The Racine Carrée project was born 6 years ago when Matéo and Jimmy met. They are both agricultural engineers working for the Choba Choba project in the San Martin region.
Jimmy's family, the Isminio Gonzalès family, own the Alto Miro plantation and welcomed Matéo with open arms when he arrived in Peru. They introduced him to the local culture, customs and characteristics of this land.
The Isminio Ganzalès family's plantation is located in the province of Pajarillo and contains several different varieties of cocoa trees and a high level of biodiversity, with the surrounding orange groves attracting butterflies, bees and birds of all kinds.
When Jimmy and his brother Gino inherited the plantation in May 2020, it was the perfect opportunity for the two brothers and Matéo to realise their project: to create a chocolate brand covering the entire value chain, or in other words, Bean-to-Bar or Tree-to-Bar.
The very first step they had to take was to create a fermentation and drying module so that they could begin processing the cocoa beans.
They then explored the region to meet producers and unearth new varieties of cocoa beans, with the aim of discovering other terroirs and enhancing the aromatic palette of their products.
Four producers have been identified:
Jorge Yoplac from Alto Huayabamba
John Soria from Huicungo and his Chuno plantation
Miguel Reategui from San José de Sisa
The native Muchuc Puru Puru community of Pinto Recodo
All these producers were chosen because they respect the principles of agroforestry, and use no chemical inputs, guaranteed by the presence of beehives on the plantations.
Matéo and Jimmy are very present during the harvest, and choose the beans themselves to ensure that the best are selected for the best raw material. All exchanges are carried out fairly and, above all, at a price commensurate with the work involved. The price is generally double the market price, but allows producers to combine quality, profitability and sustainability.
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Valley of Alto Huayabamba
The Alto Huayabamba plantation is located in the Gran Pajaten reserve, a UNESCO World Heritage site. The producer, Jorge, has created a new variety of cocoa tree: CYP-99. This variety is the result of a cross between different trees already present in the reserve, to combine aromatic power and yield.
All the right conditions - the nature reserve, the alluvial soil, biodiversity and genetics - allow this cocoa to develop extremely subtle aromatic notes: the roundness of coconut, the floral notes of jasmine and a light touch of spice on the finish.