Costa Esmeraldas 70% Dark Chocolate -Muisne, Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador

Costa Esmeraldas 70% Dark Chocolate -2023 Harvest.  50 grams.

Single Estate - Fair Trade - Bean to bar

Provenance: Muisne, Esmeraldas Province - Ecuador.

Our tasting Notes: 

The overarching impression for this bean is nuance and elegance. The aroma starts off with chocolate and lightly toasted warm cedar. The solid chocolate backbone is backed with delicate wood tannins and brown sugars.

The flavor starts off with fudge brownie and pleasant wood tannins. There is a creamy, slight nutty note that is clean but earthy. The inherent dark brown sugar sweetness and bitterness lend a note of a rich mocha. The acidity balance is perfect leaving you with an unmistakable satisfaction.

Ingredients: Nacional cacao beans, organic cane sugar and cacao butter.

About this cacao:

The cocoa orchards were established 6 years ago on former cattle pasture with very steep terrain. Establishment of cocoa, timber, and other fruit trees has reduced erosion on the farm site. Esmeraldas has an unusual climate, with little variation in average temperatures. The region has relatively short wet season from January to May each year, but during the dry season, the weather is almost always overcast with light drizzling rain.

Costa Esmeraldas is a family owned and operated 100-hectare cacao farm. All members of the Salazar family (Fredy, Monica, and siblings Freddy and Indira) actively participate in the business. Freddy is directly responsible for managing operations at the farm and post-harvest center.

Management of the cacao orchards create over 40 full-time jobs within the local community in rural Esmeraldas.

Fermentation is set up a five-tiered cascade system. The wood boxes are Cedro (Cedrela odorata) with a 450 kg capacity. The fermenting mass is turned once at 36 hours, and then every morning until fermentation is complete. Total duration of fermentation is 5 ½ days.