Origin

We know the journey our cocoa beans take – from their origins all the way to our chocolateries around the world. Since we believe this is the only way to create the highest-quality chocolate, it is our top priority.

Cocoa origin and cultivation

Join us on a journey to the origins of our chocolate, after which we promise you’ll enjoy every piece that little bit more.

The best cocoa for the best chocolate

For the best chocolate, you need the best cocoa – and for that, you need carefully cultivated cocoa trees. To find them, we regularly send our scouts to the rainforests of the cocoa belt. Only here do you find the ideal conditions for growing cocoa: a year-round damp tropical climate, fertile soils, and indirect sunlight. This is because the fruits thrive best in the shade of banana trees, oil palms, or mahogany trees.

The main countries of origin for our cocoa beans are Costa Rica, Ecuador, Trinidad, Brazil, Ghana, and Madagascar. After an intensive search, we were able to find local partners there who share our passion for top quality – people who dedicate themselves to the cocoa trees and their fruits on their small plots and farmsteads every day, and families who have passed on their experience and cultivated their estates with unerring devotion for generations.

The cocoa tree is a delicate plant. Many trees do not bear fruit in the first few years – it’s only with time that they really blossom. But not every blossom becomes a fruit. For every 10 000 blossoms, only 50 fruits develop that we can use for our chocolate. The ripe cocoa fruits are harvested almost six months later – or longer, depending on where and how they are cultivated.

Cocoa processing

Processing cocoa is complex – it takes a total of four steps to turn the colorful fruits into dry beans. Bagged up in jute sacks, the precious cargo is then transported to our cocoa depot in Switzerland in the most resource-efficient way possible.

Harvesting

A blaze of colors

The smallholders harvest their cocoa fruits two to three times a year. Thanks to years of experience, their trained eyes can tell exactly when the fruit is ripe based on size and color, but the most important thing of all is the fruit’s slightly shiny surface. Once the quality has reached the required standard, farmhands cut the fruit from the tree using machetes.

Harvesting

Even on small cocoa farms the size of a football field, the harvest takes several weeks. Cutting the cocoa fruits from the trees still needs to be done by hand, so people from the surrounding area will often be brought in to help with this. For them, it’s a welcome source of extra income. Incidentally, a tree bears about 50 fruits per year on average – enough for 10 to 12 bars of dark chocolate.

Opening

Cracking the fruit

After harvesting, the shell of the fresh fruit is opened. Most of the time, this still happens on the farm, and the farmhands use their fingers to remove the jelly-like white pulp with the cocoa seeds. There are about 40 of them in each fruit, and they taste similar to lychees – slightly acidic, wonderfully fresh, and fruity. It’s hard to believe that they will eventually become chocolate.

Fermentation 

The subtle distinctions

Fermentation is crucial to how the chocolate will eventually taste. Traditionally wrapped in banana leaves, the cocoa seeds undergo a whole series of chemical and biological processes during this phase. The fruit flesh dries out, and the seeds begin to ferment. This is a complex process where enzymes influence the aromas, but also the purple or brown coloring – and it’s during this process that the cocoa seeds become cocoa beans.

Fermentation 

In total, fermentation can take anything from two to seven days. During this time, the temperature between the banana leaves rises to between 45°C to 50°C, and we rely on the local cocoa farmers as the experts to adapt the fermentation process to produce the best results. At the end of the process, the cocoa beans have to meet all of our sensory and qualitative requirements.

Drying

The finishing touches

Before the cocoa beans make their way to us in Glarus, they are gently dried. This is done the traditional method – on wooden tables in the tropical heat. It takes five to seven days for the moisture content to reach the requisite 7% before being ready to travel. The beans are turned regularly and checked repeatedly until they’re ready and acquire their hallmark bitter cocoa taste and their chocolate-brown color.

Transportation

The journey begins

After one final on-site quality control check, the cocoa beans are bagged up in jute sacks. After that, it’s off to Europe in a shipping container. On arrival at our small chocolate factory, the beans are examined thoroughly one more time. We pay special attention to the sensory aspects, the fat composition, and the degree of moisture. Only once our laboratory gives the go-ahead can the cocoa beans continue their journey.

Our Partners

We have one thing above all else in common with our partners – a passion for the highest quality – so it stands to reason that we’ve developed a few friendships over the years. These are friendships that we're happy to share with you; join us in visiting the farms, groves, and smallholdings.

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Edwin Sibaya – cocoa farmer from Costa Rica

“We know the Läderach buyers personally, and we share their passion for chocolate.”

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Fabio Francone – hazelnut producer from Piedmont

“They put their full trust in us, even in difficult harvest years.”

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Werner Schenk – dairy farmer from Thurgau

“Our cows help create amazing chocolate, and maintain Switzerland's beautiful landscape, too.”

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Our cocoa varieties

We source our cocoa from a range of countries around the globe – from Costa Rica to Madagascar. Even though all the countries along the cocoa belt have similar climates, the cocoa fruits harvested in each country develops individual and incomparable aromas and flavors.

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Criollo

Origin: Sambirano (Madagascar), Upala (Costa Rica)

Harvest Period: September–November (Madagascar), July–February (Costa Rica)

Criollo is often referred to as the queen of cocoa fruits. Due to a low yield, its beans are among the most sought-after in the world. Our Criollos come exclusively from two growing regions: the valley of Sambirano on Madagascar and the area around Upala in Costa Rica, both which offer an ideal environment for luxury cocoa. Gently fermented and dried, Criollo beans give the chocolate an intense cocoa flavor, paired with citrus and fruity berry notes.

