Do you know those old loves that we always return to? Tested by time, they only become more solid and more beautiful, almost unconditional. Like a refrain that sticks to the skin, whether or not we are regularly attracted to novelty.
In terms of cocoa, what could be better than honoring a sure value drawn from centuries-old know-how passed down from generation to generation? The prized Chuao cocoa bean is the perfect embodiment of this long-term work. The fruit of an ancient close relationship between an astonishing Venezuelan village, 100% apart, and the world of chocolate experts.
Curious to learn more about the Chuao legend? We'll take you on board.
Chuao cocoa, from the bean to the PLAQ
The Chuao cocoa bean fascinates. It is considered the rarest of all beans, well known to Parisian chocolate makers and elsewhere. To grasp its unique character, you have to brave the jungle. Go to a hidden Venezuelan village, itself named after the bean. A fertile land isolated between sea and mountains.
This is what Sandra and Nicolas, co-founders of PLAQ, rushed to do in spring 2018, as their very first expedition to the cocoa plantations. They are accompanied, on this initiatory journey, by Chloé Doutre-Roussel, ambassador of the bean to bar movement and trainer of PLAQ in its early days.
Chuao cocoa is earned. From Choroni, a 4-hour drive from Caracas, only a few small motorized boats shuttle to Chuao beach, lined with lush vegetation.
When they disembark, the landscape they discover is truly magical. Accessible only from the sea, Chuao presents itself as a plantation village with a micro-climate combining precipitation and sunshine, ideal for cocoa trees. The beans are grown in agroforestry among banana trees, mango trees, lemon trees and cedars, which provide them with perfect shade.
A little remote and protected paradise, almost insular, like few left on the planet.
Preserved from genetic crossings, this terroir gives rise to a bean at the crossroads of Trinitario and Criollo cocoas (32%). It is populated by former slaves who fled oppression. Experienced farmers who have been developing cocoa know-how for almost 400 years.
His trademark? A unique fermentation system based on bins placed side by side, into which the beans are transferred using a large wooden shovel. If fatigue sets in and we swap the wooden shovel for a lighter metal shovel, the beans bear the mark of this change. They appear to be cut. This is the advantage of travel: being able to read between the beans.
The whole village is organized around cocoa. Half of the inhabitants spend their days there. After having fermented in their own special way, the beans dry on the church square, on the ground. Local life is punctuated by numerous festivals, of which the beans keep their mark even in their flesh. Their taste variations follow the pulse of the village. Intimately intertwined, cocoa and village become one. Chuao, municipality in the state of Aragua and exceptional bean.
Kept away from recent scientific advances that Kamili or Maya Mountain cocoas rather exploit, Chuao cocoa flourishes in craftsmanship. In the village, the elders ensure that good deeds continue among the youngest.
The municipality entrusts marketing exclusivity to a distributor every 3 years. Chuao Trading manages to export its precious production safely, away from Venezuelan traffickers who control the market for other equally rare cocoas. The excellent Porcelana from the Sur Del Lago region is thus impossible to buy in Europe, all of the bags delivered being mixed with beans of lower quality.
Recognized as one of the best cocoas in the world, Chuao reads like a grand cru coveted by the most prestigious manufacturers and the finest palates. It embodies a luxury that we had to encapsulate in PLAQ designed and manufactured on Rue du Nil.
What PLAQ likes about Chuao cocoa
PLAQ tasters Sandra, Nicolas and Margherita, responsible for transforming the bean into chocolate, describe Chuao cocoa as an aromatic explosion.
Therefore, Chuao chocolate is undoubtedly the most complex in the PLAQ range. Its acidity is lively and fruity. Intense and long on the palate, it is full of tension on citrus fruits, tangy yellow and red fruits, and vegetal notes.
Chocolate is, generally speaking, full of positive evocations. This is what we remember when we bite into it. But it can also reveal darker facets... These do not annihilate, they are tamed. In 2022, PLAQ Chuao received the Club des croqueurs de chocolat prize for all of its flavors.
Loved by experts and novices alike, Chuao chocolate needs no one. Except in a pinch... A play on textures with its own shards of roasted beans, or cocoa nibs, placed on the Chuao nibs plate . Or the madness of a pastry Chou stuffed with an ultra fruity 100% Chuao pastry cream, the famous Chuao pastry Chou available only on Saturdays on rue du Nil.
Chuao cocoa in the eye of PLAQ
To quote our mentor Chloé Doutre-Roussel: “You can make bad chocolate with good cocoa, but no good chocolate with bad cocoa.” You have it ?
To your PLAQ.
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Chuao cocoa beans from Aragua Venezuela (76%) and unrefined organic cane sugar from the state of São Paulo Brazil (24%). Without lecithin. No added cocoa butter.
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Chuao cocoa beans from Aragua Venezuela (84%) and unrefined organic cane sugar from the state of São Paulo Brazil (16%). Without lecithin. No added cocoa butter.
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Pure dark chocolate Chuao nibs 76% Chuao cocoa beans from Aragua Venezuela (76%) and unrefined organic cane sugar from the state of São Paulo Brazil (24%). Without lecithin. No added cocoa butter.
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Sandra Mielenhausen and Nicolas Rozier-Chabert founded PLAQ in 2015. Guided by their love of chocolate, they surrounded themselves with Chloé Doutre-Roussel, Bean to bar ambassador, to open their factory-boutique in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. Made on site in limited quantities, PLAQ chocolate is pure, from its ingredients to its packaging, including its taste. After their signature product, PLAQ, a slab of chocolate without a square, they now offer their know-how in bars, drinks, pastries, rocks and coated dried fruits. For chocolate lovers, chefs who reinvent gastronomy and all those who share the love of things well done.
