Cacao of Excellence Program Creates Global Standard for Evaluating Cocoa Beans

At a laboratory inside the Chocolate Experience Museum in Perugia, Italy, cacao beans from distant farms undergo identical processing to reveal their distinct flavors. Julien Simonis, Programme Manager for Cacao of Excellence, tasted chocolate made from beans that originated in Hawaii and described a boost of acidity, fruitiness, and hints of cardamom and nutmeg.

When he sampled chocolate from cacao harvested on a Peruvian farm, he noted a flavor of raisins that gives way to nuttiness.

"It's extremely creamy," Simonis says. The two chocolates tasted by Julien Simonis were processed and prepared identically in Perugia. Cacao has an incredible amount of genetic variety, Simonis stated.

Fresh cacao pods can be vibrant shades of red, orange, yellow and green and come in all shapes and sizes. Once dried, cacao pods are brown. The Cacao of Excellence program was started in 2009 by the Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT.

The program developed a standardized way of preparing and evaluating cacao. NPR reported that the standardized processing of cacao for the Cacao of Excellence program takes place at a lab inside the Chocolate Experience Museum in Perugia, Italy. The Cacao of Excellence laboratory is housed within the Chocolate Experience Museum in Perugia, Italy, which allows visitors to observe the work firsthand.

Lab assistant Julia Butac is from the Philippines. Julia Butac slices 50 cacao beans in half nearly simultaneously using a guillotine-like tool and records impressions on a spreadsheet. The laboratory evaluation includes smelling, inspecting halved cocoa beans, and recording fermentation levels, aromatic potential, or internal defects.

Cacao beans are roasted, shells are separated from nibs — some by machine, smallest pieces by hand — milled, cooled, mixed with a precise amount of sugar and cocoa butter, tempered, and poured into small molds. "It's really physical work," Butac said of the process.

She mixes the milled cacao, tempers it and pours the chocolate into small molds that are rapped on the table to remove air bubbles before chilling.

Julien Simonis relies on a panel of 15 trained professional tasters to evaluate chocolate. Several thousand producers, traders and stakeholders are using the Cacao of Excellence process globally each day. Access to resources including a step-by-step guide to cacao processing and the flavor wheel are free.

The program is trying to work with every single producing country in the world, Simonis said. Roong Kumpan founded TinTin Chocolate in Thailand. Roong Kumpan joined the Cacao of Excellence program, which recognized his small family farm with an award.

The Cacao of Excellence team showed Roong Kumpan how to improve fermentation and drying steps. "Cacao of Excellence gives small producers a chance to be seen and recognized internationally," he said. The Juan Laura farm in the forests of Peru has reported a 30% increase in sales after involvement with the Cacao of Excellence program.

Rosaura Laura runs the Juan Laura farm in Peru. Rosaura Laura said the extra income is a good way to dignify the laborers and change the mind of people regarding the farmers. More than half of the world's cacao is produced in Ivory Coast and Ghana.

A lot of cacao producers live under the poverty limits and face economical challenges in very rural, inaccessible places, Simonis stated. NPR reported that harmonizing descriptions of cacao quality allows buyers, sellers and consumers to better appreciate differences and potentially pay more for superior beans.

The article was originally published on May 10, 2026 at 10:07 AM ET and updated the same day at 10:07 AM ET.