A Tale of Six Chocolates
“Food is both substance and symbol. It is not just what you eat that matters, but also what it means when you eat.”
-Fedele Bauccio, CEO, Bon Appétit Management Company
This holiday Moka Origins aims to strengthen the connection between food and culture with a delightful showcase of authentic ingredients and strong partnerships. The past few months, the Moka Origins team has been tirelessly working to bring New York’s craft chocolate fans a unique craft chocolate series.
The company will unveil its exclusive Single Origins African cacao series at the Launch party of our Moka-NYC Pop-Up on November 30th. Moka will lead this series with the launch of our Cameroon Bar, using beans sourced directly from our small batch farm in Cameroon and showcase the epicurean potential of underrepresented cacao growing Afrotropical region.
So why Africa?
“Our mission is to help farmers realize the fullest potential of their farms and introduce their amazing west African beans to the world. By exposing Africa’s brighter-side and directly investing back into Africa, we hope to fuel further social development.” -Jeff Abella
Navigating uncertain political landscapes in impoverished Cameroonian communities, our founders strove to cultivate a direct relationship with the farmers to empower humanitarian development whenever possible. With his decade long commitment to community development in Cameroon and working directly with local farmers, Jeff Abella developed strong friendships.
His emotional commitment to the region inspired a fresh perspective on human empowerment and a newfound appreciation for Afrotropical cacao. which fueled his desire to showcase the quintessential African cacao terroir and use chocolate as a tool for social empowerment.
The Tale of Six Origins
Every Cocoa bean showcased in the Moka Origin Africa series is unique. Some cocoa origins have a captivating human story that begs to be shared, while some are so rare, that America’s craft chocolate connoisseurs might have never experienced before.
The company’s exclusive Single Origins African cacao series showcases Six nuanced cacao terroirs, with each bar featuring a unique QR code, allowing the customer to follow the story behind each Origin showcased in the series, as well as its humanitarian impact.
Each meticulously hand-wrapped bar captures the essence of Jeff’s time working to build communities in Africa — a harmony of warm colors, superimposed with a celebration of traditional Ankara wax prints. Indulge in this exquisite chocolate and find a new meaning in chocolate.
A Homage to Cameroon:
Meticulously grown harvested and processed by our farming partner Stanely, this direct farm to bar chocolate is genuinely our Origin Bar.
Bursting with notes of dried cherry, gram cracker, and a mildly nutty finish, our micro-lot Cameroon bar is an exemplar of Stanley’s dedication to his craft and Moka’s strong partnerships.
Stanley grew up in a family of Cacao farmers and inherited the knowledge, skill, and family trade. When he was only 21, his father passed away, leaving Stanley responsible for his family and the family farm. Stanley took on cacao farming full-time and continued to develop his craft. Unfortunately, this region, as well as much of West-Africa today has a bad reputation for its cacao. This leaves farmers like Stanley in a difficult position to continue producing and selling quality beans.
Today, Jeff and Stanley partner closely together and intend to leverage skilled cacao trade farmers like Stanley and our knowledge, network, and partnerships to establish a strong reputation for Cameroon — a topography vastly overlooked by the world of specialty chocolate makers.
Cameroon Bar Release and NYC Pop Up Launch party
Join us at our NYC-Pop up Launch party for this exclusive unveiling of our Cameroon Bar. We will be launching the remaining Five Origins of the series at our monthly pop-up events on 486 Amsterdam Ave, NYC.
PS: We are working on opportunities to take Moka fans to meet Stanley at our farm in Cameroon. Follow our Origin Trip Series to meet with real farmers and be witness to the nuanced art of Cacao farming.
