Lachuá

Guatemala

LACHUÁ

A conservation-focused group of indigenous producer associations located in a hill-studded, jungle-rich area of northern Alta Verapaz.

The Lachuá region is home to a pristine cenote lake within a national park, which has been a protected RAMSAR site since 2006, and to communities of indigenous Q’eqchi’ Maya families.

Cacao Verapaz works in partnership with two smallholder associations located around the lake, ASODIRP and KATBALPOM. Together with three additional associations of other products like cardamom and chili peppers, they are leaders in creating economic incentives to develop and maintain biodiverse agroforestry buffer zones around the lake.

The communities work together to use sustainable agroforestry as a buffer, protecting the area from industrial palm oil development and other forms of extractive agriculture pervasive in northern Guatemala. The producers of Lachuá are highly professional and efficient; Uncommon Cacao conducted a cost of production study in this region in 2019 which found that producers in this region earn a 50%+ profit margin on their cacao sales, after including both monetary and non-monetary costs to produce cacao.

Pictured is producer Pedro Pa Beb harvesting a cacao pod

TERROIR

The cacao farms in the Lachuá region are planted amidst lush karstic limestone hills that rise up from the rolling verdant landscape. Planted in more recent decades with a combination of trees selected locally for performance and flavor, the Lachuá cacao is complex and has personality.
We love this cacao because of its unique citric acidity. Lachuá cacao combines tangy fresh berries with nostalgic coffee, nut, and chocolate base notes, offering a wide variety of compelling flavors possible through dialing in different roasting profiles.

The Lachuá region is home to a pristine cenote lake within a national park, which has been a protected RAMSAR site since 2006, and to communities of indigenous Q’eqchi’ Maya families.

Cacao Verapaz works in partnership with two smallholder associations located around the lake, ASODIRP and KATBALPOM. Together with three additional associations of other products like cardamom and chili peppers, they are leaders in creating economic incentives to develop and maintain biodiverse agroforestry buffer zones around the lake.

The communities work together to use sustainable agroforestry as a buffer, protecting the area from industrial palm oil development and other forms of extractive agriculture pervasive in northern Guatemala. The producers of Lachuá are highly professional and efficient; Uncommon Cacao conducted a cost of production study in this region in 2019 which found that producers in this region earn a 50%+ profit margin on their cacao sales, after including both monetary and non-monetary costs to produce cacao.

Pictured is producer Pedro Pa Beb harvesting a cacao pod

TERROIR

The cacao farms in the Lachuá region are planted amidst lush karstic limestone hills that rise up from the rolling verdant landscape. Planted in more recent decades with a combination of trees selected locally for performance and flavor, the Lachuá cacao is complex and has personality.
We love this cacao because of its unique citric acidity. Lachuá cacao combines tangy fresh berries with nostalgic coffee, nut, and chocolate base notes, offering a wide variety of compelling flavors possible through dialing in different roasting profiles.

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2022 Lachuá Farmgate price

$2.83 USD

This is the actual price paid to the cacao producer for their product (typically on a per kg or per lb basis) when they sell it to the first buyer.

Farmgate price is often paid for "wet" or fresh cacao, recently harvested and scooped out of cracked pods for sale. Wet cacao loses 60-70% of its weight during fermentation and drying, typically reaching 7-8% humidity before it is sold.

Uncommon calculates farmgate price for each cacao supplier based on the specific weight loss conversion percentage provided to us by the supplier, and we report farmgate price on a per kg dried equivalent basis for all cacao beans we source.

Pictured is Roy Fraatz, Technical and Quality Manager at Cacao Verapaz conducting a training.

2022 Lachuá Association price

$3.95 USD

This is the price the exporter pays the association for cacao.

In some cases in our supply chain there is an organized group of producers that aggregate cacao and sell it to an exporter.

Pictured are Miguel Cuc, Anselmo Luc, Raul Quezada, Hugo Mo, and Jose Pop in front of the association's drying decks.

2022 Lachuá FOB price

$5.75 USD

This is the price paid by Uncommon to our partners for cacao transported and loaded onto a ship for export.

Uncommon then covers all of the costs of shipping, freight charges, insurance, import, domestic logistics, warehouse ingestion, customs and duties.

Free on board (FOB) is an international shipping term that represents the seller's responsibility for bringing the cacao over the rails of the export ship.

2022 Lachuá Average sales price

$8.31 USD

This is the weighted average price per kg for cacao sold to the premium & ultra premium chocolate makers who purchased it during this year from Uncommon Cacao.