Cacao fino de Guatemala S.A.

In 2011, Carla Tally de Stahle and her husband Peter, who has since passed away, decided to cultivate cocoa trees of the rare “Indio Rojo / Mayan Red” variety at the two Fincas. Owned by the extended family, the Fincas had previously focused on livestock. Around this time, Guatemala also spotted the trend to move away from the cheap cocoa which is processed into low-quality chocolate, towards single-origin fine cocoa used in the making of exquisite chocolate.

When in July 2016, the first cocoa beans were harvested and the time had come to sell them, Carla established KAKAO – Cacao Fino de Guatemala S.A. The company is based in Morales in the Department of Izabal. Carla is a dynamic and ambitious entrepreneur, who also runs a successful motorbike import business.

KAKAO – Cacao Fino de Guatemala S.A. produces and markets the cocoa beans that grow at our own Fincas: “Don Peter” and “Virginia”.

Operations at the Fincas are overseen by our production managers Jeffrey and Jorge. Whereas Jeffrey ensures that the logistics of production run smoothly, Jorge is responsible for the cultivation of the cocoa trees whilst overseeing the harvest, fermentation and drying of the beans. Born in Ecuador, Jorge has a degree in Agricultural Sciences with a focus on cocoa, from the renowned Zamorano University in Tegucigalpa/Honduras.

Without the commitment and loyalty of our full-time workers at the Fincas, who plant and tend our cocoa trees by hand, and harvest and process the ripe cocoa pods, we would never be able to produce such exquisite cocoa. For this reason, we would like to introduce our valued team individually:

Adolfo, Chepe, Elmer, Heriberto

Elmer and Chepe are both from El Estor by Lake Izabal and belong to the Q'eqchi' Maya ethnic group. They live with their families at “Don Peter”. Adolfo and Heriberto live in the nearby village Sinai and ride to work on their mopeds every day.

Dimas, Misael

The last key people are Marsha and Christoph. Marsha is Carla’s sister and has been living in Europe for the past 40 years, first in Belgium and then in Germany. She is a qualified office administration clerk and has worked in administrative roles for a variety of different companies in Brussels and Nuremberg/Fürth. Christoph is a trained travel agent, working in tourism until 2002, prior to becoming a self-employed sales agent, specialising in marketing concepts. They have been a couple for 25 years and first met on a flight to Guatemala.

During a visit to Guatemala in 2014, it was decided that, as soon as the Fincas started producing substantial yields, Marsha and Christoph would be in charge of exporting the cocoa to Europe and recruiting new customers. From August 2016 to February 2017, Marsha and Christoph stayed in Guatemala, participating in every stage of the production process to gain a true appreciation and understanding of the product.

In future, they will organise the sale and distribution/marketing of the cocoa from their office in Franconia and fly once a year to Guatemala to witness the main harvest, and to bring new samples back to Germany.