Chocolate Maker History

Ortinola Estates Ltd. is a small family business, passionate about bringing you high quality, Trinitario chocolate. Ortinola was a Cadbury-run cocoa estate in the early 1900’s. Discovered and restored after decades of neglect by Russell Nath and his family, the 150-year old Great House was lovingly restored, and is now a listed heritage building, where guests can visit for cocoa tours, conferences, weddings, and special events. In 2012, the Nath family was able to replant 6,000 Trinitario cocoa trees on the estate, nestled in the lush Maracas Valley, and a few years later, they began to manufacture gourmet chocolate bars, handmade with love. Their daughter, Nikita, began making chocolate from the beans after training at the Cocoa Research Centre at the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. From harvesting, fermenting and drying, to the chocolate-making, Nikita spent more than a year of trial and error to experiment with the beans, using her Biotechnology background to assist in developing the recipes and protocol needed for Bean to Bar chocolate-making. A chocolate lover from early on, her chocolate-making philosophy it to blend a little art and science, and to keep it simple and authentic. Exquisite dark chocolate, pure and made with love. Passionate about local, Ortinola crafts our chocolates with the utmost care as we have full control over the value chain. Our beans and therefore our bars have a well balanced cocoa flavour to complement our fruity and floral notes, making this a balanced and utterly enjoyable bar for all palates.