Ghana- Fair Trade Certified – Forastero 2006

Country of origin Variety
Ghana – Kuapa Kokoo co-op Forastero

Hopefully you know me well enough by now that you know I don’t put a lot of stock into names and labels. That said, I have been trying to get some of this particular stock for some time. First off, I have tasted the chocolate from it, and it is a rather nice chocolate (Divine chocolate if you were wondering). Secondly, and where the “label” thing comes into it is that this is Chocolate Alchemy’s first Fair Trade Certified cocoa. We are now certified through TransFair USA to carry and promote any Fair Trade cocoa (or other products) we obtain. I am not going to get into exactly what that means. If you know, great, if not, just enjoy the cocoa beans. They are from a Co-op in Ghana by the name of Kuapa Kokoo.

As for the cocoa itself, it is a fully fermented Forastero, although from other indicators, I think there is some mixed blood in this crop. More on that in a bit. The aroma – significantly less astringency than quite a number of Forastero I have tasted. It has hints of light biscuit, a little vanilla and of course the rather characteristic and “classic” earthy chocolate aroma. In this case, the chocolate aroma is actually a rounder than previous years. Then again, I have not offered cocoa from this co-op before. There is also an interesting hint of lightly underripe peach or apricot in the aroma while roasting. I rather liked that.

There is a bit more variation in size in this particular lot. The preparation otherwise is very clean. There are a number of indications that this bean has a little Trinatario in its past, although that is a bit odd, but not unheard of, in this region. The beans are easier to peel by hand than most Forastero and similarly the husk is lighter. The vanilla aroma continues in the bean along with tobacco, humus and peat – all very classic Forastero. There is also some higher notes (alluding again to some Trinatario) of fruit, particularly raisin and that peach/apricot. There is a moderate amount of astringency, but well balanced by the rest of the flavor profile.