Appellation
Appellation Name: Osa Ethika Wild Simulated Cacao Rainforest Reserve
Total Projected Area: 600 Hectares
Total Cacao Density: 2%
Associated Hectares: 50
Intense Varietal Diversity
Post Harvest Processing: TWC
Uniting generational farmers located within the geographical boundary known as the Osa Peninsula of Costa Rica, CocoaEthika has begun to build the foundation needed to sustainably continue the promotion of the remarkable quality associated with the intense variety of cacao grown in the varying micro-climates of the region. Known as the most biologically intense land on Earth, cacao harvested from The Osa Peninsula has begun to unlock previously unknown flavors from within the cacao genome.
Knowing the exact number is nearly impossible, but many experts agree that the planet is losing upwards of 75,000 acres of tropical rainforest daily and substantially degrading another 75,000 acres every day on top of that number. With this loss and degradation, we are losing upwards of 130 animal, plant and insect species per day—or almost 50,000 species per year as forests disappear.
"Our focus has always been around flavor as the driving force. It is relieving to see that the answer to the flavor riddle is to protect up to 600 hectares of the Osa Peninsula through creating a valuable supply chain that requires ecologically-minded farmers and landowners as a necessary ingredient to work. We want to show that if you take care of her... the Osa will take care of you. To powerfully protect the surrounding environment as urgently as possible is our aim." -Ben Henderson Head Chocolate Maker CocoaEthika.
Decreasing the overall human footprint from large swaths of the Osa Peninsula and allowing crucial unfettered corridors from the ocean to the forest are paramount in advancing an escape from the stranglehold of inhabited lands surrounding much of Corcovado National Park. Leaving a minimum of 85% of the properties that make up the reserve as untouched earns the Appellation a reputation of wild-simulated.