Dear Soma-slurpers, -sippers, -sniffers, and -savourers,

Nectarous news!

More than a year after we introduced our excellent Peruvian cacao, we finally have a new origin to share with you.

If that in itself is not enough to make you dance a small and tasteful jig, then listen to this:

Our new cacao comes from the banks of the Misahuallí River, which runs through the Amazonian foothills of the Andes Mountain Range in the Napo Province of Ecuador. 

Ecuador is famous for its ‘fino de aroma’ (fine aroma) cacao, a family of indigenous varietals that consistently win international chocolate awards (do a Google search for “What country grows the world’s best chocolate?” if you don’t believe us). Most prized of all the fino de aroma cacaos are the ‘nacional’ (national) strains, an heirloom lineage of cacao prized for hundreds of years, known for its sweet flavour and floral aroma.

Our new Ecuadorian cacao is a Nacional hybrid grown by a group of small-hold farmers who live near the confluence of the Misahuallí and Napo Rivers, at an altitude of around 600m. Cacao has been cultivated for thousands of years in this region. Local Quechua legend says that gold buried in the riverbed of the Misahuallí River rises through the sap of the cacao tree to give its fruits their unique bright golden colour.

At Soma we pride ourselves on selling very high-quality, uniquely flavoured cacaos. We didn’t just pull the trigger and buy any old cacao; we really waited until something unique and delicious came along, that would be new and exciting for our Soma faithful.

You can look forward to a rich roasted banana flavour from this Ecuadorian cacao, with jasmine blossom, butter and liquorice notes, and a very silky, creamy mouthfeel. Nacional cacao is famous for its low acidity and bitterness - this Ecuadorian cacao is remarkably sweet.

Our cacao has been processed and shipped to us by a small family business based in Quito, Ecuador, headed up an uncle-and-nephew team. Their business has been working with the same small-hold farmers in the Misahuallí region for generations, and we’re excited to be working with them as they push to expand their processing and shipping facilities to give more small Ecuadorian farmers access to a market for unique, high-quality, non-homogenised cacao.

This is a big moment for us at Soma; we hope it’s a big moment for you, too.

Like Romeo seeing Juliet at the masquerade ball, or Cleopatra visiting Mark Antony on a gilded barge, or Ryan Gosling hanging from the Ferris Wheel in The Notebook, you may well just be about to start a very passionate love affair with a very excellent, very delicious and very exotic new cacao.

With a tiny bit of coconut sugar and a little salt to bring out the flavour,

Rose, Alistair, and the Team at Soma Cacao