Exploring Cocoa in Ghana

I just returned from an amazing trip to Ghana, where I visited cocoa plantations, toured cocoa factories and met with the people who make up fair trade cooperatives. Cissé, my new business venture, is what prompted this journey. Instead of buying cocoa powder from an intermediary, we are buying directly from the source. Which means I had the opportunity to meet the families that grow the cocoa beans at Aponoapo Cooperative, and negotiate with the people who process those beans into cocoa powder.

Cocoa is not just an exotic luxury product. It is the lifeblood of the community I visited, as Ghana is the world's second largest cocoa bean-producing country. Here, profits from cocoa beans result in new schools, roads, and improved healthcare. This trip gave me a deeper understanding of how special cocoa beans really are. And how meaningful it is to have a personal connection to your food source. The next bite I take out of a chocolate bar is going to be completely different!