From cocoa bean to chocolate bar made by Casa Cacao in Girona. And for those who don’t know – that is the chocolate workshop of El Celler de Can Roca – the world famous 3 star restaurant. Jordi Roca has been making desserts from good quality chocolate for some time, but during trips to the cocoa plantations in South America he came into contact with cocoa even more. He wrote a book about it, and later plans came up to make bean to bar chocolate himself. That is happening now, in the house of the cocoa (Casa Cacao). It is a restaurant, a chocolate cafe but above all a place where cocoa is made chocolate (you can see it there too). As Chocolate Vendors we have had a nice range (even if we say so ourselves) of origin chocolates for some time, but it is certainly nice when ‘big names’ and people who are so much involved with taste share and spread the love for chocolate & cocoa. . In this way we hope that a few more people will be encouraged to look beyond the candy chocolates from the supermarket, and that more attention will be paid to where cocoa comes from, the people who cultivate it with care and the wonderful diversity of flavors that this produces.

Taste note from the makers: Good acidity leading to red wine and balsamic notes. Not astringent at the end.

Ingredients: cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter.

Content 80 grams. Allergy note from the makers: may contain traces of milk, gluten, nuts and soy.

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This chocolate is another wonderful example of what Morin appreciates in Peruvian cocoa and the complex and fruity flavors that emerge.

And – by no means a detail – awarded gold (the highest award) at the Academy of Chocolate 2022.

Finally, the cocoa is organic.

Taste description from the maker: This chocolate starts with taste notes of sour fruit to develop into mango and plum with an end that is spicy and floral.,

Ingredients: cocoa, cane sugar, cocoa butter.

Allergy note from the maker: may contain traces of nuts, sesame and milk.

Content 100 grams. Biological.

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In this case chocolates awarded at the Academy of Chocolate 2022 – the organization in Great Britain that every year extensively tastes the very best chocolates in the world, provides a judgment and, of course, provides the best chocolates with a nice award.

Gold, silver or bronze can be won, with the gold award obviously going to the few chocolates that the jury deems the very best.

What’s in this Academy of Chocolate Winners package?
Five award-winning chocolates – we select slightly different ones every time. All awarded silver or gold at the Academy of Chocolate 2022. This way you have a beautiful selection of prize-winning chocolates together in one go, a great starting point if you’re new to this type of chocolate – and a package that brings the blessing from us and from this jury bears.

You can choose:

the PURE variant – with only dark chocolates. (also suitable for vegans)
the milk & dark variant where we also add 1-2 milk chocolates, sometimes a white chocolate. In short, there may be milk (not suitable for lactose allergy / vegan)

Would you like to take a look around yourself, and immediately see which chocolates from our range won? Then look at Academy of Chocolate 2022 winners.

A few winners in a row. Please note the images are for illustration purposes, we make a new selection of winners every time so these chocolates do not have to be included – it is possible.

fjak guatemala chocolate organic single origin bean to bar norway philippines chocolate kablon krak winner international chocolate awards bronze beautiful bean to bar from the netherlandsstandout madagascar chocolate pure origin chocolate organic bean to bar vegan soya freecasa cacao hacienda victoria ecuador origin chocolate bean to bar girona red wine yeast chocolate special fermentation fu wan

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Made with cocoa from Uganda – Semulkiki Forest cocoa or cocoa from Latitude – from which we also sell chocolate bars, made entirely in Uganda – nice as a comparison material. However, they do not have 100% dark chocolate like this one, and that is exactly what makes this bar (for lovers of 100% dark) so nice. Cocoa, cocoa butter and nothing else. So that you have the ultimate cocoa experience. To enjoy – for most people anyway – in small pieces.

Taste note from the makers: intense dark chocolate with notes of nuts and tobacco.

We are happy to agree with that taste description – nutty, tobacco and certainly a bit buttery – in our opinion quite a bit of cocoa butter has been added to soften the taste. Nevertheless, it remains a powerful chocolate

Ingredients: cocoa, cocoa butter.

