Ten years in Ecuador. Three ethnic communities, ten organizations, one methodology. The cacao that arrives is the cacao we know.
Who we are
Coacao was born in June 2015 as a business model. Three years of weekend training before a single bean moved. Producers who once sold below cost to intermediaries now run their own organizations and negotiate with dignity.
Today ten organizations operate across Ecuador, three ethnic communities — Afro-Ecuadorian, Chachi, Montubios — and a post-harvest process of 10–15 days. Not because it is easy, but because that is what fine flavor cacao requires.
"Collaboration and support are not passive acts — they define new ways of conceiving life, with full respect for others."
Gaetano Servidio, founderBefore quality, before export — people. Coacao invests in competence, associative methods and productivity because without identity there is no sustainable development.
Every lot has a name, an origin, a face. From the plantation to the chocolatier's lab: nothing is anonymous.
Recovery of old plantations, improved post-harvest techniques, selected hybrids alongside traditional varieties. Progress without abandoning roots.
We don't sell to everyone. We choose partners who understand what's behind each bean and build a stable, long-term relationship.
Why Coacao
Nacional Arriba, Criollo, selected hybrids. The aromatic profile is the result of variety and process, not a marketing promise.
Ten organizations under a structured umbrella. Continuity, volume and coherence of the supply chain.
Coacao chooses who to work with. The relationship is stable because it is chosen in both directions.
For more than 10 years we have been the same in our values, our choices and our way of operating. The market changes, but not our identity.
Gaetano Servidio — FounderFor chocolatiers, importers and distributors
We send 1 kg samples with full technical data sheet. No commitment, all the information you need to decide.
Request free sample →Press
Ottenove · 2020
From NGO volunteer to Coacao entrepreneur: the story of a Calabrian man and five Ecuadorian associations of growers of fine cacao varieties.
Read more
Gazzetta del Sud · 2022
Eight Ecuadorian associations of fine cacao growers now operate in organized form. They no longer negotiate on their knees with intermediaries.
Read more
Compagnia del Cioccolato
An expert chocolatier visits Gaetano Servidio in Esmeraldas. Three hours by canoe to reach the Chachi communities and discover Nacional and Criollo varieties.
Read more
Coacaoservidio.com
The full story of Gaetano Servidio and the first export of 10 tons of fine cacao to Italy in 2018. The emotion, the method, the people behind every bean.
Read moreA long-term partnership
Since 2018, Cioccolato Maglio from Lecce — one of Italy's historic artisan chocolate houses — has worked with Coacao. Their chocolate made with our cacao won an international award. We mention this not as a showcase, but as evidence of what a stable, honest relationship between producer and chocolatier can produce over time. It is the kind of partnership Coacao seeks with all its clients.
Get in touch
Rispondiamo entro 48 ore.
Stay connected
Follow us to stay updated
on what's coming next.
New varieties, harvests, partnerships — we share everything on social.
