The day began bright and early as we boarded a bus and headed out for the Netherland after a wonderful week stay in the beautiful city of Leuven .  After a bus ride of about three and a half hours we arrived in Amsterdam. We picked up our host Ad Grinwis who is logistics coordinator for ADM. We then proceded to take a tour of ADM’s cocoa plant where we learned about the transformation of cocoa from pods in a farmers yard until it gets to the ADM owned and operated facilities to be refined.  

We learned a lot of interesting facts about cocoa such as the Amsterdam port has over 450,000 metric tonnes of cocoa beans which is one sixth of the total cocoa bean storage in the world.  We also learned that Camroon, Nigeria, Ghana and the Ivory coast constitute 75% of world cocoa production. We also learned that unfermented cocoa is the color purple. Following the tour of the port where cocoa is delivered we boarded the bus for a short ride over to ADM’s cafeteria and we were given a very nice and gracious lunch. We had delicious soups, breads and cheeses, meats and fruit among other items. We really appreciate the time and effort ADM put into taking such great care of us.

After the lunch we went to a nearby building for a few presentations by various members who work at ADM. The first presentation was by Ad Grinwis. He explained how cocoa gets weighed and measured when packaged and then delivered to track how much cocoa is lost in the process. He also gave us an overview of the history of Amsterdam. Following this presentation we had the pleasure of hearing from J. Van Engen who is the trading director for ADM cocoa beans, He talked about how chocolate consumption was really weak in Europe until recently. He also explained that ADM’s overall goal is to be the “preferred global supplier of cocoa and chocolate solutions.” He explained he believes ADM can accomplish this through perfecting their supply chain. The final presentation was the process a cocoa bean goes through to be refined and used for consumption.  He explained they have high control over the process of roasting and cleaning of cocoa beans but they have little control over the weather and harvest of the beans. 

After the wonderful presentations, Mr. Grinwis recommended we head a few minutes down the road to visit a beautiful tourist destination in Amsterdam. The destination was a village filled with farm animals, artistry, wooden shoe making, rivers and wind mills. It had a romantic feel as we encountered a wedding taking place there and many couples exploring the site. One of our favorite parts of the village was a giant wooden yellow shoe where many of us sat in and took photos in. We truly felt like we were in Amsterdam!