Characteristics

Origin: Mexico - Tabasco

Region: Comalcalco

Type:  Forastero - Amelonado

Certifications: Direct Trade

Harvest Year: 2018

Flavor notes:

The aroma starts off with tangy blackberry and a hint of slightly pungent pepper.  There is a clarity of flavor with each component seeming to shine own its own.  The tang of lime, the clean bitterness of hops, toasted pecans and a good chocolate flavor wrapping it all up.

The entire flavor profile is relatively mild and approachable and gives yet another dimension to the variety of flavors that can come out of one country, or even one region.  There is a date sweetness that adds a bit of liveliness to the whole experience.

 

Details

This origin comes from  Comalcalco  (also a municipality of the Chontalpa region). This coop  also  belongs  to  the  same  program  of  the  University  of  Chiapas with  the  aim  of  rescuing heirloom varieties. The coop is so new that it does not even have a name yet.  This is their their first lot ever. The members (around 90) are mostly old and motivated people assisted by an engineer of the University of Chiapas looking for a way to escape the buyers of Nestlé, Hershey’s or Barry.

This cacao can undoubtedly be described as forastero. Pods are smaller, “rounder” and with a smoother skin. They also call them “calabacillos” or “amelonados” (melon shaped). The beans are deep purple when fresh (due to the high tannin content).

Roasting

With the moderate bitterness and astringency, plus the nut component, you are not going to want to take this to a really high end of roast temperature or you are likely to make the nut bitter.  Mid 250s are fine and high 240s are ok.  That does NOT mean you have to roast it super delicate though.  2.25-3.0 minutes in the development phase will do great.  Just pull the roast when it starts to get sharp and expect it a little earlier than some beans.

In the Behmor 1600 2-2.5 lbs for 18-19 minutes is fine.  Just watch for the sharp ending.

The specific profile I used on to evaluate this is 10/12.5/16 @ 252 F.  I really slowed it down there at the end.

In the oven, follow my standard roasting profiles and pay attention to the nose.  You may not get much chocolate or brownie aroma with this one.