Bonnat Los Colorados, Ecuador 75%

Guayas is a coastal Ecuadorian province where Nacional cacao, a criollo strain, thrives in the region's tropical climate and ferments with particular care to reveal its signature floral and fruity notes. The terroir from the Guayas river basin produces cacao with subtle herbal complexity that defines Ecuador's reputation for fine flavor beans. Careful post-harvest processing is essential to bring out Nacional's delicate fruit and floral character.

The Camino Verde (Spanish for green path) cacao brand started off as a single estate endeavor by fermentation expert & microbiologist Vicente Norero. Over the years it’s evolved into a centralized fermentary in the Duran region, sourcing cacao from a number of nearby farmers in order to process all of it in one place. With Vicente’s deep understanding of fermentation methods, he produces a variety of flavor profiles using both his own cacao and that from nearby farms. While the blend of estates also means a range of unique tasting notes, all Camino Verde cacao is carefully processed and certified organic.

Nacional is Ecuador's historic fine flavor cacao, prized for its aromatic complexity and genetic distinctiveness. Nacional is one of those ten evolutionarily unique types identified in 2008, using samples collected throughout the Americas over the previous century. Samples proven to be of the nacional cluster were taken from Ecuador and northern Peru, where it’s considered one of the traditional cacao cultivars; it was domesticated by indigenous Ecuadorians over 5000 years ago, reaching far beyond its small native growing region. Many years ago, however, the cultivar neared extinction as more productive clones replaced the region’s native trees. Nacional is known to be fruity & floral, with some astringency and almost no bitterness.