Villa Riva Cacao

Trade Direct

The Dominican Republic has a rich history of producing premium beans which have long inspired the world’s finest chocolate makers.

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Sensory Profile

These beans have bright fresh fruit notes, which are reminiscent of berries, tropical fruit and aromatic yellow flesh fruit. Their velvet creamy texture, and mild acidity are achieved through slow solar drying on raised beds in tunnel greenhouses. 

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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

This cacao comes from a cooperative in Duarte province. There are fifteen farms in the group, and each one is run by members of a single family – la Familia Nuñez – siblings, cousins, children and grandparents. We are proud to be their exclusive distribution partners.
What makes the Familia Nuñez unique is their dedication to innovation. Each farm is managed to the highest standards and we have worked together to refine and optimise the post-harvest practices. We deliver their beans to a global audience, and can track every bag right back to the farm gate.
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Our Process

The Farmers

Sourced from a Cooperative
Farmers – 15
Men:Women – 12:3
Average Age – 60

Fermentation

6 days in 3 tiered boxes
24-48-48-24

Drying

7-10 days on a raised bed with a greenhouse

Traceabilty

Bag level

Carbon footprint
All beans sourced from our direct supply chain are carbon neutral.
The footprint is calculated by examining the impact of agricultural inputs, land use change, and logistics. We offset this with carbon credits to ensure our cacao is environmentally sustainable.
Genetic Variety – Trinitario
Bean Count – 92
Bean Weight – 109
Mould – 0.33%
Infestation – 0.00%
Slate – 0.33%
Violet – 15.67%
Moisture – 6.52%
Flat Beans – 0.17%
Foreign Material -0.11%
Clusters – 0.11%
Broken Beans – 0.85%
Cocoa Fragments – 0.59%
Cocoa Sievings – 0.09%
Cadmium Level (ppm) – 0.153
Cocoa Butter – 57.70%

Type – Polypropylene Bags
Net Weight – 70kg
Gross Weight – 70.1kg

Coming Soon: Organic EU, Organic USDA

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