Hacienda Jeanmarie is a renaissance story of resilience, innovation, and passion. From hurricane-resistant trees to the dedicated growers behind every pod, this cacao embodies the spirit of Puerto Rico. New generation farmers and entrepreneurs have been embracing cacao cultivation, combining it with agroforestry and sustainable practices to rebuild the industry.

Juan Echevarria and Francis Murchison have been leading a revitalization of cacao in Puerto Rico since 2010. Puerto Rico had a strong cacao industry in the 19th century, but it suffered a decline when producers started to grow other crops. Hacienda Jeanmarie partnered with the USDA's Tropical Agricultural Research Station (TARS) and began developing 270 cacao clones specifically suited to Puerto Rico's environment, focusing on disease resistance and flavor quality. 

Now, Hacienda Jeanmarie is propagating and distributing these unique clones commercially to other growers, so they can ensure high quality trees for the producers and ultimately high quality cacao for chocolate production. Cacao is farmed in agroforestry and polyculture farms with hardwoods, copious soursop and other fruits, integrating productive forested areas into the natural landscape.

Hacienda Jeanmarie buys cacao in pods from a network of 2 primary farmer groups. The first group is composed of young professionals in their 30's and 40's, who have inherited a farm or land from their family and don't want to lose it. They are an important force bringing a new vision for cacao cultivation on the island, are entrepreneurial, and are implementing new sustainable farming practices. The second group are farmers who have lost other crops like oranges and coffee to diseases or pests, who are now looking for something more profitable. Puerto Rico has cacao harvest nearly all year, with peaks in October-January and a smaller peak in April-June. This consistent year-round production is attractive to farmers who are looking to get involved.

Hacienda Jeanmarie has full traceability for every batch, from farm to market, with centralized fermentation and dying to ensure consistent quality and meticulously clean cacao. Everything in the island is relatively close, so the network is very tight, which makes quality control and cacao buying easier.

Juan Echevarria on the farm.

TERROIR

The history of cacao in Puerto Rico dates to the Spanish colonial period, when it was likely brought by Spanish explorers and colonizers in the early 16th century and introduced to the island. The tropical climate and fertile soil provided ideal conditions for cacao, sugarcane, and agricultural cultivation.  By the late 16th and early 17th centuries, cacao became a notable crop on the island, primarily grown for export to Europe, where chocolate was becoming a luxury among the elite. Diseases in the Americas and natural disasters, likely a hurricane in the 17th century, caused Puerto Rican farmers to shift focus to more profitable crops like sugarcane, coffee, and tobacco, which became the islands dominant exports, mostly to support the Spanish military troops. By the late 19th century, cacao had largely disappeared as a major agricultural product in Puerto Rico.  Cacao farming became almost nonexistent in the 20th century as Puerto Rico's economy moved farther toward industrialization and reliance on imported goods. Agricultural activity on the island diminished overall, and the local cacao industry was nearly forgotten. 

Efforts to revive Puerto Rico's cacao industry began in the early 2000's driven by a growing global demand for fine chocolate and an increasing interest in sustainable, local agriculture.  After Hurricane Maria devastated many crops in 2017 and a strict lockdown during COVID-19 in 2020, many Puerto Ricans have shifted to a mindset of self-sufficiency, whereby they want to reclaim Puerto Rico’s agricultural sector, to strengthen their sovereignty and reclaim the islands agricultural future.