Organic & of course also vegan.

Allergy note from the makers: made in a place that also processes nuts, milk and gluten.

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If you want good cocoa with a refined (and about the same every time) taste, you do that fermentation in a controlled manner. You keep an eye on the temperature, you ensure that extra air is added on the same days, etcetera – and then you certainly have a significant influence on how the cocoa will develop.

What is not often done is that existing specific yeast types are added. Where, for example, in the beer world (and absolutely also with bread) wild fermentation is the exception, it is common with cocoa – and it is therefore special to add yeasts – it happens more often, but Fu Wan is the first maker of which we know that they are releasing a range of chocolates with it.

Why is that fun? Especially because it is nice to taste something that is different from the norm, which is generally available. Taste wild fermented beer the first time if you’re used to Leffe (and then discover the enormous diversity), the first time a natural wine (which was delicious, but then discover that there are also quite a few undrinkable varieties), and so on.

Fu Wan is progressive in all aspects of working with chocolate. All made with cocoa from Taiwan & in Taiwan. They already made – doubly fermented – chocolate, chocolates with specific roasting – nice to compare too – chocolates with special teas and smoked chocolate – and now a series of special fermentations all with the same cocoa but a different added yeast.

This specific variant is fermented with red wine yeast and the result is wonderfully soft in taste and there is really a lot to taste – very different from the ‘normal’ 70% chocolate

Good to know: the structure of the Fu Wan chocolates is not as creamy & soft as we are used to from many chocolates here in Europe – certainly slightly grainy. But if you just let the chocolate melt in your mouth, it doesn’t matter – it just makes the taste more powerful, we think.

Maker’s Description: “This bar is made from the cocoa bean that has been fermented with wine yeast and wild yeast in a temperature- and moisture-controlled fermentation chamber. After fermentation, the bean was aged for several weeks in the low-temperature bean cellar to retain its subtle aroma and softness. develop mouthfeel.”

Taste note from the makers: Berries, grapes, bread – “The chocolate has a very pleasant mouthfeel and soft taste notes such as hazelnut, almond, brioche and berries.”

We would call it a kind of cozy chocolate ourselves, with a warm feeling and soft slowly emerging flavors. The fruitiness only starts a little later, and depending on how sensitive you are to it, comes through very subtle or slightly more powerful, but in our opinion very pleasant.

Maker’s Allergy Note: May contain traces of nuts, peanuts and shellfish.

Content 35 grams.

For whom do we think this chocolate is (extra) suitable:

For a tasting – in addition to ‘normal’ chocolates two special fermentation chocolates can be fun (and a good reason to talk about cocoa fermentation)
For those who already know a lot of special chocolates and are curious about more
For subtle taste and discover
For those who already know Fu Wan and have already become a fan of these chocolates from Taiwan
Naturally a matter of course for wine enthusiasts, sommeliers, oenologists and anyone who likes the fact that the cocoa is fermented with wine yeasts
Of course also very suitable to taste together with the other special ferments – you can also purchase the Great Dionysia set with three chocolates from this series.

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About the cocoa:

“Cocoa beans from Punta Gorda (Peini), Toledo District, Belize. Since 2016, Peini Plantation has been producing its own cocoa on 96 hectares of land and buying cocoa from these farmers through its sister company Belize Cacao Trade.

Together with Na’Lu’Um Cocoa Institute, an association of local Maya cocoa farmers, they have provided thousands of free saplings to these farmers and are supporting them with training and microfinance. Thanks to this initiative, approximately 204 cocoa-producing families now have a steady, reliable source to sell their beans at a fair price and help them expand their farming activities to provide a better life for their families.

The post-harvest takes place in a centralized facility. The beans are fermented for 7 days in boxes made of Santa Maria wood. Once the fermentation process is complete, the beans are transported by wheelbarrow to drying tables. The beans remain on the wooden drying tables and are raked well until they have reached a certain degree of appearance.

