Understanding Cocoa
Nestled at the southern tip of the Caribbean arc, the island of Grenada offers a lush, volcanic terroir ideal for cultivating cacao of remarkable expressiveness. Thanks to its rich soils, balanced humidity, and vibrant agricultural traditions, this mountainous island produces powerful, complex, and silky beans.
At Orfève, we work with Trinitario variety beans harvested on L’Esterre Estate, a farm operated by the Ramdhanny family for over seventy years. The estate spans a single block in northeastern Grenada, nestled at the foot of tropical hills and rainforests.
Here, the family cultivates both cacao and nutmeg, using environmentally respectful methods that combine organic farming with agroforestry principles, preserving biodiversity and soil health.
The cacao pods are harvested during the dry season (November to April). Beans are fermented on site for about a week, then sun-dried for 6 to 7 days.
This careful process yields dense, well-balanced beans with an extended aromatic palette,from ripe fruit to notes of licorice, leather, and undergrowth.
Orfève’s Approach
In our Geneva workshop, each batch undergoes a tailored transformation process. Roasting is gentle, preserving the bean’s aromatic strength without hardening it. Refining and conching are long and slow, designed to soften the cacao’s natural tightness without neutralizing it.
At Orfève, we offer several recipes using Grenada cacao: 70%, 75%, 80%, and 85%, across two distinct collections:
· Noir de Noir, for a smooth, velvety texture,
· Brut de Noir, more intense and textured.
This is a deliberate choice: it allows us to reveal the full sensory potential of this exceptional cacao and demonstrate how, from the same raw material,with no additives or tricks,a precise, artisanal approach can yield distinct, expressive, and perfectly balanced profiles.
A tribute to Caribbean finesse in all its depth.