Cacao Trees & Chocolate in Puerto Rico

Where can I buy cacao trees in Puerto Rico?

Cuerdas Verdes Cacao sells cacao trees from its nursery in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico. The nursery grows JM-03 certified cacao trees for field planting and fills bulk orders for farmers across the island. Order online at cuerdasverdescacao.com/trees or call or text +1 (939) 235-1818.

What is JM-03 cacao?

JM-03 is the cacao selection that Cuerdas Verdes Cacao propagates and sells, which the nursery describes as Puerto Rico's highest-yielding cacao. It is offered as certified nursery stock in two forms — seed-grown trees and grafted trees — both hardened off and ready for field planting.

JM-03 comes out of decades of cacao selection in Puerto Rico. From 1986 to 1997, USDA researchers screened 1,320 seedling trees at three sites on the island — Corozal, Gurabo and Yabucoa — grown from controlled-pollinated seed supplied by CATIE in Costa Rica. Only three percent of the progeny accounted for sixty percent of the yield, and the nine clones eventually released as the TARS series averaged about 2,170 kg of dry bean per hectare per year, several times the world average. In 2009 Juan Echevarría of Hacienda Jeanmarie began working alongside that program, learning grafting and propagation from USDA cacao specialist Dr. Brian Irish, and carried selection work forward on his own farm when station funding tightened. Over several generations he selected not only for yield and disease resistance but for bean size and flavor in the finished bar, drawing on TARS germplasm together with the Trinitario and Criollo material long present on the island. The trees that survived that filter became the numbered JM line now planted across Puerto Rico. JM-03 is the standout of that line for productivity under local conditions, and it is the tree we propagate.

How much do cacao trees cost in Puerto Rico?

At Cuerdas Verdes Cacao, seed-grown JM-03 cacao trees are $8.50 per tree and grafted JM-03 trees are $10.50 per tree, ex-works the Mayagüez nursery. Puerto Rico's 11.5% sales tax (IVU) applies, but it is waived for buyers who present a valid Bona Fide Farmer decree. A 50% deposit reserves an order; the balance is due before pickup.

What is the difference between seed-grown and grafted cacao trees?

Seed-grown JM-03 trees ($8.50 each) are propagated from selected seed. Grafted JM-03 trees ($10.50 each) are propagated by grafting and need 60 to 90 days of preparation before pickup. Both are sold certified and hardened off, ready for the field.

Where can I buy Puerto Rican chocolate or cacao?

Cuerdas Verdes Cacao makes the Perfect Cacao Bar, a bean-to-bar, sugar-free chocolate bar ($10), sold through its storefront at cuerdasverdescacao.com. The farm also sells fresh cacao trees and coconut palm seedlings.

Do farmers pay sales tax on cacao trees in Puerto Rico?

Puerto Rico's 11.5% sales tax (IVU) normally applies. It is waived when the buyer presents a valid Bona Fide Farmer decree number at the time of order.

How do I order and pick up cacao trees?

Build an instant quote at cuerdasverdescacao.com/trees or call or text the farm at +1 (939) 235-1818. A 50% deposit reserves the order. Pickup is at the Mayagüez farm on weekdays, Monday to Friday, 8:00 AM to 2:00 PM (the last pickup slot is 1:00–2:00 PM), one order per time slot, with the balance due before pickup. Prefer not to book a fixed time? Choose flexible pickup at checkout and the farm coordinates a time by phone, including next-day pickup when stock is ready.

Where is Cuerdas Verdes Cacao located?

The nursery and pickup site is in Mayagüez, Puerto Rico, and the farm also works land in Las Marías. Cuerdas Verdes Cacao tends a heritage criollo cacao forest first planted in the 1890s.

What else does Cuerdas Verdes Cacao sell?

Besides JM-03 cacao trees, the farm sells Yellow Philippine coconut palm seedlings, offshoot-grown breadfruit trees and the Perfect Cacao Bar.

What languages does Cuerdas Verdes Cacao serve?

The business serves customers in English and Spanish. A Spanish version of every main page is available — for example, cuerdasverdescacao.com/es.