Glowing Guatemala

— Connected to the world through a single bridge, this cacao brings the mothering and nourishing energy from the jungle it comes from, infused with the joy and knowledge from the people taking care of it.

Glowing Guatemala is made with some of the finest beans that can be found in the country. The farms location, the ancient wisdom and the spiritual connection to cacao are all specific factors that makes this cacao special.

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

Cacao Guide

Ora Cacao

"Cacao is often reffered to as a heart opener or heart-centered medicine and we think we may have found out why."

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

GUATEMALA

VILLAGE/REGION

SAN JUAN CHIVITE, Lanquín, Alta Verapaz

POST-HARVEST HANDLER

ADEMAYACH

HARVEST YEAR

2021

BEANS VARIETY

Mix – Probably Clones* (CATIE, ICS) + Native Criollo

STORY & INFORMATION

The beans used in the making of Glowing Guatemala are taken care and harvested by a community of Q’eqchi’ Maya living in San Juan Chivite. More precisely, they’re established in what used to be a 180-hectare farm, abandoned by its owner back in the 1980’s, during Guatemalan civil war. The farm was handed over in 1985 to the 65 families who were former workers on the farm.

Chivite is located in the region of Alta Verapaz, well known today for being an abundant source of ceremonial grade cacao. Cacao still holds to this day a very special place in Q’eqchi’ culture and spirituality. Jonas put it this way: « The cacao farmers we work with here have some of the most intact knowledge of cacao we’ve seen across all of our sourcing trips. ».

This region is shaped by montainous tropical landscapes, in which Chivite sits, almost disconnected from the world, except for a footbridge crossing the rushing Cahabón river. A lush rainforest and an abundant biodiversity complete the surroundings of the trees delivering this delicious cacao.

There are now more than 150 families living there, taking care of cacao trees but also coffee, cardamom, corn and fruit trees.

As stated above, the village and farms are accessible only by a swinging bridge. Farmers have to cross it while lifting full 100lb sacks of wet beans in order to process them as the centralized fermentary and drying facility lies on the other side of the river.

They are organized in an association model, called ADEMAYACH, which is responsible for handling the post-harvest process. This ensure consistency and quality in beans’ treatment.

The association then sells the dried beans to Cacao Verapaz, owned by Uncommon Cacao, who’s then responsible for exporting the beans and making them available to makers such as Ora.

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 – Chocolatey with herbal and spicy notes
SHAPE – Discs

IN CUPS

COLOR – Brown
SMELL – Toasted brioche, sweet red plum, toasted hazelnut
FOAM – Brown, irridescent hues

Tasting notes

Aromas:

A fruity aroma starts to spread after the first sips which then develops into a fermented but not unpleasant taste.

As we reach the core note, an earthy tone reminds us of maca root powder.

The end of our cup showcases a balance of unripe pineapple, brazil nut and fruity coffee notes.

Remarks:

« Fermented », as weird as it may sound, sometimes refer to a pleasant note when it’s associated with others. Fermentation is a crucial part of the post-harvest handling of cacao beans so it may happen to feel hints of it sometimes. When associated to a sweetener, it often reveals delicious fruity notes. But tasting 100% cacao products means being exposed to those genuine aromas.
This cacao showcases a broad diversity of aromas that makes it feel evenly balanced in taste.
A possibly high amount of tannins left us a dry mouth feeling in the aftertaste.

Effects experienced

→ Embracing | Heart-centered | Joyful

What we experienced after drinking this cup of cacao felt like nothing else before. There was no heaviness, no lightness, just a different kind of intensity in which we felt completely wrapped into.

Our attention was blatantly brought to our hearts. We had a tangible sense of something unfolding in there. Besides that, we could feel unusual parts of our bodies feeling activated, from our chins to our chests, taking a detour through our ears that felt weirdly enjoyable.

We could also feel a special inner warmth, similar to the one emanating from a comforting fire.

Each one of the specific effect we could sense felt like a perfectly tuned instrument, joining the joyful orchestra we were experiencing. Mathieu couldn’t stop smiling, tears were almost coming up his eyes and he felt completely relieved, while Romane felt a sincere and warm embrace.

Cacao is often reffered to as a heart opener or heart-centered medicine and we think we may have found out why.

We didn’t think of a specific setup into which we imagined ourselves using this cacao purposefully, maybe we couldn’t, maybe there’s no need.

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