The thrilling story of the farmers, activists, and chocolate makers fighting all odds to revive ancient cacao and produce the world’s finest bar.

“His latest masterwork” —American Scholar

“The James Beard Award-winning food writer’s engaging narrative history doubles as an adventure tale.” —Washington Post

When Rowan Jacobsen first heard of a chocolate bar made entirely from wild Bolivian cacao, he was skeptical. The waxy mass-market chocolate of his childhood had left him indifferent to it, and most experts believed wild cacao had disappeared from the rainforest centuries ago. But one dazzling bite of Cru Sauvage was all it took. Chasing chocolate down the supply chain and back through history, Jacobsen travels the rainforests of the Amazon and Central America to find the chocolate makers, activists, and indigenous leaders who are bucking the system that long ago abandoned wild and heirloom cacao in favor of high-yield, low-flavor varietals preferred by Big Chocolate.

What he found was a cacao renaissance. As his guides pulled the last vestiges of ancient cacao back from the edge of extinction, they’d forged an alternative system in the process-one that is bringing prosperity back to local economies, returning fertility to the land, and protecting it from the rampages of cattle farming. All the while, a new generation of bean-to-bar chocolate makers are racing to get their hands on these rare varietals and produce extraordinary chocolate displaying a diversity of flavors no one had thought possible. Full of vivid characters, vibrant landscapes, and surprising history, Wild Chocolate promises to be as rich, complex, and addictive as good chocolate itself.

“Thrilling . . . Jacobsen draws out the complex global connections—and, often, corporate harms—underpinning the chocolate industry without losing sight of its pleasures . . . Readers will be eager to sink their teeth into this.” ―Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A spirited quest for the perfect cacao bean… a skilled food historian with a sharp eye for the economics of the delicious, [Jacobsen] also peppers his prose with interesting tidbits…A treat for literate, adventure-loving foodies, best accompanied by a bespoke chocolate bar.” ―Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“An amazing adventure through forests, down rivers, and into the depths of history to uncover the beauty and culture of cacao, truly the food of the gods. Rowan Jacobsen is a master storyteller, and Wild Chocolate tells one of the best stories under the sun.” ―José Andres, chef and humanitarian

“Chocolate is delicious, but not simple: It can be a source of impoverishment and deforestation, or a force for environmental and cultural regeneration; that’s a choice. Wild Chocolate provides an inspiring look at the people in the American tropics who are doing it right.” ―Mark Bittman, author of HOW TO COOK EVERYTHING and ANIMAL, VEGETABLE, JUNK

“I learned so much! Wild Chocolate offers a rare intoxicating glimpse into a fascinating and notoriously opaque supply chain. Whether traveling up slender tributaries in the Amazon, bushwhacking through Central American rainforest, or providing front row seats to a master producer casting bars, Rowan Jacobsen transforms the quest for heritage chocolate into a swashbuckling adventure that will enrich every bite of chocolate you consume.” ―Benjamin Lorr, author of THE SECRET LIFE OF GROCERIES

“Jacobsen is among our best writers documenting the connections between delectable foodstuffs and the besieged ecosystems and communities that underpin them. In his latest, he takes us on a journey from chocolate’s origins to its current crisis to its imperiled but potentially delicious future. If you doubt that life without good chocolate is worth living, this is your book.” ―Tom Philpott, author of PERILOUS BOUNTY

“If chocolate is your thing then this is your book—a Rosetta Stone for decoding everything this ancient and fascinating culinary tradition brings to the table.” ―Paul Greenberg, author of FOUR FISH

“Rowan Jacobsen is America’s most trusted and lyrical food writer, and Wild Chocolate transcends the eloquence of all his other books. We will never see nor taste chocolate in the same way again after this olfactory odyssey through its pleasures and perils.” ―Gary Nabhan, MacArthur Fellow and author of AGAVE SPIRITS

“Written with the detail and deep research I’ve come to expect from Jacobsen, this book is an invitation to consider a familiar food in a new way and to get to know chocolate intimately. It will leave you drooling and ready to commit to seeking out these experiences-and melting bites of rare chocolate-yourself.” ―Sarah Lohman, author of ENDANGERED EATING