Flavor Notes:
The aroma is lightly floral and tangy. The flavor continues on with a lively brightness backed by a nicely structured chocolate backbone. The acidity is high and bright, layering together with clear tropical red and orange fruits. On the backside is a lingering dark sweetness, a touch of candied ginger and hints of refreshing herbal mint. Bitterness and astringency are so low as to be not there at all. There is also a striking lack of nut or earth flavors. This is a celebration of vibrancy.

Peru Pangoa Cacao:
The Pangoa cacao beans come from the mid-southern region of the Peruvian jungle. It is a small district within the department of Junín. Pangoa is a small area within the VRAE region of Peru. The native communities that farm the Pangoa cacao are Nomatsigenga and Sonomoro. It is believed that the name Pangoa is derived from the word pangotsi in the native dialect of Asháninca. Pangotsi means home/house, in reference to the hospitality of the old natives of this area. Over the last few years (15+), the government has invested a lot of time and incentives for the farmers to plant coffee and cocoa crops, providing them with various incentives (help with management, networking, infrastructure, ease with Organic certifications). The fermentation is done in sweet wooden boxes (mostly “Tornillo” wood, which is a local wood variety. “Tornillo” means “screw” in Spanish. This wood is used because it does not add flavors to the cacao). Fermenting is done for 6 days, with rotation of the beans done every day after the first 2 days, dispersed over the tarped floor or drying shelf to finish drying. Total drying is typically 7 days, but may be longer or shorter depending on the weather (if there are rains it gets covered).

Roasting Notes:
Drum Roasting The roast profile for my evaluation was 14:20 / 16:30 / 20:10 @ 252 F. I found you don’t really want this roast too terribly fast, but that does not mean slow either. 2 minutes in the development phase is too much. 3 minutes would be just fine. Likewise, it does not love a higher EOR temperature, tasting nicer in the mid 250s. I found this one advertises nicely when you are pushing it too hard with a sharp aroma. If you get that, slow down a little. Behmor 2000AB If you are using a Behmor, P1 to start with 2–2.5 lb will be just fine. Be ready though to turn the power down as you start to note sharp aromas, probably pretty early on, say 10–12 minutes. When it turns sharper near the end of the count down, you are done. If it isn’t there yet, add a bit more time (the C button for Continue will reset your timer to 3:10), waiting for the turn of aroma. Oven Roasting This method is moderately predictable and repeatable and, although not as dynamic and controllable as a drum roaster, does a good enough job.You will need an IR thermometer and should roast 2 lb of beans. If you roast less, reduce your preheat to 325 F. Don’t roast more. Preheat your oven to 350 F. Place your cocoa beans in a single layer on a baking sheet and into the oven. Stir the beans at 5 minutes and check the temperature. Continue roasting until the surface temperature reads 205–215 F (it may well vary across the beans). At that point, turn your oven down 10–15 F above your target EOR — in this case 250 + ~15 = 270 — and continue to roast, stirring every 5 minutes until approximately 250 F. Again, there will be variation, but the beauty of this method is that having turned the oven down, it is difficult to over roast. If you do find your roast is progressing too fast, adjust accordingly, starting at 325 F and/or changing your target to 250 F. Overall, you may well roast 30–40 minutes. The important part here is to get good momentum going in a hot oven and then basically coasting to finish.