Sambirano
Sambirano is an area in the north west Madagascar, which is especially known for the production of high quality cocoa, also known as "green gold" of Sambirano. The name also refers to the Sambirano River that flows from Tsaratanana Massif, the highest peak of the island, into the Ampasindava Bay where it joins with Ramena river, south of Ambanja.
Due to the proximity of the Tsaratanana mountain range and trade winds, a particular microclimate occurs in the Sambirano region. During the rainy season, the river floods and deposits extremly fertile alluvia along its river banks, which provides ideal conditions for many types of crops, especially cocoa. All three varieties of cooca grow throughout the year along the river banks of Sambirano, but with two peak seasons: June and July and October and November. The river is divided into two parts, the upper Sambirano (upstream) and the lower Samirano (downstream).
Malagasy cocoa has special charactaristics due to the particular climate and soil along the Sambirano river. The total cocoa harvest grown in the region contains about 10 percent Criollo beans (cocoa grown elsewhere usually contain about five percent). Cocoa from Sambirano is especially suited for making top quality, low bitterness dark chocolate and is used for the production of premium quality Malagasy chocolate brands such as Chololatiere Robert and Cinagra.