Our grandparents established Hacienda El Carmen, their first Cacao Plantation in Los Ríos, Ecuador in the early 1930’s.

After years of hard work and surviving the Ecuadorian cacao crisis they continued pursuing their dreams of developing the best cacao plantations in the world.

Their tradition was taken from one generation to another and their knowledge encouraged the 2nd generation to create Hacienda La Elba in 1969 and the 3rd generation to create Hacienda El Porvenir in 1972.

The 4th generation established Hacienda San José, a cacao plantation that has been recognized and awarded for having the highest quality cacao beans in Ecuador. These beans known for their fine aroma and distinguished nutty flavors inspired us to make the finest chocolate. Made by Ecuadorian hands, harvested, fermented and dried with our own techniques, inherited & improved during the last century.

After 100 years of cacao tradition, the 5th generation made us wonder: if we have the best cacao beans in the world, it’s time to make the best chocolate.

And so we did, we harvested the best cacao beans from our fields and turned it into Chocolate Hacienda San José® just for you.

Hacienda San José owns about 870has with plantations of Bananas, Cacao, Oil Palm & Rice. Located in the province of Los Ríos, Ecuador, an area characterized by soils of alluvial formation with climate and topography suitable for the production of the best cacao beans in the world. We offer full traceability and single origin plantation with unique and exquisite taste, very creamy with a defined nutty flavor, a hint of vanilla and cinnamon.

Through the years we have developed a business model based on the principles of sustainability: economic growth, environmental care and social responsibility.

At Hacienda San José® we are committed to the environment by causing the least possible impact by complying with the standards of our certifications.

In addition to complying with all the legal framework, regulations and standards required by Ecuador’s labor law and following the standards of the certifications we have, we have developed strategies to help improve the standard of living of our workers & surrounding communities through 2 main projects: Super Barato Market & PRODETI Foundation.

Super Barato Market ensures that our employees can take to their homes the food they need with the best prices & payment methods.

We’ve helped to structure the “PRODETI” Foundation by signing an agreement to help with its annual budget, enabling them to carry out their activities for the benefit of the community, from training and nutrition talks to programs to promote associativity for the production of home orchards.