Last year, Uncommon began a partnership with Alto Urubamba to source Chuncho cacao, prized for rare genetics and incredible flavor. This year, as part of our commitment to understanding the producer ecosystems of the cacao growing areas we partner with; our VP of Sales, Anjuli Dharna, traveled to explore cacao growing in San Martin, Peru and meet with our partners at the Salon del Cacao y Chocolate in Lima.
Rare Andean Genetics
The Chuncho beans we offer are rare beans sourced and processed by the Alto Urubamba cooperative, located in Quillabamba, Peru, at the foothills of the Andes. “Chuncho” refers to a unique collection of heirloom genetics endemic to this region that tend to have small beans with big flavor.
High Altitude Trees
The Chuncho cacao trees grow at a high altitude, between 800-1000 meters above sea level. 217 families in the Alto Urubamba network cultivate this cacao across 181 organic certified hectares of farms. The Alto Urubamba cooperative is deeply connected to the livelihoods of its members, with complete transparency on the coop’s sales and operations presented regularly to producers for review.
Delicious and Fair Trade
The cooperative offers a wide range of ongoing trainings related to agronomy, income diversification, and health and hygiene. They are certified Organic and Fair Trade, and express delicious flavor notes of brownie, cashew butter and orange blossom.
Engaging with Peruvian Cacao
This year Uncommon Cacao was invited by the Peruvian government to tour four cacao growing coops. Anjuli journeyed with a small team of fellow industry professionals to visit warehouse facilities, demonstration farms and cultural sites important to national cacao production, including the third largest organic exporter of specialty cacao in the world, ACOPAGRO.
Small Batch Quality Development
Included on the trip was a visit to a professional flavor & tasting lab with sensory evaluation training, small batch fermentation sites and start up chocolate factories preparing artisanal cacao liquor and nibs for export. Traveling through the countryside, Anjuli was able to take in the panoramic views of this important cacao producing region and get a sense of the terroir so highly prized globally.
Salon del Cacao y Chocolate
The trip coincided with the Peruvian Salon del Cacao y Chocolate, a national industry convention bringing professionals from across the globe together in Peru. Anjuli was able to connect with three new possible cacao producing partners and with existing customers from as far away as New Zealand.
Pictured from left to right is Carolina Aguilar & Victor Torres Rivera from MOCCA, and Pamela Hilario from Quori Warmi, a women’s collective we are excited to connect with and have been evaluating samples of their cacao.
Peruvian Derivatives
Did you know we also have organic, natural single origin cacao butter and powder sourced from San Martin Peru?
Perfect for bonbons or white chocolate bars, confections…. All with full traceability and transparency.
