Announcement – Cocoa of Excellence and International Cocoa Awards celebrations 2013!

Bioversity International, CIRAD and Event International is pleased to announce the 2013 Edition of the Cocoa of Excellence (Cocoa of Excellence, CoE) programme and the International Cocoa Awards (ICA’s), which will be celebrated at the Salon du Chocolat in Paris 28 October to 3 November 2013. The initiative is supported by several research institutions, chocolate manufacturers and cocoa organizations.

Rewarding Excellence in producing high-quality Cocoa Origins

Cocoa of Excellence is the entry point for farmers to participate in the Salon du Chocolat's International Cocoa Awards, the only competition of its kind rewarding the work of cocoa farmers and celebrating the diversity of cocoa flavors.

Most chocolate is made from beans that have been fermented and dried by smallholder farmers before being sold to manufacturers. By standardizing the chocolate making process, Cocoa of Excellence ensures that the differences between the chocolate presented to the jury of the International Cocoa Awards will be mainly due to craftsmanship at the farm level, as well as to the intrinsic quality of the beans and the mysterious 'terroir' effect.

Cocoa producing countries are invited to send well-prepared fermented and dried bean samples representing the genetic and geographic origins of their regions. Cocoa liquor samples will be characterised and evaluated firstly by an international panel of experts using standardised methods. Results will be used to identify diverse quality cocoa origins (“terroirs”).