Based in the southwestern Tanzanian village of Mbingu, Brian LoBue’s and Simran Bindra’s social enterprise, Kokoa Kamili, buys freshly harvested, unfermented cacao beans from local smallholder farms and ferments them in a centralized facility. By carefully controlling fermentation and drying, Kokoa Kamili consistently produces delicious, high-quality beans that fetch a premium price from craft chocolate makers. The payment premium makes its way back to cacao growers and helps raise the price floor for Tanzanian cocoa.
Nate admires Kokoa Kamili’s positive community impact; he roasts this harvest at low temperature, bringing out unexpected mouthwatering, tangy-fruit notes.