Chuao
| Chuao | |
|---|---|
 Chuao
|
|
| Coordinates: 10°29′36″N 67°31′38″W / 10.49333°N 67.52722°WCoordinates: 10°29′36″N 67°31′38″W / 10.49333°N 67.52722°W | |
| Country |
 Venezuela
|
| State | Aragua |
| Municipality | Santiago Mariño Municipality |
| Elevation | 254 m (833 ft) |
| Time zone | VST |
| Climate | Aw |
Chuao is a small village located in the northern coastal range of Venezuela, founded in the 16th century. The village is famous for its cacao plantations, Diablos danzantes and San Juaneras. The village is surrounded by mountains and dense rainforests to the south and the Caribbean Sea to the north. The nearby Henri Pittier National Park the oldest national park in Venezuela created in 1937. There is no road access and visitors must come by boat from the town of Puerto Colombia along the coast, or by foot, crossing the mountains and the cloud forest from Turmero near Maracay.
The Chuao plantations has been there for over 400 years growing Criollo and hybrid varieties of cacao. Chuao beans are of very high quality, and are considered Venezuela's finest beans together with Porcelana Blanca beans from Lake Maracaibo extremely rare and celebrated for their freshness. They are also the most expensive in the world. The Chuao region is hemmed in by mountains which reduces contact with people and insects from other areas. Scarcely 20 tons of cocoa are available each year.
Experts agree that the high quality of the cacao beans of Chuao is not only because the genetic varietal that exists in the plantation but because the intense work of La Empresa Campesina of Chuao during the pre harvest, harvest and post harvest.
The Empresa Campesina of Chuao is a female-run company and the only organization with the right to harvest the Chuao plantation. Their farming, fermenting and drying techniques have been passed on from generation to generation and because of this the high quality of the Chuao cacao beans remains constant through the years.
In November 2000, the cacao beans coming from Chuao region were awarded an appellation of origin under the title Cacao de Chuao, allowing producers to negotiate higher prices and attract investment.
...
Wikipedia