Forum Activity for @Alex Gareiss

Alex Gareiss
@Alex Gareiss
02/14/11 06:17:09
3 posts

MaraƱon Chocolate - Cacao Thought to Be Extinct Found in Peru


Posted in: Chocolate Education

Thanks for this interesting analysis.

When I went to see our partner i n Ecuador in 2009, they showed us a tree with big green fruits and white beans as we ll, calling the plant Theobroma bicolor. I was told that it is not a cocoa species, but seeing pictures of the fruits they found in Peru I wonder whether there might be a connection.

Do you know anything about this? Unfortunately I do not have picture of cut beans.

By the way, the Nacional we buy from our partners does have fruity flavours as well it does not have any of the typical jasmin or floral flavours...And the fincas are arouund the spot that Motomayor, whom we met 2009 defines as the origin of the Nacional.

Alex Gareiss
@Alex Gareiss
05/07/09 00:43:26
3 posts

Chocolates of Ecuador -- Arriba, Nacional, CCN51


Posted in: Opinion

Hi Jeff;thanks for the compliment. We also have been living in Ecuador (Macas) for two years and a bit before founding Bouga CacaO. I just found out that you are making your own chocolate as well.I would be happy to know some more about your activities, especially as I think we got some partners in common...Actually we are going to travel to Ecuador for a couple of weeks in June and July - privately and with some clients... Our e-mail: info@bouga-cacao.com
Alex Gareiss
@Alex Gareiss
05/06/09 08:44:19
3 posts

Chocolates of Ecuador -- Arriba, Nacional, CCN51


Posted in: Opinion

Hello everybody;I am joining in quite late, but I only found out yesterday about www.thechocolatlife.com because our company (Bouga CacaO) was quoted within this thread.Surely, the name arriba comes from its origin "up-river" of the river Guayas in contrast to the cocoa that was grown closer to the port of Guyaquil.Nowadays in Ecuador, there is no real difference made between Arriba and Nacional; it is rather used as "nacional arriba" fino y de aroma.Genetically there are probably thousands or even more different varieties of cocoa. Some of them being grouped as criollo or nacional etc. There is no exact definition in that respect.However, the Arriba taste is rather well defined though hard to find. The taste is definitely not associated to one special genotype. It is rather a combination of the "right" genes and the soil and climate which leads to a cocoa bean that has the potential of becoming the mother of a Arriba chocolate.Obviously the adequate post-harvest treatment is vital in order to develop the arriba flavour, as well as the further steps. For example, the Arriba flavours are much more volatile than others, so conching the chocolate too long will just lead to the complete loss of its special characteristics (I recently tasted a so-called Arriba chocolate with the "quality sign" of "conched 72 hours"; well I do not know how it was before, but there was nothing left from the Arriba).Concerning who is using what I can only say that it is most unlikely that all Arriba marked chocolate is made from Arriba beans (just in terms of quantity available). Especially for the chocolate companies producing in Europe or the US and buying from intermediators in Ecuador it is hard to get pure Arriba lots. However, there are some direct links between certain producers and growers.For the companies producing in Ecuador: They mostly buy from different producers (big and small-scale), so if they mention Arriba, they will mainly have to rely on their suppliers. Testing mixed lots is quite difficult.And there is at least one company who produces in Ecuador using cocoa from one single plantation where the cocoa grower oversees as well the production process (meaning tree to bar production!) who also uses only Nacional Arriba beans.However, the CCN 51 (also called Don Romero) can be transformed into absolutely high quality chocolate; combined with its higher yield and the lower sensibility against deseases, it is a real alternative; yet for marketing departments the Arriba mythos still seems to be too valuable. The flavour is different though and high cocoa pourcentage in chocolate would not be possible.One more statement concerning the typical Arriba flavour: I recently had a discussion with Michel Barel, a researcher from the French Institute CIRAD (Barel is respected by the cocoa/chocolate world in France for his knowledge about cocoa varieties). I told him that our Arriba chocolate is much more fruity than floral and that some French chocolatiers are complaining about it. He said, that meanwhile there were so many different Arriba varities available, that it is just normal that the flavours vary as well. Real quality does not depend on the existence of a jasmine flavour but is drawn from a coincidence of several characteristics: a distinct fruity or floral flavour, free of off-flavours and astringence!Another project that is going on and might be of interest: in Mndez, small village in the Southern Amazon region (Morona Santiago) exists a small-scale farmers association, that, with the help of the "Municipio", reintroduced Arriba species in their region (species that are the result of scientific trials and crossings going on in the coastal region), and defined 9 different types to be well adapted in their area and having good flavour. It is a project worth visiting and gives hope that Arriba won't be lost in future! Anybody interested in that project can contact us.I apologize for writing so much, but since I was rather joining late into the discussion , there was so much to say.