WHAT IS HEIRLOOM CACAO?

NICALIZO® & CHUNO® DESGINATED HEIRLOOM CACAO, BUT WHAT IS HEIRLOOM CACAO?

“Heirloom cacao are the diamonds of cacao — cacao trees and beans endowed with a combination of historic, cultural, botanical, geographical, and most importantly flavor value”, says the website of the Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund (HCP).

There are 13 cocoa varieties designated Heirloom Cacao in the world and 2 of them are ours: Chuno®  and Nicalizo®.

Heirloom cacaos are important because they have a number of ecological, economic and social benefits like:

• Most production occurs in areas of high biodiversity by small scale farmers. Research shows that where cacao is an important source of income, it contributes to roughly one-third of a family’s total revenue.*

• Heirloom varietals grow in the shade and grow harmoniously with other fruit trees, such as bananas, papayas, or cashews. This type of agriculture increases farmers’ ability to protect again blight and increase sources of revenue.*

• Heirloom beans have terrific overall balance — complex and intense, long and pleasant — and unique flavor. It is this unique flavor profile that can be used to attract higher market prices for these rare beans, allowing more revenue to be brought in by farmers cultivating them.*

Our Chuno® and Nicalizo® varieties are produced by small producers in the northern region of Nicaragua and they are beans with a very fine and complex flavor profile.

Nicalizo® was designated Heirloom Cacao in 2016.

At the time of climate change, deforestation and economic pressure affecting the world´s supply of high quality cacao, in Nicaragua producers have been planting cacao as a resilient and more profitable option to replace other crops. Together, we can protect and develop the fine cocoa sector in Nicaragua.