Interview and Tasting – Baianí Chocolates, Brazil | #PodSaveChocolate Ep 123
Episode 123 of #PodSaveChocolate features an interview and tasting of Baianí Chocolates (São Paulo)/Vale Potumuju (Sul da Bahia) with Juliana and Tuta Aquino.
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Episode 123 Overview
I first met Juliana and Tuta Aquino in person in July 2017 during my trip to Brazil for the Chocolat Bahia festival. I flew into Guarulhos International Airport (where I was greeted by Rogerio Kamei of Mestiço) from Lima, Peru (where I had been attending the Salon del Cacao y Chocolate). After spending a few days in São Paulo, I flew from Congonhas airport to Ilheus in Bahia with either (both?) Luisa Abram and Arcelia Gallardo (whom I first met while she was working at Dandelion).
But let’s jump back a month or three.
I had been invited to participate in the Chocolat Bahia festival by Marco Lessa, the organizer. I was able to attend because of the timing of the festival – I was already going to be in Peru, which made cost-sharing possible, but it also made the international travel clogistics a lot harder.
As a part of my wider outreach leading up to the trip, I was introduced to Zelia Frangioni, the founder of the website Chocolatras and the organizer of the Prêmio Bean to Bar Brasil. Through Zelia, I was introduced to the Aquinos, Rogerio Kamei and his wife Claudia Gamba, Claudia Schultz, Luisa Abram (I knew her father, Andre Cavalcanti Banks, because he was a member of TheChocolateLife), and others active in the Brazilian chocolate scene.
Zelia had asked me to be a judge for the first Prêmio Bean to Bar Brasil, and through her, the Aquinos graciously invited me to stay in their home. I judged the Prêmio entries on their dining room table, where I also tasted tapioca pancakes for the first time. (And, maybe, fresh jabuticaba.) When I visited São Paulo in 2022 after Chocolat Xingu and Chocolat Bahia, I was also a guest in their home.
But enough of that history, for now.
In this episode, both Juliana and Tuta will join me to talk about their Bainí journey, their connection to cacau, and what makes Brazilian cacau e chocolate special.
Images coutesy Baianí.
Baianí uses cacao from Vale Potumuju (formerly Fazenda Santa Rita) which has been in Juliana’s family for generations.
Images coutesy Baianí.
Images coutesy Baianí.
We will be tasting five bars:
- Chocolate ao Leite 57%
- Chocolate Intenso 70%
- Dark 88%
- Passionfruit Crunch 65%
- Caipirinha 65%
Baianí Chocolates are available from Bar and Cocoa in the US and Chocolats-De-Luxe in the EU (Germany).
Related Posts
Dino H
Clay Gordon
There are links to other posts on TheChocolateLife from this one. In this post there are images from my visit to Fazenda Sagarana, accompanied by Julian and Tuta.
More posts about my travels in Brazil:
Clay Gordon
Clay Gordon
Clay Gordon
Clay Gordon
Questions?
If you have questions or want to comment, you can do so during the episode or, if you are a ChocolateLife member, you can add them in the Comments below at any time.
Episode Hashtags and Socials
Baianí and Vale Potumuju on Instagram.
#cocoa #cacao #cacau
#chocolate #chocolat #craftchocolate
#PodSaveChoc #PSC
#LaVidaCocoa #TheChocolateLife
Future Episodes
None scheduled at the time this post was published.
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