Story of KUSA
Quest for the Best Cacao
KUSA was born from a “Quest for the best cacao” project that Chocobien started in Hong Kong in 2016.
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Chocobien works with the cacao growers in Maranon valley and pays them the highest price in all of the market. Chocobien is working with local farmers, conservationists, and Maranon cacao Association to protect the world's oldest and rarest species of cacao tree.
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Chocobien’s mission is to elevate the experiences of tasting dark chocolate into multiple levels of flavours.
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In ancient Pervian language, KUSA means “perfection” and “excellence,” which represents the Pure Nacional cacao and excellence of the quality, the terroir including the soil and climate conditions of the land on which it grows.
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The rare cacao is called “Pure Nacional”, its genetic lineage back at least 5,300 years, to the history of cacao trees in the world. As attacked by disease and it was believed to be extinct in 1916. Until recent years, it was rediscovered by the Maranon cacao farmers in the valley of Maranon in Peru.
Genetically Verified
Pure Nacional cacao has been genetically verified as the 100% rarest Pure Nacional by the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA).
Rare & Unique Flavor
In the nineteenth century, this Nacional cacao was considered as the best cacao in the world — appreciated for its floral aroma, complex flavor and lowest level of bitter. prolonged aftertaste, and round and smooth texture, gives your tastebud the perfect cacao pleasure.
Organically Grown & Protected
The cacao trees are grown by local cacao farmers using their traditional planing methods, which exclude the use of any chemical or insecticide. They are proudly certified as “organically grown” by Peru’s Huarange Cacao Growers Association.
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As the rarest cacao tree species in Peru, Pure Nacional cacao trees are protected by both the Peruvian government and the Maranon Cacao Association. Tours and visits to the growing district are restricted to ensure the environment not be compromised.
Limited Harvesting
Limited harvesting of cacao pods ensures the cacao trees are carefully nurtured, so that growth of the highest quality cacao is sustainable.
Perfection Hand-Picked
Only ripen cacao pods are skilfully selected and hand-picked by cacao farmers with at least more than 3 years of cacao picking experience. 60% of the cacao bean in these cacao pods are white cacao beans, while the rest of purple cacao beans. Only perfect white cacao beans are selected for the fermentation process.
Shelter Dried & Hand Sorted
After going through a carefully implemented fermentation process, the fermented beans are shelter dried away from direct sunlight, hence avoid any potential damage to the natural flavours in the cacao. Then the perfect cacao beans are sorted by experienced hands one by one.