WE ARE THE CAPITAL REGION'S
FIRST CRAFT CHOCOLATE COMPANY
SO ARE SETTING THE STANDARD
FOR HOW AN ETHICAL CHOCOLATE
COMPANY OPERATES
OUR ETHICS
Primo Botánica's mission is to make chocolate that provides reparation to the land we inhabit. We believe that empowering people to own their own land + means of production is integral to the repair of other problems such as violence and climate change. In the craft chocolate world there is a tendency to jump around from origin to origin without truly devoting efforts into improving any one community. In 2020, we are beginning to build a long term partnership with farmers at the RAYEN farmer's cooperative in Tapachula, Mexico. After traveling to many different cacao growing regions throughout Central + South America, the Rayen cooperative really stood out for us. The Rayen cooperative is unique in that the farmers who grow the cacao not only own their own land but also own the fermentation facility in which the cacao is fermented and dried. Complete ownership means when we buy beans, after the cost of importation, that money goes directly to paying the producers rather than various brokers and middlemen. We also regularly donate a percentage of our profits to local social justice organizations and rematriation projects in North + South America increase the potency of our mission.
OUR
NUTRITIONAL
PHILOSOPHY
We see chocolate as not only a sacred superfood but also as a delivery system for potent herbs, fungi and spices. Every one of ingredients is 100% plant based grown on farms that value biodiversity and don't spray any pesky herbicides or pesticides. Our bars and flavors are influenced by the indigenous plants, biomes and cultures of North, Central and South America. Our products are also 100% plant based. We are not focused on making "vegan alternatives" to mainstream chocolate, but rather really focusing on the awesome nutrition and complex flavors of the plants we work with.
WHAT IS CRAFT CHOCOLATE?
Good question! Our craft of making chocolate includes the entire process from raw cocoa beans to finished chocolate bars. First, we source our cacao from indigenous, Latin American farmers, visiting each cacao farmer's cooperative as frequently as possible, ordering in small quantities for sorting and roasting.
After roasting (each type of cacao deserves different treatment, temperature, duration) we grind the cacao with organic panela (cane sugar) from Colombia into semi-finished liquor. Through the conching process, the liquor becomes lusciously smooth and the flavor tunes to the way we want it. Finally, after infusing various nutritious herbs, fungi and spices, we temper the chocolate into bars, disks and other confections.
OUR BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY
THE CHOCOLATE MAKERS
Jay became a certified natural chef at Bauman College in Berkeley, California. As a chef consultant, Jay has an immense amount of knowledge in therapeutic cooking. Jay now lives in Costa Rica part time, providing free consulting and equipment to locals on making bean to bar chocolate on a small scale. Jay is part Cherokee and has been exploring the use of native plant fibers and foods in his business WholeCraft.
Oliver has been studying indigenous diets and traditional methods of agriculture and has a degree in Anthropology from Plattsburgh State University. After learning about the dark sides of Capitalism, colonialism and the cacao industry, Oliver knew he needed to do something different. As the progeny of Mayflower immigrants, Oliver's goal in life is to positively contribute to and provide reparation to the cultures that his ancestors have destroyed in the colonization of the Americas.
