Gran Bouquet is a range of chocolate which combines prestigious selections of cocoa with top quality spices, aromatic coffee and scented tea. Gran Bouquet was created to enhance the basic taste of chocolate combined with the aromas of distant lands.

Sambirano is cultivated in a distinct tropical climate along the Sambirano River. This chocolate has hints of citrus and berries believed to be a result of former fruit plantations enriching the soil during French Colonial times.

Our friend Desmond, part farmer-philosopher-madman (all the right traits for growing incredible cacao) owns Bachelor Hall Estates, left to him by his grandfather. Fed by two fresh water springs, his farm is in a unique location in the nutrient rich valley between the spiritual & majestic Blue and John Crowe mountains. Seedlings were originally transplanted from Trinidad in the 1800s. Today the cacao grows naturally, without the use of fertilizers, surrounded by coconut palms. We hike up to the highest point on the farm, the breathtaking beauty of the sea, forest, and mountains surround us in every direction. Origin: St. Thomas Parish, Jamaica. Tasting notes: cashews, honey, cherry, wood, rum.

Madagascar, the oldest island on the planet has been growing cacao in the Sambirano Valley since the early 1900s. We call this origin the "gateway chocolate" as Madagascar is often the portal for 1st timers into the intricate and captivating world of single origin chocolate. Bertil Akesson's family owned estate has been supplying us with their beautiful Madagascan beans since Soma began in 2003. The beans from his Bejofo farm are deep red in colour, a reflection of the prominent red fruit & citrus notes this area in known for. Origin: lower Sambirano Valley, Madagascar. Tasting notes: raspberry, cherry, peanut butter, pomelo.

Our newest Peruvian chocolate made with Criollo beans grown in VRAE (Valle de los Rios Apurimac y Ene) This farmer co-op "El Quinacho" supports over 500 families. This cacao is aromatic, unique and grown sustainably with a punch of citrus & notes of baked brownies.

A big part of the chocolatemakers art lies in blending cacao origins and anticipating how they will react and ultimately taste together. The resulting blend is a classic beautifully balanced dark chocolate, earthy and nutty suitable for daily enjoyment...

The legendary "pure and delicate Criollo" from the central coastal highlands of Venezuela. The Chuao plantation produces a variety of cocoa that is famous for its quality and has a well documented history going back to 1592. We picked up a small lot of this cacao and have used gentle roasting and conching with no added vanilla or soy lecithin to make a bar that can tell its own story...Intense, aromatic with notes of toasted almonds & dried figs.

From the last great frontier for undiscovered cacao. "Chuno" a Trinitario cacao from the San Jose de Bocay/Pantasma region of Nicaragua. Processing includes 6 days fermentation and 6 days of solar drying on wood. The result is a fruity chocolate with a refreshing astringency. (Tasting notes: citrus, pepper, walnuts.)

We've sourced this certified fair trade and organic cocoa from "Conacado" a group of small scale cocoa producers in the Dominican Republic. An earthy dark chocolate with a creamy mouthfeel, notes of cherry jam, bananas, & toasted bread.

A dual origin chocolate made with cacao beans from Peru and the Dominican Republic. This Organic 67% chocolate was made with a new and unique process resulting in an incredibly smooth bar. Notes of roasted grains, & brownies with a [sic] end punch of astringency.

A single origin chocolate from Cahabón which lies in the Alta Verapaz mountain chain of Guatemala. The people in the coop that grow these beans are from the indigenous tribe Kekchi Maya who have consumed cocoa in drink form for thousands of years. An earthy chocolate with notes of lime.

Maybe the last great frontier for undiscovered cacao. Our man in Nicaragua (Hello Giff!) hooked us up with some fine native Nicaraguan Trinitarios "descendants of indigenous criollo stock (but with some introgression)". In accordance with our travelling without moving principle: taste and let yourself be transported to the empire of the senses...nutty base notes with layers of ripe bananas.

A classic Venezuelan bean from Ocumare de la Costa, one of the magical cacao growing valleys on the Aragua coast of Northern Venezuela. Trinitario with strong Criollo tendencies. Ocumare has a true dark personality that is gutsy and bold. Earthy backbone, with strong chocolate undertones rounded out with fruity notes in the form of berries and stone fruit. (Tasting notes: cacao, blackcurrant, plums, peaches.)

