— Peru is home of numerous varieties of fine cacao, expressing unlimited fruity aromas and charged with extra cacao butter.
This cacao is Pure Kakaw’s latest addition, and it seems like it was a love at first sight. Beyond their strong and natural bond with the farm, this atypical profile sits perfectly between its two peers, in terms of flavors and effects as well.
Discover its terroir below, and go through our tasting notes and effects feedback to learn more about this beautiful cacao!
Cacao Guide
Pure Kakaw
N.B. : This article contains an affiliate link and a 10% discount code available on 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
PERU
REGION
CUSCO, QUELLOÚNO VALLEY
FARM
FINCA PAYTITI – SINGLE FARM
HARVEST YEAR
2021
BEANS VARIETY
CHUNCHO ‘SEÑORITAS’ – NATIVE TO PERU
STORY & INFORMATION
Cacao beans used in the making of Pure Kakaw’s Cusco are grown under agroforestry principles with a high biodiversity of trees, plants, birds and animals.
Those go beyond standards of organic certification.
The family farm borders protected natural parks.
Chuncho cacao, native to Peru—locally called “señoritas“—
was first cultivated by the Machiguenga people.
Absolute care is given to those beans by the farmers at Paytiti.
After the harvest, beans are fermented and dried on-site. They are then selected by hand before being roasted over a wood fire. Hand peeled and once again reviewed for their quality, they are then stone ground into cacao paste. The whole process is kept minimal in order to preserve the nutrients and active compounds, while unveiling all the secretly hidden aromas.
Details
IN HANDS
COLOR – Dark BrownDENSITY – ThickSMELL – Strong red fruit notes, almost candied fruitsSHAPE – Flakes
IN CUPS
COLOR – Brown with burgundy hues
DENSITY – Quite thick & even
SMELL – Lime notes, woody and fruity like eucalyptus leaves and sweet tangerine
FOAM – Very light beige with orange hues
Tasting notes
Aromas:
Lemon, woody, little hints of cherry. The drink is tangy and has no bitterness at all.
Mouthfeel:
Very smooth, almost creamy, such as a capuccino
Remarks:
Chuncho cacao beans are native Peruvian beans and are well known in the fine cacao world for their exquisite aromas, fruitiness and absence of bitterness.
The mouthfeel we get confirms another assumption about those rare beans: they have a higher than average fat percentage (cacao butter).
Fat is very important in the delivery process of aromas to our nose and palate, but is also the vehicle of all the healthy compounds cacao has to offer. It’s responsible for making them available to our body.
Effects experienced
→ Outward | Relaxed | Soothing
Cusco is elevating.
It has a very specific profile compared to what we were used to.
We got to know it for a few months and it became clear to us that it acts differently than its peers.
Rather than a sudden climb, Cusco is taking us on a long journey. Cacao is said to have a long lasting and sustainable energy compared to coffee, and we think that Cusco embodies this aspect perfectly.
It’s only around the end of our cups that we’d start feeling a little lift.
It’s also different in the way it manifests. The first clues come from our whole body which start to feel energized.
It feels like pure physical grounding, and it feels good.
Less exhilarating, less intense than usual, but more durable, we can’t really tell when we reach the peak of its effect, it feels very stable, yet potent.
This energy makes us want to open up in different ways, while feeling calm and relaxed.
We find it particularly enjoyable to support a beautiful conversation with a close one, and more specifically when we want to have a cup without being too much in our own bubble.
We hope you enjoyed this content! If you’d like to try this cacao, feel free to use our 10% discount code: CACAOINSIGHTS on your first order.
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