Lenca, El Salvador

— Made from fine Salvadoran beans, showing off the potential of a beautiful terroir.

Lenca is part of Vai’s Salvadoran cacao collection and could qualify as the most frenetic one. We appreciate to feel the diversity between those cacaos even though they grow so close from one another.

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

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Vai Cacao

"We were laughing out loud from the start, and a kind of bliss accompanied us long after our cups were empty. We could feel another kind of healing process than the one that’s usually associated to cacao."

N.B. : This article contains an affiliate link and a 10% discount code 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

EL SALVADOR

AREA / DEPARTMENT

JIQUILISCO BAY / USULUTAN

FARM & POST-HARVEST HANDLER

HACIENDA SAN JOSÉ DE REAL DE LA CARRERA

HARVEST YEAR

2021

BEANS VARIETY

[Mix] LOCAL TRINITARIO ACRIOLLADO

STORY & INFORMATION

Beans used in the making of Lenca all come from Hacienda La Carrera, one of the biggest and oldest cacao farms in El Salvador. It is located on the southeast Pacific coast, beside the mangroves of Jiquilisco Bay.

Lenca is the name Elisa and Juan-Ra chose for the cacao paste they make out of those beans. It is also the name of a Mesoamerican indigenous people, originating from the same region. They lived through centuries (possibly millenia), having frequent contact with Maya and other groups, and are still represented and flourishing to this day.

Cacao trees in La Carrera were initially planted more than fifty years ago and were at one point left unattended due to civil war and government-imposed land reform. Yet, younger generations managed to rescue this cacao land and relaunch a prosperous yield providing some of the finest beans in the country.

Cacao trees are surrounded by mango trees, themselves growing besides coconut trees, bordering the mangroves. Further away, plantains and sugar cane complete La Carrera’s crops collection.

In terms of genetics, this estate is home to a unique hybrid of acriollado, born from the natural and local hybridization of previous strains. Unique genetics make for unique taste and effects. This is a textbook example of cacao’s complexity and infinite range of evolutions.

La Carrera is equipped with its own post-harvest facility, where skilled and experienced farmers master the delicate art of handling freshly harvested beans. As a reminder, proper fermentation and drying are two crucial steps in establishing a bean’s quality.

Once the beans are dried, they are packed and ready to be imported by Vai Cacao, directly to their manufactory. Here starts the minimal and artisanal making process that’ll allow to transform the beans into pure cacao paste. It is comprised of light roasting, winnowing, crunching and slow stone-grinding. Conching and tempering aren’t performed, as they would be in a classic process, in order, among other things, to preserve cacao’s compounds at best.

Details

IN HANDS

COLOR – Brown
SMELL – Tobacco, raisin, rum
SHAPE – Blocks

IN CUPS

COLOR – Hazelnut
SMELL – Chocolatey, orangette
FOAM – Beige with orange hues

Tasting notes

Aromas:

Chocolatey profile, nutty with tannins, lemon notes

Remarks:

Tasting Lenca made us feel like we had access to the « true » taste of cacao, at least according to how we represent it in our own minds. It has this perfect balance of chocolatey aromas, bitter impression, and fruity notes that altogether embody how cacao taste like. None of those three characteristics were predominant at all, it was just pleasurable.

Effects experienced

→ Euphoric | Playful | Exhilarating

Lenca embarked us on the most exhilarating experience we’ve had so far with cacao.

We could feel it operate right from the end of our cups, triggering a light pulse between our eyes and forehead.

It felt like a pulling energy, a force that would remove the caps of our heads so joy could flow out.

We were laughing out loud from the start, and a kind of bliss accompanied us long after our cups were empty. We could feel another kind of healing process than the one that’s usually associated to cacao.

Drinking Lenca was a proper journey that we would go back on cheerfully with friends, or during a dedicated ceremony. Our smiles were locked and we somehow felt like innocent children again. A potent drink that calls for euphoria.

We hope you enjoyed this content! If you’d like to try Lenca, feel free to use our 10% discount code: CACAOINSIGHTS, available on your first order.