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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For those who haven’t read it elsewhere: Casa Cacao is the chocolate workshop of El Celler de Can Roca—universally praised and awarded as one of the best in the world. The Roca brothers are said to cook there masterfully. Jordi Roca creates the stunning desserts and, several years ago, traveled to South America to visit the cocoa plantations, to explore the source of chocolate—the cacao itself. This trip resulted in a book (also called Casa Cacao, highly recommended in our opinion) and the idea to showcase—from bean to bar—what chocolate is and why it is so special, right near their restaurant in Girona, including tasting it. And yes, this includes care for and respect of the cacao’s origin. In our view, that’s exactly how it should be. It’s remarkable that taste authorities like the Roca brothers want to share their love for chocolate. Hopefully, you can taste that in this and their other chocolates.

As you would expect from a three-Michelin-star restaurant, the price is on the higher side. But in our opinion, paying a bit more for quality chocolate is justified. In fact, it’s almost a shame that the vast majority of supermarket chocolate bars are solely about being as cheap as possible, often without even indicating the origin. But that’s another story—let’s focus on the taste now:

Flavor profile: Tart, passion fruit, orange, melon, and grapefruit

We must say that the tartness is quite moderate (we wouldn’t call it “very tart”)—but the fruity acidity is definitely noticeable and, in our view, flavorful.

The makers further note: “Cacao from the most prestigious cocoa-producing region in Peru, where the so-called ‘white cacao’ predominates, harvested by small producers in the area. In the Casa Cacao workshop, we hand-select the cacao, roast it, crack and winnow the beans, add organic cane sugar, and conche it for a minimum of 48 hours.”

Ingredients: Cocoa, sugar

Allergy notice from the makers: May contain traces of nuts, milk, gluten, and soy.

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Casa Cacao is a chocolate workshop and at the same time a chocolate café and hotel. A beautiful new project from the Roca brothers, who have one of the most famous restaurants in the world with “El Celler de Can Roca”. The youngest brother Jordi Roca was already responsible for the desserts in the three-star restaurants and in that capacity he (of course) also became interested in the origin of the chocolate: the cocoa.

This led to a trip and a book (also called Casa Cacao) and finally to the plan to make chocolate yourself, from the cocoa (bean to bar). Made of good and fair cocoa from special cocoa plantations. In Girona a place was created for chocolate making, where the opportunity arose to show visitors how chocolate is made, and how important the (origin of) cocoa is for the taste. A great goal, and in our opinion great that people who know so much about taste are also committed to original chocolate, and to make it more famous.

For the milk chocolates in particular, it is nice to know that at Casa Cacoa they combine different types of milk with the cocoa. In this case cow’s milk but in other chocolates goat’s and sheep’s milk is used. Certainly not standard, and nice to notice the (large) taste influence. Of course not for vegans, but for them it is a good idea to compare the dark chocolates. The taste difference is of course immense based on the origin of the cocoa alone.

The makers say about it: “Cacao collected, fermented and dried on the same farm of 460 hectares of cacao culture called” National Cacao “, fermented for 3 days in wooden crates. At the Casa Cacao workshop, we select the cacao by hand, we roast it, crack and winnow the beans, add organic cane sugar and cocoa butter as well as goat’s milk powder, and then we conche it for a minimum of 48 hours. ”

Ingredients: cocoa beans (Dominican Republic), sugar, sheep’s milk (15%), cocoa butter.

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

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Milk chocolate from Casa Cacao with 55% cocoa from Ecuador from Hacienca Victoria. And … 15% goat’s milk.

Casa Cacao is a chocolate workshop and at the same time a chocolate café and hotel. A beautiful new project from the Roca brothers, who have one of the most famous restaurants in the world with “El Celler de Can Roca”. The youngest brother Jordi Roca was already responsible for the desserts in the three-star restaurants and in that capacity he (of course) also became interested in the origin of the chocolate: the cocoa.

