Cacao in Belize

Belize is a small, Central American nation nestled on the Caribbean coast, best known for being the home of the world’s second largest barrier reef and ancient Mayan ruins. But what many people don’t know is that it also boasts one of the oldest chocolate histories in the world. From its origins in ancient Mayan tradition to today, cocoa has always played an important part in Belize’s culture and cuisine. Today, Belize is home to a number of smallholder cocoa farmers and artisanal chocolatiers carrying on the tradition of Belizean chocolate. 

History of Cacao in Belize

The story of cacao in Belize began over 2,000 years ago. In fact, the earliest evidence of humans consuming chocolate was discovered in Northern Belize: an ancient Mayan teapot containing traces of cacao from 600 BC. Ancient Mesoamerican civilizations revered cacao, considering it a sacred "food of the gods". 

The Mayans enjoyed cacao by frothing it in water with a mix of spices, creating an earthy, bitter drink. This drink was reserved for special occasions, such as sacred rituals, marriage ceremonies, funerals, and social events. Believed to have the ability to energise the body and soul, cacao was also used medicinally to treat sickness and injury. Cacao’s many uses made it so valuable to the ancient Mayans that it was even used as a form of currency. 

When Spanish explorers arrived in Central America in the early 16th century, they were the first Europeans to encounter cacao. They began importing the beans to Europe, and slowly, cacao began spreading throughout the continent. As chocolate became more and more popular around the world, the demand for cacao beans soared. 

Between the 1980’s and the early 1990’s, Hershey’s main cacao farm was in Belize. The promise of steady work for cacao attracted many local farmers into growing cacao. But in 1993, the market price of cacao dropped significantly, and Hershey withdrew from Belize to buy more profitable cacao elsewhere. This left many cacao farms without a buyer to sell their crops to. 

The following year, Green and Black’s (now Mondelez International) began buying cacao from Belizean farms. Working with Toledo Cacao Growers Association, a nonprofit for helping cocoa producers, cacao farmers were given resources and advice for how to grow and sell cocoa. Today, Belize’s focus on organic cocoa has given Belizian cocoa a reputation for being of exceptionally high quality.

Popular Chocolates and Chocolatiers in Belize

Although Belize has been growing cacao for centuries, chocolate has only been produced in Belize since the late 1990’s. There are now around a dozen artisan chocolate companies in Belize that produce bean to bar chocolate, finally bringing chocolate back into the hands of Belizeans. 

• Ixcacao: This family run business is Belize’s oldest chocolate company known for small-batch chocolate bars made with a variety of natural ingredients like nuts, dried fruits, and coffee. 

• Cotton Tree Chocolate: This organic chocolate producer makes a variety of chocolate products including bars, soap, and cocoa butter. 

• Goss Chocolate: Since 2007, Goss Chocolate has been making organic chocolate made of Belizean grown cacao and cane sugar, powdered whole milk, and whole vanilla beans. 

• Belize Chocolate Company: Originally from the UK, the Beaumont couple moved to Belize in 1999 and opened their chocolate boutique in 2012. They offer bonbons filled with classic Belizean ingredients like coconut, banana, rum, and citrus blossom honey. 

The effort to support Belizean cocoa farmers and bring their cocoa to the world is currently led by two major organisations. Their work has almost doubled the amount of cacao Belize has exported in the past five years. 

• Toledo Cacao Growers Association: This nonprofit organisation works with cacao farmers to improve growing practices, provide technical support, and negotiate sales with buyers. Their aim is to improve the living conditions of cacao farmers by providing them with the resources they need to thrive. 

• Maya Mountain Cacao: Founded in 2010, this company is Belize’s biggest exporter of cacao. They work with 420 smallholder farms, buying unfermented ‘wet’ cacao and processing the cacao at a central facility in Belize before shipping it off to artisanal chocolate makers in the U.S. Through this company, cacao farmers have a steady source of buyers, and chocolatiers have a source of high-quality, Belizean cocoa. Win-win! 

What the Future Holds

It seems that chocolate is finally having its moment again in Belize. After years of growing cocoa for other companies, Belizean cocoa farmers and chocolatiers are now reclaiming chocolate. Over the past two decades, family-run, artisanal chocolatiers have begun opening up all around Belize. They showcase the rich history and traditions of Belizean chocolate, and bring value back into the hands of Belizean cocoa farmers. 

Unpredictable weather, the risk of forest fire, and supply chain issues are all threatening Belize’s cocoa industry. That’s why it’s become so important for Belizean cocoa farmers to adopt sustainable farming practices that are more climate and market resilient. 

The Maya Golden Landscape is a collection of protected lands in the Maya forest, and the site of a massive agroforestry effort. The Ya’axché Conservation Trust, a nonprofit that integrates landscape management with indigenous Mayan knowledge, has proposed agroforestry as a way to help both communities and the environment. 

How? Farmers grow cacao amongst the trees of the native forest, restoring the forest while growing a profitable crop. Cocoa farmers act as an extra pair of eyes and ears inside the reserve, causing illegal activities in the forest to go down. The cocoa trees are naturally protected from the sun and pests, getting rid of the need for harmful pesticides and fertilisers.

As efforts like this spread across Belize, we see that cocoa farming doesn’t have to work against nature, but can work with it. And it looks like Belize is heading in the right direction.