Qantu Chocolate Silk Road (Dark Chocolate w/ Spices) 70%

Piura is a northwestern Peruvian department known for its rare Criollo cacao varieties, particularly the Blanco de Piura (white cacao), which is grown exclusively in this region. The white cacao is characterized by exceptional aroma, flavor, and low acidity, with roughly 30 to 40 percent albino beans. Piura's desert forest region with moist clay soils creates distinctive malt, sugar cane, and nutty flavor profiles unique to this terroir.

Founded in 2005, the Cooperativa Norandino represents more than 7,000 families producing cocoa, coffee and panela across the north of Peru. Its mission is to improve the livelihoods of its member families by offering access to local and international markets. The cooperative is large by Peruvian standard, but it’s driven by its core values of transparency, equality, respect, responsibility, democracy and quality. All of Norandino's producers are Organic- and Fairtrade-certified, but because it represents cacao producers from so many regions of the country, chocolate makers are able to source Norandino cacao based on area of cultivation or even type of cacao. This allows makers to invest in a sustainable and equitable system while still maintaining control over their unique flavor proposition.

Piura is a fine flavor cacao strain from northern Peru's Piura region, one of Peru's historic cacao-growing areas. It is valued for its regional distinctiveness and its role in preserving Peruvian cacao heritage within the broader fine flavor cacao family.