Word: cacao
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 2010-2019
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...certificate was only one of several that emerged from the prestigious Salon du Chocolat in Paris, the annual summit of the world's master chocolatiers. But it may be enough to start a revolution in Peru. In October 2009, chocolate produced from the cacao beans of a small agricultural cooperative deep in one of the country's rain forests was named the most aromatic in the world by the Salon. "We used to be known for making cocaine paste, but now we are known for chocolate," says Elena Rios, 52, secretary of the Tocache Agroindustrial Cooperative. Rios herself gave...
While the two subversive groups have been defeated, San Martin still has some coca - about 800 acres (374 hectares), according to the latest U.N. survey on coca crops - but that is minuscule compared to what it used to cultivate. Coffee and cacao (chocolate) farms have taken hold instead. The U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) talks about a "San Martin model" as a success story for replacing coca with legal crops. Chocolate is leading...
...working to identify Peru with chocolate, the way Colombia is identified with coffee. We have the world's best beans," says Blanca Panizo, who works for the Alternative Development Program, a U.S. Agency for International Development-backed initiative promoting crops to replace coca. San Martin's top cacao producers hosted a tasting fair in Tarapoto, the department's largest city, in mid-January for a U.S. delegation including Deputy Secretary of State James Steinberg, who was in town for a day. Steinberg walked away with bags of rich, dark chocolate, telling growers that his two daughters loved chocolate...
Nevertheless, cacao exports were up over 400% in the past decade, and production this year will be around 35,000 metric tons, putting Peru close to the top 10 biggest producers. The U.S. program invested more than $110 million in alternative development plans in Peru in the past decade. The program involves nearly half of the 150,000 acres (60,703 hectares) of cacao planted in the country. The goal is to expand not only in San Martin but throughout the country's tropics. About 60% of Peru's territory is jungle...
...plan works, there will be chocolate for all tastes. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is working with a local research center in San Martin, the Institute for Tropical Crops (ITC), to identify new varieties of cacao beans. The institute is studying 342 specimens collected from 12 watersheds. "We are working on categorizing the DNA of cacao," says ITC director Enrique Arevalo. The work will eventually lead to the creation of a Peru-specific chocolate that could be marketed the way countries sell wine. Hiderico Bocangel, general manager of San Martin's Oro Verde cooperative, says Peru is already creating...