Chuao

Jesus literally shows us the way. As we approach the beach a man asks us where we are going, after informing him we were off to Chuao (pronounced sh-wow) he told us how much the boat would be. We needed some supplies first as it is only accessible by boat and Jesus was very happy to indulge our desires for sun screen, ice for our picnic, and a cool box. We were ready to leave, so bid Jesus farewell and got in our lancha (small speed boat) and headed out of the clear turquoise Caribbean sea.

The bay of Chuao is definitely some thing to see, it is a stunning quaint little cove with palms and pelicans. It is split into two distinct parts;the beach which is beautiful but uneventful and the pueblo which had a little bit more life and more importantly a lot more chocolate. The first sign of cocoa was a little picture on the welcome sign and it was great to see. There was however no real option of buying any chocolate that was not Nestle by the beach so we took a walk the pueblo.

It was an incredible walk on a road that cuts right through the middle of a cocoa forest. We stood in the shade to escape the blistering heat, the cocoa have had the same ides their whole lives as they thrive only in the shade of taller canopy trees. These are affectionately known as the madres de cocoa (mothers of cocoa). Although the walk was beautiful we were all very tired from over 20 hours of travel and after walking for 30min we started to wonder if we had made a wrong turn. We stopped a motorcycle and inquired about directions and distance. 5Km was beyond our tired bodies and minds so we headed back for a cold beer.

Refreshing as it was the sound of Venezuelan men slamming dominoes on the table somewhat disrupted the view and the serenity. Mind kept drifting back to the chocolate. I could wait no longer so we grabbed our beers and jumped one bus.

If Chuao really did have 2, 500 people then there was not one to be seen on the sleepy dusty streets. The chocolate trail was definitely getting hotter as we saw signs saying se vende cocoa (we sell cocoa - the shop was closed), a 200 year old cocoa bean sorting machine, and the smell of fermenting cocoa filled our nostrils. We finally did find an open shop and to see cocoa beans and chocolate bars on the counter filled me with joy. We grabbed a couple of bars and were told that if we came back tomorrow we could have a demonstration. He pointed us in the way of lunch.

Here we encountered Edi the specialist chocolate chef of Chuao. Her family have been working with cocoa for over 400 years. I asked about life on the cocoa plantation and she told me that the work was hard but the workers were happy. It is owned by a Venezuelan co-operative and now 90% of the chocolate is sold to the Italian chocolate company. It used to go to Valrona the french chocolate pioneers of single origin chocolate bars but the Italians were prepared to pay almost twice as much. Chuao is renowned in the world of fine chocolate and they have a phrase there that encapsulates this “Chuao donde hermina el mejor cocoa del mundo” which means that Chuoa is where the best cocoa in the world was born. The hot chocolate we were served definitely reflected this as it rich and deeps flavours were certainly some of the best I have ever encountered. She also served us a chocolate pancake covered in salty cheese. The sound and the initial taste was bizarre but the more I ate the more sense it made. It was reminiscent of the Asian flavours created but adding sugar and salt.

 We also met Chi Chi here who became our unofficial tour guide for the next three days. He met us every morning without asking for payment and took me to meet all of Chuao's 6 artisans and showed us the other highlights. The best of who and kindest by far was Al (the guy below with the white cloth wrapped around his head). Not only was he the only artisan to have a dark chocolate for sale he was so open and generous it was incredible. He showed me how he prepared the chocolate and taught me one of the chocolate makers greatest principles; Because chocolate is a thing of love, you must make with love, and listen to the music of love whilst making it. Brilliant. He then when on to inform me about more practical theory and cleanliness and temperatures. He let me make chocolate with him and even gave me a traditional recipe. A great and kind man who made our Chuao experience much more rewarding.

He also introduced us to the great Italian couple. Natalino is some what of an anomaly as an Italian that can not eat cheese and loves fishing but not eating fish. He stores all kinds of incredible fish (including the biggest red snapper I have ever seen) until he has 100kg and then he sells it in the local town. We upgraded our room to one with a much nicer bed, a spectacular view of the sea, great Italian home cooked food for less than we were paying before.


We cracked open the Argentinian Malbec right there and so began a night filled with laughter, 80's power ballads, cheese and cracker, papa duro (a lime segment half covered in sugar and half in coffee with a rum chaser), laughter, much merriment and a king fish feast just before bed which was a lot better than a kebab.

The next few days were spent walking through the cocoa forest gorging on the fruit, swimming in the river, learning and eating as much chocolate as possible, and marvelling at the huge circles of cocoa on the church’s specially built piso secando (drying floor).

Chuao really is Wow.

Joseph Davies 28/10/10