This led to a trip and a book (also called Casa Cacao) and finally to the plan to make chocolate yourself, from the cocoa (bean to bar). Made of good and fair cocoa from special cocoa plantations. In Girona a place was created for chocolate making, where the opportunity arose to show visitors how chocolate is made, and how important the (origin of) cocoa is for the taste. A great goal, and in our opinion great that people who know so much about taste are also committed to original chocolate, and to make it more famous.

For the milk chocolates in particular, it is nice to know that at Casa Cacoa they combine different types of milk with the cocoa. In this case cow’s milk but in other chocolates goat’s and sheep’s milk is used. Certainly not standard, and nice to notice the (large) taste influence. Of course not for vegans, but for them it is a good idea to compare the dark chocolates. The taste difference is of course immense based on the origin of the cocoa alone.

The makers say about it: “Cacao collected, fermented and dried on the same farm of 460 hectares of cacao culture called” National Cacao “, fermented for 3 days in wooden crates. At the Casa Cacao workshop, we select the cacao by hand, we roast it, crack and winnow the beans, add organic cane sugar and cocoa butter as well as goat’s milk powder, and then we conche it for a minimum of 48 hours. ”

Tasting notes from the makers: We find a very pleasant acid red fruits notes and goat cheese.

Ingredients: cocoa beans (Hacience Victoria, Ecuador), cane sugar, goat’s milk (15%), cocoa butter.

Allergy note from the makers: cointains milk. may contain traces of nuts. 80 grams.

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Exactly the same cocoa, but with a different sugar: coconut blossom sugar. This way you can taste the difference (if you order both bars) of what standard sugar and coconut blossom sugar make for the difference in the taste of the final chocolate bar. Quite a bit!

Also nice for people who prefer not to have beet or cane sugar in their chocolate and prefer an alternative sugar, then coconut sugar can be a nice option. Also because the coconut grows abundantly in Thailand and it is therefore an extra logical choice – as in the Netherlands where a lot of beets grow, beet sugar can also be a suitable choice in some products. Anyway, sugar – also a fascinating subject when we talk about chocolate. But let’s not forget the cocoa, 70% cocoa from (of course at Paradai) Thailand, a Red Pod bar has also been made from this cocoa with specifically the red cocoa fruits – also such a nice experiment, and yes, that also makes a difference to the taste. In this bar the flavors certainly come out differently thanks to the sugar, but it remains a fruity cocoa with flavor notes described as citrus, mango, banana, cranberry, lychee.

Ingredients: cocoa mass, cocoa butter, coconut blossom sugar.

Allergy note: may contain traces of soy, nuts and lactose. Contents 50 grams.

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And with great success, awarded some of the highest distinctions at the International Chocolate Awards. Not that that says it all, but still – we absolutely get it in this case. Thailand was certainly not an origin where we know great chocolates from and that much cocoa does not grow there, let alone that we know the quality of it. Paradai opened the eyes of the jury to what beautiful flavors can be found in these cocoa types and with their powerful fruity flavor explosions with everything in every bite, we ourselves take our hats off to them.

For us, it was not the praising jury that was the deciding factor, but the nice people in Germany who also occasionally provide us with chocolates from Pacari (from Ecuador). They had direct contact with the makers of Paradai, and asked us to taste them too. And then we were immediately convinced. The chantaburri and Nakhon Si Thammarat were the first bars in our range, and we are happy to be able to expand that with this Phuket chocolate.

As the name suggests: made from cocoa from Phuket. And from one specific cocoa farm.

There are many beaches, it is known worldwide as a tourist spot, but… of course people also live there, and cocoa also grows there.

The importer says about it:

This dark single estate or single origin chocolate from Paradai with cocoa from the Phuket growing region in Thailand has a cocoa content of 70%. This table is also characterized by the beautiful enamel. It is beautifully fruity and is reminiscent of honey, citrus, lychee and banana.

