It is at the bottom of the Bảo Lộc plateau, in south-central Vietnam, under the influence of a mountainous and tropical climate hit by the monsoon, that the producers of the Lam Dong bean are located. Many of them belong to the indigenous K'Ho ethnic group.
In this region, cocoa trees are most of the time integrated with other agricultural crops. Farmers grow the cocoa bean sustainably, using traditional farming methods and avoiding the use of harmful chemicals.
Thanks to their new partners, Marou and Uncommon Cacao, they were able to learn new fermentation and drying techniques and secure their production via annual contracts. They only sell their beans to their partners in exchange for really attractive prices, encouraging them to continue growing cocoa beans and gradually achieve higher and higher quality standards.
Marou is a Franco-Vietnamese tree-to-bar (a tree-to-bar is a bean-to-bar that owns its plantations). They work in partnership with Uncommon Cacao (which supplies us with Maya Mountain beans) to import Vietnamese beans in Europe. Until now they used the Lam Dong bean only for their production, but recently PLAQ has the pleasure of also working with these beans!
By using these beans in one of our bars, we are proud to support local communities and work closely with their farmers.