Manam Chocolate: Kothagudem farmer tells cocoa bean’s journey from farm to chocolaterie

The chocolate brand was launched on August 15 coinciding with Independence Day at Manam Chocolate Karkhana, Banjara Hills in Hyderabad

Kothagudem: As an indigenous chocolate brand emerged in Telangana’s capital with a goal to create an impression among chocolate lovers across the globe with Indian cacao, a farmer from Kothagudem is overjoyed to be part of the brand.

A software engineer turned farmer, Devarapalli Harikrishna of Mandalapalli village in Dammapeta mandal in Kothagudem district has tied up with Manam Chocolate, a chocolaterie based in Hyderabad and owned by a food and beverage manufacturing firm, Distinct Origins.

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The chocolate brand was launched on August 15 coinciding with Independence Day at Manam Chocolate Karkhana, Banjara Hills in Hyderabad. What makes Harikrishna’s partnership with the firm interesting is there is a special chocolate bar with a recipe number and crafted from the single farm cacao produced at Mandalapalli.

A craft chocolate made at Manam chocolate, Farm Tablet No 1 and recipe number 001 DHK indicates that the chocolate is specially crafted from cacao farmed by Harikrishna. It is a way to tell the consumer of a cocoa bean’s journey from the farm to the chocolaterie.

As soon as cacao ripe pods are harvested, the produce is taken to Distinct Origins’ fermentary at Tadikalapudi in West Godavari district in Andhra Pradesh, Harikrishna told Telangana Today, adding that about three tons of cacao was supplied to the firm in 2022 and 2023.

The farmer said Almond House CEO, founder of Manam Chocolate and Distinct Origins, Chaitanya Muppala had contacted him two years ago through one of his acquaintances, Boyapati Venkateshwar Rao, to source cacao.

“The price offered is very much profitable. In the past I used to sell the cacao produce to buyers in different parts of the country. Now partnering with Manam Chocolate and having a distinct chocolate recipe created with my cacao produce is a unique experience and as a farmer I feel proud of it” Harikrishna said.

He stated that cacao farmed, with complete organic farming methods, by him is crafted into a 60 percent dark milk chocolate, which has a rich flavour profile with notes of cream. He is the only farmer from Telangana to partner with Manam Chocolate.

“We usually think of European nations like Italy, Switzerland and England or America when it comes to making chocolate. I feel Chaitanya aims to explore India’s potential as a chocolate producer”, Harikrishna added.