Of Cocoa, Destiny and Family, The Ortinola Great House

By Ariana Herbert | For Cocoa Research Centre, The UWI

“I was horse crazy,” Nikita laughs. As a child, Nikita Nath adored horses, but she completely and wholeheartedly adored chocolate. “I’d hide under the table with tins of cocoa powder,” she gleefully shares with me, “I’ve always been a chocoholic.” At first glance, the Nath Family’s story of the Ortinola Great House Estate appears to begin with ponies, a deep love for a daughter and a search for a farm. Yet, perhaps it begins far before that when Nikita had her first fated taste of cocoa. Although they intended to purchase 5 acres so their daughter could play with horses, Nikita believes it was destiny that led her family to stumble upon the 365 acres of Ortinola. What began as a search for a horse farm has now evolved, matured and transformed into a devoted family run business. Enveloped by mountains in Maracas Valley, the estate’s dynamic uniqueness comes not just from its stunning landmark of a Great House as a conference centre, wedding and two-time festival venue but also as a growing chocolate hub steeped in preserved, honoured and accessible history.

The softness of the Great House’s colours in the dipping sun enchant me before the interview even begins. “It is an immaculately restored plantation house,” Nikita tells me, “True to size and true to form.” She offers me hot cocoa that I must admit is the first to remind me of my grandmother’s, a feat I once felt closer to impossible. We are sitting in the Great House and Nikita is welcoming, knowledgeable and astute. She lets me know upfront that along with such architectural beauty comes much work. In 2001, two years after purchasing the property, her family came into very difficult circumstances and as typical of necessity’s maternal prowess, they were forced to find a way to make the estate generate revenue. “We’re really proud to say 15 or so years later, we’re still alive,” Nikita shares, “which is no small record for a business in T&T.” Of course, the history of the estate began long before that. Now listed on the National Trust of Trinidad and Tobago’s National Heritage Asset Register, she acknowledges their fortunate position in having access to some documented history of the estate, particularly photo documentation from the 1900s from its Scottish owners. “The history and story of cocoa is very much a part of Trinidad’s heritage… A lot of that history has been lost,” Nikita admits. In the last 300 years the estate changed hands many times. In between the 1870s and 1920s Ortinola actively produced cocoa and a joint venture existed between Cadbury and the company that owned the estate. A lot of great houses and estates were abandoned after estate labour depleted due to the 1960s’ oil and gas boom. Originally 430 acres, Ortinola was abandoned for 30 or more years. The estate was sold to the Naths in 1999. “A lot of people said knock the Great House down,” explains Nikita, but her family insisted otherwise; diligent research and work went into restoring it. After the restoration period from 2001 to early 2003, late 2003 saw the opening of the estate as one of the first venues of its kind. Through tours and events, the Naths funded their return to cocoa cultivation with a focus in chocolate and a value-added direction.

“Getting to see live warm chocolate.. There’s nothing like it!” she declares. The tours, Nikita gushes to me, are a wonderful place to interrogate the history and process of cocoa-making. She explains they really try to highlight the hard work it involves and examine questions around accessibility and expense, “I encourage people to lick the chocolate from the bowls- that’s about 75 cents a gram!” It is clear that she believes in the value of information and education as she asserts, “Not only can I impart knowledge through tours, which is a great source of income for Ortinola, but it’s an empowering and self-sustaining cycle.” Currently, Nikita manages tours and chocolates, her mother manages events and her father manages maintenance. It is a team effort and they have much respect for the workers on the estate. “Lil is very much part of my family. She’s in charge of cooking and cooks here and at home,” Nikita says fondly, “She’s the most reliable person on the planet and a multitasker extraordinaire!. Boy Boy too!” During the tour I attended, much to their delight, one of the workers, Boy Boy, showed some visiting children how to cut open the cocoa. “Boy Boy has been with us for a long time is extremely experienced in cocoa,” Nikita tells me proudly, “He’s an expert picker, pruner and is responsible for the four and a half months of pruning every year.” His nephew, Christopher, also worked with the family for a while and still does some of the tractor work and Alberto works on full time maintenance. Harvesting requires more labour and support is also contracted and rotated for events-work. The eldest of three, Nikita’s sister is a lawyer and her brother is a doctor. “While they may not work here, they’re always involved in marketing and when we have events they come up and help,” she explains. “Even their significant others help,” laughs Nikita, “My brother’s wife also does events and her meticulousness is even a bit scary. I have extreme respect for her.”

There is a brilliance that colours Nikita’s voice as she begins telling me about her significant other, her husband Savvas Koukounarakis. “On our first date about 5 years ago he was speaking about olive trees and I was speaking about cocoa trees,” she laughs, “ I thought that was a very good sign!” The Nath Family’s destined story with Ortinola was about to become greater. “The first time he came to Ortinola, Savvas was blown way and fit in right away,” Nikita smiles softly, “I realized this was the companion for me because I couldn’t be with anyone who wasn’t part of Ortinola. It’s part of me.” Not only did Savvas love the estate, but he was able to add to it. “He not only built one of the fermentation boxes but also designed our cocoa house in a traditional style,” she chuckles, “That’s why it’s so heavy to push. He’s a structural engineer and went full out!” Savvas also built a box for their tractor which makes the pick up of cocoa beans much easier. “It’s pretty convenient having an engineer on call when you have a heritage site or old building,” Nikita laughs, “It’s a great partnership.” Along with their chocolate Labrador, Talos, Savvas can be found onsite helping around. In fact, he was the spark for the estate’s current experimenting with honey. Coming from Crete in Greece, Nikita tells me that she remembers when Savvas told her instead of Greek he began dreaming in English. “We’re going to teach our children both languages,” she shares, “Both Trinidad and Greece are community and family oriented, it’s a great melting pot of cultures- and that’s going to be the brand of our honey.”

