Puerto Rican Chocolate Hits the Map
When I became a chocolatier, I longed to visit a cacao farm. Whenever I visited my parents in the west-coast town of Rincón, Puerto Rico where they’d winter, I’d search for a farm nearby. Cacao was once Puerto Rico’s largest crop until a hurricane in the 17th century wiped it out. The few trees left were abandoned for easier to grow sugar cane and coffee.
Then, in 2015, I learned of the Hacienda Jean Marie, a cacao farm in Aquada, just 25 minutes from Rincon. There I met Juan Echevaría . His farm, thick with cacao and banana trees, sits high on a sloping hilltop overlooking the west coast’s magnificent Mona Passage.
Echevaría is as much a visionary as a farmer. He is a major force behind The Puerto Rican Cacao Project, whose mission is to build a network of farmers to produce and export the world’s finest organic cacao. When he founded his farm in 2008, he held workshops to attract others interested in his mission to develop the industry.
The project’s steady progress was interrupted in 2017 when Hurricane Maria hit the island. But the cacao trees were resilient and 80 to 85% survived. His project grew after others saw that the cacao survived the storm.
It was here that I me
t Nelson Omar, selling specialty chocolate bars and cacao nibs grown on his farm, Finca Montana. Omar, a native of Aquada, left his career as a professional mechanic after 20 years because “It was eating my soul. Cacao farming is very hard but it is my passion” he said, tapping his heart.
When I asked him if he knew Echevaría he replied “Of course. He is my -how do you say? – mentor. Through him I was able to learn all about cacao farming.” My heart leaped!
Finca Montana chocolate is superb. It has a complex, slightly bitter cacao flavor with hints of tropical fruit, super smooth mouth feel and a lingering finish. I brought home five pounds of his 70% chocolate plus lots of bars and nibs.
When I emailed Echevaría that I had met Omar, he replied “We are very proud of Nelson and his wife”. Indeed, he spoke of Omar as if he were one of his children. And in a way he is. His dream of inspiring a new generation of farmers to put Puerto Rico on the map of fine chocolate is coming to fruition.
Recently Dancing Lion Chocolate, owned by New Hampshire chocolatier Rich Tango-Lowy, featured bars he crafted from Hacienda Jean Maria (click here). Finally, Puerto Rican cacao is gaining a reputation beyond its borders. The industry is still very small comparatively speaking, but enthusiasm for the island’s chocolate is catching on and production is growing.
With joy, I will be supporting Puerto Rican cacao farming when I craft confections from Finca Montana chocolate. With gratitude for all that chocolate is and has given me, I will share with my family and friends.
2026 UPDATE: Echevaría built his own factory in Añasco in 2022 and now exports bulk chocolate to fine chocolate makers in the United States. The demand for Puerto Rican chocolate continues to grow.
Dancing Lion Chocolate shop in New Hampshire closed in 2025. Rich Tango-Lowy continues to be active in the craft chocolate industry. He resides in Costa Rica.
Interested in more information on the history of Puerto Rican cacao and its resurgence? See my previous blog posts:
At The Foot of a Cacao Tree , Visiting a Puerto Rican Cacao Farm , The Hacienda Jean Marie – Post Hurricane Maria