Terroir: ECUADOR

One of the best cocoa in the world

Ecuador has the perfect conditions for cocoa farming which explains its expansion in the 17th century with the help of the Spanish. Its cocoa boom made it the biggest exporter in the world until the early 20th century. But competition with Ghana, epidemics, World War I and the collapse of the exchange rate saw production drop whilst bananas soared. Ecuador may account for around 20% of global production but the origin still has a fantastic reputation due to the standard of its cocoa.