A Crowd-Pleaser and a Chocolate Powerhouse walk into a bar…..
Two new beans just landed, and I honestly do not know which one to tell you to check out first.
Guatemala Kampura Organic 2026 is the easy pick. It is delicate, floral, and bright, with gardenia, apricot blossom, dried banana, honey, almond, cashew, light toffee, and a clean sweetness that keeps opening up the more you taste it. I called it "dangerously delicious," and that feels right: complex enough to keep you coming back, but approachable enough to work beautifully in dark, semi-sweet, and milk chocolate.
It is also coming in at a price that makes it very easy to say yes to. Like really cheap by recent bean price standards. If you have been waiting for an affordable but delicious origin to stock up on, start with it. And it is Organic!
Vanuatu Malekula Island 2026 is the other side of the table: deep, rich, chocolate-forward, and bigger and bolder than last year. For me it is chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate, with sun-warmed cherry in the aroma, tanned leather, clean earth, very light toasted walnut skin, caramelized sugar, and a cherry-leather kind of low fruit. It has the strong Amelonado backbone I have been looking for: approachable, versatile, and sturdy enough for dark chocolate, milk chocolate, and inclusions.
They are completely different beans.
Kampura is bright, floral, sweet, and easy to grab.
Vanuatu is rich, rustic, bold, and built for chocolate depth.
Shop the new beans:
Guatemala Kampura Organic 2026 - Retail Or Wholesale
Vanuatu Malekula Island 2026 - Retail or Wholesale
or try it in the 74% Dark Chocolate Making Kit
Other News:
In Depth Cocoa & Moisture Study coming next week:
We've been working on a long-running cocoa moisture and mold study that started with a simple practical question: if cocoa beans pick up moisture and visible mold begins to grow, what does that actually mean for safety, flavor, and usability? The study follows controlled cocoa samples across a moisture ladder, tracks visible growth over time. Beans are cut open to compare surface mold with interior penetration, and samples were sent off for in depth mycotoxin testing. We're also using it as our first fully interactive Chocolate Alchemy learning piece, so instead of just reading a wall of text, you'll be able to explore the evidence, follow samples through time, and see how the results unfold.
Updates to the Bean Archive search + filtering:
We've also completely rebuilt the Bean Archive search and filtering experience. The original version worked well when the archive was smaller, but with more than 165 beans from 30+ origins, it was time for something faster, clearer, and easier to explore. The updated archive is live now, with a better browsing experience for finding beans by origin, flavor, type, and other details. Go get those roasting notes and have fun.
