It is a bit more complicated than that. The big beans are not always the better flavor beans. You do want a uniform size for the roasting process. From what I have learned, about half of the Dominican production is fermented and half not. The Sanchez, or unfermented beans, are sold into the bulk market are often pressed for butter and cacoa (cake). About 12% of production is consumed within the country and is most likely Sanchez. The Hershey and Mars stuff is mostly made from this cheaper cacao and much goes into the cosmetic industry. The Hispanola, or fermented beans, are then graded and priced accordingly. Because the Europeans have been the primary market for fine tasting cacao, much of the better quality beans have been committed to long term, larger buyers. You pretty much have to purchase 20 tons to buy from any of the major or medium sized exporters. There are a few people shipping smaller amounts from their family farms and selling them in the US and the price reflects the added shipping costs.
The best beans in the DR are probably coming off the Rizek farms and Michael Cluzil has a Los Alcones bar with beans used from a specific farm. The superior bean production is small right now but is growing as some have been replacing trees on farms to produce a lighter colored, less bitter bean. SpanNVola and Cacao Prieto are probably the only Farm to Bar (and beyond) chocolate production I know about in the US. They both make a very nice chocolate on their farms in the DR and do all the processing until the final product.
