04/27/2026
☕ Coffee with Kyle | Weekly Learnings
What does tilapia have to do with chocolate? I flew to Colombia expecting to talk cacao. I ended up staring at a pond full of tilapia.
I spent a few days in Colombia, visiting Bogota, Garzon, and Gigante. I met with 3 different producers, all of whom grow cacao. They also raise fish.
Most media outlets have talked about the ‘cocoa crisis’ where pricing went super high causing manufacturers to raise their prices. Well, now that the price has receded to 1/4 of all time highs, there’s another crisis. Farmers aren’t making enough money.
So what do they do? Diversify. All three farmers had ponds with thousands of tilapia. With the current cost of cacao, I was told it is more profitable to raise fish.
When the big manufacturers were complaining about high prices, the farmers (some, not all) were happy. I say some, because in certain regions governments set the selling price of cacao — cutting those farmers out of the upside entirely.
When the price collapses, farmers do what they can to keep afloat and the chocolate makers celebrate. Mostly the big ones, who now have carved out more margin while their core costs recede.
I’m conflicted. Yes, the price as it was destroyed a lot of demand in the market. It is in my benefit for prices to drop. But when you meet face to face with human beings growing the fruit you use to make chocolate, there’s no celebrating.
Partners like work directly with cacao farmers, paying a premium for their cacao — and they’re the ones we want to work with. We’ve been buying their cacao for our Colombia 85% bar for years. Not only does it taste incredible, there’s a lot of good being done as well.
Anyways, I’m curious… has your chocolate consumption changed over the last year? How so? Drop a comment below — I’d love to keep this conversation going.
Next week I’ll be sharing if the same holds true for producers in Peru (currently typing this as I wait for takeoff to Lima!). Follow along so you don’t miss it. ☕
