PHYSICAL AND ORGANOLEPTIC CHARACTERISTICS
EVALUATION .................................................................. 4.0
SWEET FRUITY .................................................................. 1.2
CITRUS FRUITY .................................................................. 3.1
FLORAL.................................................................. 2.0
ACRIOLLADO .................................................................. 0.0
COCOA .................................................................. 3.5
FOREST .................................................................. 2.1
SPICES .................................................................. 0.0
ANNUAL PRODUCTION (MT) .................................................................. 12
MAIN CROP .................................................................. DEC-FEB
MID CROP .................................................................. MAR-APR
CRIOLLO BEANS .................................................................. 12%
FERMENTED BEANS .................................................................. 85%
PURPLE BEANS .................................................................. 10%
SLATY BEANS .................................................................. 5%
TOTAL .................................................................. 100%
Beans / 100 g.: .................................................................. 81
g./1 Bean: .................................................................. 1,23 g
CERTIFICATION .................................................................. NO
AWARDS .................................................................. NO
Fresh fruits
Wild flowers
Cocoa
Bark • fresh wood
Source: Ing. Ms. Gladys Ramos
The specific characteristics of this exquisite cacao are most likely formed by the mixture of plantations where hybrid cacao are mixed with Criollo genetic cacao. When performing a cutting analysis, the following results can be considered typical:
(± 12%) Criollo beans, (±85%) Fermented beans (±10%) Violet beans (±5%) Slaty beans.
Regarding the weight:
81 beans have a weight of 100 gr, or in other terms, each bean has an average weight of 1.23gr.
Herbal and vegetable notes such as bark and wood intensify the floral attribute of this material. Likewise, the acidic flavor is shown in moderate intensity and compliment the attribute of fresh fruits in an interesting way.
Presents notes of a hybrid cacao with flavors of fresh wood, bark and wild flowers with aromas of forest, perfumed notes, sensations of burning and alcohol details. Engineer Gladys Ramos.
For the beginning of the transformation the following processes are performed:
The Manapiare cacao bean has a high percentage of Trinitarian and medium Criollo genetics for which the following fermentation values are ideal:
Box type: Wood
Rotation frequency: First rotation in 48 hours, Second rotation after 24 hours and the final rotation on the 4th day after 24 hours.
Floor type: Cement
Humidity: 7,5%
The region Amazonas has a population of 178,670 inhabitants from which 45% is identified as indigenous. The most representative sector is the Piaroa community, located in San Juan de Manapiare, where the Indigenous and Cocoa Producer Association (APIPROCA) is located. The community of this mystic village leads an austere way of life with people residing in houses of palms, mud and modest building blocks. One could consider the people here to be settlers. A good example is the Rodríguez family, made up of Mr. Pastor Rodríguez, along with his daughter Susana, accompanied also by Silvino Rodríguez and Marcos García. As a family they are in charge of (APIPROCA). The association was constituted fourteen years ago and is made up of 12 producers, who are all dedicated to the preservation of the distinguished native cocoa bean.
They maintain 24 Hectares of productive cocoa land, working in accordance with the stupendous ways of the Piaroa; a culture that consists of authentic natural farming. They work without pressure, aligned with nature to provide the best possible cocoa beans.
Their production can run up to 12 metric tons per year. Usually the harvest is carried out between November and December, with the great work of the Piaroa culture to provide the best grain. They produce in harmony 10,000 kg of cocoa per year during two harvest seasons. The main crop in the months between October - November (7000 kg) and the mid crop between December and January (3000Kg).
Their day begins early at 7:00 am where they perform cleaning and pruning until 5:00 pm. Once the process is completed they move to the ‘conuco’ and they dedicate themselves to other necessary tasks.
The cultivation of cocoa happens here alongside other activities such as producing chili, varieties of cassava, maize, orange, mañongo (fruits eaten in the morning to support the work of the day), liqueur ‘yareke’ and ‘cazabe’, wood type ‘sassafras’, the last used as main means of transport.
The harvesting process has a very particular characteristic in this community; They go to surrounding communities for the collection of pods. The nearest community is located 40 minutes away via in a “curiara”, a type of shallow longboat. Once all the cocoa is collected, it is then transferred to the center to carry out the post-harvest process. Approximately 5,000 kg will be transferred from Manapiare to Puerto Ayacucho over the Ventuari River, spending the night in each of the communities for 7 days. Pastor Rodríguez is a member of APIPROCA and is responsible for the collection. In the last stage, the product is transported in trucks from Puerto Ayacucho to the capital Caracas.
The State Amazonas is located in the Venezuelan Guayana, whose capital is Puerto Ayacucho. It has an area of 178,095 Km2, bordered on the North by the Bolivar State and in the South and the East by the Republic of Brazil, and by the West with the Republic of Colombia. The hamlet of San Juan de Manapiare is located in a jungle area on the banks of the Manapiare River and Ventuari River, South of the Guanay Range and East of Cerro Morrocoy.
The regions predominant vegetation is formed by humid tropical forests with formations of two to four vertical plant levels. The lower levels covered with shrubs and the upper ones covered with highly developed trees that can easily reach 30 to 40m with straight trunks.
Among its soils there are also mountainous and valley soils, which can be considered as an accumulation of alluviums and are colored reddish. They are of special interest for the native population, since they support the agricultural production. The irrigation system used for cocoa production is natural, through rainwater.
The wildlife consists of a great variety of mammals, including the marmoset, the spider monkey, the Amazon squirrel, the otter and the giant ‘cachicamo’, which are consumed by the natives of the area. Among the birds we find the night-paují, pájaro págua, guacamaya, and a great variety of toucans. Turtles are common in the river network. And one can also find crocodiles, the black sable and snakes. Among the most prominent is the snake lora and the Amazon mapanare
Finally, a species in the Amazon that really stands out are the endemic tree frogs.
During the years 1990 and 1996 harvesting in the Amazonas occurred with all types of pure, native cocoas, due to the seeding of pure Criollo cacao. The famous Chuao and Ocumare hybrid cocoas predominated, with their exact locations depending on the specific soils and Amazon microclimate.
San Juan de Manapiare was founded in 1940 by the explorer Don Melicio Pérez. The enigmatic land of the Amazon preserves its immense energy and way of life. Ever since the Aboriginal people came to the ancestral lands, its inhabitants maintained autochthonous cultural forms, with dispersed settlements and a semi-nomadic lifestyle a simple system from which the traditional elements are still recognizable. There are villages populated by people that have emigrated to the borders of the rivers Ventuari and Manapiare, count on a subsistence economy and autochthonous religion.
They also maintain other parts of their culture like the conical-elliptical shaped community houses (with palm leaf roofs that reach the ground), blowpipes with arrows moistened with curare, vegetal paints, motorboats and rowing as means of transportation.
Years later, when the Spanish Jesuits discovered this valuable territory rich in cacao, they decided to transform the traditional and authentic cultivation to a more technified form, a fact that is verified by the testimonies of cocoa producers in the Marañón river valley, when they discuss the processes of sowing, planting and maintaining the plantations.
SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
The main objective is to collaborate and enrich communities, and to be a promoter of good agricultural practices. All of this is made possible thanks to the contribution and union with the PROSPERI FOUNDATION, a non-profit organization, committed to maintaining and promoting the historical, cultural values and agricultural aspects of Venezuela. Through educational programs like "Back to the Farm", the foundation demonstrates that the cultivation of cocoa, is a profitable profession that generates social change.