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LetterPress Costa Esmeraldas Ecuador 70%

LetterPress Costa Esmeraldas Ecuador 70%

Weight: 57 g

Regular price $10.00
Regular price Sale price $10.00
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Reasons to Love

Bean to Bar

Bean to Bar

Direct-Source Cacao

Direct Sourced

Woman Owned

Woman Owned

This cacao is grown in the province of Esmeraldas, an area not typically known as a cacao producing region of Ecuador. Costa Esmeraldas is a family business, entirely owned and managed by the Salazar family. This single estate farm was established on reclaimed cattle pasture and is currently planted with approximately 100 hectares of 5-year old Nacional hybrid cacao (clones EET-95, EET-96, and EET-103). The farm is currently expanding, and will include 10 hectares of a traditional Esmeraldas cacao varietal that was cultivated in isolation for over 100 years from the typical Nacional cacao grown in the rest of the country. The original farms planted with this cacao are currently being cut down and replaced with oil palm and CCN-51. The farm is located less than 10 miles inland of the coastal town of Muisne. A brand new, high efficiency fermentation and drying facility was designed by Cacao Services and constructed in a dry microclimate about 15 miles from the farm near the town of Tonchigue. The facility design allows production of unusually consistent and clean cacao with an efficient movement of material that reduces worker injury and fatigue.

The color is strikingly dark for a 70% dark chocolate, but belies its mild flavor. Enjoy. Tasting notes: nutty and floral

Awards
AOC-gold-2022 Award AOC-gold-2020 Award GF-2017 Award AOC-silver-2019 Award AOC-silver-2018 Award AOC-silver-2017 Award

Manufactured in a facility which also processes dairy

Trace Dairy

Manufactured in a facility which also processes peanuts

Trace Peanuts

Sesame Free

Sesame Free

Soy Free

Soy Free

Manufactured in a facility which also processes Tree Nuts

Trace Tree Nut

No animal products, and vegan sugar or alternative sweetener

Vegan+

Gluten Free

Gluten Free

INGREDIENTS & ALLERGENS

Ingredients: cacao, organic unrefined cane sugar, organic cocoa butter


May contain traces of tree nuts, peanuts and milk.

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  • REAL CHOCOLATE

    True chocolate has rich, nuanced flavors. Like wine it can vary by the variety of cacao beans, and where it's grown.

  • ETHICALLY SOURCED

    Chocolate makers that source cacao at high standards beyond Fair Trade, and produce responsibly.

  • A CURATED SELECTION

    A diverse selection sourced from the top 2% of all chocolate in the world.

  • 25,000+ HAPPY CUSTOMERS

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Maker

LetterPress Chocolate

LetterPress Chocolate was cofounded by David and Corey Menkes in Los Angeles, CA. They founded LetterPress with the purpose of paying cocoa farmers a a premium for quality, sourcing their cacao through direct trade, and working with partners such as Uncommon Cacao, Meridian Cacao. Quality above quantity with as few ingredients as possible to make the best chocolate possible is their mission. On the inside flap of every bar is their favorite quote from Benjamin Franklin: “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.”

Cacao Region

Esmeraldas, Ecuador

Esmeraldas is the northernmost province of Ecuador, bordering both the Pacific Ocean and western Colombia. The province is notable for its strong Afro-Ecuadorian culture & seafood-based cuisine, as well as the beautiful beaches. Much of Esmeraldas’ population relies upon agriculture to make a living, with the most important crops being banana, tobacco, coffee, and cacao.

Cacao Estate

Costa Esmeraldas

Located in the coastal Ecuadorian province of Esmeraldas, this family-run estate has experienced a complete turnaround in recent years. After nearly a decade of their farm just scraping by through selling produce into the commodity market, in 2015 the Salazar family took on the project of completely revamping the 100-hectare farm. This included adding a complete post-harvest processing facility on-site, which is now managed by Freddy Salazar, the youngest sibling in the family. Management of the cacao orchards create over 40 full-time jobs within the local community in rural Esmeraldas, while the fine flavor neo-nacional beans they grow are now used by over a dozen chocolate companies around the world. Makers favor it for its strong base notes of cocoa, roasted nuts, and light fruitiness, with almost no astringency or bitterness.

Cacao Strain

Cacao Strain: Esmeraldas

This cacao strain takes its name from the northern Ecuadorean province to which it is native. The path which brought it there is yet unclear, but experts agree that Esmeraldas contains some amount of criollo ancestry, maybe even the same criollo types found in ancient Mesoamerica. But whatever its origin, the pods are mostly small and maroon-colored, with relatively few fruits per tree. The characteristic flavor profile of Esmeraldas cacao is incredibly mild, with traces of spices and melon, though chocolate made from pure Esmeraldas is uncommon.

Customer Reviews

Based on 3 reviews
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A
Anonymous
Chocolate Connoisseur

Very good chocolate for all lovers of the bean.

C
C.
Good Letterpress

The cacao was sourced well and is representative of the flavors from this region

L
Liam H.J.
Letterpress Costas Esmeraldas

Exceptional bar, Letterpress doesn’t miss.