By Jecca Berta

Each origin we work with is the result of years of relationship building, and the latest — Kpalimé, Togo — is no exception. In October of 2022, we met Oskar Jönsson, head of cocoa sales at gebana — a Swiss company that has developed a cooperative farming network within Togo, a small, west African country east of Ghana. In February of 2023, we became the first U.S. bean-to-bar chocolate maker to source beans, via gebana, from Togo. 

While our chocolate makers are busy tempering our first batch of Togo bars (to be released later this year), Pablo — our lead for this origin — shares some bean-to-bar insights: 


What is the flavor profile of this bar? We hear it’s rich and extra chocolatey. 

The flavor profile is: chocolate, sweet aromatics, and bready. The chocolate from this origin is full-bodied, meaning that the chocolate notes are quite dominant, but at the same time, it feels especially delicate when it comes into contact with the palate.


How would you describe this bar’s taste? 

The tasting notes we find are: chocolate custard (without milk) and honey. We specify that it is custard without milk because of the formidable presence of chocolate flavor.

Is there anything different about this origin compared to others you’ve worked with? 

Yes, compared to the Tumaco, Colombia, origin I worked with before Togo, the behavior during the refining process was a little more difficult — specifically the viscosity inside the ball mill. The liquor from the Togo origin is much more viscous, probably because its fat content is lower.

This is the only origin we work with in which individual farmers do all the harvesting, fermenting, and drying themselves (rather than at a central location). How might this affect bean quality or consistency? 

When cocoa beans are processed in a center equipped with all the technical requirements, they tend to be of better quality; however, there are farmers who carry out the fermentation and drying with the resources at their disposal, and the final product is also of very high quality. Farmers in Togo have done quite well. In all cases, the quality has been maintained at the highest level.

Was there anything that stood out in making this bar?

Yes, I tried different roasting variants based on comparing various temperatures and times, and found 245°F for 28 minutes to be the best combination. Interestingly, a very promising roasting variant had to be discarded. When it was refined in the ball mill, the flow of chocolate to the rotary conche became extremely slow due to the high degree of viscosity.

Thank you, Pablo! The Kpalimé, Togo bar will debut later this year. For more on this origin, here’s an interview we did last fall with Ron and two members of gebana’s team, the aforementioned Oskar and Sam Souka.