Luisa Abram Chocolate was found in 2014. She was about to finish her degree in Culinary Studies at the Anhembi Morumbi University of San Paolo, when she went on her first of many journeys to the Amazon Rain Forest. On this first occasion she turned with 20 kg of dried and fermented cacao and started the testing for the production of her first chocolate bar, to find a recipe that could satisfy her quality standard. That’s how Rio Purus was born.
In the meantime her sister Andréa has joined her in running the factory. In 2015 they made their first delivery to England. Then work increased and the clients started to search their products on the shelves of shops and local markets. Today the enterprise has more than 100 sales points in Brasilia and exports to several countries, particularly to the USA.
The cacao used is wildly grown in the Amazon Forest. It is not planted or farmed the way man does. It grows where nature made it appear, in the shade of ancient trees. Mother nature is in charge. Luisa looks for this cacao in the floodplains of the rivers near river communities. Always in search for new places where this cacao might be found, fermented, dried and then brought to the factory in San Paolo.
This way the characteristics of the fruit may be different every year, and will be reflected in the chocolate of each year, according to the harvest year.
Luisa wants to show the world the high quality that this chocolate, produced with cacao from the forest, can achieve. Over time she has built partnerships with local communities that are encouraged to maintain and protect those native cacao trees, just as the other trees in their environment. This way work opportunities are created and new income sources for men and women, improving the quality of life in those communities.