The Nacional is a rare variety of

cocoa bean The cocoa bean (technically cocoa seed) or simply cocoa (), also called the cacao bean (technically cacao seed) or cacao (), is the dried and fully fermented seed of '' Theobroma cacao'', from which cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substa ...

found in areas of South America such as Ecuador and Peru. Some experts in the 21st century had formerly considered the Nacional bean to be extinct. Pure

genotype The genotype of an organism is its complete set of genetic material. Genotype can also be used to refer to the alleles or variants an individual carries in a particular gene or genetic location. The number of alleles an individual can have in a ...

s of the bean are rare because most Nacional varieties have been

interbred In biology, a hybrid is the offspring resulting from combining the qualities of two organisms of different breeds, varieties, species or genera through sexual reproduction. Hybrids are not always intermediates between their parents (such as in ...

with other cocoa bean varieties. The Ecuadorian cacao variety called “Nacional” traces its genetic lineage as far back as 3,500 years, to the earliest-known cacao trees domesticated by humanity. In the 18th and 19th centuries Nacional was considered by many European chocolatiers to be the most coveted source of cacao in the world because of its floral aroma and complex flavor profile. This was the golden era of Ecuadorian cacao, but it came to an abrupt end in 1916, when an outbreak of “Witches’ Broom” disease devastated the Nacional variety throughout the country. After the disease hit, germplasm from foreign cacao varieties was subsequently introduced into the country starting in the 1930s, which resulted in the widespread hybridization of Ecuadorian cacao. By the beginning of the 21st century most people believed that the pure Nacional genotype no longer existed. In 2009
Ecuador’s agricultural research institute
(INIAP) collected DNA samples from cacao trees throughout Ecuador, only 6 trees (out of 11,000 samples tested) were confirmed to be 100% genetically pure Nacional cacao. That is only 0.05% of the cacao trees that INIAP analyzed in their field research. In 2013 groves of 100-120 year old cocoa trees were discovered by

To'ak Chocolate To'ak Chocolate (pronounced Toe-Ahk) is an Ecuadorian chocolate company founded in 2013 by Jerry Toth, Carl Schweizer, and Denise Valencia. It produces its chocolate from the rare Nacional (cocoa bean), Nacional cocoa bean Variety (botany), variety ...

in the valley of Piedra de Plata located in the mountains of the Arriba cacao-growing region of

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar language, Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechuan ...

in the province of Manabi. With the help of th
Heirloom Cacao Preservation fund
(HCP), along with Freddy Amores, the director of INIAP, and Dr. Lyndel Meinhardt with the USDA-ARS, To'ak ran DNA tests on a small sample size of these trees. Of the sixteen old arbor trees tested, nine of them proved to be genetically pure Nacional variety.

DNA analysis Genetic testing, also known as DNA testing, is used to identify changes in DNA sequence or chromosome structure. Genetic testing can also include measuring the results of genetic changes, such as RNA analysis as an output of gene expression, or ...

confirmed that the beans were comprised purely of the Nacional

bringing the number of DNA-verified pure Nacional trees in Ecuador to a grand total of fifteen.

References

Further reading