Our Process

Producing one piece of Fijiana Cacao chocolate takes about 200 days. This includes 170 days for the cacao plant to develop from blossom to harvest, 5 days pod storage (after harvest), then 7 days for the fermentation, 7 days for the sun drying, 5 days for the processing, and another 14 days for the aging. These are average timeframes, and actual times may vary depending on the cacao variety, weather and humidity, and other factors.

“Processing chocolate is a lot like conducting an orchestra” says Fijiana Cacao founder Tomohito Zukoshi. “Most of the work is done by nature, and we are simply providing guidance.”

“We build the taste and aroma of our Fijiana Cacao chocolate from the bottom up like a pyramid, but in many layers. We always tap into the deep well of memory and desire, then obsession.”

In fact, chocolate processing literally provides a bean of happiness as the chemical Theobromine is released from the chocolate, which is a powerful aphrodisiac. Theobromine, formerly known as xantheose, is a powerful neurotransmitter and the reason why the ancient Aztecs used their cacao for health and sexual libido.