"Being in charge of selecting, roasting and refining cocoa beans into chocolate I learned to work with the flavors that are naturally present in the beans and to balance the acids.
In 2017 I met Jose Maria Pascacio Muñoz from Finca la Rioja and that was my deep dive into different cocoa genetics and fermentation. I used different fermentations from the Soconusco variety through the years. Giving feedback and striving to the best quality. I am very happy with this coorporation and this gives Krak the privilege to work with experimental nano lots like the AoC gold 2023 winner “Huixtla”. And the descendants from the oldest genetics where “Don Moisés” started his plantation a decade ago.
Krak - Don Moisés, history in a bar. For me this is how a delicate dark chocolate must be like. Of course with the recognisable Krak signature: Balanced with a fruity kick
Special thanks to: Maria Jiménez Rojas from Daarnhouwer to put the trust and a lot of effort in this origin."
Mark
“The history of cacao in the Southeast of Mexico dates back to pre-colonial times. Cacao was not only an integral part of the culinary and religious traditions of the region, but it was also used as currency. Chiapas was the center of cacao commerce in Mesoamerica when the Spaniards reached the area in 1522. The first cacao brought to Europe to the Spanish court came from Chiapas.
Nowadays, the states of Tabasco and Chiapas produce the majority of cocoa in Mexico. Tabasco produces about 18,000MT and Chiapas another 4,500MT. Of the total, less than 100MT is exported each year.
Finca La Rioja is in Cacahoatán, Chiapas. Cacahoatán means the “Place of Cacao” in the ancient Toltec language. The plantation was established in the beginning of the 1900’s by the Andalucian immigrant Moisés Mugüerza Gutiérrez who planted cacao along with coffee and other crops. Don Moisés collected criollo cacao varieties from the South of Mexico, Belize and Guatemala which he further developed in his nursery. With the introduction of agrarian land reform policies under the government of Álvaro Obregón after the Mexican Revolution, a great portion of the plantation and the nurseries of Don Moisés were expropriated.
Almost 100 years later, the descendants of the Mugüerza family continue the cacao heritage they are so proud of. Finca La Rioja is now owned by a great grandson of don Moisés and he still fondly grows some of his ancestor’s old varieties in his finca. The yearly harvest of these old varieties including pentágona, lagarto and other criollo varieties is of approximately 70-
240 kilograms a year.”
