Peru is not known for growing cacao. It is better know for growing coca. The leaves of the coca plant are used in the production of cocaine. Coca is a much more profitable crop for farmers. Until now.
The San Martin region, after years of programs promoting cacao as an alternative crop to coca, recently won a prestigious award from the Salon du Chocolat in Paris for growing the most aromatic cacao beans.
La Orquidea is one company in Peru dedicated to growing cacao and producing aromatic, flavorful chocolates. They keep chocolate production near the fields of cacao and provide well paying jobs for women in Peru.
According to the La Orquidea website, http://www.peruvianchocolate.com/, Peruvian chocolate is high quality cacao grown in the Peruvian Amazon. The soil in this part of Peru imparts a variety of flavors that many other cacao growing countries don’t have.
They ferment and dry cacao beans and then transport a sort distance to their factory for processing. They select the most aromatic beans for their dark chocolate line because they know better beans mean better flavors.
