by Mark Christian | Jan 3, 2013 | The Crush Pad Editorials
Those best-practices that Marañon Canyon Cacao cultivates to produce cocoa could serve as a template for reviving cacáo in its natural habitat in the 21st century… at least for the premium segment. And perhaps even ramify the larger commodity markets + the wider...
by Mark Christian | Jan 2, 2013 | The Crush Pad Editorials
Precious little of all this matters to chocolate enthusiasts & everyday consumers unless the flavor measure up. The proof rests on the taste buds with the following caveat: beware of variability. There are only great bars; no great chocolate per se. Makers face...
by Mark Christian | Jan 2, 2013 | The Crush Pad Editorials
No sooner had any Nacional conflict between Peru & Ecuador been averted that a Transatlantic bidding war began. Makers from various continents wanted to get their hands on it despite the asking price: a whopping $15/lb. for dry weight nuts. A figure eclipsed by...
by Mark Christian | Jan 1, 2013 | The Crush Pad Editorials
Twenty to thirty families own 70% of the assets in Peru. Many are the same ones awarded royal land grants from the Spanish crown in the 1500s. To Americans, that’s old money. To Spaniards sitting back in Seville, they’re just young relatives who bought a ticket to the...
by Mark Christian | Dec 31, 2012 | The Crush Pad Editorials
As much as the brass wanted to jump with joy & announce their cache to the world, this was after all northern Peru. Across the border in Ecuador, headlines of Nacional transgressing into rival territory will be received as unwelcome news. Huh? How’s that? Nations...
by Mark Christian | Dec 30, 2012 | The Crush Pad Editorials |
Marañón Canyon Cacao signed a Material Transfer Agreement with the USDA, then sent random leaf samples to its Beltsville, Maryland Laboratory for genetic testing. A couple months later Lyndel Meinhardt called Pearson with the results. “Dan, are you sitting down?” At...
