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Standout Maya Mountain Belize 70%

Cocoa Origin: Belize
Producer Country: Sweden
Weight: 50 g

Maya Mountain's 100% Belizean Maya team processes all cacao at a centralized facility where they employ unique stages of sun drying. This social enterprise collaborates with predominantly Q’eqchi’ and Mopan Maya farmers, for whom cacao cultivation spans generations. These farmers practice intercropping with hardwood trees, banana, mango, avocado, and coconut. This chocolate features dried fruit notes like dates and figs, a slightly woody earthiness reminiscent of carob, chicory, or even rosemary, and a rich sweetness akin to date syrup or dark honey. A true 'standout' indeed!

Regular price $13.46

Standout Maya Mountain Belize 70%

Standout Chocolate is a one-man-band started in Sweden in 2018. Its founder, Fredrik, was an engineer in Sweden's automobile industry but held a growing passion for specialty coffee. Inspired, Fredrik created his own coffee advent calendar for Christmas, which garnered positive public response. Enjoying the art of curation, Fredrik sought to apply his engineering skills further. However, with Sweden already boasting many specialty roasters, he shifted his focus to the bean-to-bar movement. Fredrik has always sourced his cacao directly and exclusively from socially responsible cooperatives and prioritized environmentally friendly practices, utilizing biodegradable and compostable biofilm made from corn or potato starch for inner packaging, while the outer box is sourced from responsibly managed forests. True to their name, among the many bars I tasted during my early adventures with craft chocolate, Fredrik's bars consistently stood out the most, prompting me to immediately decide to carry and promote his creations.

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Toledo, Belize, is the country's southernmost district, encompassing nearly 3000 square kilometres of breathtaking rainforest, mountains, rivers, and offshore islands along the Caribbean Sea. The region's history is deeply intertwined with Maya culture, evident in the numerous archaeological sites and the majority of the population still using Mayan languages as their mother tongue. Toledo boasts a very diverse population, including Maya, Garifuna, Creole, Mopan, Mestizo, and East Indian communities, all represented in a population of less than 50,000. Agriculture forms the backbone of Toledo's economy, with crops like beans, corn, and rice being staples amongst many other fruits and veg. The area’s commitment to conservation policies has safeguarded its natural beauty and abundant wildlife, attracting a considerable rise in tourism. The region is also hailed as Belize's chocolate capital, hosting an annual festival. One of craft chocolate’s most notable cooperatives, Maya Mountain, is located here and has become a model for connecting smallholder farms with artisan makers, promoting high-quality cacao and transparency in the supply chain.

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