Our primary selection of 70% dark chocolate bars are differentiated exclusively by the cacao beans. Staring into the bubbling lava of Masaya Volcano is nothing short of mesmerizing and demands that you appreciate the awesome power of nature. Our orchards are strategically placed within the chain of volcanoes from the north to the south of Nicaragua providing optimal terroir and growing conditions for our cacao. Saborea la aventura. ¡Que disfruten! (Savor the adventure. Enjoy!)
Our primary selection of 70% dark chocolate bars are differentiated exclusively by the cacao beans. Mombacho pays homage to the stunningly beautiful Mombacho Volcano, one the [sic] many environmental wonders of Nicaragua. Under its commanding and ethereal presence lies our home and primary cacao orchard, Finca Rio Grande. Saborea la aventura. ¡Que disfruten! (Savor the adventure. Enjoy!)
Arauca is a department of Colombia shaped by the Casanare and Meta rivers and located in the extreme north of the Orinoco region, bordering Venezuela. The rich soils of this region nourishes the cultivation of crops such as fine flavour cacao, banana, cassava, rice, corn, sesame and many fruit trees. The trinitario hybrid cocoa beans grown in Arauca have retained many traits of the elusive original Criollo, the holy grail of cacao. This chocolate commences with modest hints of chestnut and honey before showing off bursts of red fruit notes. The citric fireworks vanish and leave in the mouth a rounded taste of chocolate that is harmoniously intense and delicate. At Artisan du Chocolat, almost all our bars are produced from ground beans, conched and refined in Kent. This bar however is proudly produced in Bogota by Casa Luker. By selling a higher value added product, this family-owned Colombian company is able to invest in supporting the cocoa growing families, which fosters the long-term sustainable cultivation of fine flavour cacao.
Colombia, unlike most South American countries, drinks rather than exports most of its cocoa. Luckily, Casa Luker, a family-owned company, has invested for over 100 years their passion and knowledge in growing the best Cacao Fino de Aroma sustainably. At their research farm near Manizales, they explore the properties of each genotype of cocoa tree and provide farmers with a range of seedlings to optimize flavour, natural resistance to diseases and yield. They also teach how to plant a variety of crops from cocoa to plantain, exotic fruits and timber to ensure that farmers can live every year from their lands. I chose lightly roasted Trinitario beans from Huila, Tumaco and Santander. In this Columbian blend, the robustness of Santander beans is lifted by the floral notes from the Huila beans and the fruity ones from the Tumaco beans.
Cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter and soya lecithin.
May contain traces of nuts, sesame and milk.
45g (1.58oz.), 75x155mm (3x6.1")
Vic's rating = 7
Deb's rating = 7
Purchased in 2012 from Fog City News, San Francisco, CA
Straddling the equator, Congo benefits from the second largest rainforest in the world. Despite this massive expanse of lush jungle, less than one tenth of a percent of the world's cocoa is cultivated there. Political unrest, the struggle over mineral wealth and frequent displacement of farmers all contribute to the rarity of this cocoa. Intensely chocolatey with notes of wood and molasses, this limited edition bar completes our collection with cocoa from the African continent. We meticulously select our raw ingredients for their flavour and wholesomeness: carefully fermented ground criollo and trinitario beans from chosen regions, pure cocoa butter, cane sugar. We mix, conche and refine each batch in our production in Kent. We make our own chocolate with love, devotion and the sole intent to bring you great chocolate.
variety = Criollo and Trinitario origin = D.R. Congo
Made from trinitario beans grown and fermented with care on some of the oldest plantations of this Caribbean island, this chocolate surprises. It takes you on a journey from sour notes of apricot and currants to molasses, liquorice and earthy cocoa. Original chocolate and full of charm.
Cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter and soya lecithin.
May contain traces of nuts, sesame, peanuts, milk and egg protein. Contains soya.
