Name: Vanuatu Malekula Island 2026
Brand: Cacao Services
SKU: 43836932685927
Price: 156.0 USD
Availability: InStock

Vanuatu Malekula Island 2026

Origin: Vanuatu, Malekula Island
Type: Foraster, Amelonado
Sourcing: Direct Trade
Crop Year: 2026

Flavor Notes

This is year 2 for this origin. We found that there was some inconsistencies bag to bag last time, some being similar to what I wrote below and some having a smoky overtone (which I also loved). We passed along that information back up the supply chain and they too noted some inconsistencies. This year should be must more uniform. We’ll see. What I can assure you of is that the overall flavor impression is bigger and bolder.

Being a strong Amelonado Forastero, chocolate flavors and its approachable nature are at the forefront. At this point, I have eaten way too much of it, in the best way. The aroma is straight forward chocolate with undertones of sun warmed cherries. The flavor is chocolate, chocolate and more chocolate. Backing this up is tanned leather and a clean earthy flavor. I've never quite tasted a chocolate with this profile. It is deeply approachable in a hind brain kind of way that has you marveling at the unique but not off putting flavors. At first bite you may not find it bitter but the more you eat the more you may tease out very light toasted walnut skin notes. The low fruits present are understated and not well defined to type. Coupled with the caramelized sugar notes, it puts me in mind of cherry leather. Last year I said It puts me in mind of dried banana and cherimoya….and that is not altogether wrong either. The profile ends with a lasting sweetness that although strong, is alluring and will have you going back for more. I've made this into chocolate from 60% up to 80% and it shines everywhere in there. It also is bold enough to be well suited to milk chocolates and nearly any inclusion.

Both Noah and I roasted and evaluated these independently and although our roasting profiles were a little different, the chocolate were remarkable similar. To my mind this makes it a great bean for beginners.

Roasting Notes

Profile Drum Roasting:

Feel free to take the kid gloves off here. This bean benefits from a strong firm hand. There is so much depth of flavor here that you can and should roast fast and hard. The profile I used for this is 11:40/13:50/18:00 @ 262 F You can certainly roast this to a lower temperature but you want to keep the Finishing phase around 5 minutes for full, deep heat penetration and astringency mitigation.

Behmor:

P1 for 18-19 minutes with 2 lb will be just fine. Go by the aroma. When it turns sharper near the end of the count down, you are done. If it isn't there yet, add a bit more time waiting for the turn of aroma. Due to the cold start of the the Behmor, you can just set it on the 1 lb setting with 2.5 lb of cocoa and go. When you begin getting aromatic notes, somewhere around 4 minutes left (14 minutes elapsed of the 18 minute start) drop the power to P4 (75% power) and continue roasting for about another 6-8 minutes, waiting for the aroma to either decrease or get sharp. This is all of course if you don't have a thermocouple in the beans ( Modifying your Behmor ) If you have that you can follow the profiles above.

Oven Roasting:

You will need an IR thermometer. Roast 2 lb of beans. Preheat your over to 325 F. Place your cocoa beans in a single layer on a baking sheet and into the oven. Stir the beans at 5 minutes and check the temperature. Continue roasting until the surface temperature reads 205-215 F (it may well vary across the beans). At that point, turn your oven down 10-15 F above your target EOR, in this case 265 + ~15 = 280 and continue to roast, stirring every 5 minutes until approximately 265 F. Again, there will be variation but the beauty of this method is having turned the oven down it is difficult to over roast. The important part here is to get good momentum going in a hot oven and then basically coasting to finish. You may not get much chocolate or brownie aroma with this one.

Origin Notes

Vanuatu Malekula Island Farm

Vanuatu is one of those origins that doesn’t announce itself — it just quietly produces something you can’t stop thinking about. We sourced these beans through Olivier Fernandez, founder of Gaston Chocolat and one of the most dedicated people working in Pacific cacao. Olivier has spent years building trust with the Pinalum community, and this lot represents the first time that community has exported cacao for the wider bean-to-bar market.

About Pinalum, Malekula

These beans come from a cluster of small farms surrounding the village of Pinalum on the island of Malekula — the second-largest island in the Vanuatu archipelago. Malekula is entirely rural and agricultural, with roughly 20,000 residents spread across an island slightly larger than Maui. Lakatoro is its only real settlement, home to a grocer, hardware shop, gas station, and open market. There is no town life to speak of — just land, ocean, and community.

About 90% of the trees here are old heirloom Amelonado — introduced by European settlers in the late 1800s when British and French colonists planted cacao as an alternative to cotton. Since then, no new genetic material has been introduced. The result is one of the few places on earth where a single, centuries-old cacao lineage has developed entirely on its own terms, shaped only by Malekula’s volcanic soil and tropical climate.

Olivier founded Gaston Chocolat in 2017 — named after his grandfather — and has operated his bean-to-bar factory in Port Vila on the island of Efate ever since. The Pinalum community has supplied his chocolate for years, but production consistently outpaced what the local Vanuatu market could absorb. To create better farm gate prices and new export opportunities, Olivier expanded the community’s central fermentation facility and began working toward the US market. This lot is the result of that effort.

Post-Harvest Details

Fermentation: Wooden box fermentation
Fermentation Duration: 7 days
Drying: Sun-dried on concrete patios
Facility: Central fermentation and drying facility managed by Roy and Lily Buktan in collaboration with Gaston Chocolat