Connected Colombia

— “To learn about a plant medicine, start with honoring and appreciating her, and feel that in her heart. Ask her to tell you about her, what her messages are, if you sit and listen, she’ll tell you her story.”

— Words from an Arhuaco spiritual leader.

Connected Colombia is imprinted of a strong inherited tradition in the way cacao is cared for.

Discover its terroir below, and go through our tasting notes and effects feedback to learn more about this beautiful cacao!

Cacao Guide

Ora Cacao

"As we were drinking our last sips, we could already feel it gently settling in our heads, like a smooth heaviness."

N.B. : This article contains an affiliate link leading to a 10% discount available for a first purchase. These advantages are here to compensate the time and work we put in our project. Yet, we’re dedicated to staying objective in our analyses.
Enjoy them if you want to try new cacaos while supporting us 🙂

Terroir

ORIGIN COUNTRY

COLOMBIA

AREA/REGION

RAINFORESTS OF LA LENGÜETE (Arhuacos’ territory), Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta

POST-HARVEST HANDLER

CACAO DE COLOMBIA

HARVEST YEAR

2021

BEANS VARIETY

[DNA Analysis pending] – Probably big part of Native Criollo + ICS Clones*

STORY & INFORMATION

The beans used in the making of Connected Colombia are taken care and harvested by the Arhuacos, one of three indigenous groups that preserve the biodiversity sanctuary in the Sierra Nevada in Colombia.

They recently returned to their ancestral lands and sacred sites after it was recognized as a « living being » and gained federal protection. Since then, they led a true revival of their cacao traditions, which date for at least six hundred years prior to colonization. In this dynamic, they appropriately named their cacao variety ‘Businchari’, which litteraly means « new beginning ».

Jonas and his team scheduled a new trip there that’ll help, among other things, to lead a proper genetic analysis of the Businchari.

Some scientists supect the area where it grows to be the orginal birthplace of the ancient ‘Criollo Blanco’, from where it dispersed South into the Amazon and North into Maya forests.

Sierra Nevada is home to an astounding biodiversity, rising from sea-level to high peaks, home to many lakes and basins, flooding valleys with rivers thus creating lush rainforests where cacao thrives.

Just as the Belizean farmers, the Arhuacos sell their cacao as wet, directly to a centralized facility run by Cacao de Colombia.
There, it is properly fermented and dried with the expertise required to reveal the flavors and preserve the beans’ quality.

Once dried, those beans are packed and exported to Ora Cacao. Jonas and his team can then transform those beans into pure ceremonial cacao discs, going through a minimalist chocolate-making process, aiming to preserve cacao’s compounds while expressing its best flavors.
The process comprises of light roasting, winnowing, grinding, conching and tempering.

Details

IN HANDS

COLOR – Dark Brown
SMELL – Blond tobacco, slight yellow fruit, brownie
SHAPE – Discs

IN CUPS

COLOR – Light brown
SMELL – Brownie, creamy and a sweet acidity (cherry tomato)
FOAM – Deep and thick brown

Tasting notes

Aromas:

The first sip tastes quite strong, maybe because we had expectations building up, smelling delicious aromas in our cup.

A little bitterness seems to lay down at the back of our mouths, while we experience strong coffee and citrus notes and finally find back the surprising cherry tomato.

Remarks:

It often happens with cacao and chocolate that the notes we smell aren’t the same as the notes we taste.

This cacao follows this rule as we were surprised by the almost bitter citrus feeling of our cups. A creamy aftertaste appears after the drink, which , combined to the sweet cherry tomato feels easy on our taste buds.

Effects experienced

→ Going inward | Intense | Grounding

This cacao didn’t wait to share its effects with us. As we were drinking our last sips, we could already feel it gently settling in our heads, like a smooth heaviness.

In the moment, we described it as a sense of wearing a light helmet that’d help us disconnect from our stream of thoughts.

An appreciable feeling, which was even more enjoyable as we were in a suitable context to embrace it.

The vibe felt like a soothing warm bath.

Physically, it definitely brought our attention to our heads.

« Intense » was a word that occured several times when we tried to describe our journey as we’re going though it. The good kind of intensity.

We somehow felt « dissociated » from what was happening outside of us, like if nothing could bother this moment. We did felt an inversion of the curve after a while, finding ourselves slightly euphoric.

A good setup in which we envision ourselves using it purposefully is for self-work.
A low dose would be enough to get in the flow for a profound meditation or introspection. A higher dose would lay the ground for a proper inner journey during a ceremony.

This cacao, to us, feels like it is about grounding and connecting to ourselves.

We hope you enjoyed this content! If you’d like to try Connected Colombia, feel free to use our 10% discount by clicking this link, available on your first order.