After an outbreak of disease in 1916 and germplasm from foreign cacao varieties was subsequently introduced, some experts in the 21st century had formerly considered the Nacional bean to be extinct.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, Nacional was considered by many European chocolatiers to be the most coveted source of cacao in the world because of its floral aroma and complex flavor profile.
This was the golden era of Ecuadorian cacao, but it came to an abrupt end in 1916, when an outbreak of witches’ broom disease devastated the Nacional variety throughout the country.
[7] In 2013, groves of 100-120 year old cocoa trees were discovered by To'ak Chocolate in the valley of Piedra de Plata located in the mountains of the Arriba cacao-growing region of Ecuador in the province of Manabi.
With the help of the Heirloom Cacao Preservation fund (HCP), along with Freddy Amores, the director of INIAP, and Dr. Lyndel Meinhardt with the USDA-ARS, To'ak ran DNA tests on a small sample size of these trees.