Family is a strong theme for the Naths and this is interwoven with their emerging Ortinola legacy. After returning to Trinidad with a degree in biotechnology, Nikita had intentions of postgraduate work but recognized that with the venue in its beginning stages she could assist her family. “I realised I was more effective here,” she says to me, evoking a sincere sense of duty. She thinks for a moment and shares with me, “Interestingly enough, when I was younger I had always wanted to work in chocolate but hadn’t chased it enough.” In fact, Nikita remembers calling the Cocoa Research Centre to ask about an internship and regretting never following up. Fate would see her family work alongside them years later as the dream of returning Ortinola to cocoa production was always present. “When I came back and started to help, mum and dad pushed me in the direction of cocoa and chocolate- plus I was more willing to attend conferences!” In August 2012 the family put their feet down and planted about 6000 Trinitario cocoa trees. The family received a range of Trinitario varieties from the Ministry of Food Production, “Everything I know comes from the Cocoa Research Centre, the Cocoa Development Company of Trinidad and Tobago and the Ministry of Agriculture… They have been a source of most of, if not all the information.”

As we sit, we can hear an array of birds entertaining the sky above the estate. Threats to the cocoa at Ortinola include woodpeckers and parrots. Nikita knocks on wood, in this case the coffee table, as she tells me they thankfully do not encounter problems with squirrels and given Maracas Valley’s landscape, they have so far been exempt of visits from monkeys and deer. Along with pest and disease control, the Cocoa Research Centre continues to provide conferences and industry knowledge and Nikita grins as she tells me, “ They’re so nice you just want to be around them anyway… always extremely willing to help.” She believes their sharing of information transformed the local landscape. “The Centre is one of the first stops if you come to Trinidad looking for cocoa and chocolate,” Nikita shares, “Through them, we’re currently working with a Japanese client.” The centre’s part in Ortinola’s story goes far beyond their business linkages, respected bean to bar training and post-harvest processing as Dr. Darin Sukha presented them with their first chocolate bar. “It was the initial push for us,” says Nikita fondly. “I’m actually finding it difficult to find words…” she pauses, “It was mind-blowing to have Darin hand us a bar made from our beans… It was one of the proudest moments, I think… of my life!”

With a background in genetics and biotechnology, Nikita shares that for her, one of the best services from the Cocoa Research Centre, is its genetic testing. She is particularly interested in finding out what trees they have from an heirloom cacao perspective. “It really ups our game from a branding perspective and story wise- stories are so important,” she notes, and admits, “Genetic testing is not easy nor is it cheap.” Nikita tells me that there are old trees waiting to be rehabilitated past the anthurium farm and past a pond where the villagers go to relax. I can now recognize the oncoming enthusiasm in her voice as she tells me, “Trying this special chocolate that’s from these ancient trees… that’s a little magic in itself. Without the Cocoa Research Centre we could not do that.”

Nikita acknowledges, “We’ve been lucky to have support from friends and family.” Regarding their journey’s ups and downs, she shares, “It was very stressful. We made lots of mistakes… but working here is a pleasure.” Her tone becomes more playful as she continues, “We prune heavily by hand… And what can bite you in a cocoa field? Everything!” Ortinola’s chocolate flavour is that of the natural flavour of the bean, harvested in less than a year so that the flavour is fresh. Their current approach is that nothing lasts longer than 2-3 months without being processed, shipped or sold as storage is an issue. They intend on upgrading their equipment and expanding in 2019 in both infrastructure and cuisine. Nikita acknowledges the expense that comes with these plans. There is another original cottage on the estate that they wish to restore. These days the estate hosts tours and private events such as lunches, bridal showers, tea parties, weddings, conferences and team-builders. “The only thing we’re missing is overnight accommodation,” Nikita states, “Which we are working towards.”

Our interview touches on the local palette for sugar. Nikita believes chocolatiers should cater to all palettes, and gently though somewhat robustly invite people to adventure into the world of chocolate’s rich spectrum. She pauses, “Changing the entire palette of a nation is a great goal… although maybe not a 100% feasible.” Still, it is a noble and certainly delicious one to commit to. “It would be nice if everyone liked dark chocolate, especially given the health benefits,” asserts Nikita. She admits that although Boy Boy isn’t too fond of dark chocolate she has recently gotten her mother to convert. She speaks excitedly about the potential of local chocolate confectioneries, “I want us to be a powerhouse. Trinidad and Tobago could be that cocoa and chocolate hub for the Caribbean.” The family has plans to become a local hub where guests can visit and learn about chocolate as part of the experience. The reverence and joy in her voice is striking when Nikita tells me, “It is an honour to have temporary custody of a site like this one… We’re hoping Ortinola will be here for another hundred plus years.”