Nacional Arriba cacao

Cacao Nacional Arriba

What it is

Arriba is a shipping word, not a botanical one: cacao floated down the Guayas to Guayaquil was said to come from río arriba, upriver, and the buyers kept the term for the perfume that came with it. The blight years from 1916 took most of the old Nacional groves, so much of what is sold as Arriba today carries the blood of the high-yield clones planted to replace them.

In the kitchen

The jasmine note lives in volatiles that boil away. Fold it into ganache off the heat, keep any infusion under 45 °C, and never pour boiling cream onto it — a hot melt leaves you a decent chocolate with no perfume at all.

Goes with

Cream Honey Jasmine sambac Orange blossom water Raspberry Pistachio Butter Vanilla

Same species

Blond chocolate Cocoa mass Cacao pulp Cocoa butter Cocoa bean husk Cocoa nibs

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