Word: venezuelan
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...simple bean of the Venezuelan criollo--source of what many connoisseurs consider chocolate's gold standard--had been on the verge of extinction. But here on the Monterosa plantation near the town of Choroní, a small group of entrepreneurs and laborers has dedicated itself to making sure the bean flourishes once more. Monterosa's owner, Kai Rosenberg, has devoted the past 20 years to resurrecting the criollo strain and its gene base. "After I survived a rampant cancer, I decided I was going to do what I really loved," he says. "I used to be in insurance. Can you imagine...
...century, discovering the pristine and aromatic criollo bean in Venezuela along the way. Until the 19th century, Venezuela produced solely criollo cacao, which satisfied more than half the world's demand for chocolate. But when an infestation came close to wiping out all the cacao in neighboring Trinidad, nervous Venezuelan farmers began crossing the criollo with a lesser but more resilient bean by about 1825. As a result, the criollo was all but lost. It didn't help that Venezuela began to focus on more lucrative resources such as coffee and, in the early 20th century, oil. Today, "for every...
...then scooped out by hand, placed in fermentation boxes and covered with banana leaves for three to four days. "Technology-wise, we haven't left the 18th century," says Rosenberg. "It is a process that cannot be industrialized." Silvino Reyes, who owns another hacienda, La Concepción, agrees: "Although Venezuelan cacao can sell for close to $2,500 per ton, our production level is the same as three centuries ago." That is, about 15,000 tons a year...
...students have lost much of their luster. Their trump card in 2007 was an image of political independence, but they've since allowed themselves to be viewed as allies of the opposition - which, despite recent triumphs in state and local elections, is still seen by many if not most Venezuelans as residue from the ultra-corrupt élite that Chávez overthrew a decade ago. The movement's leaders, who once endeared themselves to the Venezuelan hoi polloi with their college-kid austerity and presence in poor barrios, now move about with top-of-the-line BlackBerrys. And more...
...till now, the only people who have figured out how to beat Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez have been kids. Since first winning the presidency in 1998, Chávez had never lost an election until December 2007, when he was stunned in a constitutional referendum that he had hoped would eliminate presidential term limits and greatly expand his socialist project. But his nemesis in that plebiscite wasn't Venezuela's feckless political opposition. It was a broad and unexpected university-student movement that took to the streets, mobilized the victorious "no" vote and flummoxed...