In a country where more and more of the native cacao varietals are being lost to big companies preference for high-yielding foreign clones, Joel, his father Efrain and Joel's brothers cultivate the native ancestral "Chuncho."
Chuncho - with it's proximity to Cusco would have been the cacao of choice for the Incas, and let me tell you they have great taste!
A few producers in the area still grow chuncho, but not every farm in the area can boast having won the spot for #1 cacao in Peru two years in a row, and the Pumatiy farm just keeps getting better and better at what they do.
The Puma Champi family are personal friends of mine, and after visiting them in Peru, I hope to continue carrying their cacao as part of our regular line for as long as they keep producing such amazing cacao! This is also the first offering of Iliad Cacao for other chocolate makers.
