This Nacional varietal lot from the Vinces de Los Ríos region of Ecuador showcases floral citrus atop a lush base of fig and butterscotch.

Producer: Vinces farmers

200g (7.05oz)

70% Nacional Cacao

Fermentation: Wooden box, 140 hours

Ground Chocolate

Ground Chocolate is a natural extension of our cacao project. After years of searching for a high quality hot chocolate to serve in our own cafés, we finally have the opportunity to create our own, using cacao sourced and roasted by La Cabra. Ground Chocolate doesn’t go through the final tempering stage of chocolate making, meaning it melts at a much lower temperature when combined with warm milk. We recommend a 1:7 ratio of Ground Chocolate to your favourite milk or plant-based alternative. We steam the mixture on an espresso machine’s steam wand, but it can also be heated gently on the stove.

Equador

The Nacional varietal of cacao can trace its history back over 5000 years, tracing its genetic lineage back to cacao domesticated by the Mayo-Chinchipe culture in around 3300 BC. By 2009, Nacional was almost extinct, but the Ecuadorean Institute for Agriculture stepped in, not allowing this iconic Ecuadorean crop to be lost forever.

Nacional

During genetic testing of over 11,000 trees across the original ‘Arriba’ region, only 6 were found to be of the ancient Nacional varietal. Since then, INIAP have distributed seeds derived from these 6 trees across the country, re-populating Ecuador with the cacao that built its reputation. One of the projects that participated in this work that led by Thomas and Yolanda Cedeño Aguilar. As well as growing neo-Nacional cacao on their own farm, they seek out producers that also use agroforestry methods to grow the original Ancient Nacional. They encourage the use of these methods and of the Ancient Nacional trees by paying premiums to these producers.

Careful processing

This lot is composed of the work of 60 farmers near the city of Vinces, inside the original ‘Arriba’ region where Ancient Nacional grew natively. The pods are purchased by the Cedeño Aguilar family at a premium, before they take care of the fermentation themselves, in wooden boxes for approximately 140 hours, allowing the fermentation liquids to drain throughout. The beans are then dried carefully on raised beds to a moisture content of 7%. The character of the Nacional cacao is found here in the subtle florals and the hint of lemon in the final bar, atop a rich base of dried fig and a deep butterscotch sweetness.