Castronovo "Puerto Rico" 70% Dark Chocolate

Historically all of Puerto Rico was planted in cacao by the Spanish. On the farm that he inherited, Juan discovered some very old original cacao trees, growing wild amongst a variety of fruit trees in the forest. He describes the pods as being very large with red and yellow colors. Hurricane Maria in 2017 wiped out a newly planted 60-acre farm, but the old trees grown in the agro-forest on his father's land survived. Despite the setback from Hurrican Maria, they have replanted and have adopted cultivation techniques to provide more resilience from future storms. They continue learning as much as they can with a vision to develop the fine cacao industry in Puerto Rico.

Denise Castronovo has been working with Juan since 2016 to provide him with valuable feedback so that he may fine tune his fermentation to develop the best flavor profile possible. In 2017, Castronovo launched a fundraiser campaign to raise money to help him replant after hurricane Maria. In 2020, she was delighted to tell Juan about the Academy of Chocolate Silver award. It brought tears to his eyes and he saved the news for a special dinner out with his wife. They were so happy to begin to realize their dreams!

We love this chocolate for its nice natural sweetness with flavors of date, vanilla, a sweet nuttiness like pecan and a delicious creaminess. This is your opportunity to try fine chocolate from the USA with all of the proceeds from the cacao purchase going directly to the farm.

Ingredients

Organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter.

Allergen

Contains no nuts, wheat, gluten, soy, or milk (nut-free, soy-free, gluten-free, dairy-free). Made in a facility that uses dairy.

Net weight

62g / 2.2 oz