Colombia

La Cueva Chocolate Bar

La Cueva Chocolate Bar

This lot of mixed Trinitario hybrids was grown by smallholders in the centre of Huila, showcasing deep molasses, raisin and citrus

$9.00 USD
$9.00 USD

Product information

Cacao Expression The selection of high quality native genetic material, followed by a controlled fermentation at the community mill, leads to a rich and complex chocolate, with notes of molasses, raisin, and bright citrus.

Producer Our partners from Osito have opened their community project ‘La Cueva del Oso’ in Altamira, in the centre of the Huila region. Here, they serve both coffee and cacao farmers. We have worked with coffee producers in Huila for many years, and are excited to continue our work here into cacao.

Nutrition facts

Chocolate:

53g

70% cocoa content

Ingredients:

Cocoa beans

Danish sugar

Nutrition pr 100g

Energy - 1869kJ / 446kcal

Fat - 29,9g

Saturated fat - 17,5g

Carbohydrates - 54,9g

Sugars - 30,0g

Fibre - 22,4g

Protein - 10,1g

Salt - 0g

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Huila

This cacao lot is produced by our long term friend Herbert Peñaloza, one of the founding members of the LaREB collective. We have purchased several lots of coffee from Herbert and the team’s projects, most recently from the El Bocadillo farm, having purchased several lots from the lower altitude Él Eden previously.

A drive for quality

The drive for quality coffee in Huila is beginning to inspire cacao producers. Here, most have Trinitario hybrid varietals, distributed by local government and agricultural institutions. This lot is composed of FEAR-5, TCS-01, and San Vicente varietals, all selected in Colombia for their performance and quality here. Our partners from Osito saw the potential here, and set about trying to unlock it.

La Cueva del Oso

They have built ‘La Cueva del Oso,’ a community wet mill in Altamira, with the aim of serving both coffee and cacao farmers. The method with both is very similar. They collect whole fruit in the farming communities, paying immediately on delivery and heading back to Altamira for processing. In the case of cacao, this is rather unusual. Often, central processers collect the cacao beans and sticky mucilage, already removed from the pod and beginning to ferment in tanks. In order to maintain quality, the team at La Cueva bring all of that work in house, collecting full pods and taking care of all the fermentation at the mill. They use traditional wooden boxes, and a fermentation time of around 5 days in order to break down the mucilage, creating the familiar aroma and brown colour. 

Here, this leads to a rich and complex chocolate, with notes of molasses, raisin, and bright citrus.

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