What Countries Grow Cacao?

Q: What makes Bar & Cocoa different?

We're a US online retailer specializing in craft bean-to-bar chocolate, with more than 50 makers from over 30 countries. We don't make the chocolate. We choose the makers, then give you what you need to pick well: detailed tasting notes, origin information, cacao percentages, and maker profiles. You can browse by origin, maker, cacao percentage, or flavor, and our gift boxes and club make it easy to send something that feels considered.

Q: What is bean-to-bar chocolate?

Bean-to-bar chocolate is made start to finish by one maker, from raw cacao beans to finished bars. The same team handles roasting, grinding, conching, tempering, and molding, so they decide how the cacao's own flavor comes through. That's why two bean-to-bar bars from different origins can taste completely different, and why makers often name the origin on the wrapper.

Q: How do you source your chocolate? Is it ethical and sustainable?

We buy finished chocolate from more than 50 craft makers around the world. We don't buy cacao ourselves, and sourcing practices differ from maker to maker, so we don't make one blanket ethics or sustainability claim for everyone we carry. When a maker publishes how they buy their cacao, that's the best source, and we're happy to point you to it. Origins in our range include Peru, Vietnam, Brazil, Colombia, Nicaragua, the Philippines, India, and many more.

Q: Do you have vegan, dairy-free, or soy-free chocolate?

Yes. Browse our vegan, dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free, nut-free, and organic collections. Every product page lists the maker's ingredients and allergen information. Check it before you buy, especially for a serious allergy, since a maker's facility may also handle milk, nuts, or soy.

Q: How do you pick your chocolate makers?

We taste first. A maker earns a place when their chocolate is well made and tastes distinct, and when they can tell us where their cacao comes from and how they work with it. We look closely at origin, production methods, and flavor, and we keep adding makers and origins as we find ones that meet that standard.

AI-generated illustration of five chocolate bars from different cacao-growing countries arranged on cacao beans

Cacao production is concentrated in a handful of countries. Global cacao output reached 4.733 million tonnes in the 2024/25 season, up 8.5% year over year, according to the International Cocoa Organization, and the large majority of it comes from the Top 10 producers below. Still, more than fifty countries grow cacao in some capacity (more than 1MT of dried cacao annually).

Naming what countries grow cacao is simple, but the history and cultures behind those names is complex. Even though chocolate is largely manufactured in Europe and North America, cacao is largely grown in Africa and Central & South America.

Cacao can be grown in humid climates within 25 degrees of the equator, so it doesn't grow in Europe at all, with the exception of Spain’s Canary Islands, off the coast of Africa. Do you wonder how come what most people think is "good chocolate" comes from Switzerland or Belgium? (We did too! Hint: It doesn't)

In recent years, many national governments have begun investing in the cacao industry, either in local farmers (as in the Philippines) or in those of a nearby country (as in New Zealand’s involvement in Timor-Leste).

With the explosion of the craft chocolate movement, some farmers are now growing cacao aimed at a high-end market.

TOP 10 CACAO PRODUCING COUNTRIES

Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Indonesia
Cameroon, Brazil, Ecuador
Mexico, Peru and Dominican Republic

Other cacao-growing countries have only entered the market in the last several years. Some are working to start a local cacao industry and add value to existing farms, while others aim to eradicate an existing industry, like betel nuts in Taiwan or cocaine production in Peru.

Source. The top 10 cacao producers in each area are bolded.

Cacao Producing Countries in Africa

Sierra Leone, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire
Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea
São Tomé e Príncipe, Congo, Cameroon, Gabon
Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Uganda
Tanzania, Madagascar

Cacao Producing Countries in Asia

India, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Vietnam,
Cambodia (Mondulkiri Province), Thailand
Malaysia, The Philippines, Taiwan, China (Yunnan Province), Indonesia

Auro Chocolate Auro Reserve Saloy 70%
$11.00
Belvie Chocolate Belvie Ben Tre 70%
$11.50
NearyNogs Chocolate NearyNogs Dark Thailand 100%
$15.00

Cacao Producing Countries South Pacific

Australia, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste
Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa

Cacao Producing Countries in North & Central America

USA (Hawaii & Puerto Rico only), Mexico, Guatemala, Belize El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua Costa Rica, Panama

Cacao Producing Countries in Caribbean

Cuba, Jamaica, Haiti, Dominican Republic,
St. Vincent and the Grenadines
St. Lucia, Grenada, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominica

Cacaoteca Cacaoteca Dark El Arca 84%
$8.50
Loon Chocolate Loon Chocolate Dark Haiti 72%
$10.00
Francois Pralus Pralus Trinidad 75%
$14.00

Cacao Producing Countries in South America

Ecuador, Colombia, Guyana,

Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, Brazil

Growing country is only part of the story. See Varieties Of Cocoa Beans for how the bean itself varies, or What Is Single Origin Chocolate? for what "origin" means once it's in your bar.

You can taste the map. Cacao from each growing region carries its own flavor signature, and our chocolate bar collection is sorted by country so you can travel through them one square at a time. Try 100% dark chocolate to taste origin without sugar in the way, or send a multi-origin set as chocolate gifts.