Taste description of the maker: Firm body with a pleasant fresh citrus acidity. Notes of tropical soft fruit.

Certainly a true description, although it is by no means only the fruity sourness that can be tasted. After the slowly emerging citrus fruitiness, other taste notes emerge, more in a nutty and herbal direction. In short, another great taste experience with plenty to taste – you can discover what you do and don’t taste yourself (and you can always leave your experience in the reviews of course).

Ingredients: cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter.

Certified Organic. Vegan and free from gluten, soy and milk.

Content 80 grams.

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Where they – of course we would almost say – also make beautiful origin chocolate, specifically cocoa from one area, for the Dutch Original it is about something else: the art of blending. Mixing several types of cocoa together with their own taste profile, whereby the flavors reinforce each other and a – hopefully – harmonious whole is created, which can transcend the taste of the separate cocoa types.

In this case a milk chocolate with 52% cocoa, and just like the Dutch Original Pure & Dutch Original Vegan variants, made with cocoa from Peru, Bali & Dominican Republic.

Description of the makers: “The creamy and firm Dutch quality cow’s milk gets the best out of this blend of certified organic cocoa from Indonesia, Latin America and the Caribbean. This bar is made to stimulate the senses in a balanced and reassuring way. you enjoy it carefully, you can discover a wide variety of flavors and aromas.”

Taste description from the makers: “A full, soft and creamy bar that melts easily, releasing hints of flowers and spices. The mix of quality milk and cocoa with a fine taste provides a natural salty bite with a hint of caramel, coffee and walnuts.”

Ingredients: cocoa, cocoa butter (together 52%), milk, sunflower lecithin.

Allergy Note: Contains milk.

Weight 70 grams (2×35).

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Taste note from the makers: Young red fruit, passion fruit, soft nuttiness, long and elegant finish with a hint of coffee and citrus.

One of the nice things about the makers of Heinde & Verre: they don’t just roast the cocoa. For example, they use two grid profiles for this chocolate. Part of the cocoa is then roasted at one temperature for a certain time and another part of the same cocoa is roasted at a different temperature and time. The cocoa is of course brought back together after the oven to grind and make chocolate with a little sugar. The idea is that this way you can still taste the nice taste diversity of the cocoa even more.

As the makers say, “We used two different roasting profiles for this bar. The first emphasizes notes of fresh young fruit. The second roast brings out nice, soft notes of nuts and coffee.”

Ingredients: cocoa, cane sugar, cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin.

71% cocoa. Allergy note from the makers: No allergens specified.

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The big favorite, at least when it comes to attention, is this chocolate bar. A creamy milk chocolate with Brumost – a brown goat cheese from Norway. This cheese is made from reduced whey (it is therefore a ‘whey cheese’) and gets its color and a sweet caramel-like taste through reduction.

The taste: think of salted fudge, but certainly with some goat cheese flavors. One of the more unique bars in our range, we don’t know how they came up with the combination, but as far as we are concerned, it works fine, and it is a really nice bar to try. There will certainly be quite a few people who find it too intense, but the creamy milk chocolate also just makes it a nice whole.

Ingredients: cocoa, cane sugar, cocoa butter, milk powder, brunost goat cheese, sea salt.

The cocoa comes from Haiti. The chocolate is made in Norway. The chocolate is certified organic.

Maker’s allergy note: contains milk. May contain traces of nuts and traces of gluten.

Awards: Awards at International Chocolate Awards 2019 and Great Taste 2020, among others.

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This creates a chocolate bar that is extremely suitable for the colder days. Sinterklaas can easily leave him in the shoe. But there are probably also many under the Christmas tree. And of course you can also order it in October or November to simply eat it yourself.

Ingredients: cocoa beans (La Dalia Nicaragua, 72%), cane sugar (Paraguay), spices, non-GMO soy lecithin (max 0.2%).

Allergy note: may contain traces of lactose.

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