Discover Coffee

It’s common knowledge that cacao is the main ingredient of chocolate, but not everyone knows that cacao and coffee beans often come from the same growing areas.
Coffee cultivation normally takes place within 25 degrees of the equator, and cacao grows within 20 degrees of the equator—the zones overlap quite a bit. While coffee thrives at higher altitudes than cacao does, there are a surprisingly good number of farms that grow both coffee and cacao.

You’d be surprised at how much they have in common, actually. They might be completely different plants, but they both go through the same type of production processes: fermenting and roasting the plant’s beans.

Maybe it’s because of those remarkable similarities that coffee and cacao have such a great rapport in pairings, their flavors joining in rich harmony. Try alternating sips of coffee and bites of chocolate—you’ll be amazed at how each unlocks touches of acidity and delicate aromas in the other, tastes they don’t exhibit on their own.
They bring the best out in each other. They’re the perfect match.

It might take a while to find the ideal combination of coffee and cacao, but beans and chocolate from the same growing area are a good place to start—the synergy can be amazing. Maruyama Coffee offers 12 types of chocolate from “CACAO HUNTERS,” the premium chocolate vendor that globetrotting “cacao hunter” Mayumi Ogata runs out of Colombia. If you’re going hunting for your favorite coffee-chocolate match, just ask a barista for help.
A sentence or two here wouldn’t do that fascinating, delicious exploration justice.