Between 500 and no more than 1,000 meters high in the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta grows under the care of indigenous Arawak and Kogi, cocoa has given flavor and body to the world's richest chocolate.

It is not a credit to the whim of any amateur. Is the Gold they received from the hand of the "International Chocolate Awards", these ethnic families and chocolate bar Tutu Iku 70% that Pacari brand think of cocoa crops that flourish in one of the highest coastal mountain systems of the planet .

It is the most important recognition of this international contest is like saying "World of Chocolate".

The awards ceremony was held in London, England, during the Chocolate Week, which gathers experts and more demanding entrepreneurs in the world, including chocolatiers in France and Denmark, the elite countries of the most distinguished cocoas.

Santiago Peralta, Ecuadorian businessman, co-founder of Pacari with Carla blurted, was surprised that the jury's reaction when he tasted chocolate Iku Tutu. "It was a silence of almost 30 seconds, a rare reaction in such high-profile events and that only happens when a product is extraordinary."

Iku Tutu is the name with which the chocolatiers christened their product to honor the traditions of the indigenous people of the Sierra.
After receiving an invitation from the authorities and comply with all the rituals of welcome to their sacred land, entrepreneurs learned that Tutu Iku is the indigenous name that the Aruacos call backpacks manufactured by themselves to save the cocoa beans collected. So they decided to baptize equal to the chocolate bar.

After being awarded the Gold, and several diplomas more silver and bronze for its other products, chocolate made of cocoa from the inhabitants of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta has become a focus of the most renowned chocolatiers in Peru and Japan, as Susumu Koyama, Kyoto, and Victor Antonio Padilla, of Lima, who have decided to include the Colombian product as raw material for their creations.

Santiago Peralta said "This was a great recognition of all Colombia, its farmers, communities working with these organic products and they are doing things right, protecting the earth and contributing to the healthy economy to position the country as the most chocolate consumers across the continent including the United States. "

And what is the secret that granted this first chocolate made with cocoa grown in the Sierra Nevada on the podium of the richest of the globe?

"It's a combination of factors, soil, climate, collection processes cocoa and making chocolate that starts with a frugal taste like green apple, which then evolves the taste of prune and ending with roasted taste, unique and incomparable candy fire insurance on, the price of Colombian cocoa and interest of the rest of the world to know, try and consume high-class chocolate produced with him. "

Manuela Pulido