US-BASED CRAFT CHOCOLATIER STORES PRIZE CACAO IN GRAINPRO BAGS

While the international coffee trade has benefitted greatly from using GrainPro® SuperGrainbags® (SGBs) to organically preserve specialty and single-origin beans, the cacao industry has yet to fully discover the benefits of these miracle liner bags. One chocolatier in Los Angeles, California knows how these SGBs can protect both quality and quantity of their cacao stocks and shared to us how they are using these bags in their operations.

Letter Press Chocolate is California’s fastest growing craft chocolatier who sources their cacao from single origin farmers in Peru, Belize, Guatemala and the Dominican Republic. According to their website, when the bags arrive at their facility in L.A., the first thing they do is empty each one out. The bags are lined with GrainPro SGBs and refilled with the cacao beans. They added that they do this to keep out insects, and to preserve the freshness of the beans.

“The first thing we do when we get bags is empty them out, line the bags with GrainPro plastic, then refill them. We do this so that the beans stay fresher longer and keep out pests.” -- LetterPress Chocolate

Rightfully so. 

Letter Press Chocolate is the type of chocolatier that truly loves chocolates, and understands the value of protecting their most important investment – the cacao. According to their website, they don’t like how most chocolates taste artificial, and full of sugar and vanillin. They want their customers to experience the subtle differences and characters of each single-origin cacao they sourced from different regions – much like coffee or wine. 

A joint study between Ghana, Israel and the Philippines in 2008 validates the effectiveness of GrainPro SGBs in protecting cacao against insects. Cacao beans were stored for 30 days in SGBs. Steep decline in oxygen concentration and anoxia was observed only after 15 days, resulting in 100 percent mortality of the insect population, including eggs and larvae.

An additional benefit of using the SGB is that it can protect and extend the aroma and flavor of the beans. Like coffee, cacao also comes in burlap or jute bags. After a while of being inside these bags, the beans may absorb the undesirable aromatic qualities of jute that are reflected in the flavor and aroma of the cacao. This results in the development of undesirable aromatic qualities and flavors.

Besides using GrainPro SGBs, Letter Press Chocolate is also a firm believer in cacao farmers. They forge direct relationships with farmers and provide much needed support to cooperatives. Additionally, farmers are paid a premium amount to help raise their quality of life.

Despite being relatively new, Letter Press Chocolate has already won the prestigious Good Food™ Award in 2017 for their Costa Esmeraldas Ecuador Chocolate bar. This achievement proves that their philosophy of sustainability and transparency is working for them, their farmers and customers.