Mexico: Royal Criollo Cacao of Xoconusco

The network of mayan growers they work with today is one of the largest indigenous grower associations in the world. Jose Caballero lives on a small cacahuatal (cocoa farm) and his passion is rescuing the original famous heirloom royal criollo variety of cacao from Xoconusco (Soconusco). This is the original heirloom variety of cacao that was first domesticated by the Olmecs, who preceded the Mayans over 2,000 years ago. According to the "True History of Chocolate" by Coe and Coe the region of Xoconusco had the most prized cacao in the Mayan and Aztec times. So much so that the variety of cacao from Xoconusco became known as royal cacao, because it was reserved for the royality of the Mayan and Aztec civilisations and later for the Spanish royality after the spanish conquest.

With the rapid commercialization of forestero cacao throughout the world and due to disease and destruction of native habitats the original royal criollo variety of cacao from Xoconusco has become extremely rare. It had almost been lost to the world after the ruins of Izapa in Xoconusco were selected by the Mexican government to introduce their project to grow hybridised cacao. They wanted to increase yields with the use of modern farming techniques, herbicides, fertilisers and pesticides. In the process, they almost destroyed the original variety of the Olmecs. Jose Caballero is currently working with a small group (approximately 40 families shown in the above picture at one of the workshops) of indigenous growers to rescue this original heirloom variety. This royal criollo cacao is shade grown under multi-story canopies that include fruit trees such as avocado, mango, coconut and papaya which all lend their distinctive nuances to the fine multi-floral flavor of this exquisite cacao. Through the painstaking work of our friends in the growers association, the genetic material has been saved and continues to be grown today.

"The True History of Chocolate"

This is the title of a book written by Coe and Coe. The authors a husband and wife team, both Harvard academics, intended to document the definitive history of chocolate in this book (as there are many versions of the history of chocolate). Michael Coe a meso-american expert finished the book after his wife Sophie died of cancer while working on the book. For Sophie the history of chocolate was her passion and she spent hundreds of hours tracking down centuries-old manuscripts in the libraries of Europe and North America.

The coe's refer to the pre-mayan culture of Olmecs, particularly the group based in Izapa in Xoconusco (Soconusco), Mexico as the place where the criollo variety of cacao was originally domesticated by this culture sometime between 400 B.C. and A.D.100. There are still small pockets of these original heirloom varieties of criollo cacao in semi-abondoned plantations around the ruins of Izapa, just outside Tapachula in Xoconusco. The region of Xoconusco and the cacao grown there was so prominent in their account of the true history of Chocolate that the coe's referred to it as "the diamond in the crown of the Aztec empire". The adjacent map (copied from the "True History of Chocolate" by Coe & Coe) shows the boundaries of the Aztec empire and the major cacao growing regions of the time just before the spanish conquest. You will notice the Aztecs conquered the small region of Soconusco even though it was far removed from the main part of their territory, just to be able to control the prized cacao grown in the region.

We are currently working on a project with the Mayan Network of Organic Organizations in Mexico to restore this original variety of criollo cacao and the traditional system of Permaculture that the Mayans and the Olmecs before them used to cultivate this cacao. The raw cacao beans and nibs that we sell here are from Xoconusco and are the fruits of this project.

Cacao and Traditional Mesoamerican life

Cacao was considered sacred by the mayans and was the major offering in most of their ceremonies. Even though the cacao bean was central to Mesoamerican life, only the very wealthy and powerful could afford to use it. The Mayan and Aztec priests and royalty drank copious amounts of a drink made from the fermented and crushed cacao seeds. This drink was called xocoatl or "bitter water" in Nahua. Later in Europe xocoatl became "chocolate." Xocoatl was used for ceremonies and religious observances. Priests used it as a part of their prayer offerings. Kings drank it for breakfast. Marriage vows were sealed by drinking xocoatl. It was a major part of every feast. During the 15th century, Nezahualcoyotl's court in Texcoco is recorded as consuming "four xipuipillis" or 32,000 beans each day. In the market place, the beans were accepted as standard currency. On market day, three beans would purchase a turkey egg, 100 beans a slave or a dugout canoe, 65-300 beans a cotton mantle. Cacao beans continued to be used as standard currency until 1887 in Mexico.The cacao of soconusco was considered the finest, best quality cacao by the aztec royalty and the largest annual taxes of cacao were collected from this region.