Known for its authentic ingredients, the Ecuadorian Chocolate Factory aims to preserve the nutritional factors of the raw cocoa bean. During the post-harvest process, the beans are roasted and shelled to obtain the cocoa nibs for making chocolates. Sweet prevails in the chocolate market, but owner Carlos Galarza proposes semi-sweet and more bitter chocolates due to their nutritional benefits. Still, the bestsellers are the sweetest products, including the 55% chocolate that their truffles are made with. The members of the Galarza family are especially fans of the coconut, coffee, raspberry, and passion fruit truffles.
Ecuador is known for its appreciation of cocoa, although not many people dedicate their lives to it. Carlos Galarza’s family was so drawn to the idea that they decided to plant their own cocoa farm.
“Because the origin of the cocoa beans is unique to our farm, we control each step of the process from the plant, nutrition, pruning, weeding, and disease control with organic products,” says Galarza.
Despite the plantation being in Ecuador, Galarza dreamed of coming to the United States and sharing the language of chocolate. When surfing the internet to find the best places to live, study, and do business, he came across Austin.
“When we visited, we loved Cedar Park,” says Galarza. “Each place has its charm, and Cedar Park has been a complement in our lives. What we started in Ecuador, we established here.”