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Field notes
Genetics, fermentation, rain, prices and people. What we learn on the farm and at the fairs.
Criollo, Amelonado and the Panamanian sancocho: what the first genetics study of Panama's cacao found
A 2026 study sampled 80 trees in Bocas del Toro and Herrera. Bocas is a mixed stew of ancestries; Herrera hides almost pure Criollo. Here is what it means for flavour and for farmers.
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Drying cacao in the rainiest corner of Panama
Bocas del Toro gets three months of near-daily rain right when the harvest peaks. Sun-drying can take over a month and grow mould. Here is how farms are solving it.
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The best chocolate tours in Bocas del Toro, and how to choose one
Eight farms and makers, four ways to get there, one rule: go when it is harvest. A farmer's honest guide to cacao tours in the archipelago.
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Fermentation matters more than variety: lessons from Panama's first chocolate tasting course
Six days, 200 samples, 22 students and 6 graduates. What Bocas del Toro growers learned when an international chocolate taster came to Changuinola.
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Where to buy Panamanian chocolate, in Panama and abroad
Which bars to look for, where they are sold, and why almost none of them are on Amazon. Plus the closest substitutes if you cannot get here.
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The Panama cacao calendar: harvests, fairs and when to visit
Month by month: when the pods ripen, when the fermentation boxes are full, when the Bocas Showcolate Fair happens, and when to stay away.
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“Ceremonial” cacao, drinking chocolate and a bar: what is actually the difference?
The same bean, three products, a lot of marketing. What “ceremonial cacao” really is, why our farm does not use the word, how cacao is drunk in Bocas kitchens, and how to make it at home.
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COCABO: how a 1952 cooperative in Almirante became the backbone of Panamanian cacao
Bananas built Bocas, cacao survived it. The story of the oldest cooperative in Panama, its 1,400 mostly Ngäbe members, and where its organic beans end up.
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Less than one percent: why Panama should sell chocolate, not beans
Panama grows a rounding error of the world's cacao. That is exactly why exporting raw beans makes no sense, and why the real opportunity is in bars, paste and tourism.
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The Pod
One letter a month from a cacao farm in Bocas del Toro: harvest news, new makers, tours worth booking, and what we are learning about Panama’s cacao. No spam, unsubscribe any time.