Tropical Agroforestry Heirloom Cacao in Ecuador: Not all "cash crops" are bad for forest ecosystems!

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ม.ค. 2025

ความคิดเห็น • 17

  • @lasabras506
    @lasabras506 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    Good to see your videos again. Greetings from Costa Rica.

  • @gavinmacmounsey
    @gavinmacmounsey 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I love how you think, it reminds me of my Dad's attitude towards wine tasting snobbery. He owned a vineyard, made wine and was a consultant for the BC government liquor board, but he did not have time for rich snobby people talking about "notes of licorice and leather and hints of this and that", he would tell them, "look, its fermented grape juice, if you have good soil, good weather you get good grapes and (given patience) that can result in some great wine, but in the end, wine is just grape juice that has been left to sit there for a while". He would catch fancy guests to our vineyard off guard when he talked like that but I always got a kick out of it :)
    Have you noticed any difference in the growth habits, harvest yield and disease resistance of heirloom vs hybridized cacao varieties?

  • @misaventuras6995
    @misaventuras6995 2 ปีที่แล้ว

    I was missing your videos, good to see you.

  • @VanillapAndCacao
    @VanillapAndCacao 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    In a research I conducted, genetically 1st Nacional for EET-59: 42.8%
    2. Amelonado: 50.0%
    3. Criollo: 1.1%
    4. Parinari: 1.7%
    5. IMC: 1.6%
    6. Scavina: It is said to be 2.8%. The rate may vary from research to research depending on the EET-59 rootstocks used. In some research analyses, this ratio may be 55% or 45%. But if EET-59 carries 42.8% nacional genetics, can this ratio give EET-59 a good mid-level or good nacional flavor in terms of character?
    Of course, I know that plant nutrition, soil quality and physical environment will also affect taste perception.

    • @kristenkrashatsuenodevida7699
      @kristenkrashatsuenodevida7699  5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      In my opinion, I think you can get a very good flavor profile with a Nacional hybrid like yours -- because the flavor profile is not only about the genetics of the bean. Two other factors are very important. 1. Post harvest processing. A farmer can have a cacao with amazing genetics, but if the beans are not fermented or dried properly, the flavor won't be good. A well fermented and sun dried bean will have a better flavor profile no matter the genetics. A good post harvest treatment is extremely important. 2. Terroir. The soil quality, the surrounding environment, the ambient yeasts in the air all play a significant role in giving a cacao bean a distinctive characteristic. Growing the cacao in an agroforestry system with other fruit trees and spices imparts subtle flavor notes. The beans pick up flavor and aroma as they dry as well. Having herbs and spices growing close to the drying racks. The entire ambience of the ecosystem where the cacao is grown and processed plays a role.
      Genetics are important, buy only half the picture of the whole profile.

    • @VanillapAndCacao
      @VanillapAndCacao 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@kristenkrashatsuenodevida7699 Thank you. You are so right. Thank you for your answer.

  • @VanillapAndCacao
    @VanillapAndCacao 5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    I have a small cocoa collection in the country where I live. I purchased a fane EET59 nacional cocoa hybrid. How nacional can this plant be genetically? Is there a higher genetic similarity, such as 50% or 70%?

    • @kristenkrashatsuenodevida7699
      @kristenkrashatsuenodevida7699  5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      @@VanillapAndCacao here is a very good article on the subject of different grades of Nacional. There are Heirloom varieties with higher genetic similarities, but they produce less fruit. The article explains the differences very welltoakchocolate.com/blogs/news/the-different-grades-of-ecuadorian-cacao

    • @VanillapAndCacao
      @VanillapAndCacao 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@kristenkrashatsuenodevida7699 Where can I find this article? What is its name? And does EET-59 cocoa have half the properties of national cocoa? Thank you for the reply

    • @VanillapAndCacao
      @VanillapAndCacao 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

      @@kristenkrashatsuenodevida7699 Yes, I read this article, it describes the EET series superficially. While some scientific analyzes say 62% heterozygous for EET-59, other sources say this rate is 45%. In other words, EET-59 is highly heterozygous, that is, it is a little away from Niconal cocoa, but since its hybridity level is a little different, only real producers like you in this business know this. because you have experience. Do you think it is phenotypically similar enough to EET-59 nacional?

    • @kristenkrashatsuenodevida7699
      @kristenkrashatsuenodevida7699  5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      Hmm. Well, by "phenotypically similar enough" I think it really depends on your goals as a cacao producer. If you want to produce a rare and more "pure" Nacional phenotype for an exclusive group of buyers, then any EET hybrid isn't the best choice. But if your goal is to have a more reliable and robust production of "fine flavor" cacao for a wider range of buyers, than an EET hybrid is a good choice. As you say, very few people actually know about these differences between Ancient, Heirloom, and the various Complejo hybrids. A bean buyer who is making "fine flavor" chocolate at a medium price point is unlikely to care whether the Nacional percentage is 45% or 62% or in between. They just want to put "made with Nacional of Ecuador) on their label. Only real aficionados, cacao purists, and top tier priced chocolate makers will be interested in an Heirloom designation. What one considers "phenotypically enough" depends on the producers goals -- productivity or preservation? -- and what the buyer wants.
      I cultivate an Heirloom designated bean (from Finca Nueva Esperanza designated by the HCP in 2014), but I also cultivate some upper Amazon varieties. There's a farm I visited recently that had over 50 phenotypes of Nacional, a few Ancient on 100 year old trees for preservation, but also more vigorous natural hybrids for steadier production.

    • @kristenkrashatsuenodevida7699
      @kristenkrashatsuenodevida7699  5 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

      To be perfectly frank, I'm not super concerned about preserving a "pure" Nacional. My own goals are more focused on ecology, diversity, and resilience. Our climate here in NW Pichincha is changing (along with the rest of the planet) and this 2024 El Niño was a big warning sign. I am looking at which of my trees were able to maintain health and production in the challenges of higher humidity and excess rains coming in from the coast. Personally, I will be selecting seed to germinate from my own trees that are more withstanding of these climate fluctuations.

  • @VanillapAndCacao
    @VanillapAndCacao 5 หลายเดือนก่อน

    I downloaded the SNP profiles containing the genetic information of EET-59, Nacional and Amelonado cocoas from the cocoa genetic database.
    And I manually compared all genetic phenotypes to each other and found that EET-59 cocoa is 34.14% natural. But there is something interesting here. National and Amelonado cocoa are exactly the same type. They are so similar that we can't even consider them species.
    Amelon cocoa has 97.56% genetics of National cocoa. So, if you self-pollinate Amelonado cocoa for two generations, you can have 100% pure Nacional cocoa.
    Why isn't this information shared with people? There is fraud out there. I think they are ignoring Amelonado cocoa to monopolize the national cocoa.
    Because some companies produce 100% pure Nacional cocoa and sell it at very high prices. However, if it is learned that Amelonado is also a Nacional cocoa variety, I think they will have to sell it at cheaper prices since there will be more Nacional cocoa in the market.