Cacao Intensity carrés Box

100% Peru: Marañón is an extremely rare variety of cocoa. For several years this variety was considered lost, until Dan Pearson and Brian Horsely discovered cacao trees of this variety in small isolated farms in the Marañón valley. This remote horseshoe-shaped gorge creates a unique microclimate, where trees grow at an altitude of between 1,000 and 1,250 meters. Genetics: 100% Marañón, Fortunato nº 4; 85% Madagascar: Mava is a young company, which acquired an old cacao plantation in Madagascar. Half of the plantation belongs to the Ramanandraibe family, one of the first Malagasy families to actively contribute to the post-colonial economy and industrial revitalisation of the island.
The Mava plantation covers some 635 hectares, divided into eight different farms. All the cacao trees are grown organically, with a traditional agroforestry system. Ottange is the smallest of the eight farms and is located on the banks of the River Ramena. The beans from this harvest were awarded at the 2017 International Cacao of Excellence Awards. Genetics: mostly Trinitario.;75% Nicaragua: Ingemann Fine Cacao stood out as a pioneer in research and development of quality post-harvest processes. In 2015, Nicaragua was recognised by ICCO as a 100% fine cacao producer. O’payoTM is a variety of Nicaraguan cacao from the Bosawas Nature Reserve in Waslala, chosen especially for this chocolate by our Master Chocolate Maker, Pedro Araújo, when he visited the plantation. This remote nature reserve is the largest in Central America and was declared a Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 1997. Bosawas is recognised as “the lung of Central America”. Genetics: predominantly acriollados. 65% Dominican Republic: Cacao was introduced to the island by the Spanish at the end of the 16th century and has since remained one of the country’s main agricultural products. Öko-Caribe, farm where this cacao was cultivated, only works small producers in the northeast of the island, giving all the necessary technical support to the farmers to safeguard and guarantee the quality of the cacao, but above all, the transfer of know-how to the producers. Genetics: Dominican cacao is a mixture of genetic varieties from different regions: Jamaica, Upper Amazon, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador and Trinidad and Tobago. This translates in a high-quality genetic material. 55% Uganda: Ancient Greek chronicles identified the origin of the Nile as the Mountains of the Moon, a range of snow-capped mountains named as such by the locals because of their bright whiteness. Years later these mountains were identified as the Rwenzori Mountains.
Cocoa is cultivated by small hold farmers at the foot of the mountains along with other crops such as vanilla and coffee. The cacao trees usually grow in the shade of other fruit and timber trees. Genetics: Upper Amazon Forastero, Amelonado and Trinitario hybrids mix. 45% Venezuela: Carenero Superior is an exquisite cacao from the Barlovento region, and considered to be a Trinitario-Criollo hybrid. Collected from small plantation owners, where they ferment and dry their own beans. One of the unique characteristics of this cacao, is that it is intensively fermented, which contributes to its exceptional flavour and aroma. The name Carenero Superior comes from the Port of Carenero in the State of Sucre, from where it is shipped. The adjective Superior refers to the excellent quality of the beans. Genetics: Trinitario-Criollo.