''Are you sitting down?'' asked Dr. Lyndel Meinhardt, lead genetics researcher at the USDA Genetics Lab in Maryland. ''When Dr. Meinhardt spoke those words, I knew we had found something special'' said Dan Pearson, co-founder of Fortunato Chocolate. Dr. Meinhardt continued, ''what you found is pure Nacional cacao, which made the most popular chocolate in Europe and North America, until it was thought to have been completely wiped out by diseases over 100 years ago. It was thought to be extinct....until now.'' His call in late 2009 began our fine chocolate journey. The other co-founder of our company, Brian Horsley did what any sane person would do....he moved out to the jungle of northern Peru for a decade and built a cacao process... Read more about Fortunato Chocolate.