— Beautifully sourced beans ending up in a heartwarming cacao drink.
Q’eqchi’ is the third Guatemalan cacao we’re lucky to taste. Interestingly enough, the beans from all three editions grow close to each other, in a very small radius. Some dots are starting to connect!
Discover its terroir below, and go through our tasting notes and effects feedback to learn more about this beautiful cacao!
"After our last sips, we could feel something boiling inside us, creating a sort of internal effervescence."
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
GUATEMALA
REGIONS
ALTA & BAJA VERAPAZ
POST-HARVEST HANDLER
FEDECOVERA
HARVEST YEAR
2021
BEANS VARIETY
[Mix] LOCAL TRINITARIO ACRIOLLADO
STORY & INFORMATION
Beans used in the making of Q’eqchi’ are collected and made available by FEDECOVERA.
It’s a second level cooperative, meaning its 40+ members are themselves single members or cooperatives as well. In this context, a member cooperative represents a group of smallholder farmers that gathered together to improve their livelihoods, while honoring and protecting their culture and ecosystem.
Among various crops such as coffe or cardamom, FEDECOVERA is involved in cacao and handle beans coming from a big number of farmers. They are spread out through the regions of Alta and Baja Verapaz, and managed by Q’eqchi’ (mostly) and Pocomchi’, two native groups descending from the Maya.
Post-harvest treatment is taken care of by centralized facilities who handle fermentation and drying of the beans, before they are exported.
Once they reach Vai’s manufactory, they’ll follow a minimal and artisanal chocolate-making process that’ll allow to turn them into pure cacao paste. It is comprised of light roasting, winnowing, crunching and soft 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. The paste then solidifies at room temperature, forming blocks ready to be chopped and turned into a cacao drink.
Details
IN HANDS
COLOR – Light brown SMELL – Honey, floral – Acacia, Fruity – sweet and tangy passionfruit SHAPE – Blocks
IN CUPS
COLOR – Caramel
SMELL – Sweet vegetal profile, carrot and prune notes, warm sugar FOAM – Whitish
Tasting notes
Aromas:
Light fermented note – (fruity cheese like), coffee’s fruity acidity, hay.
Remarks:
Q’eqchi’ has a rather vegetal profile, punctuated by fruity and acid notes. The profile was quite complex to detail as no really clear aromas emerged from the drink, a recurring comment we find ourselves making when tasting cacaos coming from Guatemala.
Effects experienced
→ Effervescent | Externalizing | Warming
Q’eqchi’ lifted us up quite literally.
After our last sips, we could feel something boiling inside us, creating a sort of internal effervescence.
Our mental and senses were sharp, no disconnection on the horizon, but what happened physically ressembled of an urge to express something, to externalize.
All of this being accompanied with an inner warmth, radiating and pushing outside as well.
We envisionned ourselves using this cacao purposefully in different contexts, such as a specific ceremony or physical practice, but that would be turn toward the same goal: expressing and letting go of something.
We hope you enjoyed this content! If you’d like to try Q’eqchi’, feel free to use our 10% discount code: CACAOINSIGHTS, available on your first order.
Read more about Vai's cacaos
©2024 Cacao Insights ☼ Made from the ♡