The humid marshes Southwest of Lake Maracaibo in Western Venezuela provide the perfect climate for a delicate Criollo cacao known as Sur del Lago. This famous cacao is mentioned in recipe books as far back as the early 19th century. It was then known simply as "Maracaibo" as this was the port from which it was shipped. Earthy, woody, with underlying nutty notes.

Amazing Trinitario beans from Tanzania - a relatively new region for high quality organic cocoa. This earthy chocolate is made from cocoa beans grown on the northern tip of Lake Nyara, a region rich in volcanic deposits. Nutty, well balanced, with unique malty notes.

A blend of 3 impressive but very different cacoa [sic] beans: Apurimac from Peru, Papua New Guinea and La Red from the Dominican Republic. Chocolate that could not exist without blending. Fruity, earthy, dynamic. Gangsta

Trinidad has supplied the world with high grade flavour cacao since the early 1800s. In recent years it has been hard to source, we have finally established connections & received some beans. This sample batch was made with cocoa from a historic plantation area known as Sangre Grande. Notes of brownies & roasted grains.

Deep in the famous growing region south of Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela lies Estación Chama. This research center is a germplasm bank dedicated to preserving the rare Porcelana cacao bean. Here as part of a Venezuelan cacao research program, a hybridized Porcelana/Ocumare was created named Criollo Santa Barbara. Luckily a very small amount was released for export making its way to our factory. The cut test reveals a high percentage of ivory coloured beans. The finished chocolate - light coloured, round and delicate, with a lingering, herbaceous finish. Very limited edition. Origin: south of Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela. Tasting notes: coffee, buttermilk, macadamia nut, nectarines, orange blossom, raisins, malt, grass.

A beautiful pairing of two organic cocoa beans, Sambirano from Madagascar and Elvesia from Dominican Republic. Creamy texture with fruity notes of molasses and raisins.

Costa Esmeraldas is a single estate cacao farm owned by the Salazar family on the NW coast of Ecuador. The steep 100-hectare site is planted with Nacional-Venezolano amarillo cacao. During harvest time the pods are transported daily, beans meticulously fermented & sun-dried at their new post-harvest facility close to the farm.

Oranges, limes, lemons, plantain, bananas, guayaba, & papaya are grown interspersed with the cacao to reduce erosion on the steep terrain. Last time we met, Fredy Enrique Salazar passionately tells me, "We also grow fruit because it feeds everyone who works the farm." Their land is beautiful -- lush namesake emerald green hills layered in every direction.

Tasting notes: lemon, bread, cherries, balsamic vinegar, brownies, green bananas.

Historically, cocoa was named for the port from which it shipped. Puerto Cabello was such a port and cacao from the Patanemo area was shipped under that name to chocolate factories in Europe. From the prized cacao growing areas along the North coast of Venezuela, the pale beans reveal a noble Criollo lineage. Rich, creamy, notes of chocolate pudding and cashews, persistent flavor.

If you stayed awake in chocolate class you would know that "Nacional" is a fine flavor cacao that originated in Ecuador. It is renowned for its pronounced floral character. Recently a genuine strain of Nacional was recovered, growing at a high altitude in a box canyon in the Maranon River valley of Peru. It has some relatively atypical white colored seeds. DNA tests show it to be an identical match to pure Nacional. This bar won us a bronze, silver and gold in the International chocolate awards 2014.

After 12 yrs learning about this rare cacao (often referred to as the holy grail of cacao) we were able to secure a few bags of these precious beans from the region south of Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. Estación Experimental Chama, is a germplasm bank dedicated to the preservation of Porcelana, most of its harvest reserved for replanting. A gentle roast & conch exposes an extraordinary and complex chocolate containing a full scale of delicate tasting notes. Very round with a freakishly long finish. Quiet & mighty. Limited edition. Tasting notes: cream, cashews, figs, grass, strawberries, coconut, honey, orange marmalade.

A meeting of three heavyweights! Chuao from coastal Venezuela, Alto Beni - a wild cacao from Bolivia and Elvesia from the Dominican Republic meet in a bar. They all get along nicely and tell stories until the wee hours. A serious blend with a lot of punch. Elegant and persistent chocolate flavour, roasted nuts and a lingering honey finish.

