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Cooperativa Norandino
Peru
Piura
5°10’46.7”S
80°39’13”W
In the heart of the Rio Bigote valley
Cooperativa Norandino's cocoa-farming communities are based in the valley of the Rio Bigote - a river with its source in the Bosque de Niebla on the slopes of the Alto Sierra.
This forest of mist captures the water droplets formed when warm, humid air from the Amazon Rainforest meets cold air from the Pacific Ocean over the Andes mountain range. Moisture from these clouds condenses on the leaves of the trees, feeding into the Bigote river throughout the dry season. Because of the region’s hot desert climate, cocoa producers have to maintain irrigation channels to grow their crops.
The Rio Bigote irrigates a verdant valley that winds between hills covered by the Bosque Seco. This fragile ecosystem forms a forest made up of many endemic plant and animal species, adapted to long arid periods interspersed with rainy seasons.
Gran Blanco, the most unique cocoa in the world
Piura cocoa has distinctive white beans and originates from the jungles of the Peruvian Amazon. It was there that it was domesticated by the Mochica people on the banks of the Morona and Santiago rivers. This variety of cocoa suffered from the anti-coca programs of the 2000s, which spread highly productive international cocoa clones throughout the country.
In 2008, the Cooperativa Norandino launched a three-step program to save Piura Blanco cocoa: identification and selection of the purest Piura Blanco cocoa trees (100% white beans) on plantations and in the wild, evaluation of the productive and organoleptic potential of these trees over 4 years, then promotion of Piura Blanco cocoa cultivation and distribution of seedlings to replace international clones.
In 2013, Valrhona made a commitment to the Norandino by signing an initial 5-year partnership and supported the Piura Blanco rescue program by financing a conservatory garden at La Quemazón. The eight selected Piura Blanco cocoa trees are being planted in multiples, with the dual aim of safeguarding the variety and producing genetically pure seedlings for distribution to Piura growers.
Since 2013, Valrhona has had exclusive rights to Gran Blanco cocoa, Piura Blanco produced in the Bigote river valley by the communities of La Quemazón, Valle Singucate, and Los Ranchos.
In this period, Piura Blanco has won numerous national and international competitions, and the Gran Blanco grown at La Quemazón won a silver medal at the Cocoa of Excellence 2021 international competition in Paris.
The Cooperativa Norandino
Founded in 1995, Cooperativa Norandino brings together more than 7,000 cocoa, coffee and panela families from northern Peru. Its mission is to improve the living conditions of its member families by providing access to local and international markets. Norandino is driven by fundamental values of transparency, fairness, respect, accountability, democracy and quality of service. Today, all its producers are Fairtrade and organic farming certified.
100% traceability to the plot
All these producers' plots are mapped, providing cocoa beans that can be traced back to the plot where they were grown. In line with agroforestry techniques, cacao trees are grown alongside other fruit trees and forest varieties.
Our relationship with Norandino began in the early 2010s thanks to our shared interest in quality and sustainability. In 2013, we signed a partnership that would enable us to work together to protect the native Gran Blanco cocoa variety. We renewed the partnership for 10 years in 2021.
Find COOPERATIVA NORANDINO cocoa in
Dark
Single Origin
dark chocolate Illanka 63%
Illanka, a Peru Single Origin, a Valrhona combining fruity dark chocolate with the sweetness of roasted nuts.
Dark
Organic Chocolate
dark chocolate Andoa Noire 70%
Andoa Noire, an organic and fairtrade dark chocolate couverture with a fresh and bitter fruity taste, and its cocoa beans are sourced from the Piura, San Martín and Amazonas regions (Peru).
Milk
Organic Chocolate
milk chocolate Andoa Lactée 39%
Andoa Lactée, Single Origin Peru, an organic, fair trade chocolate revealing a powerful and intense milky and cocoa-rich taste alongside a melt-in-the-mouth texture. It is made from cocoa beans from the Piura, San Martín and Amazonas regions.
Dark
Organic Chocolate
Oriado 60%
ORIADO 60% is a unique Valrhona Blended Origin Grand Cru chocolate made of cocoa beans from Peru and the Dominican Republic. Fairtrade and Organic dark chocolate couverture.
For Tasting
dark chocolate Bar Andoa Noir 70%
Andoa Noire opens with forceful fresh notes and a powerful bitter flavor that develops and takes on different nuances in the mouth. Andoa Noire, an organic and fairtrade dark chocolate couverture with a fresh and bitter fruity taste, and its cocoa beans are sourced from the Piura, San Martín and Amazonas regions (Peru).
Balanced
For Tasting
Degustation Bar Oriado 60%
Oriado’s creamy, vanilla mellowness lulls you into a siesta on warm sands, as the sun intoxicatingly caresses your skin
Balanced
For Baking
Cooking Range Oriado 60% organic dark chocolate
Enveloping, Balanced, Vanilla with a hint of coconut. Fairtrade and Organic dark chocolate.