Madagascar

Madagascar

The Madagascar bar features certified organic beans from Akesson´s plantation in the Ambanja region in the Sambirano Valley of Madagascar.

This bar is packed with fruity flavors of berries and citrus that dominate the flavor profile, with an underlying base of chocolate milk to hold everything together.

Story

The owner Bertil Åkersson describes, “The cacao plant was first given its botanical name by Swedish natural scientist Carl von Linné (*1707-†1778), who called it “Theobroma cacao” (“cocoa, food of the gods”). This was the first contribution of Sweden to the world of chocolate.

Just like pepper or coffee, this beautiful name, cocoa, is associated for many people with exotic adventures in remote countries. As a child, traveling the world was irresistibly attracting me and this is indeed how these wonderful products first got my attention. My chance was given to me by my father, through whom I discovered early the world of plantations in Africa.

As a Swedish diplomat, my father first worked for the Embassy in Paris in 1945. Years later his journey took him further south to Cameroon, where he ran a trading company, until, eventually, he settled in Madagascar in the 1970’s after he had taken over mining companies and sisal plantations.

So it is in Madagascar, at our family estates, that my journey through the fascinating world of cocoa, spices and other delicious natural wonders really started. There I have learned over the years the secrets and subtleties of managing and developing plantations. Ultimately, I focused on and specialized in fine cocoa and spices, whilst my consistent aim was to achieve the highest quality in a sustainable way.

Today, my plantations in Madagascar, in Brazil and Indonesia supply world famous chocolatiers and chefs. In close collaboration with these passionate artists, I experienced the fascinating artwork to conjure cocoa into chocolate or how pepper enhances recipes and, ultimately, I launched a small and exclusive line of chocolate and fine exotic foods.”