The cocoa comes from one cocoa farm in Phuket, where Warit, one of the two founders, grew up. The cocoa farmer is his mother, who grows cocoa naturally in addition to many other crops. The cocoa is then fermented directly on site in Phuket and further processed into local production in the family factory in the old center of Phuket. The exciting taste play of this Paradai chocolate earned silver at the International Chocolate Awards World Final 2023.

Taste notes described as: beautifully fruity and reminiscent of honey, citrus, lychee and banana.

We would say that compared to the other Paradai chocolates, the fruitiness/acidity is slightly milder, allowing the cocoa butter to dominate and the flavours to become more subtle, at least initially. More like a cross between Paradai and Friis Holm. Or something like that. With a lot to taste but more subtle than such a popping flavour bomb as some other Paradai bars. We like it when the flavours come out a bit more ‘popping’ and with a bit more acid in your mouth, but for the more patient tasters this is definitely a nice bar to discover. The bar starts a bit more cautiously, for some the cocoa butter will be a bit dominant, but then you wait a second and then suddenly a beautiful harmony of fruitiness comes, slightly tart, but above all sweet and pleasantly fruity. And then you get a very long aftertaste as a reward.

Ingredients: cocoa mass, cocoa butter, cane sugar.

Allergy note: free of soy, nuts and lactose. So no traces either. Contents 50 grams.

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We had already made the versions of cocoa from Haitï and Madagascar (and the coconut milk chocolate!) but this variant is certainly worth mentioning.

The Swedish maker also makes a dark chocolate with this cocoa (Idukki, India), and you can already see a little bit of what to expect from the described flavour notes: red apple, cherry, raisin.

The flavour of this milk chocolate is described as: sweet fruit, milk, creamy.

Nice to taste, and always nice to know: awarded at the Academy of Chocolate (bronze) International Chocolate Awards (silver) and Great Taste (2 stars).

Ingredients: cocoa, milk powder, cane sugar.

Allergy note: contains milk.

Contents 50 grams/1.76 oz.

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Taste notes described by the makers: figs, dates and roses.

Ingredients: cocoa, cane sugar, cocoa butter.

Contents 50 grams. Allergy note: May contain traces of milk and nuts.

Awards: not the least. Won the Golden Bean in 2020. That is the highest award from the Academy of Chocolate. There are bronze, silver and gold medals – that’s quite something. But then there is the Golden Bean – an award they give to the very best. What do they think then, because it is only the opinion of a jury. But still, not nothing!

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And that in a very special form, from the makers of Paradai (once started as coffee roasters, but discovered craft chocolate in 2018 and became hooked) in Bangkok Thailand, made entirely from cocoa from the Nakhon Si Thammarat province in southern Thailand.

The taste is described as “A beautifully crafted bar: clean break, creamy, slow and seductively melting with a soft but lingering tannic note of wet walnut. Finely balanced, dark bitter cocoa flavour, intense and satisfying. Within these deep flavors lies a creaminess that demonstrates of great finesse. A long, unforgettable aftertaste.”

Ingredients: cocoa, cocoa butter.

Allergens: none. Contents 50 grams. Made in Thailand.

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This 70% dark chocolate from Paradai was awarded the best dark chocolate in the world at the International Chocolate Awards in 2022 and the Academy of Chocolate was also enthusiastic.

Made in Thailand, from cocoa from Thailand – from the Chantaburri region. The chocolate makers work directly with cocoa farmers there, and also take care of the fermentation profile

The fact that there is a lot to taste is also evident from the jury’s descriptions of the taste, which range from “A nice fruity taste, like tropical fruit in rum or perhaps tequila” to “A taste of peach cider and green grass.”

Taste notes described by the makers: Tropical fruit, raspberries, red wine.

Ingredients: cocoa, cocoa butter, cane sugar.

Contents 50 grams. Cocoa 70%.

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