Criollo

 "Patanemo" is the older name for the coastal region of Puerto Cabello, which from what I gather is a real hot spot for surfing.  How that relates to cocoa I'm not really sure, but it seemed like a nice piece of information.  These beans are actually from a set of valleys a little inland and this isolation is what I suspect contributes significantly to the special nature of this bean.  Namely, it's very strong Criollo character and lineage.  It has the very classic light break associate with many Criollo stocks.

If this is new to you, I can tell you is that if you compare the 'break' of the nib you will see it is reasonably light. The lighter that break, the GENERAL trend there is to more Criollo. Forastero is rather dark, often purple or deep brown. A good solid, middle of the road Trinatario (think Dominican Republic or Panama) are a mid to dark brown. A cocoa bean with heavier Criollo in its breeding will be a lighter brown, and real Criollo (especially Porcelano) can be down right pale brown with the finished chocolate looking almost like milk chocolate. This lot of has a light break, paper thin husk, and the delicate notes one should associate with Criollo.

With that in mind, don't expect heavy chocolate flavors here.  Often people are disappointed when they first taste Criollo stock.  They have their expectations so high that the subtle, delicate flavors are a let down.  So keep that in mind.  There is a delicate scent of gardenia, light apple and a little strawberry and cream highlights.  Aside from that, if that were not enough, the preparation is near perfect.  A full, but not over full fermentation.  Very nice flavor development.  A paper thin husk that separates easily.  A real joy to work with.

That then brings us to roasting.  Patanemo Criollo 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 have found to work is about 25 F cooler than most.  You don't want to lose those delicate notes.

Pre-heat your oven to 325 F. Put a pound of beans into a heavy corning ware type container, about an inch deep. Put them in for 10 minutes, stirring at 5 minutes (and every 5 minutes after this). At 10 minutes, reduce the heat to 300 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 light roasted bean. Compare the two sets and see what you think and adjust your roasting from there.

If roasting in a drum roaster, as I do, go for an ambient of about 270 F. Delicate.  For about 15-20 minutes.

Finally, I only have a single bag of this, so there will be no wholesale, and it's going to be sold only by the individual pound (although you can buy multiple pounds).  I want as many people as possible to enjoy it.  Don't let this pass you by if you have wanted to try a good Criollo chocolate.  But again, don't set your expectations to brass band excitement.  Think more sublime string quartet and you will be in more of a mindset to enjoy and appreciate what this bean has to offer.