Ecuador is most famous for its rare Arriba cocoa beans. These beans are used to make high-end chocolate for discerning chocolate lovers. Some Arriba cacao trees are over a hundred years old. Arriba means “up” or “above” in Spanish, a reference to the fact that these beans grow up-river from the port city of Guayaquil.
Ecuador’s high-quality chocolate comes from the Arriba bean. Chocolate experts describe the flavor of this bean as fruity and spicy, a complex flavor without much bitterness. High-end chocolatiers compare cocoa to the grapes grown to make wine. Soil and the climate play a large role in the flavor of the cocoa. Arriba beans at one elevation have a different flavor than the same type of beans grown in a different part of the Amazon Basin.
Cocoa beans ripen inside football-shaped pods, which start out green and gradually turn shades of yellow and orange. Inside these pods, you’ll find a soft, white coating around each cluster of red beans. Chocolatiers ferment and then roast the beans to get the best flavor, a process that turns the beans a toasty shade of brown.
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