Our chocolate is made with the fermented , mature cocoa beans of Gisela Caceibo from rancho grande. She is a very stubborn lady. Who is one of the few , with Mina to grow Arriba cocoa on the entire farm and away form other growers to prevent cross hybridations. I will attach a picture of the pods so you can see it is Arriba cocoa beans and Not CCN51.

We had many fights and arguments with farmers on why they would not replant nacional/Arriba.: Rancho san Jacintho, and the coop from Luz y Guya and la Florida ( also certified organics, but we found garbage bags being dumped in the nearby river!). We discovered the majority of farmers are growing CCN51 and pretending to sell Arriba, as most buyers cannot tell the difference or don't care . Being an Ag engineer ( I.S.T.O.M. Class of 72( French engineering school ) and having worked in cocoa for 18 years, I have been constantly looking for Native cocoa beans.

Having a little knowledge of genetics and Plant reproduction, I do not put " Arriba" on the bar because:
- It is a commercial appellation: it means nothing.
- Once you study the genotypes of the native Criollo( which means Native" Nacional Antigua": ( the real name of the old varietals , native of Ecuador). You see it is already a hybridizing of Upper Amazon Forasteros, some criollos from Venezuela, and trinitarios: and you start seeing more and more genes from Lower Amazon forasteros.

- Flavor developments comes from:
1- The beans genotypes ( if it is has more or less Antocyanins).
2- when the beans are harvested; mature pods instead of green pods. I guarantee than most farmers in coops or big farms actually do not care as they do not own the farms. It is owned by investments groups , or Ecuadorian business men, not leaving on the farm. Gisela cares. I can also send you a picture to show you difference.
3- The fermentation process. In box , or bags and how often you turn them.
4- The drying process.
5- The Roasting process.

One can get excellent results with Arriba if all these conditions are met. This is why we work almost exclusively with Rancho grande and we are now developing a young Ecuadorian - German farmer who is interested to follow our ideas on fermentations. so we can bring you a national Antigua flavor as unadulterated as possible.

We have worked with many farms , all certified , in Ecuador for the last 15 years , and we had to stop working with many of them, despite their certifications, because the farmers goals are different than ours. They are paid by the weight of cocoa beans. Not whether they developed a good flavor or not ( It is at roasting that you uncover the flavor). I can guarantee you that our beans are sourced solely from the farms growing nacional Antigua : look at the pods: they are pale green with deep ridges and a pointy end (instead of red , rounder and much larger for hybrids ). These characteristics are the Trademark phenotypes of Arriba . ( you can still be surprised by what you find inside though, so it is not fool proof , but that's another discussion).

- These very rich and influential farmers/business men knows that CCN51 is not a good name for cocoa . It obviously betrays the hybrid genotype behind its name. So they have called it:" Don Homero" . One will see that name being marketed worldwide by the export Agency of Ecuador,. who is in cahoots with this business men.

- There are no laws which says you have to put " Arriba" on the chocolate. We removed the " Arriba" name off our packaging, as the only name with any real significance is " nacional Antigua" . Most farms are polluted and cannot supply 100% " Arriba" ( nacional Antigua). I am not using the name because I believe the location of the farm, the fermentation ,the harvest and drying process are as important if not more than the genotypes of the beans. Naming the farm also rewards the farmers who are doing an excellent Job: Like: Gisela caceibo.

I will be happy to answer any questions you might have. It is also why We are often out of stock: we refuse to work with distributors, traders, and coop where cocoa beans are all mixed .

A Good way to know if you are eating Arriba chocolates: if the chocolate manufacturer is always in stock: If he is , then You are not: Because there are less and les of it and it is difficult to get. and all industrial plantations or cooperatives ( by the diversity of farmers belonging to the association) are either completely polluted or growing ccn51 or lower Amazon forasteros( on the east side- Amazon side of the Andes.).

Please Not that a massive planting program of cocoa hybrids is underway in Columbia, Ecuador, Peru Bolivia: and it is the same cocoa bean: The CCN51 and similar. Soon, ( with few local exceptions ) the cocoa beans from all these countries will have the same flavors characteristics, as the varietals planted are selected for yield and disease resistance, not flavor.

Sincerely yours;

Pierrick Chouard