The story behind our fruity chocolate
We responsibly source Ancient Nacional cacao—the world’s most prized cacao variety—from the valley of Piedra de Plata in Ecuador. There, local cacao growers practice dry farming. They do not irrigate their trees, and are dependent on the year’s rains and sun. As a result, the flavor and aroma of the cacao beans from Piedra de Plata significantly vary from year to year.
2017 saw consistent rains and plenty of sunlight. The cacao fruit was ripe and healthy, and our Rain Harvest 2017 is a well-balanced fruity chocolate, with hints of orange, cherry, cranberry, and plum.
2018 was an unusually dry and cloudy year, leading to some of our most floral chocolate, with our Rain Harvest 2018 boasting elegantly floral notes along with hints of grapefruit.
The 2019 growing season was generous and dependable, resulting in our Rain Harvest 2019, a fruity chocolate with hints of mandarin and notes of orange blossom.
2021 saw surprising heavy rains during the end of the growing season. This, coupled with our decision to experiment with conching times, led to two fruity chocolate editions. Our Rain Harvest 2021 (18 Hours Conch) is a fruit-forward bar with a flavor profile consisting of blackberry and grapefruit. Meanwhile, our Rain Harvest 2021 (0 Hours Conch) let loose the season’s intrinsic flavors to produce a fruity chocolate that carries notes of blackberry, coffee, oak, and flowers.
Our collection of fruity chocolate also includes our Tequila Cask Aged chocolate. We selected our 2015 Rain Harvest and aged it in a cask from Don Julio—a pioneer in the craft of tequila. The resulting chocolate is fruity with a touch of agave.
Learn more about each of our fruity chocolates by visiting their respective pages. You will find detailed information on their growing period, flavor profile, and what foods and drinks they pair well with.
