SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -While cacao is traditionally grown in tropical regions near the equator, one Santa Barbara chocolatier is proving it may also have a future in California.
Michael Orlando, founder of Twenty-Four Blackbirds, says what started as a personal experiment 15 years ago has evolved into a small cacao farm in Santa Barbara County.
“This is essentially the cacao farming project that I started. I started it kind of just to see if I can grow cacao in Santa Barbara about 15 years ago, and through trial and error… it’s turned into this actual farm,” Orlando said…