HONESDALE, PA — To escape the winter blues, you might not have to travel to a warmer climate. A fun adventure awaits you right in Honesdale—a Moka Origins Chocolate Factory tour. Located in a white barn on the grounds of the Himalayan Institute, the free tour offers a behind-the-scenes look at how coffee and chocolate are made. The tour is an engaging experience, includes a delicious chocolate sampling, and is bound to lift the spirits of people of all ages.

Jeff Abella and Ishan Tigunait, the co-founders of Moka Origins, met while working on humanitarian outreach in Africa for the Himalayan Institute. After receiving a generous grant of land from the local government in Cameroon, West Africa, they started a sustainable farming venture in 2015. Moka Origins grew out of this farming project as an enterprise rooted in supporting farming communities and producing high-quality cocoa and coffee. It ethically sources the finest coffee and cocoa from around the world, including Cameroon, the Dominican Republic, Ghana, Costa Rica, Tanzania, Uganda and Mexico.

The tour guide, Grace, gave a brief history of coffee, explaining that it comes from the pits (beans) inside red berries, called “coffee cherries,” which were first discovered on plants in Ethiopia around 850 AD. After the coffee beans are shipped to Moka Origins, they roast them and bag them. Bowls filled with sample coffee beans before and after roasting were displayed for tour visitors, as well as small coffee plants.

Like coffee, cocoa starts as a fruit and is made from the seeds or beans of the cocoa tree. It grows within about 20 degrees north or south of the equator in tropical regions. The beans come from pods that grow in a variety of colors and flavors, extending off the trunk and branches of the tree. Sample pods, cocoa beans and large photos on a wall were displayed for visitors to see. 

When they are ripe, pods are harvested off the tree with a machete, cut open, and the cocoa beans are scooped out. They are covered in a sweet white pulp that ferments the beans. Once they are fermented, they are laid on large wooden drying racks to dry. When they are all dried, the farmers gather the beans, bag them up, and ship them to Moka Origins.

A chocolate maker takes the cocoa beans and turns them into liquid chocolate. A chocolatier takes liquid chocolate and turns it into confections, such as bonbons, chocolate bars, etc. Moka Origins does both jobs under one roof, which makes it a bean-to-bar, craft-quality chocolate factory, one of only around 300 in the United States. 

As part of the chocolate-making process, Moka Origins puts the beans in a big on-site roaster, and then through a winnowing machine to separate the shell from the inside cocoa nibs. Grace led the group down a hallway to see the machines used for the chocolate-making process, including a grinding machine and melters.

Next, the job of a chocolatier starts. Grace pointed out a river of chocolate that was flowing from a pipe through a wall and emptying into a melter nicknamed “Frank the Tank.” This melter empties the chocolate into a tempering machine, which stirs it up, continuously heating it to about 120 degrees Fahrenheit and cooling it to about 88 degrees. 

After tempering, the chocolatiers fill molds with chocolate to craft into bars and other delicious creations. Their products are shipped to retailers such as Wegmans, Whole Foods, Mom’s Organic and other shops in the area.

After the tour of the factory, the group assembled in the café for a taste test. We sampled two 72 percent dark chocolates from Ghana and Tanzania. The Ghana was a traditional, smooth chocolate, and the Tanzanian chocolate had more of a fruity flavor due to the more acidic soil in that country. Next, we sampled a dark milk bar from Ghana with 58 percent cocoa, compared to typical milk chocolate bars that have 10-12 percent cocoa. It had a bold flavor, with a creamy, smooth finish. Last, the group sampled real white chocolate, containing 46 percent cocoa butter, organic cane sugar, milk powder and Ugandan vanilla. Palm oil is used by other companies instead of cocoa butter to make white chocolate, but the cocoa butter gave it a delicious, more subtle flavor.

Jeff Abella, currently in Uganda, commented on the impact of civil unrest and the loss of USAID in Africa. He said that Moka Origins’ long-term, direct trade relationships with farmers and cooperatives in multiple countries allow continued sourcing and the ability to adapt when needed. According to Abella, many farming communities in Africa have been hit hard by the loss of USAID, particularly in education, health, infrastructure and food security programs. 

He explained that direct trade can provide stability against the cuts in aid because Moka Origins pays farmers directly and at prices well above global market rates; they don’t rely on aid to function. 

Abella suggested that the best way for Americans to help Africans is to start by buying ethically sourced goods. Other ways we can help are by supporting organizations that focus on education, food security and local leadership development; advocating for trade policies that are fair and transparent; learning about where products come from and who produces them; and supporting businesses and nonprofits that are accountable to the communities they serve—not just to donors or shareholders.

Moka Origins is located at 952 Bethany Tpk., Honesdale. It is open Monday through Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., and can be reached at 570/979-1010. The tours are held on Saturdays at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. and last 45 minutes. No reservations are required. There is a café with specialty coffee and chocolate drinks. Visitors can also explore a gift shop with a variety of roasted coffee, chocolate and cocoa products as well as other merchandise. 

To purchase products from the online store, visit www.mokaorigins.com. For questions, email hello@mokaorigins.com.