Carenero refers to the port from which this cocoa used to ship out of. Superior of course is a reference to the higher than average quality of this Trinatario. It is a solid Trinatario, with a medium break. This has a bit more body to it (compared to Ocumare), a bit more brightness and acidity, but also a deeper chocolate flavor. From the very diverse nature of the region, the preparation is often quite varied, but that also leads to a complexity and flavor profile unique to Carenero Superior. There is a clean earthiness and rum like flavor that I have always enjoyed in this variety.

I actually like this bean roasted a touch heavier than many. In general, try giving this bean an extra 2-3 minutes roasting at a slightly hotter (10-15 F) temperature than you normally would and see what you think. I often wait until I hear a few beans popping, and still give it a minute or two.

It really does not require a heavy roast to bring out the flavor, and you may lose some of the delicate highlight if roasted too far.

The oven roasting profile I gave for last year’s crop will work well, so I will just repeat it here.

Pre-heat your oven to 350 F. Put a pound of beans into a heavy corning ware type container, about an inch deep. Put them in for 15 minutes, stirring at 5 minutes (and every 5 minutes after this). At 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 325 and roast another 10 minutes. Pull out a handful of beans for comparison. Turn off the oven and let the remaining beans set/roast for a final 10 minutes in the cooling oven. Remove them and let them cool. This should give you a nice medium roasted bean. Compare the two sets and see what you think and adjust your roasting from there.