I have often wondered this too. I read the article on Amedei’s site and found this statement:

“The contract was signed on 3 November 2000 before a notary public in Maracay. The agricultural company agreed to deliver all the cocoa grown in Chuao to the Amedei company for seven years, after which time, Amedei would still have rights to first-refusal regarding the price.”

So, perhaps Amedei is licensing or selling unused crop portions to other companies, or the other companies are allowed to purchase the unused crop from the agricultural company.

A few years ago a Swedish salesperson related to Amedei told me about Amedei’s exclusive Chuao access. He also told me that Amedei offered to pay twice as much as Valrhona used to pay.

Masur

tell us more about the relation between amedei and domori… sounds interesting

well, don’t hold back!!! ;-)

fair enough

just read through martin’s comments on chuao and amedei and the withdrawal of valrhona and pralus (was ist pralus?) in the blog. what about domori? i read on their site that somewhere around 2007 they’re planning to sell a hacienda san jose chuao.

Untill all manufacturers of chocolate have the same level of commitment and knowledge as Domori, I guess it is okay to name chocolates with names like Chuao, Choroni or Rio Caribe, at least if the beans used are within the ballpark of the original tastes of these cacaos. Because of all the crossings and hybridization it is probably a variation of different beans even within a single plantation. And when chocolate producers buy huge loads of beans shipped from lets say Caracas, it is hard to tell exactely the beantype they are buying. With wine it is easyer because Cabernet Sauvignon is pretty much Cabernet Sauvignon all over the world. Then you can compare the terroir and winemakerskills of let us say a Napa Cabernet and a Bordeaux Cabernet.

I don`t know if Domori’s Ocumare 61 is the same as the Ocumare 61 described in the cacao bean DNA database. There might be variations within Ocumare 61, but I hope that it is geographical.

I hope in the future the true bean DNA name will be on the label of the chocolates i buy. The can of course have a name of geographical origin or a fantasy name and then for example “made ofIMC 67 X Nanay 399 cacao beans”.

I think what I was alluding to was that Chuao, the chocolate, has become synonymous with a certain flavor profile, intensity, etc. in addition to the actual village. Hence the Chuao flavor profile and characterizations people refer to in descriptions and reviews. As you mentioned, Chuao chocolate might be a hodgepodge of different cacao grown in that region, but any genetic material within that origin can be labeled Chuao in much the same manner as some American-born citizens might refer to themselves as being German. They share the same genetic heritage, which is not based on a single type or common ancestor (i.e. a person or single type of bean), but rather it is based on origin. So you could have Bean A and Bean Z grown in Chuao, both with different genotypes but still regarded as Chuao simply because their origin is the same. The resulting chocolate might have Chuao flavors and characteristics, but it’s not a true Chuao in that its actual “birth place,” as it were, is in another location.

Pedigree is certainly important when it comes to cacao flavor, but there’s a huge host of other factors that play into it as well – soil composition, was fertilizer use? if so, what? most fermentations are done ‘au natural’, meaning that the organisms doing the work are very likely different, or at least present in different ratios, each time. Was the product turned during fermentation? if so, when? how often? what about effluent drainage? What else is in the heap? banana leaves? did it rain on the pile as it was fermenting? What moisture content were they dried to? were they dried via open air (exposure to sunlight or not?), or via another method?

lots of variables

It’s interesting – if you take two identical trees, plant one in venezuela and t’other in malaysia, you’re going to get radically different flavor profiles, even if you do your best to minimize growing condition differences.

is that why genetic databases are trying to match flavor to genotype? i think i heard a database in trinidad or grenada was trying this.