Grenada Fine Estate Cacao Cocoa Beans 1kg

Region and Country

Saint Andrew District, Grenada

Story

Grenada is an island belonging to the Antilles approximately 200 km northeast of Venezuela. Cacao production was introduced to the island by the British in the eighteenth century and not long after, it became the hub of their cacao production.
Despite the extreme weather conditions and the passing of time, cacao is still grown on the island. Nowadays there are around 8,500 cacao farmers on the island who cultivate 2,500 hectares of land. Farms are on average 1 hectare and cacao are intercropped with nutmeg, cinnamon, bananas, citrus, soursop and breadfruit.

These beans are sourced through the Grenada Cocoa Association, which is a farmer-owned organization that coordinates the needs of the farmers as well as the sales of their cacao, including quality control and export.

Harvest

April – November (main); December – March (mid)

Genetics

Grenada cacao is a mixture of Trinitario hybrids, Amazon Calabacillo and Venezuelan Criollo. It shares many characteristics with the rest of the Caribbean varieties

Post Harvesting Process

The beans are collected fresh and are centrally fermented and dried for seven days each by the Association. Wooden boxes are used with a capacity of 3,000 lbs. Temperature reaches a peak period of 50-52 degrees with 3 turns. The cocoa is sun dried on wooden trays and is turned every 30 minutes until the beans reach a moisture of 7%.

Flavour

The range of notes includes earthen flavours with coffee and woody notes, dairy, white fruit and grass.