“Mexico is the country of chocolate,” says Guadalajara entrepreneur Victor Feliu, originally from Valencia, Spain. “And it’s very good chocolate.
But I found that almost nobody here is working the varieties of cacao. Nobody separates the varieties of beans – the big companies just mix everything at the industrial level, thousands of tons.”
So Feliu, who had been working in data analysis and musical composition, felt called to change that.
In 2014, he left Spain for Honduras, to work in a coffee exporting business. But soon enough, he started investigating cacao and visited Chiapas.
“It was so interesting. People generally only know dark, milk and white chocolate, but there are many flavors and aromas.” The full flavor of cacao depends on how it is roasted and fermented, he emphasized.
“I started testing and seeing the variations. There isn’t any catalog of varieties.”
Early in the process of forming his business, Feliu Chocolate, Victor Feliu was looking for a designer to create his packaging. He met Ivone González, originally of Tlaquepaque, who became his sweetheart and business collaborator.
“Ivone gave the packaging a distinctive Mexican look– based on colorful paper cutouts,” he said, further explaining that, two years ago, as the couple located their business in the Santa Teresita area of Guadalajara, they developed a line of bars and bags of chocolate, which proved its mettle by winning international competitions.
“We participated in the International Chocolate Awards and last year won a gold medal for our Criollo Rioja,” as well as silver and bronze medals.
Feliu starts to sound like a wine expert, as he characterizes Criollo Rioja’s “surprising light color, very creamy and soft … its taste of dried fruit, nuts, a bit acid, a touch of natural wood …” among other nuances.
“My chocolate has all the natural fat of cacao” and it can be used for all purposes, he emphasized: eating, drinking, melting and cooking.
Feliu Chocolate is currently relocating from Santa Teresita to the Mercado Abastos area, where there will be a walk-in shop. Victor Feliu will continue to ply his wares via his Facebook page, Feliu Chocolate. He generally answers messages quickly to make appointments at his workshop or to send chocolate (no minimum) for a delivery fee of 30 pesos in Guadalajara.