Askinosie Chocolate auctioning its first African chocolate bars

Askinosie Chocolate has made its first set of chocolate bars with cocoa beans exclusively from Liberia, and the company is auctioning them off to send local students to Africa.

The set of five bars being auctioned are the only ones made from a 1 kilogram sample of beans from Lofa County, Liberia.

According to a company news release, all proceeds from the auction will be donated to the Cocoa Honors program, comprised of 13 Central High School students. The students plan to travel to either Liberia or Tanzania this summer with company founder and owner Shawn Askinosie. While there, the group will meet with farmers and perform service projects for the community.

A second auction will be held with the first bars made from Tanzania cocoa beans, according to the release.

Cocoa Honors is a neighborhood outreach program that explains the cocoa industry through history, culture and economy of Africa, the release said. Students will have "a complete bean-to-bar experience" lasting 18 months, with help from students at Drury University.

The auction is on eBay and runs through April 11 at 9 p.m.