The New Frontier of Chocolate Flavour: Co-Fermented Cacao

Something new is happening in craft chocolate – not in the factory, but in the fermentation boxes, long before the beans reach a maker’s hands.

Co-fermentation (aka ‘flavoured fermentation’) means introducing aromatic ingredients – spices, fruits, flowers – into the cacao fermentation box. After harvest, wet cacao beans are placed in wooden boxes and covered with banana leaves or natural fabrics. Over five to seven days (usually), naturally occurring yeasts and bacteria break down the fruity pulp, generating heat and transforming sugars into the complex precursors that give fine chocolate its flavour. 

Co-fermentation adds another dimension: aromatic compounds from the added ingredient are absorbed directly into the beans as that process unfolds. The result isn’t chocolate flavoured with cinnamon. It’s cacao that became something new during fermentation – and then became chocolate. That distinction matters. The flavour is intrinsic, not applied, and the result is very different to traditional flavoured chocolate.  

This is one of the most exciting developments we’ve seen in years, and we’re genuinely curious to see where this new stage of flavour development leads. 

This new limited edition bar from Fjåk is a beautiful example… 

Fjåk × Kokoa Kamili: Tanzania Cinnamon Fermented 70% Dark

Kokoa Kamili in Tanzania’s Kilombero Valley is one of the most respected names in cacao. They source cacao from around 2,500 smallholder farmers and ferment it to perfection, unlocking exceptional flavour potential while paying farmers above-market prices. Their beans are prized for vibrant red fruit, bright acidity, and remarkable consistency – and their willingness to experiment with custom fermentation profiles makes them ideal partners for this kind of collaboration.

Fjåk Chocolate, founded in Norway’s Hardangerfjord, were the country’s first bean-to-bar makers. Award-winning, rigorously ethical, and deeply thoughtful in everything they do, they’re exactly the kind of maker we love to champion. For this bar, they worked with Kokoa Kamili’s cinnamon co-fermented beans – crafting a 70% dark chocolate with notes of cinnamon, rum and festive mince pie, alongside classic Kokoa Kamili notes of sour cherry and dried fruit.

This is a bar with a story worth telling at the counter – about where it came from, how it was made, and why it tastes the way it does.

Very Limited Edition – Act Fast!

Fjåk received just four bags of these special co-fermented beans. That’s it. No reorders, no second batch. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.

For your customers – curious, knowledgeable, always looking for something genuinely new – this bar has everything: exceptional provenance, a compelling production story, and a flavour that can’t be replicated. Bars like this are what distinguish a truly curated chocolate offering. 

Place your wholesale order today!