Cacao Is Changing in Southeast Asia

By Yi Jun Loh

Thanks to the rich, fertile terroir, the cocoa of Southeast Asia has all the potential to be cast alongside the best of the world. Photo courtesy of Chocolate Concierge.

Ivory Coast. Peru. Ghana. Ecuador: These are the countries that often come to mind when we think of the origins of chocolate. The cacao tree is native to South America, and colonizers brought it to West Africa centuries ago. Today, the two regions are hubs of cocoa production, buttressing much of the world’s chocolate industry, from mass-scale conglomerates like Cadbury and Lindt & Sprüngli, to boutique brands like To’ak and DeLafée. 

But the times are changing. There’s a new wave of artisanal chocolatiers and farmers rooted in a region jostling its way towards better cocoa and chocolate—in Southeast Asia. 

To be clear, cocoa isn’t a new crop to the region. Like many ex-colonies, Southeast Asia got the cocoa or cacao tree, Theobroma cacao, in the 18th century by way of European colonizers. Due to the Dutch in Indonesia, the British in Malaysia and the Spanish in the Philippines, large swathes of land in these countries were turned into cacao farms to satisfy the European cocoa craze at the time. 

In the decades since though, it’s fallen by the wayside, largely turned into a commercial commodity, sold and traded at dirt-cheap prices. The fallout has forced farmers to turn to more lucrative cash crops like oil palm, rubber and durian. 

Thanks to the rich, fertile terroir, the cocoa of the region has all the potential to be cast alongside the best of the world. Paniti and Nuttaya Junhasavasdikul, the couple behind Thailand’s artisanal chocolate brand Kad Kokoa, wax lyrical about the heights that the region’s cocoa can reach, where the best possesses “the charming characteristics of local fruits, and ends up more fruity, more acidic, and floral,” as the couple writes. 

But the majority of cocoa farmers in the region are unaware of the quality of beans they hold. In the Junhasavasdikuls’ experience, the issue is systemic. Cocoa farmers are often subject to the whims of middlemen and commercial buyers, who “do not care much about the proper fermentation or the flavor of the cocoa,” instead buying the commodity in bulk to be turned into cheap cocoa powder or compound chocolate. 

As such, farmers are neither educated nor equipped to ferment their beans to the fullest of their potential. Nuttaya shares that some farmers even ferment their beans in plastic bags, which “affects the taste of the beans badly, leading to fungus growth and rotten stenches.”

Change-making chocolatiers work closely with generations-old cocoa farms, equipping them with new knowledge on better farming techniques, guiding them through the art of fermentation and away from practices like storing beans in plastic bags, which can lend an off flavor. Photo courtesy of Chocolate Concierge.

The problem is echoed across much of Southeast Asia. Ning Geng Ong, chocolatier and founder of Malaysia’s Chocolate Concierge, illustrates this issue further with a colorful comparison to the wine industry. According to his analogy, in vineyards around the world, the grapes are often picked by part-time workers and temporary laborers, but the fermentation and winemaking process is tightly controlled by vintners, individuals who possess vast knowledge and experience on extracting the best out of the grapes. Contrast this to the cocoa industry, especially across Southeast Asia, where the ones fermenting the beans would often be the same people who pick them. 

“Imagine if wine was fermented by the same temporary worker or maybe even a gap-year exchange student who harvested,” says Ning. “It wouldn’t make good wine, but this is exactly what is happening in the cocoa industry.” 

In the past decade, though, there’s been a growth of craft chocolatiers in the region. They tout small-batch, single-origin bars and locavore bonbons, focusing on high-quality beans that highlight the region’s bounty. These change-making chocolatiers work closely with generations-old cocoa farms, equipping them with new knowledge on better farming techniques, guiding them through the art of fermentation and bringing their beans to the peak of what they can become. 

In Indonesia, brands like Krakakoa have been lighting the way to better cocoa, working with more than 1,000 farms across Sumatra and West Sulawesi. Vietnam’s Marou chocolate and Thailand’s Kad Kokoa have become shining beacons of their countries’ cocoa industries. And in Malaysia, where I’m from, I’ve seen the rise of artisanal chocolate chiefly driven by local brands like Chocolate Concierge and Seniman Kakao. Slowly but surely, the tide is shifting. 

Perhaps the most exciting part about the growing movement of Southeast Asian cocoa is the ecosystem these change-makers have built around it, championing sustainability and environment conservation while improving the livelihoods of cocoa farmers, creating a fully local tree-to-bar supply chain.

In the past decade, there’s been a growth of craft chocolatiers. They tout small-batch, single-origin bars and locavore bonbons, focusing on high-quality beans that highlight the region’s bounty. Photo courtesy of Chocolate Concierge.

Sabrina Mustopo of Krakakoa pays cocoa farmers two to three times the market rate to encourage greater care in farming and fermentation techniques. In Vietnam, Marou chocolate is aiding agroforestry projects, planting cocoa among the forest flora, rather than clear-cutting. Chocolate Concierge has taken it upon themselves to work closely with the indigenous Temuan community (orang asli) in Malaysia, drawing upon their knowledge and providing them with a steady source of income. 

According to Ning, “even the most basic farmhands in many Malaysian farms are paid RM 1600 (USD 400) a month, compared to many African farmers who make less than USD 100, which is a huge disparity.” These are but a handful of initiatives in what is a burgeoning industry. 

Admittedly, it’s still early days. West Africa and South America still dominate the worldwide cocoa market. But with time and effervescent effort, and with the rising wave of chocolatier raising the bar of both Southeast Asian cocoa and chocolate to loftier heights, Southeast Asia is on its way to becoming the new frontier of chocolate. Ning summarizes it best. 

“What we’re doing might just be a drop in the bucket, but to tip the scales, every drop counts.”