By a stroke of luck, I came across Jan fromOriginal Beans and since then I have been able to draw inspiration from his work on a regular basis. In him I have found a true cocoa connoisseur from whom I have been able to learn so much. With hisOriginal Beans project, he has made it his mission to find the rarest and finest cocoas in the world and save them from extinction. A truly noble task, which involves many obstacles and adventures, as I was able to learn from him. This is exactly how Jan came into contact with the...

It feels like it was last week. I packed my things, emptied my room, signed the last flyers and ate my last supper in our Kakao Community near Würzburg. The reunion with Anka in Colombia and the joint trip to Ecuador, Guatemala and who knows where else were on the agenda. Cocoa here, cocoa there and maybe a little vacation over there. WHOSHHH! We are back in Germany. I rub my eyes as if it had been an intense yet pleasantly warm dream. And what exactly makes a dream a dream and reality reality? Now I'm sitting at the same...

I have been in contact with Jan from Original Beans since 2020. As a Conservation Cacao Leader , his mission is to identify and preserve the rarest and finest cocoas in the world and to create the infrastructure so that these special beans can also be recognized here. The demand generated can save these rare cocoas from extinction and preserve them for posterity. With the Sourced As Original Beans standard from Jan and his team, they guarantee sustainable treatment of the environment, people and natural resources on various levels. Jan is in personal contact with the cooperatives and farmers working...

Once upon a time there was a guy named Mischa who wanted to experience adventure and was sure that there was fancy stuff out there. Even though times were rough, he traveled around and wanted to know: What would he do with himself, so clever? Selling cocoa, that sounds great! Could that be his calling? Or what else is he doing here? It's probably too late for the piano. He only has enough patience to sing along to "lalalal". With more and more cocoa in the trunk and worrying foam in front of his mouth, you could see him rushing...