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Famed more for its bananas, giant tortoises and oil, Ecuador is lesser known as the country with the best cocoa beans in the world - the destination of choice for the world's top cocoa buyers.
Many of the world's finest gourmet and artisan chocolates and truffles come from Ecuadorian beans and as the world's top supplier of fine cocoa, it's now hoping to reposition itself as a world-class producer of gourmet chocolates.
Almost 60 per cent of the world's high grade "fine cocoa" is produced on farms surrounding the coastal city of Guayaquil - an output that makes it the world's capital of the sweet delicacy.
Recently, representatives from leading cocoa exporting countries gathered in Guayaquil with the aim of building a world headquarters there.
Referred to at times as simply the "national," or "aroma cocoa," fine cocoa is cultivated by roughly 85,000 peasant farmers in the country of some 14 million residents.

"We have to appreciate Mother Earth for being in an area where the natural conditions allow us to produce this product. Evidently, it's not just a result of more production, but of post-harvest treatment. You must be very careful, and be very dedicated to the process of fermentation and to the care of the grain," said Victor Orellana, the president of the Association of Fine Cocoa exporters.
In part because of the international financial crisis, leading fine cocoa producers felt it was time to formally organize an Association of Fine Cocoa Producing and Exporting Countries in an effort to maintain output levels seen in recent years.
In 2008 alone, Ecuador exported roughly 120,000 metric tons of fine cocoa products.
In addition to the 350,000 hectares devoted to the cultivation of the cocoa, the developing nation is now looking to take on the gourmet chocolate kings of Belgium, Switzerland and France by producing its own delights.

"We were attracted by the fact that we have what is considered to be the best cocoa in in the world and while we've been exporting cocoa for many years, we haven't produced top quality chocolates in Ecuador, so we saw there was an opportunity to do something in the country, and for the country," said Fausto Moncayo, the owner of the Quito-based Cacaoyere chocolate factory.
European consumers often place a high emphasis on "organic"
products. As small Ecuadorean producers rarely use pesticides and herbicides, producers are well placed to cash in on the "green" revolution.
Indeed, Germans have proven to be most devoted to the high grade cocoa, which often appears in bar form.
Ecuadorean chocolate makers hope that some day soon, their finished products will be as famous worldwide as their cocoa beans - while bringing a taste of the equator to chocoholics everywhere.