Description
Beautiful Nano-Lot from a very specific cacao sourced from Hacienda Torres in Choroní, a small town on the northern coast of Venezuela, close to the famous Chuao.
Tasting notes from the maker: subtle and enchanting. Nutty, creamy, buttery and fruity, with a long delicate finish and a hint of fruit.
Our own tasting experience: certainly a very buttery and creamy chocolate, in which subtle roasted notes appear, alongside nutty and slightly vegetal flavour tones.
Ingredients: nano-lot cacao, cocoa butter, cane sugar.
Cocoa: 75%
Weight: 50 g
Further background
This 200-year-old farm in Choroní, Venezuela, is dedicated to cultivating rare indigenous cacao. Its owner, Vicente, has long resisted modernization and has carefully preserved traditional cultivation methods. The plantation carries a deep sense of history, and the flavour of this genetically pure cacao is said to feel like opening a time capsule.
Master chocolatier Domantas Uzpalis of Chocolate Naive discovered this special nano-lot during a visit to the region, making it a very limited and unique chocolate experience.
This chocolate is another remarkable addition to the Grand Cru Nano-Lot collection. The Choroní region of Venezuela is renowned for its fine aromatic cacao, often with nutty and fruity complexity and exceptional depth of flavour.
The cacao grows within Henri Pittier National Park, where it is cultivated on traditional farms such as Hacienda Torres.
At Hacienda Torres, the traditional post-harvest process has remained largely unchanged since the 17th century. Shortly after the ripe pods are harvested, the beans are removed and fermented for 8–9 days in an old concrete fermentation tank, divided by wooden planks. This careful artisanal process requires significant manual work but is considered essential for achieving the final quality of the cacao.
Old Vicente still manages his 200-year-old cocoa plantation much as it was in the past. The main house and fermentation building are now shadows of their former grandeur, with crumbling stone walls and towers slowly being reclaimed by vines and alam trees.
Cacao is believed to have been introduced to the area around 450 years ago, around the same time as the legendary cacao from nearby Chuao, which lies only a 20-minute boat ride away. The region around Choroní is home to many historic haciendas with cacao plantations of great heritage value.
Some say that Vicente’s slow, traditional approach has helped preserve the original cacao genetics better than neighbouring plantations. In that sense, Vicente is a little like one of the old towers on the estate — one of the last still standing.
