Kakawi: The new spirit of Peruvian cocoa

A byproduct of cocoa that was once discarded has become a premium Amazonian-branded spirit. Kakawi Cacao Spirit, created by neurologist Aníbal Prentice de Lama, has earned eleven international medals in just three years and is projected as a new Peruvian ambassador in the global spirits industry. Recent archaeological findings at the Montegrande huaca in Jaén, Cajamarca, confirm what many had suspected: cocoa, the fruit that gave rise to chocolate, has its roots in the Peruvian Amazon. There began a millennia-long history in which the Maya and Incas revered it as a religious symbol, a currency for exchange, and even an aphrodisiac elixir. But cocoa still held a secret: the mucilage, that sweet, gelatinous, white pulp that coats the beans and which, for centuries, went unnoticed due to a lack of knowledge about its medicinal properties. But this situation took a turn just before the pandemic when, on a trip to Tarapoto, the neurologist Aníbal Prentice de Lama noticed this loss. He ...