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Trinitario

Origin: Gran Couva (Trinidad), Bahia (Brazil), Sambirano (Madagascar), Upala (Costa Rica)

Harvest Period: December–March (Trinidad), October–March (Brazil), September–November (Madagascar), July–February (Costa Rica)

Our second luxury cocoa is Trinitario. We source these varieties from the same regions of Madagascar and Costa Rica we use to import Criollo, but also from Brazil – and Trinitarios original homeland of Trinidad. Our Trinitario from Trinidad comes from Gran Couva, fermented the traditional way and dried slowly, so that the beans produce an authentic Single Origin chocolate with a rich cocoa flavor and nuances of fine wood. In Brazil, the cocoa farmers use the Cabruca method. They ensure sustainable organic farming in the shade of the rainforest, preserving the natural ecosystem.

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Amelonado

Origin: Central Region (Ghana)

Harvest Period: September–March

Amelonado is one of the most popular, slightly easier to cultivate varieties. Originally native to the Brazilian Amazon, the green and yellow cocoa fruits now grow on the African continent, too. Our Amelonado comes exclusively from Ghana and owes its highly aromatic and typical flavor profile not only to the fertile climate of the Central Region, but also to the experienced local cocoa farmers.

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National

Origin: Los Rios (Ecuador)

Harvest Period: March–June

The National variety – also known by the name “Arriba” – is the pride of Ecuador. Like Criollo and Trinitario, it’s one of the traditional cocoa plants and used in our Single Origin Ecuador, among others. The beans for this come from the province of Los Rios – a water-rich terroir west of the main Andean ridge. Here in the Ecuadorian rainforest, the National variety thrives particularly well. It tastes slightly bitter and combines its intense cocoa notes with mild, floral aromas.

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Imperial College Selection

Origin: Gran Couva (Trinidad)

Harvest Period: December–March

The term “Imperial College Selection” (ICS) is used to refer to various different aromatic cocoa varieties selected and described in detail by Dr. F. J. Pound in the 1930s. Not strictly speaking a category of its own, it’s a selection of the finest cocoa types. The cocoa farmers grow ICS on the estates of Gran Couva. We buy the cocoa, which boasts impressive fruity-floral aromas and balanced notes, directly from the local Montserrat cooperative.

Sustainability – more than a project

Sustainability is more than a concept for us – it’s a mindset. That’s why we’re continuing to do all we can to reduce our environmental footprint, from cocoa farming and the chocolate manufacturing process right through to the chocolaterie.

Sustainability

For people and the planet

Our relationships with our cocoa farmers are of the utmost importance to us. They supply us with our most important commodity – the cocoa bean. We know some of the farm owners personally – others via our scouts. We visit most regions every year, often with members of our Management Board, which strengthens our relationships which we continue to build on going forward. We also continue our work with Rainforest Alliance-certified support projects.

Sustainability

Our visits to the growing regions are a cornerstone of our business to keep our promise of maintaining oversight of the entire supply chain from cocoa bean to chocolaterie. Without auditing, there would be no way of checking whether or not our expectations and specifications were being met, and it would be impossible to guarantee the quality of the cocoa beans. Our policy is not to enter into partnerships until we have subjected the producers to strict checks that also account for social and environmental aspects.

Sustainability

In Ghana, we are investing in the construction and maintenance of important infrastructure. This includes wells and bakeries, but also agricultural diversification to reduce one-sided dependencies. We consciously focus on the four villages that supply us with cocoa, and 20,000 shade trees were planted by our partner NGO on our behalf to boost biodiversity and ensure high-yielding harvests – even in hotter or rainier periods.

Sustainability

Sustainability has no end date. We believe it's an obligation, which is why we are also involved in regions that have already achieved higher social standards – namely, environmentally. In Ecuador, for example, we are trying to promote the use of organic fertilizers made from cocoa pulp. From Brazil we source the cocoa grown according to the Cabruca method. The farmers practice organic farming using traditional methods. The cocoa plants grow slowly in the shade of the Atlantic rainforest where tree felling is not permitted.

Sustainability

Humanity and the planet will always be at the center of what we do – today, tomorrow, and always. That’s why we pay our cocoa farmers significantly more than the market price. It's why we prefer to use butter and fresh cream from our Alpine region. And it's why we use the waste heat from our cooling systems and supply our factory with energy from 326 photovoltaic modules – all so we can continue to share the joy of chocolate with you in the future.

From origin to indulgence

We have been sharing our passion for fresh chocolate for generations. Discover more about our history, our innovations, and the authentic artisanal skills of our chocolatiers.

About us

About us

The Swiss Alps are our home, and we invite the world to indulge in our culinary heritage. Find out where we come from and why innovation is so important to us. And get to know the people behind Läderach.

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World Chocolate Master

World Chocolate Master

Elias Läderach is the only Swiss chocolatier to have earned the title “World Chocolate Master.” Experience his award-winning creations and find out more about his latest projects.

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House of Läderach

House of Läderach

A chocolate museum, a chocolate studio, chocolate events – the House of Läderach has it all, including a café, of course!. Discover the delights of freshly made chocolate in all of its facets – 364 days a year.

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Freshness

Freshness

The exquisite taste of our chocolate creations is an affair of the heart for us. That’s why we make them fresh daily and get them to you as quickly as possible – so you can experience the freshness with all your senses.

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