The samples selected by CRIN lab team have been rated by the Cocoa of Excellence and announced qualified among the best top 50 globally. The third one from CRIN earned 7/10 global score but could not make it among the top. The 2023 Edition of the Cacao of Excellence Awards received an incredible 222 cacao bean samples from 52 countries; they were rigorously evaluated before selecting the Best 50 samples that represent exceptional quality and flavour diversity across the world’s four major cacao-producing regions. The journey of these cacao samples began with a detailed physical evaluation and the processing of accepted beans into cacao mass for the very first time at the Cacao of Excellence R&D Laboratory. Following this, 11 members of the esteemed Cacao of Excellence Technical Committee conducted blind sensory evaluations of the samples as cacao mass from May to September 2023. This comprehensive analysis led to the selection of the Best 50 for the 2023 Edition. These Best 50 would advance to the next stage of the 2023 Cacao of Excellence Awards. Processed into dark chocolate following the same recipe, the Best 50 will be evaluated by a distinguished jury of cacao and chocolate professionals to determine the Gold, Silver and Bronze award recipients. The unveiling and celebration of the Award winners will take place at the Cacao of Excellence Awards Ceremony on 8 February, 2024 at Chocoa, in Amsterdam, Netherlands.