CHUAO COCOA NIBS

This CHUAO chocolate is made at PLAQ with one of the cocoa beans recognized as one of the best and rarest in the world: the bean that comes from the village that bears its name: Chuao in Venezuela.

It is as well loved by chocolate experts as by more novices because it is above all a rare richness and aromatic perfection and it lasts a long time in the mouth. And adding cocoa beans (or cocoa nibs) to this bar adds power, fruitiness and crunch.

For PLAQ it is precious because it is the first cocoa plantation that we visited and we have been offering it in chocolate PLAQ since the beginning.

This chocolate has explosive and intense notes: from tangy fruits to cooked fruits, then dried fruits but also vegetable notes.
In 2022, it received the "Club des croqueurs de chocolat" prize for its aromas.

Citrus fruits, tangy yellow and red fruits. Cooked fruit. Toasted dried fruits. Powerful, intense and long in the mouth.

2 INGREDIENTS. NOTHING ELSE.

Chuao cocoa beans from Aragua Venezuela (76%), unrefined organic cane sugar from the state of São Paulo Brazil (24%), Chuao cocoa beans.

Chuao is a small Venezuelan village, nestled between sea and mountains accessible only from Choroni beach, located 4 hours drive from Caracas. Small motorized boats shuttle there to Chuao Beach in 30 minutes.

This is the first plantation that we had the chance to visit, during our initiatory trip in 2018, just after our training by Chloé Doutre Roussel at the Cacao de Origin Manufacture in Caracas. Considered by many to be the "best cocoa in the world", it is grown like gold and in small quantities.

Chuao cocoa beans are the fruit of a mixture of Trinitario and Criollo (32%). Its range of exceptional and complex aromas as well as its rarity make it one of the most expensive cocoas in the world, highly sought after by experts.

In Chuao, all the inhabitants have had a link with cocoa since birth and perpetuate know-how unchanged for 400 years to obtain exceptional cocoa with unique flavors. The numerous local festivals punctuate the cocoa work. Between its generous soil, its lush vegetation and its ideal microclimate combining equatorial humidity and sun, Chuao is a paradise for cocoa trees.

The beans are grown in agroforestry among banana trees, mango trees, lemon trees and cedars, which offer them perfect shade. No certification body currently working with Venezuela due to the political situation, the question of any labeling does not arise.

The fermentation process lasts 7 days, in wooden boxes, and drying takes place in the village square, in front of the church.
These precious beans are marketed exclusively by Chuao Trading. They are stored and distributed in Europe from Antwerp by our partner Silva Cacao before being delivered to our Manufacture Rue du Nil.

Each bag delivered to the Manufacture in Paris, rue du Nil, is individually transformed into chocolate in the Bean To Bar philosophy, in "micro batch", in order to stay as close as possible to the aromatic specificities which can vary from one batch to the next.

The beans are tasted, sorted, roasted at low temperature, mixed with unrefined cane sugar, stone-conched for 3 days before resting for 3 weeks. The chocolate thus obtained will then be melted to be molded and packaged in bar or used in pastries (our famous Chou Chuao).

Weight: 70g

Price per kilo: €170.59/kg

Nutritional Values ​​per 100g = Energy: 2258 kJ / 546 kcal, Fat: 39.7g (including saturated fatty acids: 21.4g), Carbohydrates: 28.1g (including sugars: 24.3g), Dietary fiber: 24.2g , Protein 13.5g, Salt: <0.001g.