The beans used to make Connected Colombia are grown, tended, and harvested by the Arhuacos — one of three Indigenous groups who safeguard the biodiversity sanctuary of the Sierra Nevada in Colombia.

The Arhuacos have recently reclaimed their ancestral lands and sacred sites after the region was officially recognized as a living being and granted federal protection. Since then, they have revived their traditional cacao cultivation, which dates back at least six centuries before colonization. In this spirit, they named their cacao variety Businchari, which means new beginning.

Ora’s team have planned another trip to the region to support a full genetic analysis of the Businchari variety. Some scientists suspect that this area may be the original cradle of the ancient Criollo Blanco, from which cacao spread south into the Amazon and north into the Maya forests.

The Sierra Nevada is renowned for its rich biodiversity, rising dramatically from sea level to high peaks. Its many lakes and rivers feed valleys and create lush rainforests — the ideal environment for cacao to thrive.

Like the farmers in Belize, the Arhuacos sell their cacao as wet beans to a centralized post-harvest facility operated by Cacao de Colombia. There, the beans are expertly fermented and dried to develop their full flavor potential and maintain their quality.

Once dried, the beans are packed and shipped to Ora Cacao. Jonas and his team then transform them into pure Origin Cacao discs through a careful, minimalist chocolate-making process that preserves the cacao’s natural compounds and highlights its best flavors. This process includes light roasting, winnowing, grinding, conching, and tempering. The equipment used is the same type employed by craft chocolate makers.