The Marañón River is the mainstem source of the Amazon River, flowing through a deeply-eroded Andean valley called the Marañón Canyon, also known as Marañón River Valley. Northern Peru’s famous nacional bean was rediscovered in this area many years ago, a finding which has since brought incredible fame to the Don Fortunato Farm, as well as the entire region’s cacao (no matter the varietal). The Marañon River is the second-longest river in Peru.

The name “Fortunato” has become rather famous in the fine chocolate world, now associated with the internationally-recognized Peruvian nacional cacao varietal. But did you know that Fortunato isn’t a cacao varietal, but a name? Don Fortunato (Spanish for ‘Mr. Fortunato’) is the cacao farmer on whose land this nacional cacao strain was re-discovered, in northern Peru’s Marañón Canyon. Don Fortunato and his wife participate in each harvest and, using machetes, open pods and assist in removing the beans. Sealed buckets with wet cacao beans are then transported by donkey from the farm to the family home, weighed, and immediately paid for; the beans begin fermentation the same day. Because only a very small amount of this cacao is harvested each year, makers treat this holy grail of cacao with a commensurately high amount of care & respect.

Fortunato No. 4 is a Pure Nacional cacao strain rediscovered in Peru's Maranon Canyon, where it had been growing in isolation for centuries. Its genetic purity and connection to Ecuador's historic Nacional lineage make it one of the most notable heritage cacao finds in recent decades, highly valued by craft makers for its rarity and provenance.