Understanding cacao begins with tasting it.
Cacao of Excellence offers immersive sensory training for professionals and organisations across the cacao and chocolate sectors. These programmes build the ability to recognise, evaluate, and communicate cacao quality while deepening appreciation for the flavour diversity that defines fine cacao.
Our trainings combine hands-on tasting, scientific methods, and international best practices. Participants work with selected cacao samples which showcase unique flavour profiles. Guided by the Guide for the Evaluation of Cacao Quality and Flavour, the Flavour Wheel, and the Glossary of Terms, trainees learn to assess and describe cacao with precision using a shared global sensory language.
Through sensory training, professionals can:
Explore cacao diversity shaped by terroir and post-harvest practices.
Develop expertise in tasting, evaluating, and documenting flavour quality.
Identify fine flavour cacao and understand its value in the market.
Cacao of Excellence has delivered training for R&D, product development, and sensory teams at leading chocolate companies such as Barry Callebaut and CasaLuker. Designed for R&D teams, sourcing managers, and chocolate professionals, these sessions offer a rare opportunity to experience cacao excellence first-hand, strengthen technical understanding, and align quality practices with global standards of transparency and sustainability.
Latest News
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As cacao-producing countries increasingly seek to strengthen their own capacity around flavour evaluation, processing innovation and quality… [+ more]
What NPR’s feature reveals about the future of cacao quality
NPR recently featured the work of Cacao of Excellence in a story exploring one of the central challenges facing the cacao sector today: while cacao… [+ more]
First Seguine Cacao Auction Confirms Premium Value for Recognised Quality and Flavour
First Seguine Cacao Auction Confirms Premium Value for Recognised Quality and Flavour Amsterdam, 20 February 2026 - The inaugural Seguine Cacao… [+ more]