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Luisa Abram
"Life seems a lot more interesting to me after this sensory experience. Going in search of wild cocoa is like crossing the ocean. But this mission will be rewarded by the experience of the flavours it will give us." Luisa Abram
Luisa Abram founded her chocolate factory in 2014 in Sao Paolo, Brazil, and gave her name to the brand. Before long, her sister, Andréa Abram, joined her to help run the business. The two sisters only use wild cocoa, in other words beans that grow wild in the Amazon and not on a plantation. In this type of operation, no forest has been cleared, the local population receives an income commensurate with their work, and so a better quality of life. What's more, wild cocoa promises a unique taste experience that can't be found in any other chocolate.
Luisa Abram Chocolate is a family-run business and their work depends on their relationship with the surrounding communities. They have a very close relationship with the producing families, and when they go to the Amazon, they stay with them and are welcomed with open arms. They take part in daily life in the Amazon, eating with the locals and sleeping in the beds and hammocks provided, just like the locals.
The aim of going to these remote regions of the Amazon is to harvest wild cocoa of inestimable quality. The cocoa used by Luisa Abram comes from century-old trees in the Amazon rainforest, the cradle of her creations. Each creation seeks to highlight the flavour profile of each river where the cocoa was grown and harvested. In this way, each Luisa Abram bar is imbued with its own unique personality, linked to a very specific place of production. Virtually no ingredients are added to preserve the true flavour of wild cocoa.
Luisa Abram graduated in gastronomy from the Universidade Anhembi Morumbi in São Paulo. Before that, she made her first trip to the Amazon rainforest, from which she returned with 20 kg of dry, fermented cocoa. She experimented with her creations, and the first Luisa Abram chocolate was born: Rio Purus.
After much research, testing and experimentation, Luisa finally found the perfect roasting profile for her and the right conching time for the cocoa. Her hard work has led her to create one of Brazil's finest chocolates.
Luisa Abram chocolate bars were exported to England for the first time in 2015. Since then, the brand has gone from strength to strength. Today, it has won numerous awards at the Chocolate Academy and the International Chocolate Awards.
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Brésil, Acre, Rio Iaco
Le Rio Iaco est un cours d'eau brésilien qui coule sur quelques kilomètres au Pérou avant de baigner l'État brésilien d'Acre. Il est un affluent du rio Purus dans le bassin amazonien.
Avec le déclin du cycle du caoutchouc au Brésil, qui s'est produit au début des années 1990, la collecte du cacao est apparue comme une alternative économique. Dans ce contexte économique incertain, 50 familles de l'Associação Amopecema, qui habitaient les plantations de caoutchouc d'Amapá, Santa Ana, Tabatinga et Canamari, dans la réserve extractive Chico Mendes, dans l'État d'Acre, se sont engagées dans cette nouvelle filière unique.
Le cacao est récolté le long de la rivière Iaco en pirogue à travers la forêt où, avec l'aide de l'ICMBio et de l'ONG SOS Amazônia, deux centres de traitement ont été construits et une formation ainsi qu'une assistance technique ont été fournies pour leur gestion. Outre le cacao, ces familles vivent de la culture des pois bord de mer (Canavalia rosea), du tabac, des bananes et de la production de farine, ainsi que de l'élevage de poulets, de porcs et de bétail. L'extraction du cacao joue un rôle important dans la préservation de la forêt en détournant les activités telles que la déforestation ou d'autres extractions plus destructrices.
