Cacao of Excellence is thrilled to welcome two esteemed cacao experts to its Technical Committee: Carlos Fajardo Dávila and Ariza Sari. Their expertise will contribute to the constant strive towards excellence of the Committee in supporting the Programme's missions.
Carlos Fajardo Dávila is currently working as a flavourist trainee at DSM-Firmenich. He has always been passionate about cocoa and chocolate. Previously, he completed his thesis on chocolate and cacao pulp at Nestlé Confectionery. Following this, Carlos joined Olam (now ofi), where he worked as sensory technologist, establishing an in-house cocoa panel focused on cacao research projects, particularly in post-harvest practices and factory processing. He also contributed to quality control through initiating harmonised sensory methodologies and training programmes across the company.
Ariza Sari brings over 15 years of experience both as a Reseach Scientist on cocoa post-harvest technology, and as a Cocoa Sensory Evaluation Specialist with Indonesia's Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute. Ariza serves as a panel member of Indonesia's National Standardization Agency of Indonesia where she reviews national standards and the adoption of international standards on cocoa. Ariza currently serves as the Head of Marketing for PT Riset Perkebunan Nusantara, an Indonesian Research Innovation company focused on plantation agribusiness. Ariza has significant expertise in the evaluation of sensory profiles of cocoa beans according to the standards and protocols of the Guide for the Assessment of Cacao Quality and Flavour.
Technical Committee members are responsible for evaluating all cacao bean samples received for each edition of the Cacao of Excellence Awards. As top experts in the cacao sector, they possess extensive knowledge and experience enabling them to assess the overall quality of diverse cacao beans and establish accurate flavour profiles for each sample.
Get to know all of the Cacao of Excellence Technical Committee members: https://www.cacaoofexcellence.org/contacts/technical-committee-members
