Our family’s interest in traveling to Costa Rica began when our parents retired and moved to Puerto Viejo near the Talamanca mountains by the Caribbean Sea. Mother Nancy, a professional artist and father Barry a degreed engineer, soon began a not-for-profit soup kitchen called “El Puente” (The Bridge) to help indigenous the Bri-Bri who were in need of support.

During one vacation to Puerto Viejo, we discovered ”cacao trees” in the nearby orchard. Our neighbor, nine year old, Siriana enthusiastically showed us how to make chocolate from the beans of a cacao pod we had dried in the sun, and simple ingredients of maple syrup and powdered milk from the kitchen!

We became interested in learning more about chocolate and the history of cocoa in the Talamanca region. We were fascinated by stories told to us about cocoa, by tribal members, locals, and people who had planted and harvested cacao for generations in this area.

The more we learned and the more we visited the beautiful Puerto Viejo Talamanca by the sea, the more we dreamed of helping the community, creating opportunities for local farmers and people needing work. We also began to discover the beauty and nutritional benefits of cocoa and why cacao from the Talamanca Region of Costa Rica is uniquely special!