Traceability, Living Income, Forest and Agroforestry. These are the issues of major concern to our cocoa producers right now.
Colombia is still fairly unknown as a country of origin for cocoa. Can you briefly explain what makes cocoa in Colombia special?
Today Colombian cocoa stands out because of its regional genetics, the variety of production areas, and the continuing improvements in post-harvest processes. These combine to bring an organoleptic complexity which is at the same level as the most renowned cocoas in the world. In our point of view, there are two key factors that make Colombian cocoa special. Firstly, cocoa is a promoter of change in Colombian society; one that offers an honest and dignified livelihood. Many actors are working together to nurture the Colombian cocoa ecosystem: peace agreement organizers, the Colombian state and its promotion of cacao production as an alternative to illicit crops, Fedecacao (Federación Nacional de Cacaoteros) as the entity that brings together cocoa growers’ interests, nascent cocoa farmers, associations of cocoa producers, private business, young chocolate entrepreneurs, and the international NGO’s. All these new developments in the Colombian cocoa movement convince us that cocoa will help to consolidate peace in Colombia. The second reason Colombian cocoa is special is that there is still so much that has yet to be discovered. There are different ongoing cocoa projects in the Amazonian area which will soon bear fruit. We are excited about what is coming out!
Colombia is known worldwide as an exporting country of high-quality coffee. Do you see a similar future for cocoa? To what extent can one profit from the experience in the coffee sector?
Of course, I am convinced of a bright future! In fact, we are working towards building up a Colombian cocoa identity to conquer its place in the cocoa scene. Our big brother coffee is definitely a good example to follow. Coffee and cocoa have frequently coexisted on Colombian farms. Therefore, the concepts of fermentation and drying are already part of Colombian agricultural culture. In addition, familiarity with the quality criteria on which Colombian coffee has been built points the way forward to cocoa, in order to get opportunities in international markets.
Where do you see Cacao Musa's biggest potential to contribute to achieving SWISSCO’s goals regarding enhancing sustainability in the cocoa value chain?
We have one foot in Switzerland and the other in Colombia, which allows us to bring the cacao growers’ opinions, issues, and challenges into the conversation. We can also help to create the right conditions to implement the initiatives and actions proposed by SWISSCO in Colombia.