Sailing ship the Tres Hombres at anchor again at Chocolatemakers in Amsterdam

Tres Hombres, Emission-free, Adventure, Transport, The factory, Chocolatemakers

After a long but successful journey of almost 6 months, the sailing ship Tres Hombres has returned to Chocolatemakers in the western harbour area of Amsterdam. In the hold: no less than 9 tonnes organic Trinitario cocoa beans and 300 kilos of natural cocoa butter from the Dominican Republic. Good for about 200,000 Tres Hombres bars.

Every year since 2012, the Tres Hombres has been bringing a large load of cocoa to the Chocolatemakers chocolate factory. Once again, it took about three months to cover the 13,822 nautical miles (25598 km) from the Dominican Republic to the Netherlands.

The idea behind the Tres Hombres fits seamlessly with Chocolatemakers' sustainability philosophy. Founder and owner Rodney: "In everything we do and make, sustainability is our starting point. Our chocolate factory has a roof that consists entirely of solar panels, which makes our production almost CO2-neutral. When we heard about the Tres Hombres 10 years ago, we immediately sought cooperation. That ship was named after three Dutch friends who dreamed of sustainable cargo transport by sea. They have beautifully restored a 32-metre brigantine from 1943. With people they trained themselves, they sail from Europe to America every year. They unload the cocoa at our own quay, right next to the factory - it couldn't be more energy efficient."

Two bags of traditionally mined sea salt (from the salt pans of La Palma) were also brought from the Caribbean to Amsterdam by wind power. "We use that salt for one of our most popular bars: the Tres Hombres 40% milk with a pinch of sea salt."

In the autumn, the ship will set sail for the Caribbean again.

Download the photos here