We’re making significant investments in property plant and equipment upgrades at Finca Chocoat in 2024 and wanted to do a quick update on our progress. The picture above is our new fermentation facility! Between now and December we will add wooden fermentation boxes to increase our processing capacity substantially. This structure is 60’x30′ tall enough to put a 3 or 4-tier raised box fermentation system in it. As our production increases annually this facility will meet our needs for years into the future.
With more fermentation comes more drying, and while the actual drying racks are not yet complete, the overall structure for our second drying house is done. This drying house is 50’x30′ whereas our original drying house was 30’x30′. As with our original drying house there will be one fixed drying rack and multiple racks that can be rolled out on rails into direct sunlight but easily pushed back under cover if there is a threat of rain.
In 2024, our buying program from neighboring farms was a true success for both Finca Chocolat and those we worked with. We were able to pay our colleagues 11% above what others operating in the market were paying them and still earn a reasonable return for our efforts. In 2024 we had 20 farmers in our network. In 2025 we have 100+ we have agreed to work with. To that end, we are in the process of having a new and heavier-duty trailer built for our buying trips. We are excited to add this new piece of equipment to our tool chest at Finca Chocolat in November of this year!
Our Lemongrass distillation facility is moving along steadily and will be ready to install the equipment and start producing Lemongrass oil before harvest season starts this year. This can not happen soon enough as we already have requests for samples and potential orders based on those samples. We expect delivery of the garage doors which will fill the openings below soon and the facility will be done with equipment installed very shortly thereafter.
Last, and perhaps least but no less important, we are adding storage for 20+ tons of dry cacao onsite at Finca Chocolat. Within the next few weeks, we will add a 40′ storage container to this foundation which will provide ample storage for the coming years and allow for easy loading when it is time to send cacao to the ports in Belize.
While pictures of plants growing in the nursery, thriving in the fields, or beginning to produce cacao pods make for better visuals, these investments will allow Finca Chocolat to increase capacity and efficiency substantially in the coming years.