Markham & Fitz is a bean-to-bar chocolate maker in Bentonville, Arkansas, started in 2014 by University of Arkansas alumni and owned by Lauren Blanco.
Its 70% Dominican Republic bar uses cacao from Öko-Caribe in the Duarte province, whose owners, Adriano and Gualberto, have personal relationships with all 165 of its farmers.
Markham & Fitz is a bean-to-bar chocolate maker in Bentonville, Arkansas, and its best-known dark bar is a 70% from the Dominican Republic made with cacao from Öko-Caribe. The company's story starts in 2014, when University of Arkansas alumni pulled their savings together to buy the first pieces of chocolate making equipment. They believed a simple bar could do two things at once, give people real flavor and pay farmers higher wages. Lauren Blanco owns the company today, and it describes itself as a small, woman-owned business.
| Detail | As Markham & Fitz lists it |
|---|---|
| Bar | 70% Dominican Republic |
| Origin | Öko-Caribe, Duarte province, Dominican Republic |
| Farmers supplying Öko-Caribe | 165 |
| Ingredients | Organic cacao, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter |
| Maker's tasting notes | Ripe berry, chicory, brownie |
| Price listed | $12 |
Öko-Caribe and its 165 farmers
Most people never hear the name of the place where their chocolate was fermented, and it is one of the most important names on the trip from tree to bar. Fermentation and drying set much of a bean's flavor, and smallholders rarely have the volume or the boxes to do it well on their own. A good fermentary buys the wet beans, ferments and dries them with care, and sells them on as fine cacao. Markham & Fitz's origins page says Öko-Caribe sits in the heart of the cacao-rich Duarte province and keeps close relationships with its 165 farmers. It trains them in farming practice and organic certification. Its owners, Adriano and Gualberto, know every farmer personally, and they offer micro-finance loans for cacao costs and personal loans for family emergencies and community needs.
That is the cacao in the 70% Dominican Republic, which Markham & Fitz calls its staple and best-selling dark bar. Its own description asks what anyone ever said about dark chocolate being plain. The ingredient list has three items, organic cacao, organic cane sugar and organic cocoa butter, and the tasting notes are ripe berry, chicory and brownie. Öko-Caribe beans also go into Potomac Chocolate's two-ingredient Duarte 70% in Virginia, so the same fermentary turns up in two very different American bars, which is a good lesson in how much the maker's recipe and roast still matter.
Haiti and Tumaco
Öko-Caribe is one of three origins Markham & Fitz describes. In Haiti it works with PISA, which opened a central processing facility in 2014 and, in the company's words, brought the first high-quality Haitian cacao to the US market. PISA buys wet cacao from smallholders, ferments it centrally and sells it at the higher price its quality earns. On Colombia's southern Pacific coast, in Tumaco, it works with Cacao de Colombia, which Markham & Fitz says has helped farmers earn 70% more from cacao than they did selling dried beans into the commodity chain. Its primary sourcing partner is Uncommon Cacao, known in the trade for publishing what it pays at each step.
Profit sharing and a recyclable wrapper
The sustainability page is unusually specific for a small company. Markham & Fitz says it pays its cacao farmers above Fair Trade prices for higher quality beans, and that in its tenth year it began sharing 10% of net income with its local team. Its sugar comes from Natíve, which it calls the first sugar producer to earn Regenerative Organic certification. Bars come in recyclable paper wrappers with compostable sleeves, and the cafe has composted its food waste since it opened, more than 30,000 pounds by the company's count.
The recognition has come steadily. Markham & Fitz lists a 2019 Good Food Award for its Ooh La Lavender bar, a 2022 International Chocolate Award for No. 1 Fan, and a Good Food Awards finalist spot for its Peanut Butter + Strawberries bar. The Bentonville Chamber of Commerce named it Women Owned Small Business of the Year in 2020.
Where to find it
The 70% Dominican Republic is on the Markham & Fitz site, next to the 75% Haiti if you want to taste two Caribbean origins side by side. In Bentonville, the cafe makes drinking chocolate from the same bars.
Questions
Where is Markham & Fitz chocolate made?
In Bentonville, Arkansas, where the company also runs a cafe. University of Arkansas alumni pooled their savings in 2014 to buy the first chocolate making equipment.
Who owns Markham & Fitz?
Lauren Blanco. Markham & Fitz describes itself as a small, woman-owned business, and it was named Women Owned Small Business of the Year by the Bentonville Chamber of Commerce in 2020.
What is Öko-Caribe?
A cacao fermentary in the Duarte province of the Dominican Republic. Markham & Fitz says it works with 165 farmers, trains them in farming practice and organic certification, and offers small loans for cacao costs and family emergencies.
What is in the Markham & Fitz 70% Dominican Republic bar?
Organic cacao, organic cane sugar and organic cocoa butter. Markham & Fitz describes the flavor as ripe berry, chicory and brownie.
Does Markham & Fitz share profits with employees?
Yes. Markham & Fitz says it shares 10% of net income with its local team, a practice it began in its tenth year.
