Cayapas
Cacao
Direct Trade
This cacao is produced by the Eperara Siapidaara indigenous community, in the heart of Ecuador’s Esmeraldas province next to the Colombia border.

Sensory profile
These aromatic beans are found deep in the coastal rainforest along the Cayapas river in the northernmost corner of Ecuador. They have a unique floral flavour with notes of white wine and dried fruits.


We follow Cocoa of Excellence’s flavour guidelines. A description of the terminologies used can be found below.
Cocoa: Typical flavour of well-fermented, roasted cacao beans.
Acidity: Perception of acidity that can be found in citric or other fruit acids.
Bitterness: Typically perceived in caffeine, coffee, kola nut, some beers and grapefruits.
Astringency: Perception of astringency that can be perceived as a velvety sensation on the sides of mouth and tongue. Typical of tannins in some wines or beers. Can also be perceived between tongue and palate and/or at the back of the front teeth and inside lips and gums. Typical of raw nut skins and green banana skins.
Sweet: The characteristic sweet flavour that can be found in white sugar, browned sugar, panela, honey and caramel.
Fresh Fruit: A catch-all term to capture the flavour that can be found in citrus, tropical and stone fruits such as strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, acai, lemon, pineapple, mango, apricot and banana.
Browned Fruit: Typical of dried fruit such as dried apricot, banana, yellow raisin and fig. Covers brown and dark fruits such as prunes, dates, plums and dark cherry.
Nutty: Typical of hazelnut, macadamia, pecan, walnut, cashew, almond and brazil nut.
Floral: The floral flavour attributes typical of freshly cut grass, young green leaves, herbs like thyme and rosemary, jasmine, honeysuckle, rose, lilac, lilies etc.
Woody: Typically associated with the aromatic properties of freshly cut wood, both light woods such as ash, beach and maple and dark woods such as oak, walnut and teak.
Spice: Typical of nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, liquorice, tonka, vanilla, black pepper and dried tobacco.
Smoky: The flavour associated with a smoky aroma such as those given off when burning charcoal and wood chip.
The Provenance
The community produces some of the finest Nacional cacao in the country in one of Ecuador’s most unique cacao terroirs, so remote that it is only accessible by river.
By working closely with the farmers, we’ve helped the community to overcome extreme logistical challenges, improve post-harvest practices, and make sure their beans reach the specialty market in optimum condition.

Our Process

The Farmers

Fermentation

Drying
1 day in a mechanical dryer

Traceabilty
Lot level
Type – Cabuya Bags
Net Weight – 69 kg
Gross Weight – 69.5 kg
Coming Soon: Organic EU, Organic USDA, Rainforest Alliance and Fair Trade USA.