Caoba
Complex and layered — an opening of dark fruit giving way to tobacco, bitter orange, and a long woody finish. Twenty-six heirloom varietals grow on this farm. You can taste the breadth.
48,00 €
- Herkunft
- Guatemala
- Region
- Río Dulce, Izabal
- Sorte
- 26 Mesoamerican heirloom criollo & acriollado
- Fermentation
- 6 days, cedar box, banana leaves
- Format
- cacao block
- Nettofüllmenge
- 454 g
Caoba comes from Hacienda Río Dulce in lowland Izabal, Guatemala’s Caribbean coast — just 10 to 15 meters above sea level. The land has been home to cacao for centuries: colonial maps mark it as a cacao source from the 1500s, and archaeological finds suggest indigenous cultivation going back a thousand years. The Bronson-Díaz family has stewarded the property since the late 1970s, transforming former pastureland into 300 hectares with 95% canopy cover.
Juan Bronson grew up on this land, helping his archaeologist father excavate Mayan sites. That connection to place drove him to collect and plant heirloom criollo and acriollado varietals from across Central America — 26 different types now grow here among mahogany, rosewood, plantain, and vanilla. Fermented six days in cedar boxes lined with banana leaves. Twelve workers, paid above minimum wage — K’ekchi’, Quiché, and mestizo.