Saint Lucian Chocolate

Cocoa has grown in the valleys around Soufrière since the eighteenth century, and for most of that time the beans left the island raw to be made into chocolate somewhere else. That has changed: several estates now ferment, dry, roast and grind on site and make bars from their own beans, which keeps considerably more of the value here. The local habit that predates all of it is cocoa tea, made by grating a solid cocoa stick into hot water with spice and condensed milk, drunk at breakfast, and the sticks are sold in rolls at every market on the island.

What you actually see

• Bean to bar on the estate - fermenting, drying, roasting and grinding on site.
• Cocoa tea - grated cocoa stick in hot water with spice, drunk at breakfast.
• The cocoa sticks - sold in rolls at every market.
• Dancing the cocoa - polishing the dried beans by foot.

When to go

Year-round. Estate tours run daily around Soufrière and end with tasting. The harvest is spread across the year with peaks. Cocoa sticks are in every market at a fraction of the price of a souvenir bar.

Honest expectations

Estate tours are commercial and the demonstrations are arranged, though the processing is real. Bars made on the island are excellent but expensive. Chocolate sold at the airport is often imported and rebranded. Cocoa tea is bitter and takes getting used to.

Nearby

Fond Doux and Morne Coubaril are the main estates; Soufrière is below.