First we recruit the keen eyes capable of spotting a ripe pod. The pod is then picked and cracked open to reveal the magic. The wet “baba” or pulp is collected immediately (although very occasionally it is intercepted by one of the cheeky fruit-pickers to replace electrolytes lost in the heat and humidity).

The thing is, in the cocoa world, the pulp is renowned for its sweet and juicy taste but it’s hard to preserve. Immediately after opening, this glorious pulp starts to ferment (which doesn’t taste too good at all). So the best way to consume it has always been fresh from the pod – until we got involved. Our partner aims to collect the pulp and extract the juice within 12 hours.

Our first experiment was at our farm in Brazil where we started using chilled stainless steel containers to keep the juice as fresh as possible before filtering and freezing it to be shipped to restaurants and juice sellers in Sao Paulo, several hours away from our farm.

One of our long-time suppliers, who has for many decades been among the leading Ecuadorian exporters of cocoa beans to high-end markets, has gone one step further.

As well as using beans from their own farm they initiated a program of buying “wet beans” from large farms (> 30 hectares) in their supply chain. These carefully selected farms are all well-established and have been in their families for generations.

Immediately after pod opening, the wet beans are tested and, if approved, taken to the recently opened facility near Guayaquil where they are de-pulped. This is a delicate process as enough liquid must be retained to still ensure full fermentation of the beans. The pulp is cold pressed to extract the juice. It is then pasteurized to ensure any potentially harmful microorganisms are destroyed before being placed in export packaging and then frozen.

We are bringing the frozen juice to the UK and then diluting it to produce WOWCACAO, a hydrating drink with a unique tangy flavour suitable for the whole family. The product has a clean label with only potassium added to boost the electrolyte total and ascorbic acid included to stabilize the naturally high Vitamin C content.