Flavor Notes:
As always, Fiji Rakiraki is very limited, and the price is the same higher price due to this being the new normal, compounded by some really poor weather and high origin costs. That said, it is as incredible as ever. The aroma is warm guava and lovely radiant chocolate, with top notes of burnt sugar. The body is bold but very approachable. The chocolate is bold. The acidity is bold, yet very round and soft. The sweetness is bold. That trifecta gives this bean and the resulting chocolate wonderful balance, albeit a bold impression. There is bitterness and my oft-mentioned toasted walnut skins. They counter the trifecta admirably. Astringency is minimal but not absent. The burnt sugar sweetness might not be readily apparent at first, but it is there in spades. The guava in the aroma shows itself in the flavor as a creamy softness that pairs with some macadamia nut creaminess. I find that I want to tell you there is some earthiness or leather notes, but mostly they are just low tones this time. What is a bit different is some ilk of unctuous umami that I’m going to put in the earthiness category.

About The Rakiraki Region:
Rakiraki cacao comes through Cacao Fiji’s processing center in Nunukoloa, Ra, on Viti Levu. Cacao Fiji built the station to solve a practical problem for rural smallholder farmers: they had cacao, but inconsistent market access and uneven processing made quality hard to sustain. Buying wet cacao and handling fermentation and drying centrally gives the region a cleaner, more consistent path from farm to export. About the Rakiraki Region Rakiraki sits in Ra Province on the northern side of Viti Levu, Fiji’s largest island. The area has deep local history, including Navatu Rock near Vitawa village, and today it is also part of Fiji’s smallholder cacao revival. For this cacao, the important story is the post-harvest network Cacao Fiji has built around Rakiraki. Farmers sell wet cacao into a central facility in Nunukoloa, Ra, where fermentation, drying, sorting, and export packing can be handled consistently. Cacao Fiji’s broader story began in 2012, when Arif met farmers on Viti Levu who were passionate about cacao but lacked reliable markets. That farmer-first model still matters here. ACIAR describes companies like Cacao Fiji as important links between Fiji’s cocoa farmers, processing, export markets, and the local bean-to-bar maker Vanua Chocolate. Post-Harvest Details Fermentation: Fresh cacao is fermented in 4-tier hardwood boxes for 5–6 days, monitored closely, with daily bean rotation. Drying: Fully fermented cacao is dried on decks for approximately one week and raked regularly each day. Sorting & packing: Beans are hand sorted and packed in GrainPro sealed bags for export. Processing model: Central fermentation and drying at Cacao Fiji’s Nunukoloa, Ra processing station. Farm & Region Details Producer: Cacao Fiji Processing center: Nunukoloa, Ra, Viti Levu Region: Rakiraki area, Ra Province, Fiji Farmer network: Rural smallholder cocoa farmers from Rakiraki to Tailevu Crop context: Fiji cacao is grown largely by smallholder farms in low volumes, mainly for export.

Roasting Notes:
I'm a fan of roasting this on the longer and heavier side. You will get more caramel flavors and dried fruits. A lighter roast will just moderate those flavors. Given how well this bean is fermented, I think you could easily take it pretty light and still have a wonderful chocolate. Drum Roasting The specific profile I used to evaluate this is 11:15 / 13:10 / 17:15 @ 256 F. What you should take out of this profile is that the pretty fast Development phase, just under 2 minutes, means there are lots of bold flavors to develop. On the other side, 3 minutes in the Finishing phase means there is very little inherent astringency. There is virtually no need to be careful with this roast, but it will also respond just fine to a slightly slower and longer roast without going flat. Behmor Roaster Roast 2 lb and use P1 on the one-pound setting, for 18 minutes or until you hear a pop or two. Then take it longer. 3-4 minutes. It is virtually impossible to over-roast in the Behmor with 2 lb in there. If you are using the current model with Manual control, turning down the power to P4 (75% power) when it starts to become aromatic, or smells sharp, is a nice way to keep the EOR tempering in check. Oven Roasting Preheat your oven to 350 F. Put 1-2 lb of beans onto a tray, single layer deep. Check the temperature every 5 minutes, stirring at that time. When the beans are in the 205-215 range, reduce the oven temperature to about 10-15 F above your target EOR, so if you are going for 255 F, set it to 270 F. When the beans reach your desired temperature and/or are smelling sharp, another 15-30 minutes, remove them and let them cool. This should give you a nice, fully developed roasted bean that is in little danger of being over-roasted.