Ceremonial Cacao

This cacao comes from Chichontepec.

Most maps call it San Vicente. In Nahuat it is Chichontepec — the mountain of two breasts — twin peaks rising to 2,180 meters in central El Salvador. It is the second-highest volcano in the country and visible from nearly all of it. Long before there were maps, people located themselves by this mountain.

The ground is volcanic. Andesitic lava layered over with ash, built up across eruptions older than any record. The mountain is dormant, but hot springs and fumaroles still run along its flanks — heat working its way up through the same earth the trees root into. Cacao grown in ash-fed volcanic soil carries a mineral depth you can taste. It is the difference between a cup that is merely chocolate and a cup with weight to it.

The air moves. Pacific wind crosses the lowlands and climbs the southern slopes. Cloud settles over the high ground and holds there. Cool, humid, shaded — the fruit ripens slowly, and slow fruit concentrates. Nothing about this place rushes.

The people have been here for generations. Farming families ring the base of the volcano and work its flanks. They know when the rains arrive, when the pods are ready, how long to let the ferment run. That knowledge isn't written down anywhere. It is held in hands, passed down, and it is the reason this cacao tastes the way it does.

Every pound sold sends money back to those farms and to the people who live on that mountain.

Organic. Fermented and hand-crafted in small batches. Available in 4 oz, 8 oz, and 1 lb.

Ships nationwide, or pick up free at Boulder Cafe, 71829 Hwy 62, Twentynine Palms, CA — usually ready within 24 hours.