The only All American Cocoa.  Well, I guess to be completely accurate, what I mean to say is this is the only USA origin - that being Hawaii.  This is from the Waialua plantation on the north Shore of Oahu,.  Interestingly I've had some dealing in the past with this plantation, cocoa and their fermentation techniques.  I don't know exactly what they are doing now, but I can tell you what they were doing a few years ago.  Namely having difficulty getting a good, non-sour, complete fermentation.  The climate in the islands is well suited for growing cocoa, but it isn't ideal for fermenting with traditional techniques.  A number of the samples I tested years ago had quite long fermentations (compared to more tradition ones), some lasting up to 14 days.  The climate is just so mild, and the flora different enough that many of the techniques had to be re-invented for this locale.  I don't know for a fact, but at that time there was experimentation with insulated boxes too raise heat and humidity, extensive turning to prevent sourness and/or uneven fermentation, and other such measures.  Fast forward.

What we have here now is a fully fermented cocoa bean.  It's a mélange of Forastero, Trinatario, and Criollo.  There is some of everything in there.  These are also very small beans (on average).  Standard count is around 100 beans/100 grams.  Large beans (some select Venezuelan beans for instance) average 90 beans/100 grams and some smaller beans (like Ghana typically) are around 105-110 beans/100 grams.  The counts I'm getting on these are 125-135 beans/100 grams.  Is these good or bad?  Really it unto itself it is neutral.  But there are some ramifications.  Because the nib is smaller, there is proportionally more husk per bean, meaning where you normally get 75-80% of the weight back in nibs, here you are not going to get much above 70%.  To balance that though, there are some great concentrated flavors packed in.  In the nose, I get toasted macadamia and coconut (I swear I'm not making this up).  There is also a soft lemon, and macadamia nut in the chocolate itself.  And I absolutely should not fail to mention the great chocolate flavor itself.  Literally mouth watering. Umami.   I've heard it 3 times now with those I have let taste it.  I suspect it's the mix of Forastero in there that is giving this intensity, but it's also clearly the fermentation, and just plain care that was taken with these beans.  They have a beautiful preparation.  There are also some 'darker' roasted notes in there, even when I roasted light.  Raisin, dark cherry. Molasses?  Toffee?  Caramel?  That kind of thing.  Roasting?  This seems very forgiving and there does not seem to be any one roast that excels.  As long as you don't burn them, I don't really think you can go wrong.  Start with getting them to pop, and adjust as you see fit.

Finally, I want to mention the price.  It's the most expensive bean I've ever carried.  Frankly, because it is American (again, USA) grown.  I won't get into the politics of it, but will point out it won't and can't have 'Fair Trade' status.  It's not being imported so there is no 'trade'.  It's from a single plantation, not a co-op, so not eligible for Fair trade status (by Transfair USA at least).  I've actually marked these up less than I traditionally do, but you see the price.  I want you to try them and let me know what you think, and if I should keep them around.  They are a great bean with the potential of making a stellar chocolate.  Only you can tell me if they are worth it.