Another Side of Cacao Quality in Cameroon

Yaoundé, Cameroon 2025

Before visiting Cameroon, I had heard that cacao from the region faced significant challenges in quality and management. It was my first time visiting a cacao-producing country in Africa, and I had no clear picture of what I would find.

The first thing I noticed upon landing was the red earth. When I think of cacao-growing land, I imagine deep green. Cameroon was something different. I would later come to understand that this red soil plays its own role in shaping the character of the cacao.

A Center of Excellence Holding Up Cacao Quality

What we visited was a Center of Excellence — established to improve cacao quality and support producers in the region.

I have visited similar facilities in other origins, and here too, the processes of fermentation and drying, quality evaluation, and technical guidance for farmers were being carried out with care. The facility had running water, and the infrastructure needed for quality control was in place. It is an essential link between the farm and the market.

Our guide through the center was the head of quality control — someone who had absorbed the quality manuals produced by a specialist cacao education institution and was working to put them into practice on the ground. Listening to him speak, I felt I began to understand why this center was functioning as well as it was.

The center is run by Madame Doumé, who I was told had previously worked in the police or military. Someone who came from an entirely different world and chose this work as a way of giving back to the community. Learning that shifted something in how I saw the place.

Fermentation

We visited in February — the off-season, outside the harvest period. We were unable to see fermentation in progress, but it was explained to us in detail.

Cacao is placed in wooden boxes, covered with banana leaves, and left to ferment for five to seven days. Temperature and humidity are monitored, and cut tests are performed to check progress and ensure consistent quality. The same steady process I had seen at other origins — the same careful management was being practiced here too.

Drying

After fermentation, the cacao moves to sun drying.

Because of the off-season timing, we couldn't see beans drying in place. Even so, the structure of the drying shelves made an impression. Each shelf was small, divided into individual lots for each farmer, with numbers assigned to each. From fermentation through drying to shipment, the origin of every batch of cacao can be traced back to its producer. That level of care was not what I had expected to find.

Transparent Trading

Farmers bring their cacao in as wet beans, and the price for dried beans is calculated based on the market rate of the day. Every transaction is recorded in a notebook, and the system is designed so that producers receive fair compensation.

Taking pride in the cacao they've grown — I felt the same thing from the people here as from producers I've met in other origins. That pride may be exactly what holds these systems together.

The Character of Cameroon Cacao

A deep, full cacao presence and a rich aroma. The qualities that define Cameroon cacao come from that red soil and from the work of the people who tend it.

What the Visit Left Me With

The center we visited was operating well — a sound environment, and the right people. But our guide spoke candidly: what we had seen was still only a small part of the picture. The aim, he told us, is to build more centers like this across Cameroon in the years ahead.

After the visit, we were invited to the owner's home for lunch. On the way out, we were handed a live goat and an enormous amount of bananas. It is not a sight you see in Japan — and in the middle of it, there was the warmth of people who truly live in this land.

Growing fine cacao requires more than good soil and climate. It requires the systems and the people to support it. That is why, at Cacaogoto, we want to choose cacao with that full background in mind.