Africa Bags 13 Nominations for 2023 Cacao of Excellence Awards

Seven cocoa-origin African countries have together secured 13 nominations among the 50 finalists shortlisted for the 2023 Cacao of Excellence Awards.

They are Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, and Tanzania.

Of the 13 slots secured by Africa, Ghana and Togo bagged three apiece, with the rest securing either two or one spot.

It is the most prestigious global cacao competition that recognises the work of cacao farmers and celebrates the quality and flavour diversity of cacao produced worldwide.

Since 2009, Cacao of Excellence has recognised cacao producers from the Africa and Indian Ocean, Asia and the Pacific, South America, Central America, and Caribbean cocoa regions.

Announcing the 2023 finalists, Cacao of Excellence stated the Best 50 for this year’s edition were screened from “an incredible 222 cacao bean samples from 52 origins.”

“We’ve rigorously evaluated and selected the Best 50 cacao samples that represent exceptional quality and flavour diversity across the world’s four major cacao-producing regions,” said the organisers.

According to the organisation, the journey of the cacao samples began with a detailed physical evaluation and the processing of accepted beans into cacao mass for the first time at their Cacao R&D Laboratory.

The next step was said to involve members of the scheme’s esteemed Technical Committee in conducting blind sensory evaluations of the samples as cacao mass between May and September this year.

It was that comprehensive analysis that culminated in the selection of the Best 50 nominations for the 2023 awards edition.

“These Best 50 now advance to the next stage of the 2023 Cacao of Excellence Awards,” a statement published by the organisers said.

It explained that the samples will be processed into dark chocolate following the same recipe and evaluated by a distinguished jury of cacao and chocolate professionals to determine the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Award recipients.

The unveiling and celebration of the award winners is scheduled to take place at the Cacao of Excellence Awards ceremony on February 8th, 2024, at CHOCOA in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

“We honour all origins and producers who have participated in this journey and congratulate the Best 50 Origins and Producers, and we look forward to the upcoming results and celebrations at Chocoa,” the statement concluded.