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Madagascar has in fact a long history of chocolate production, dating back to the early years of the French colonial times, 1937 to be precise. In those days, Madagascar was a major cocoa exporter in supplying a metropolitan France. Today Madagascar's cocoa production is tiny in comparison to for example the Ivory Coast, which produces about 38% of the world's cocoa, while almost all cocoa grown in Madagascar come from an area about 50-kilometre in radius and represents less than 1% of the world's cocoa production. The cocoa plantations can be found within the Ambanja district in [[Sambirano]], an area named after a river which runs through the countryside from the foothills of Madagascar's highest peak into the Indian Ocean. The soil by the Sambirano riverbed and its surrounding cocoa plantations is highly enriched with mineral minerals and nutrients due to the natural sesonal flooding of the river. Unlike cocoa producing regions in most other countries, the Sambirano area is unique in that it yields cocoa all year round. There are plenty of Criollo (the best cocoabeans), Forastero (the most common variety) and Trinitario (a cross between Criollo and Forastero).
[[File:Cinagra 070.jpg|thumb|600px|none|Crushed Malagasy cocoa with splinters of cocoa nibs ready for processing into liquid chocolate]]
Most if not all cocoa plantations in Madagascar are small independently family run family farming businessesfarms, who have been growing cocoa without the use of fertilisers and or other mass farming methods in a very natural environment for generations. And while slave labour is commonly reported in the cocoa industry, especially in the Ivory Coast, it's not existing in Madagascar. Much of Sambirano's cocoa trees stand on former fruit plantations dating back to the French colonial period. The resulting cocoa has strong hints of citrus fruit and is naturally sweet, which makes the crop especially suitable for producing non-bitter dark chocolates without use of excessive sugar content or other additives. Furthermore, the final Madagascar chocolate product is usually rich in antioxidant flavoinoids and other healthy and reputedly aphrodisiac ingredients found in high proportions in pure Malagasy cocoa. <!--(phenylethylamine??)-->
[[Chocolaterie Robert]] and [[Cinagra]] are the only two bean-to-bar chocolate producers in Madagascar. Their chocolate is of single Malagasy origin, meaning they grow their own cocoa as well as make their chocolates in Madagascar.