chulucanas
Gran palo blanco
ultra premium
review 4.1
SWEET FRUITY 2.5
CITRUS FRUITY 2.0
FLOWERY 1.0
ACRIOLLATED 2.0
COCOA 2.5
WOODY 2.0
SPICES 0.0
ANNUAL PRODUCTION (TM) 17
MAIN CROP DEC-MAY
MIDDLE CROP JUL-AUG
CRIOLLO GRAINS 30%
FERMENTED GRAINS 89%
VIOLET GRAINS 9%
SLATY GRAINS 2%
TOTAL 100%
Grains / 100 g. 90
g/1 Grain 1.11 g
CERTIFIED YES
AWARDS YES
Physical and Organoleptic Characteristics
Positive Flavors
Sweet Fruity 
Citrus Fruity 
Flowery 
Creole Malt • Peanut • Nut
Cocoa 
Woody Wood
Spices 
Evaluation
S = Flavor:
STRONG Peanut and nut flavors
A = Aroma:
MEDIUM Notable nutty aroma
F = Fermentation:
MEDIUM Moderate astringency and bitterness
Cut Analysis
Gran Palo Blanco cacao, due to its high genetics of 'criollo' beans, produces up to 30% white beans, which give it its quality and aroma.
The predominant color of the beans is bright brown, and when cut crosswise, we can see ivory white, light brown, and dark brown beans.
Its cut analysis shows fermented beans (± 89%), with violet beans (± 9%), and slate-colored beans (± 2%).
In relation to their weight, the beans generally contain 90 kernels out of a 100-gram weight, meaning each kernel weighs 1.11 gr.
Flavor Map
Fruity of plums, floral herbal infusions, roasted nuts, and panela malt stand out against a soft cocoa background and citrus acidity. These are the notes that nuance the flavor map of this special cocoa that grows under the shade of fruit trees such as avocado, sapote, and musaceae; It receives surface irrigation through irrigation ditches in the Piura region, transporting abundant nutrients that round out its sensory profile.
"Gran Palo Blanco is a special cacao, recognized for its delicate flavors, aromas, and fragrances."Ing. Ms. Gladys Ramos indicated.
Sensory Map
Gran Palo Blanco is a special cacao, recognized for its delicate flavors, aromas, and fragrances.
These beans are bright brown, with a sweet and fruity acidity that lingers, with a hint of nuts like plums, a medium-rounded body, and a strong nutty flavor. Chocolate, with notes of malt and nuts. It's a cocoa with low astringency and bitterness, and a creamy texture.
The sweet aroma of carob honey, the freshness and protection of the sapotes where the diversity of wild flora and fauna imprint the exquisite sensory notes of the cacao typical of the oasis in the Palo Blanco region.
"Gran Palo Blanco is a special cacao with white cotyledons and intermediate fermentation that easily allows you to taste the sweetness of nuts and the acidity of various fruits."specified Ms. Gladys Ramos.
Post-Harvest Benefit
Gran Palo Blanco is a very special cacao. The post-harvest process begins in the farms with the collection of the fruits. They are drained for 24 hours, then transferred to the community collection center, where a specialist receives the cacao, weighs it, and transfers it to the fermentation crates, rigorously following the established protocol according to the characteristics of the selected cacao.
Fermentation Protocol
Cacao Type
Trinitario & Criollo
Trinitario & Criollo
Fermentation Days
5 to 6 days
Fermentation Techniques
-
Crate Type: Wood
-
Frequency of Turning: every 24 hours
-
Fermentation Method: The beans are placed in jute sacks, and once they are taken to the collection center, they are distributed in wooden crates covered with banana leaves.
Drying Protocol
Type of Cacao
Trinitario & Criollo
Trinitario & Criollo
Drying Days
5 to 6 days
Drying Techniques
-
Floor Type: wooden beds and cement floors
-
Humidity: 7%
-
Drying Method: Sun
Traceability
certifications and awards
Gran Palo Blanco has the Certifications Fairtrade Direct Trade and Organic EU.
In 2014, he received the 2014 Cacao de Oro del Perú award.