This bar is made with cacao grown along the mighty Ucayali River in the Amazon jungle. Historically this was a dangerous coca-growing region with a heavy presence of traffickers. A government program to quell narcos activity in addition to being paid premium prices, farmers are now switching to cacao as an alternate market to cocaine. Ucayali River Cacao is a central fermentary that works with over 400 small family farms with 1-3 hectares of land each. Local varieties of cacao called "comun" and Trinitario clones (never CCN-51) are brought in by boat then carefully fermented, dried and blended to preserve the beautiful flavours of the region. Tasting notes: Mission fig, banana bread, orange blossom.

Located in Northeast Bolivia, a series of man made islands made from pottery shards built on a savannah. These feral cacao trees were planted on these islands before Columbus arrived in the New World and grown without intervention making it some of the purest heirloom cacao grown in the world today. Creamy texture with notes of caramel, baked brownies, & molasses.

Taste notes: Raspberry, melon, citrus.

Savory chocolate, tropical fruit, tobacco.

Rasin [sic], malt, black cherry.

Our 72% Madagascar is made from cocoa beans of Akesson's organic estate, Sambirano Valley, Madagascar. Tasting Note: Raspberry, plum.

Fortaleza del Valle is an organic and fair trade certified cocoa cooperative in the Manabí region of Ecuador known for their exceptional quality and pure "nacional" cocoa beans. Their cocoa beans feature prominently here in both the roasted cocoa nibs and the rich dark chocolate. Exquisitely crunchy and delicious!

The sweet organic apricots, from the Hunza Valley of Pakistan, add a tangy twist to the flower, vanilla, citrus and hazelnut notes of the organic dark chocolate. The apricots, cocoa and sugar are all Fairtrade & organic - bought at a fair price, plus an additional sum to be invested in farming communities.

In Madagascar, at the heart of the fertile Sambirano river valley, lies one of the island's celebrated plantations, the Ampamakia farm. Amidst these lush surroundings, cocoa beans have been cultivated for more ten [sic] 100 years. Their acid yellow fruit frehness [sic] and roasted notes will transport your senses.

In Venezuela deep inside a magic valley where you access only by sea, the people of Chuao grow an outstanding and rare cocoa whitch (sic) we use in making this chocolate.

In the Maria Trinidad Sanchez region, in the northeastern section of the Dominican Republic, lies the Valrhona cacao plantation. Long on the palate, very balanced and chocolatey, the round and light ripe fruit notes gently give away to a delicate touch of toasted aromas.

The first designated HCP heirloom cacao. This truely [sic] wild cacao is harvested form [sic] the area in the Tranquilidad Forest Estste [sic] which is owned and managed by none other then [sic] Volker Lehmann. The develpoment [sic] and production of the 2 separate Bolivian origins in Tranquilidad go directly to support his efforts in his project, Theobroma Cacao Foundation. The TFP is building on former achievements and expanding to researching and conserving Beniano wild cacao stands for future generations in Bolivia. We are excited and feeling fortunate to yet again work with such a spectacular cacao. Tasting notes: raisin, tabacco [sic], nutty, chocolate base.

Candied pineapple, custard, raisin. The cacao in this bar comes from rainforest farms in southern and central Belize. There the Maya Mountain Cacao company collaborates with local growers to produce cacao of exceptional flavor, sustainability, and positive economic impact at origin. It's cacao sourcing at its finest, and I am a proud supporter.

Sourced, roasted, cracked, winnowed, conched & aged in Portland, Oregon.

Sourced, roasted, cracked, winnowed, conched & aged in Portland, Oregon.

Peru 70 (Satipo Pangoa) conched for 16 hours: The regions around Satipo and Pangoa have retained their old and genuine Crioll [sic] varieties. The taste of the Criollo is intoxicating, however, it is also quite rare. Criollo, the noble bean, is very sensitive. It does not tolerate intensive cultivation, and its harvest is rather moderate. The specially marked trees are found in the shade of numerous other trees. This helps the farmers to harvest and ferment the variety separately. Criollo is often mixed with other varieties. Here, however, you experience the pure Criollo.

Peru 70 (Satipo Pangoa) conched for 20 hours: Amarru is a pure Criollo. This first-class cocoa is a rarity. The Amarru-double is our invitation to a gourmet experiment. The same cocoa variety and recipe, however, with different CONCHING PERIODS. Allow both varieties to dissolve on your tongue and feel free to compare them. During conching one can decide for several different directions in taste. Is it to be full-bodied, with a hot touch and a sour note or preferably mild, smooth, with just a touch of spices? It is the process of conching that does this job.