Ethical cacao and chocolate: what is Project Chocolat?

Learn about ethical chocolate at our beautiful cacao estate in Saint Lucia

Ever wanted to visit a thriving cacao estate? Perhaps you’d like to see the work that goes into ethical chocolate farming or try your hand at crafting your own luxury chocolate bar. 

With Project Chocolat, you can do all three. You’ll soon be exploring our Saint Lucian cacao groves, learning from our chocolate experts, and making chocolate-coated memories to last a lifetime…

What is Project Chocolat

Project Chocolat is our agri-tourism experience, taking chocolate-lovers behind the scenes of our ethical cacao-growing in Saint Lucia.

A true Tree to Bar experience, we launched Project Chocolat to show guests how we grow and harvest cacao. And, of course, how we transform it into our delectable chocolates.

Aware that just talking about cacao isn’t enough to quench a chocolate aficionado’s curiosity, we created this immersive experience to take you into the rainforest — where our cacao groves have their own story to tell.

Project Chocolat is a chance to learn about life at Rabot Estate and enjoy everything it has to offer. You’ll leave with knowledge, experience, and hopefully, some chocolates!

A new kind of chocolate tour

Ready to change the way you think about chocolate? We wanted Project Chocolat to be a truly unique experience. One that guides you from the seedling nursery to the rainforest canopy. One that explains every step of the cacao bean’s journey.

Learn about the history of cacao, how to graft a tree, and even how to hand-craft your own ethical chocolate bar. Along the way, you’ll discover scrumptious cacao cuisine, bask in the Caribbean sunshine, and experience beautiful views of a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Our knowledgeable guides share the perspectives of both the cacao grower and chocolatier, explaining how a luxury chocolate business and sustainable cacao farming make the perfect pair.

An ethical chocolate tour

The taste, texture, and flavour of our chocolate aren’t the only things that are important to us at Hotel Chocolat. Exactly how our chocolate is made matters just as much. The ethics and sustainability of our chocolate business is rooted in our brand values — as it should be for all chocolatiers.

We take our Planet Pledge seriously and aim to use practices that nurture the land wherever possible. We’re proud to say we’ve been certified organic cacao growers since 2018!

Over the years, we’ve learnt so much about ethical and sustainable cacao farming that we wanted to make it a foundational part of the Project Chocolat experience. Our cacao experts will guide you through the spectacular biodiversity of our 275-year-old estate, revealing the wildlife that calls it home.

About Rabot Estate

Our 140-acre Rabot Estate is the perfect place to learn about ethical chocolate. Located in South West Saint Lucia, near Soufrière, our stunning cacao farm contains 16 different areas of terroir. 

Not only does the estate boast breathtaking views of the twin Piton peaks, vast rainforest, and Mount Gimie, but its fertile volcanic soil and high altitude create the ideal environment for high-quality cacao production. By using Gentle Farming practices and building excellent relationships with our growers, Rabot Estate produces truly sustainable, fine cacao. If you’d like to learn more about Gentle Farming, see how we’re taking the programme to Ghana.

What’s included in a Project Chocolat tour?

When you book your Project Chocolat tour, you’ll need to choose either a Tree to Bar tour or a Bean to Bar tour. You can choose your tour based on how much time you have or the cacao-based activities you’re most interested in.

Bean to Bar

The Bean to Bar tour lasts approximately 1 hour.  It includes the opportunity to craft your own chocolate bar and learn about the history of cacao. You can even taste cacao pulp from a freshly-cut pod! 

Tree to Bar

The Tree to Bar tour includes the chocolate making and learning activities from the Bean to Bar tour, plus more. You’ll also embark on a guided multi-sensory tour of our cacao groves and learn how to graft a tree. You’ll then get to enjoy a range of exquisite cuisine, such as our legendary cacao burgers and seasonal local produce, served street food style.

It lasts approximately 2.5 hours.

After your ethical chocolate tour

Both tours provide guests with an opportunity to treat themselves to our irresistible chocolates, aromatic coffee blends, cacao-infused alcohol, Rabot 1745 natural beauty products, and more — all from our on-site shop.

Those who want to make the most of their trip can then relax with cocktails or sample innovative cacao cuisine at our Market, where our talented chefs use cacao as a subtle, savoury spice.

How to book your tour

You can learn more about Project Chocolat on our website. Or why not visit our tour booking page to reserve a spot on your chosen date? There you’ll find extra information on what’s included, our Rabot Estate location, and FAQs.

Are you looking to embark on the ultimate Saint Lucian getaway? Take a look at our award-winning Rabot Hotel and stay in one of our luxurious eco-lodges.

Can’t get to Saint Lucia? Visit us in the UK

Though we’d love to welcome you to our tropical Rabot Estate, we understand that this isn’t feasible for everyone. Still, if you’re based in the UK, why not visit us closer to home? 

In 2010, we opened our wonderful Rabot Restaurant in London’s bustling Borough Market. Here you can enjoy contemporary dishes inspired by the rich culinary traditions of the Caribbean, West Indies, and Britain. Many feature subtle spicing, infused with freshly roasted cacao. You’ll get to sample the same innovative recipes and unique flavours served at our Saint Lucian estate in an ambient city-centre setting.

We hope to see you soon! Whether you’ll be joining us for a Project Chocolat tour, staying at our Rabot Hotel, or stopping by our London restaurant. 

Learn more about our story or browse our chocolate collections.