This 65% coconut dark milk chocolate is towards the stronger end of the dark milk spectrum, but very accessible and more creamy and lighter then the dark versions of the chocolate made with the cacao from Palo Blanco in Piura, Peru. In super short supply this year.
Made with coconut milk, but not overwhelmingly so, the coconut is delicately balanced against the chocolate notes and the malty flavours that naturally reside in this cacao bean. There is a light fruity acidity that balances the flavours presented in this chocolate bar.
The cacao comes from a small community called Cesar Vallejo de Palo Blanco, Chulucanas, Piura. Smallholders like Juan de la Cruz Rivera, have cultivated for the last 28 years one of the most exquisite native’s cacao from Peru. Gran Palo Blanco was awarded The Golden Peruvian Cocoa Award 2014. Gran Palo Blanco is special cacao and recognized for its delicate flavours, aromas and fragrancesThese cacao beans are bright brown, with sweet and fruity acidity that remains, with a touch of nuts such as dry plums, medium rounded body, with medium chocolate flavour, presence of malt notes and nutsIt is a cocoa of low astringency and bitterness, with a creamy texture.
Gran Palo Blanco is a very special cocoa, the post-harvest process begins in the farms with the harvesting of the cacao pods, the beans are place in jute sacks and drained for 24 hours, then transferred to the collection centre of the community, where a specialist receives the cacao, weighs it, and place the cacao into to the fermentation boxes, carefully following the protocol established according to the characteristics of the selected cocoa
The community Cesar Vallejo of Palo Blanco is located west of Piura, about one hour and a half in a 4 x 4 vehicle, in these area about 30 years ago, Don Juan de la Cruz Rivera Olemar planted its first cacao trees, "the parachutist who landed in his farm, "as described by Luis Paucar, in his article in the magazine Publico.
Don Juan de la Cruz, was one of the first cocoa farmers in Palo Blanco, where one of the best Peruvians cacao is now produced. He never imagined, that those first trees would make him worthy of the most prestigious award for smallholders cacao producers, the Gold Cacao Award 2014 given to the best cacaos of the Peruvian Nation.
The producer, proud of his past has a tattoo of a supersonic warplane on his left arm. It was done in 1976, shortly after serving in the command and special force in group 6 of the Air Force, in Chiclayo. Familiar and cheerful man, aged 67, has four daughters: Melba, Mery, Sara, Cindy, and a son, Joel
Don Juan standing under a flowering cacao tree, remembers his jumps as a parachutist and raises his sleeve, then you can see the tattoo of a Mirage made in France, the country that years later, many years later, when he became one of the first cocoa producer in Piura, would be its main market.
Today the community is organized under the name: Association of Producers Cesar Vallejo of Palo Blanco, they have a modern Collection Centre. Don Juan promoted the organization of the community, to grow more and better cocoa, under strict controls of quality and with fermentation protocols adapted to the cocoa of the zone
Most of the farms in the community have less than a hectare of extension, and irrigation is done by gravity with water that comes from the surrounding mountains, Palo Blanco is like an oasis, where under the shadows of trees of mangoes kent, Bananas and orange trees, they produce an exceptional cocoa
The association of small producers of Palo Blanco brings together 31 cacao farmers. With the support of Norandino they receive training in handling organic crops, pruning and post harvest methods. Cacaotales and Solkiki ensure direct trade of this cacao to further improve the quality of life of its producers and ensure its clients with optimal quality and traceability.
Allergen information: contains no dairy, wheat, gluten, or soy (nut-free, dairy-free, soy-free, gluten-free). Made in a facility that uses nuts and soy. Vegan friendly.
Each bar is 56gr/ 2oz.