Costa Esmeraldas 70% Dark Chocolate -Muisne, Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador Sweetened with Coconut Sugar

Costa Esmeraldas 70% Dark Chocolate sweetened with organic coconut sugar

-2023 Harvest.

Single Estate, Direct Trade, Bean-to-Bar

Cacao provenance: Muisne, Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador.

For those folks looking for an alternative to regular sugar and all the richness of Costa Esmeraldas 70% dark chocolate, we've got you covered! Coconut sugar is such a wonderful pairing with the already existing, light coconut notes from Costa Esmeralda's flavor profile.

Our tasting notes: 

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

The flavor starts with fudge brownies and pleasant wood tannins. It has a creamy, slight nutty note that is clean but earthy. Dark brown sugar's inherent sweetness and bitterness lend a note of rich mocha. The acidity balance is perfect, leaving you with an unmistakable satisfaction.

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

About this cacao:

The cocoa orchards were established 6 years ago on a former cattle pasture with very steep terrain. Establishing cocoa, timber, and other fruit trees has reduced erosion on the farm site. Esmeraldas has an unusual climate, with slight variations in average temperatures. The region has a 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 creates over 40 full-time jobs within the local community in rural Esmeraldas.

Fermentation is set up in 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 every morning until fermentation is complete. The total duration of fermentation is 5 ½ days.