Forum Activity for @Volker Lehmann

Chocolates of Ecuador -- Arriba, Nacional, CCN51

Posted in: Opinion

Hi Samantha:You are somehow the reason why I am in this forum. I am always looking for your contributions!Again, there is nothing wrong with CCN-51 well fermented. Next year there will be a Bolivian high-end organic chocolate in the market containing over 50% CCN-51 and as I have stated, it is a high yielding variety, with some difficulties to be familiar with. There are always two side of a coin. We go to the safe side promoting mixed varieties stands with 55% CCN-51 / ICS-95 / IMC - 67.Our company REPSA is participating in a world mapping project of "origins" to determine specific taste pattern.(I wonder how they are going to roast our small beans in a lab under standard procedure.)The project is called: COCOA OF EXCELLENCE (CoE) CELEBRATION 2009 directed by CIRAD and Event International (organizers of the Salon du Chocolat). Maybe we can pick up some credit in Paris next year.By the way. The discussion of quality and market shares has reached the next level and it is taken on by politicians and national promotion programs, dominated by Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia through the socialist movement. "cacao y libertad", give me a break. Viva Chocolate Boliviariano! The focus is now on who is the best and has the best "Nacional". Bolivia now wants a National Cacao Plan. The point is. There is more behind all this as you might think.Clay: The translation is ok (thanks) only a little, but important mistake:"There is NO clear link between genetics [of] the Nacional Ecuadorian the Mesoamerican and the Criollos."Cheers, Volker

Chocolates of Ecuador -- Arriba, Nacional, CCN51

Posted in: Opinion

Here a reply I got lately from a colleague who visited me:Dr. Eduardo Somarriba de CATIE.Los estudios moleculares recientes (varios estudios de Juan Carlos Motamayor, MARS, y Claire Lanaud, CIRAD) demuestran que el cacao Nacional del Ecuador es un genotipo de Forastero que sali de la cuenca amaznica, cruz los andes y se asent en Ecuador y el sur de Colombia en la costa pacfica de ambos pases. El aslamiento geogrfico y el desarrollo de la actividad cacaotera en Ecuador durante el siglo 18 y la primera mitad del 19 dieron lugar al genotipo Nacional que conocemos hoy en da. Tambin sabemos que hoy en da el genotipo Nacional est muy mezclado con otros genotipos forasteros y trinitarios cultivados en forma masiva durante el siglo 20. No hay una relacin evidente en la parte gentica entre el Nacional ecuatoriano y los criollos mesoamericanos. Saludos. Eduardo.The Nacional from Bolivia of which Felchlin makes the Cru Sauvage from is the only cacao source known not mixed with other hybrids (maybe there are some more spots left in the Amazon). Both are very different just looking at the bean size. The Nacional here is 65 - 75 gr/100 beans.CCN-51 is getting a favorite hybrid in Bolivia in a new production zone as well. The problem with it is that under under very humid conditions the beans start germinating in the pot still looking not ripe from the outside. The yields are fantastic which is so convincing to farmers.By the way, Dagoba bought (maybe still buys) Ecuador chocolate from Felchlin.

Raw chocolate-- what is it really?

Posted in: Make Mine Raw ...

Raw chocolate is not possible as the term chocolate requires minimum a roasting and grinding process. It wound then be raw cacao bean paste mixed with other things. Monkeys spit the seeds out just sucking the pulp, they can't be wrong.
updated by @Volker Lehmann: 07/04/15 21:38:40

Reclassification of cacao varieties?

Posted in: Opinion

Dear Samantha:What I miss in Motomayor's cluster is the natural and abundant presence of cacao "Nacional" in the Beni and Pando departments of Bolivia. That is not surprising, as it is hard to get there and Bolivia is not known as a origin of cacao.The Baure cacao history goes back to the Jesuit time of the Gran Moxos. It is still not clear to me if this cacao was brought by the chatholic orden, or it was found and cultivated there for the first time.I can confirm that chocolate experts where very surprised about the Baure cacao (apparently a forastero type) almost insisting it must be criollo as it was too good.The genetic classification is one areas to be looked at, but also to classify the qualities of existing varieties, by defining quality first.