In this article, we celebrate Marou, the Vietnamese chocolate makers, but you will also find a gem from the Philippines with the Farm-to-Bar Theo & Philo. The Bean-to-Bar movement originated in the 2000s in the United States, and we are paying delightful attention to its emergence in Asian countries.
The Vietnamese Pioneers
It was not until the early 2010s that the first Asian Bean-to-Bar, Marou, emerged. Founders Samuel and Vincent (originally from France) went to Vietnam to discover cocoa with a unique aromatic palette. They use 100% local ingredients for chocolate that pays homage to six Vietnamese terroirs that become benchmarks. They thus contributed to the revival of artisanal cocoa cultivation in Vietnam, a practice that was disappearing in the face of other agricultural practices.
Founders Samuel and Vincent
The Resurrection of Cocoa in Vietnam
Cocoa was introduced by French colonists at the end of the 19th century, taking advantage of the fertile soils and ideal climate of the Mekong Delta with its alluvial land. A crop that disappeared in the 1940s with successive conflicts, only to reappear in the 2000s. This resurgence was supported by a scientific study by Nom Lampour University to identify and reintroduce 14 different varieties of cocoa trees resulting from hybridization.
The Diversity of Vietnamese Terroirs
With an annual production representing less than 0.2% of world production, Vietnam positions itself as a small producer focusing on high-quality cocoa such as Trinitario hybrids (B14 or B10) that have made the reputation of a terroir like Dak Lak.
But the cradle of Vietnamese cocoa remains Ben Tre, the coastal province of the Mekong Delta. A low-lying tropical region with a vast network of rivers, rice fields, and swamps. It has hundreds of kilometers of canals that extend far into the agricultural lands. The land is extremely fertile and, as such, has been cultivated for over a century.
A Detour to the Philippines
Here is a terroir that deserves to be known! The Philippines were also among the first countries in Southeast Asia to cultivate cocoa trees. To present this culture, we have chosen Theo & Philo: specializing in the inclusion of high-quality local ingredients with cocoa beans from Davao in Mindanao, where fertile lands and temperate climates produce some of the best cocoa in the region. Each bar is a masterpiece, carefully crafted to capture the rich heritage of the Philippines.
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