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GLOWING
GUATEMALA
Ora Cacao
PROFILE
Guatemala sits at the heart of Central America, a land of dramatic highlands, dense rainforests, and rich volcanic soils that have nurtured cacao for centuries. In the country’s central north lies Alta Verapaz — a region known for its misty mountains, abundant rivers, and fertile valleys that make it one of Guatemala’s key cacao-growing areas.
Tucked within Alta Verapaz, near the caves and turquoise pools of Lanquín, is the village of San Juan de Chivite — a small community perched across a wooden bridge spanning the Cahabón River. Here, families cultivate cacao along the riverbanks, combining age-old knowledge with the region’s unique climate to produce beans with a bright, lively character.
Glowing Guatemala
CACAO
PROFILES
Ora Cacao
Enjoy 10% off your first ORA CACAO order
TERROIR
Origin Country
Guatemala
Region
San Juan Chivite, Lanquín, Alta Verapaz
Post-Harvest Facilitator
ADEMAYACH
Harvest Year
2021
Beans Genetics
Unknown — Suspected: Mix of clones (ICS, CATIE) + Native Criollo
Beans Genetics
Unknown — Suspected: Mix of clones (ICS, CATIE) + Native Criollo
CONTEXT & MAKING PROCESS
The beans used to make Glowing Guatemala are grown and harvested by a Q’eqchi’ Maya community in San Juan Chivite. This village is located on what was once a 180-hectare farm, abandoned during the Guatemalan civil war in the 1980s. In 1985, the land was handed over to 65 families who had previously worked there.
Today, Chivite sits deep in the mountainous, tropical region of Alta Verapaz — an area renowned for its abundant, high-quality cacao. For the Q’eqchi’ Maya, cacao remains central to their culture and spiritual life. As Jonas puts it: “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.”
San Juan Chivite is almost cut off from the outside world, connected only by a wooden footbridge over the rushing Cahabón River. The community lives surrounded by lush rainforest and rich biodiversity that shape the character of the cacao grown here.
More than 150 families now live in Chivite, tending not only cacao trees but also coffee, cardamom, corn, and fruit crops. The village and its farms can only be reached by crossing the swinging bridge — a daily task for farmers carrying heavy sacks of freshly harvested wet cacao beans to the centralized fermenting and drying facility on the other side of the river.
Farmers are organized as ADEMAYACH, an association that oversees the post-harvest process to ensure consistent fermentation and drying — steps that are key to quality and flavor. Once dried, the beans are sold to Cacao Verapaz, part of Uncommon Cacao, which handles export and makes this cacao available to makers like Ora.
Jonas and his team then complete the transformation at their facility, using a minimalist chocolate-making approach designed to preserve the cacao’s natural compounds while highlighting its best flavors. This careful process includes light roasting, winnowing, grinding, conching, and tempering, resulting in pure Origin Cacao discs.
MORPHOLOGY
SOLID
HUE – Dark brown
TEXTURE – Solid
SCENT – Chocolatey with herbal & spicy notes
FORM – Discs
BEVERAGE
HUE – Brown
TEXTURE – Homogeneous, thin but smooth
SCENT – Toasted brioche, red plum, toasted hazelnut
FOAM – Brown, iridescent hues
AROMATIC PROFILE
Fruity
TASTING NOTES
TOP NOTES – Fruity, lightly fermented
HEART NOTES – Earthy, maca powder
BASE NOTES – Unripe pineapple, brazil nut, fruity coffee
REMARKS
A gentle fruitiness rises after the first sips, soon giving way to a subtle fermented note — not unpleasant at all, but rather adding depth and complexity. As the core unfolds, an earthy tone appears, reminiscent of maca root powder, grounding the brighter edges.
Toward the end, the cup reveals a lively balance of unripe pineapple, brazil nut, and fruity coffee, giving this cacao a wide, evenly layered taste.
Because it’s a pure cacao, hints of fermentation sometimes come through — a natural trace of the careful post-harvest work that unlocks these rich, genuine flavors. This lively range of aromas, combined with a touch of tannins, leaves a pleasantly dry finish that lingers and invites another sip.
EFFECT PROFILE
Exhilarating
OBSERVED STATES
RADIANT • HEART-OPENING • ELEVATING
REMARKS
What we experienced with this cacao felt unlike anything else — an intensity that wrapped around us completely, yet without any sense of heaviness or excess lightness. It drew our focus naturally to the heart, where there was a clear, tangible sense of something opening and expanding.
We noticed a gentle activation through the upper body — from the chest to the chin — creating a pleasant warmth, like the glow of a comforting fire.
Each sensation felt finely tuned, like distinct notes coming together in a harmonious blend of warmth and uplift. It was easy to see why cacao is so often called a heart opener: it invites a genuine sense of presence, warmth, and connection that speaks for itself.