The Cesar Vallejo community of Palo Blanco is located west of Piura, an hour and a half by 4x4 vehicle. Don Juan de la Cruz Rivera Olemar planted his first cacao trees there about 30 years ago.
Don Juan de la Cruz was one of the first cacao growers in Palo Blanco, where some of the best cacao in Peru is now produced. He never imagined that those first fruits would earn him the most prestigious award given by the cacao industry, which honors the best cacaos in the Peruvian nation.
Today, the community is organized under the name: Cesar Vallejo Producers Association of Palo Blanco. They have a modern collection center and are part of Norandino. Don Juan promoted the organization of the community to grow more and better cacao, under strict quality controls and with fermentation protocols adapted to the cacao varieties of the area.
Most of the community's farms are less than one hectare in size, and irrigation is done by gravity with water that comes down from the surrounding mountains. Palo Blanco is like an oasis, where exceptional cacao grows beneath the shade of Kent mangoes, bananas, and orange trees.
The collection and post-harvest treatment are standardized and strictly followed. On the farms, the cacao is collected, placed in sacks, and then reused.The beans are then placed in jute and left to drain for 24 hours, then transported to the collection center. The beans are weighed and poured into large wooden crates where they ferment for six days.
After fermentation, the cacao is spread out on wooden beds or polished cement floors for 5 to 6 days of drying. Two hours in full sun and the rest of the day in shade. On the third day of drying, the cacao is exposed to the sun all day. The exposure times are rigorous and careful. At this point, the moisture evaporates and the seed reaches its optimal state.
Geographic Location and its Ecology
Geographic Location
- Country: Peru
- Province: Morropon
- District: Chulucanas
- Area: 145 km2
- Average altitude: 194 m.a.s.l.
- GPS coordinates: N/A
- Inhabitants: 2,700
Ecology
The fauna and flora of Palo Blanco is varied, and cacao grows under the shade of mango, orange, and banana trees in the oases that form at the foot of the region's dry forests.
Species of carob and zapotes can be seen. In general, dry forests of carob, guayacán, and hualtaco predominate in this area of Alto Piura.
In the river basins, there are cloud forests, epiphytic trees, and quinuales, mostly inhabited by various species of birds, reptiles, and some mammals, such as deer and bears.
In the dry forests, plants have had to learn to thrive. Large green-barked ceibos, like the esmeraldas, dominate the forest like sentinels of the undergrowth and store water in their thick trunks to survive the endless periods of drought.
The wildlife present in the area is typical of the Dry Forests of Northwest Peru, including endemic and endangered species, such as the red-headed parrot, the parakeet, the tamandua anteater, the white-naped squirrel, iguanas, and the white-tailed deer.
Thanks to the efforts of Through the peasant association, 200 hectares of the community were declared a Private Conservation Area in 2016, thus ensuring the enjoyment and proper management of the flora and fauna resources of the Dry Forest in the area.
History
Luis Paucar sums it up like this: one day, in mid-2007, a foreign importer arrived in Chulucanas to see mango production and found, to his surprise, cacao plantations more than a thousand kilometers north of Lima.
This The importer learned that in that area, called Palo Blanco, there were small plantations that also extended to places like Chililique Alto, San Juan de Bigote, Platanal Bajo, and Charanal. So he asked his engineers to investigate Piura's cocoa potential because he wanted to know the quality of those seeds and perhaps buy them.
Since the farmers didn't have money, the Center for Research and Promotion of the Peasantry, Cipca, financed a study by Norandino, which visited each sector and organized the producers.
When they visited Don Juan de la Cruz Rivera, he already had 185 mother cacao plants. He marketed his fruit in Chulucanas, unaware that it was shipped from there to Ecuador and then to the United States, where it was sold as excellent Ecuadorian cacao.
The foreign importer, already aware of the qualities of the fruit, placed his orders with the small producers of Palo Blanco, who assured him of superior quality.
Juan de la Cruz says: "I joined the organization and we formed an association. Then I began to put a lot, a lot, a lot of effort and dedication" into the farm that bears his mother's name, "Nicolasa." Their first joint export was seven tons, and it went to Germany, like the sweetest thing, the best news.
Rivera was responsible for starting to talk about Theobroma Cacao in this part of the country.