OUR CACAO

The earliest origins of cacao dates back to 5.300 years ago. Since then, its interaction within the Ecuadorian culture has morphed into various phases and the struggle to maintain the distinctive ancestral notes from the mother tree have allowed access for formidable farms to produce fine flavor cacao but not many who can guarantee 100% Nacional Arriba beans. And this is where Victoria comes in.

It takes about 5 years for a cacao tree to fully bloom. Here at Victoria, we carefully studied Nacional Arriba trees selected from  an established Arriba Nacional seed bank.  From then we measured water, nutrition, sun exposure, sow design, harvest, weather conditions; the investigative process never ends but after keeping a close eye on a complete blooming cycle we were able to recognize the ancestral traits and reproduce them through natural selection. This assures consistency in flavor, and quality throughout the entire field. 

Further on, our fermenting process allows us to create tailor made organoleptic notes. Our artisanal system creates a wide range of flavors: from a nutty balanced low acidity and astringency one, to a flowery, strong body bitter one. The possibilities are endless and our experts are up for the challenge.

Arriba comes from the word “up” and during the colonial era and all the way towards the mid 20th century it took on this name because the cacao was being delivered from up the region towards the Guayas River.