The dried flower behind Oaxacan tejate — Quararibea funebris. Despite the name it has no botanical relationship to cacao at all: the tree simply looks like one, so the name stuck. What you buy is the dried white flower, petals and pistils, toasted on a clay comal before use.
Aroma of almond blossom, marzipan and cool spice; delicate, powdery, slightly bitter on the palate. Infuse it — in cream, in milk, in a syrup. Grinding it wastes most of what makes it interesting.
Origin: Valley of Oaxaca. One flat rate per kilo, whichever size you buy. None of the 14 declarable allergens. Store cool, dark, airtight.
Ingredients: 100% dried rosita de cacao flowers (Quararibea funebris). Country of origin: Mexico. Food business operator: Taste Studio, Herengracht 420, Amsterdam, Netherlands.