Vinces Cacao

Direct Trade

Since the golden era of Ecuadorian cacao Vinces has been renowned as the heart of Nacional production.

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Sensory profile

These heirloom beans from Vinces have dark fruits with gentle tannins, floral honey, fresh grapes
and tea-like herbal aromas.
 
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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

Vinces cacao has been celebrated for its quality for many centuries, so much so that it’s location upriver, or ‘rio arriba’, is the etymological root for ‘Arriba cacao’, now synonymous with the highest quality Nacional.
We source directly from a farmer group of small-holders. Fermentation protocols were developed through a two year collaboration with Zurich University of Applied Sciences, designed to showcase the floral notes and herbal aroma these heirloom beans are famous for.
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Our Process

The Farmers

Sourced from a farmer group
Farmers – 261
Men:Women – 213:48
Average Age – 59

Fermentation

3 tiered boxes
48-24-24-24

Drying

7-8 days on a cement patio

Traceabilty

Lot 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 – Nacional
Bean Count – 78
Bean Weight – 129
Mould – 1.00%
Infestation – 0.00%
Slate – 5.67%
Violet – 23.00%
Moisture – 0.00%
Flat Beans – 0.15%
Foreign Material – 0.16%
Clusters – 0.06%
Broken Beans – 1.12%
Cocoa Fragments – 0.69%
Cocoa Sievings – 0.11%
Cadmium Level (ppm) – 0.315
Cocoa Butter – 53.10%

Type – Cabuya Bags
Net Weight – 69 kg
Gross Weight – 69.5 kg

Coming Soon: Organic EU, Organic USDA, Rainforest Alliance, Fair Trade USA

Discover flavour and quality

Spices, coffee, creamy, nutty
Seram Island, The Moluccas
Indonesia
Floral aroma, white wine,
dried fruits
Santa Rosa, Esmeraldas
Ecuador
Fresh fruit, floral, smooth
and balanced
Masule, Bundibugyo
Uganda
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