April 26, 2008, Punta Gorda, Belize

Cotton Tree Chocolate Company Ltd. will launch its new line of chocolate bars at the second annual Toledo Cacao Festival in Punta Gorda, Belize on May 23, 2008.

Each batch of chocolate will be made of a single harvest on a single day from a single farmer, and a slip of paper inside the box of chocolate will give credit to the grower. The unique approach does not end at the cocoa bean. In addition to traditional milk chocolate and dark chocolate, Cotton Tree Chocolate will make a dark milk chocolate blend.

Cotton Tree Chocolate is produced on the grounds of Cotton Tree Lodge, an eco-friendly all-inclusive resort in the Toledo District of southern Belize. Jeff Pzena is partner in and business manager of the lodge.

The development of Cotton Tree Chocolate is a logical progression for the lodge, which has incorporated chocolate making activities since opening in January 2007. A few times a year Cotton Tree Lodge hosts special "Chocolate Weeks" where guests sign up for seven days of trips and activities focused on chocolate. Participants tour cacao farms, attend lectures on fair trade, and spend ample time making and tasting chocolate. As a lasting memory each guest plants and labels their own cacao tree (cocoa beans come from the cacao fruit) at the end of their stay.

Jeff has been leading these weeks twice a year and two attendees of the February '08 Chocolate Week were so impressed with the project that they offered to invest. Both Anne Simmons and Erin Andrews will return to Cotton Tree Lodge this May to assist with the Cotton Tree Chocolate launch and to participate in the Toledo Cacao Festival. In addition to investing, Erin brings over 10 years of business and consulting experience to the company. She also has great love and appreciation for fine chocolate. Ann brings confectionery training and experience. She is a graduate of the L'Ecole Chocolat program.

Cotton Tree Chocolate will reflect the lodge's "green" philosophy. Like the resort, the chocolate company will strive to be as ecologically, culturally, and economically sensitive to its surrounding communities as possible. The chocolate bars will be made from organic cacao grown locally in the Toledo District. Cotton Tree Chocolate will work directly with farmers to assure the farmers are paid a fair price for their product.

Eventually, Cotton Tree will create a private reserve chocolate made from the cacao of its own organic orchard. There are currently 800 cacao trees on the Cotton Tree Lodge property. Many are still young, and will reach maturity within three years.

Cotton Tree Lodge has already been selling bars of dark and milk chocolate in the lodge gift shop, and, with the formation of Cotton Tree Chocolate, will now expand its market to hotels and shops around Belize. At this time, Cotton Tree Chocolate has no plans to sell their bars abroad due to the difficulty of guaranteeing refrigerated shipping.

Cotton Tree Chocolate is available in 3.5 ounce bars which will sell at retail for $10BZD or $5USD. The bars will be available in dark, dark milk, and light milk varieties, with 70%, 55%, and 40% cocoa content respectively.

For more information contact info@cottontreechocolate.com or in Belize call (501) 664-4205.