Ten years in Ecuador. Three ethnic communities, ten organisations, one methodology. The cacao that arrives is the cacao we know.
Who we are
Coacao was founded in June 2015 as a business model. Three years of weekend training before moving a single bean. Producers who once sold below cost to intermediaries now run their own organisations and negotiate with dignity.
Today ten organisations operate across Ecuador, three ethnic communities — Afro-Ecuadorian, Chachi, Montubios — and a post-harvest process of 10 to 15 days. Not because it is simple, but because that is what fine-flavor cacao demands.
"Collaboration and support are not passive forms — they trace new ways of understanding life, in full respect of one another."
Gaetano Servidio, founder
Before quality, before export — people. Coacao invests in skills, associative methods and productivity because without identity there is no sustainable development.
Every batch has a name, an origin, a face. From the plantation to the chocolatier's lab: nothing is anonymous.
Restoration of ancient plantations, improvement of post-harvest techniques, selected hybrids alongside traditional varieties. Progress without abandoning the roots.
Non vendiamo a tutti. Scegliamo partner che capiscono cosa c'è dietro ogni grano e costruiscono una relazione stabile nel lungo periodo.
Why Coacao
Nacional Arriba, Criollo, selected hybrids. The aromatic profile is the result of variety and process, not a marketing promise.
Ten organisations under a structured umbrella. Continuity, volume and supply chain coherence.
Coacao chooses who to work with. The relationship is stable because it is chosen in both directions.
For more than ten years we have held to the same values, the same choices, the same way of operating. The market changes. Our identity does not.
Gaetano Servidio — FounderFor chocolatiers, importers and distributors
You can request a sample with full technical data sheet. Write to us by email: we will get back to you with everything you need to assess the product.
Write to request a sample →Press
Ottenove · 2020
Gaetano Servidio: the best sustainable cacao from Ecuador
From NGO to business: the story of an Italian man and five Ecuadorian associations of fine-flavor cacao growers.
Gazzetta del Sud · 2022
From Bonifati to Ecuador for the nectar of the gods
Eight Ecuadorian associations of fine cacao growers now operate in organised form. They no longer negotiate on their knees with intermediaries.
Compagnia del Cioccolato
Journey through the cacao of Ecuador
An expert chocolatier visits Gaetano Servidio in Esmeraldas. Three hours by canoe to reach the Chachi communities and discover Nacional and Criollo varieties.
Bullone · 2022
Passion and willpower: how one man helped those in need
Gaetano Servidio's story told by Bullone: how one person's determination can change the living conditions of an entire community.
A 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 proof of what a stable, honest relationship between a producer and a chocolatier can generate over time. This is the kind of collaboration Coacao seeks with all its clients.
Contact
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