I'm pleased to have this (and other) of these Venezuelan origins back again. The work on the ground is showing in an improved preparation and fermentation. This in particular is such an example. The beans were noted as being particularly nice, and were pulled aside as a micro lot. Oh, and the name - Donaldo is the farmer who grew and prepared these beans.

Ethically and Sustainably traded. Chocolate Alchemy is working with Tisano who is on the ground in Venezuela, working side by side with the farmers. Since Chocolate Alchemy is not actually there, Direct trade is not quite the right term, and since these are farm purchased, not co-op, they are not eligible for Fair Trade status.

These are from a former Slave village - the slaves ran away from the surrounding haciendas and hid in the mountains and started a little town called 'Pas Tenemos' - We have Peace, which over time turned to Patanemo. A great Criollo pale white beans with specks of pink. Tisano is working with the co-op there doing centralized collections, fermentation and drying, but as I mentioned, in this case, these beans were kept separate.

"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.

A paper thin husk that separates easily. A real joy to work with.

Finally, 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.

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.