Hi Brian,
Thanks a lot; we appreciate your opinion and are glad that the beans looked good. Now we just have to find some genetics like the ones you have in Peru to really take it up a notch.
Giff
Hello Madeleine,
My small company, Cacao Bisiesto (Leap Year Cacao) processes fine flavor Nicaraguan cocoa. We have worked with several bean-to-bar chocolate makers in the US and Europe and can handle anything from a sack to 10 tons of cocoa. If you would like a sample please let me know and we will happily send you one.
Giff Laube
Matagalpa, Nicaragua
Hello Morena,
I have both beans and nibs. I live in Matagalpa, Nicaragua (our cocoa is entirely Nicaraguan) and can ship either LCL or air freight if you would like. We can do anything from one sack to one ton. www.cacaobisiesto.com
Thank you,
Giff Laube
Matagalpa, Nicaragua
If you wanted to change your destination (slightly), there are options here in Nicaragua for this kind of thing. Matagalpa (they call it the North, but it more like the center of the country) has a lot of cocoa production and some interesting things to see if you are interested.
Giff Laube
Hello Borncamp,
I run a small cacao sourcing company here in Nicaragua, and we have been happy to host several visits over the past few months here. We have also been sending cacao air freight to the States and Europe in small lots (180-500 kilos). While not super cheap, I feel it has been reasonable ($1.68 per kilo shipping to Ohio was our last shipment). If you are interested, please let me know and we'll see what we can do.
Gifford Laube
Matagalpa, Nicaragua
You are correct, that hole is where the germ had perforated the testa (skin) when it germinated. And generally speaking, this is bad. When you have germinated beans in a fermentation, they are almost always the first ones to get moldy (makes sense, the perforated skin allows the bean to fill up with juice/microbes during fermentation. If your cacao has more than 1% of these, the source is not cleaning their cacao very well.
