Mexico Finca La Rioja Porcelana Blanca (1KG)

REGION AND COUNTRY
Cacahoatán (“Place of Cacao” in the ancient Toltec language), Chiapas State, Mexico 

THE STORY
The history of cacao in the Southeast of Mexico dates to pre-colonial times. Cacao was not only an integral part of the culinary and religious traditions of the region,  but it was also used as currency. Chiapas was the center of cacao commerce  in Mesoamerica when the Spaniards reached the area in 1522. The first cacao  brought to Europe to the Spanish court came from Chiapas. Finca La Rioja was established in the beginning of the 1900’s by the Andalucian  immigrant Moisés Mugüerza Gutiérrez who planted cacao along with coffee  and other crops. Don Moisés collected criollo cacao varieties from the South of  Mexico, Belize and Guatemala which he further developed in his nursery. With the introduction of agrarian land reform policies under the government of  Álvaro Obregón after the Mexican Revolution, a great portion of the plantation  and the nurseries of don Moisés were expropriated. Almost 100 years later, the  descendants of don Moisés keep their cacao heritage alive.  

HARVEST
October – March (main harvest) June – September (mid crop) 

GENETICS
Great grandson José María Pascacio is the current owner of Finca La Rioja and  recently introduced don Carmelo trees to his plantation. The Carmelo hybrid  was developed by the owner of Finca La Joya in Tabasco and is known for its  predominantly light colour and distinctive flavours of fruit and sweet tobacco. Genetic testing has shown that don Carmelo cacao is an interesting combination  of Criollo and Forastero genetics. The current harvest of the Finca La Rioja is a mixture of the plantation’s old genetics and the Carmelo trees introduced to the plantation.  

POST HARVESTING PROCESS
The cocoa beans are harvested and fermented in wooden boxes at the Finca  during a period of 5 days, with a different number of turns per batch to influence  the flavour development.

Flavour profile
Creamy notes with a strong nutty flavour.