Our history

The story behind Pure Rainforest Chocolate by Koefoed

Our friends at OlsenFarmFiji (OFF), Jytte & Michael Olsen, purchased back in 2008 a piece of rainforest in the eastern part of Fijis main island, Viti Levu, about one hour drive from the capitol of Suva.

An abandoned area, that by investments and lots of hard work, have been today transformed into  a functioning cocoaplantation and a large self-built house, supplied with solar energy and water from a small creek.

All processes about the plantation are done manually and by adult fijians. Trimming the rainforest done by the men, preventing it from suffocating the cocoatrees, but on the other hand, it provides the necessary shade for the cocoatrees.

If we dont have any rainforest, we dont have any chocolate!

When we call our chocolate handmade, we really mean it: We have had every single cocoabean in our hands. Making high quality Bean-to-Bar chocolate is a long process, that needs love and passion.

WE LOVE DARK CHOCOLATE!

We are Heidrun & Hans Jørn Koefoed and have established Pure Rainforest Chocolate by Koefoed.

Bean-to-Bar chokolatemakers in Pure Rainforest Chocolate Cafe, Strandvejen 10, 3720 Aakirkeby in Bornholm, Denmark. Here we create genuin, high quality chocolate. Our cocoa and chocolate are responsibly and sustainably grown and totally free from any additivs.

The flavour is powerful, because we use a minimum of processing. Then you only need a small piece to get the full chocolate-experience.

The cocoabeans are imported from Olsen Farm Fiji (OFF), where the cocoatrees stands in a sustainable and chemical free environment. The three fijian men are employed all year round and do all maintenance, trimming the trees, picking cocoapods, ferment and dry the cocoabeans. All the children attend school, no childslavery in Fiji!

We have a great passion for dark chocolate, and as responsible consumers, we wish to trade and produce chocolate with great care for the environment.

The way to live in the rainforest makes a great impact on us, and we want to show that it’s possible to make a quality product responsibly.

Fiji – especially the village of Namau, have become our second home and the farmers our new family. We deeply appreciate their gratitude.

Now, we import cocoabeans from other countries. From the region of Tabasco comes White Almond Criollo, a rare sort and a challenge to grow. The bean is naturally bright, looks like milkchocolate, but contains no milk!

From Raises de la Montaña i Guatemala comes Indio Rojo, an ancient mayan sort, which the locals are proud to preserve.

Furthermore, we have a Criollo from the province of Satipo, a relatively high area. The bean has a strong flavour of cinnamon and coconut.

Heidrun is an educated cook, nurse, psychotherapist and healer.

Hans Jørn is an educated farmer.

Come and visit our open chocolate manufacture, shop and cafe,  Strandvejen 10, 3720 Aakirkeby.