For decades, the Island of the Gods has been synonymous with coffee.
It looks like the moment has come for the kind of caffeine to move over as another tasty treat is taking the limelight.
Cacao is having a moment, and as with all health trends, it could come and go. But with some of the world’s finest cacao grown in Bali, tourists should certainly test some out for themselves.
What even is cacao? Cacao is chocolate, but derived from the cacao beans themselves. Cocoa is more often the term used to refer to the powder that remains after all the fat has been pressed out of the dried and ground bean.
Cacao is said to help lower blood pressure and support blood flow to the brain and heart. The bean is high in antioxidants to help boost overall health and immune system function.
In many cultures, raw and ceremonial grade cacao is referred to as the ‘heart opener’ that, once consumed, helps create a feeling of relaxation.
Cacao has many medicinal properties and has been used as a ceremonial offering for centuries. While it is not an indigenous plant in Indonesia, it has become a naturalized crop and grows incredibly well in tropical climates.
It grows so well that some of the finest raw cacao in the world is produced in Bali and is available directly for tourists to try and take home.
Ubud Raw was created in 2014 after an at-home kitchen cacao experiment created the “creamiest and most delicious chocolate” the Ubud Raw founder had ever tasted.
Using just two ingredients, raw cacao beans and coconut, he created the most morish, healthy, and environmentally friendly cacao.
From humble beginnings in a kitchen in 2014 to 2024, Ubud Raw has gone from strength to strength.
Now employing 35 people, supporting dozens of Balinese farming families in rural areas of the island, Ubud Raw has become known around the world as a premium supplier of organic Balinese raw cacao.
Tourists will find Ubud Raw on menus and in stores across fifty outlets in southern Bali. Recognisable by its chocolate brown mandala logo and turquoise blue branding, this is a must-try local Balinese product. To try Ubud Raw directly from the source, tourists are invited to stop by either of the two stores.
The most central store is located in Jalan Goutama, in the heart of Ubud. To visit Ubud Raw HQ and see the factory shop in action, take a drive just five minutes outside of central Ubud to Sayan.
Tourists can sample the full range of Ubud Raw products and top up on treats to take home.
Bestsellers include the Pure & Raw chocolate bite, which features fresh, creamy raw chocolate made with 70% cacao and 30% coconut.
The ingredients are natural and as locally sourced as possible; the Pure & Raw bite is made from only Raw Cacao, Cacao Butter, Coconut Milk, and coconut sugar. For a burst of extra flavor, try the Wild Orange & Fig.
A bar of ceremonial-grade cacao to take home is a sound investment, and bars and blocks up to 1kg are available.
You can try a ceremonial cacao drink at the Sayan Store, and Ubud Raw appeared on the menu at Sayuri’s Healing Foods in Ubud and Kafe at The Yoga Barn.
With the price of cacao skyrocketing for two of the world’s leading producers, Ivory Coast and Ghana, in the last month due to dwindling supply, Bali and Indonesia more broadly are primed for a strong boost in the cacao sector.
Professor I Gusti Agung Ayu Ambarawati from the Agriculture Academy at Bali’s Udayana University told reporters that local farmers are now securing double the wholesale price for their cacao compared to just three months ago.
Data from 2022 shows that Bali alone produced 4,700 cacao for export, while Sulawesi is one of Indonesia’s largest cacao producers.
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