45g (1.58oz.), 75x155mm (3x6.1")
Vic's rating = 7
Deb's rating = 8
Purchased in 2012 from Fog City News, San Francisco, CA
Like many of the Caribbean islands, Haiti's history of growing cocoa goes back to the 1600s. That tradition continued throughout Haiti's turbulent history. In 2010 Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, was devastated by a catastrophic earthquake. This chocolate bar is made by Gerard in his atelier in Kent from the first harvest of cocoa beans in Haiti since 2010. Cocoa is like much of the agriculture in Haiti: small scale farmers have little training to work their crops, resulting in a yield per cacao tree that is 30% of the global average. As Haiti grapples with recovery, improving its cocoa crop offers hope for a better and more sustainable future. Gerard took great care in conching and refining these rare beans. The chocolate created is surprisingly gentle for its high cocoa content releasing as it melts notes of honey, chestnuts and wood.
Java is one of the largest islands of Indonesia, formed and landscaped by a chain of volcanic mountains. On this exceptionally rich soil grow cocoa trees of the trinitario variety offering the most unusual and exotic chocolate, pale in colour, but teeming with notes of hay and smoke.
An easy chocolate to love: fresh, vibrant, bursting with notes of red fruits turning into cinnamon, jasmine and honey. This gorgeous Malagasy chocolate owes its character to Sambirano's rich riverbanks along which criollo and trinitario cocoa trees flourish.
variety = Criollo and Trinitario origin = Madagascar
The marmite of chocolate - love it or hate it. Very unusual chocolate from a single plantation in New Guinea, grown on volcanic soil with notes of hay, leather and smoke.
In Vietnam small entrepreneurial farmers are remaking cocoa history by successfully farming fine cocoa commercially for the first time since the French period. A decade after the planting of Trinitario seedlings from neighbouring Malaysia, a precious harvest of a few tons of beans is ready for the world to taste. We chose well fermented and dried beans from Ba Ria Vung Tau Province, East of Mekong Delta. Conched and refined in our atelier in Kent with cane sugar, these beans morph into silky chocolate with notes of raisin and biscuit. Surprisingly mellow at the start, this chocolate melts with a long and slightly peppery bitter finish.
Cortés, Honduras cocoa beans (Trinitario), organic cane juice, cocoa butter (made in our factory with Cortés beans - visit askinosie.com for details).
85g (3oz.), 92x198mm (3.6x7.8")
Vic's rating = 8
Deb's rating = 8
Purchased in 2012 from Chocolate Maya, Santa Barbara, CA
Once again, a bar of chocolate's label asks me to buy it for the sake of the poor farmers. Plus, the wrapper could be made from an old grocery sack and it tells you right on it that the rough little tie that holds the flap closed is made from recycled burlap cacao bag. I think the assumption is that buying a bar like this practically removes existing guilt from you like doing penance.
I'm for helping people out as much as the next guy - and I recycle too. But, for me, a chocolate purchase is about taste and I've generally had bad luck, taste-wise, with chocolate sold with those pitches.
Fortunately, there is no need to buy this chocolate only out of first world guilt or pity. I really liked this bar. It was delicious. A very balanced, sophisticated, and pleasing set of tastes. The pitch should instead be, 'buy this bar because all the other dark chocolate bars surrounding me on the shelf are so vastly inferior'. That's how much I like this bar. The karmic reduction is just a bonus.
The packaging says for me to expect hints of 'molasses and sharp stone fruit'. I didn't get the molasses at all. But, I guess 'sharp stone fruit' could be a citrusy plum - and that would work for me. I sometimes thought I got just a tad of strawberry too - and blackberry. But, only in small amounts.
This bar was a happy surprise and I'll be buying more of them. I hope the next one is this good. I give this one a solid 8. It was bought at Whole Foods on 05/18/15. The expiration date on the packaging looks hand-stamped and is smudged. It could be 04/17/16. But, the '16' might be '18' instead (or '10', for that matter, but that wouldn't make sense...).
We handcrafted this Limited Edition Gingerbread Dark Chocolate Bar from scratch, just for the holidays! The memory of our grandmother's gingerbread man cookies inspired us to create this bar. So, we infused our single origin, award-winning dark chocolate with a blend of five spices and unrefined can sugar to mimic the warm, cozy flavor and feeling. We also topped the package with crayons to color in the gingerbread chocolate factory on the front! We created a micro-batch of this seasonal bar and its availability is limited -- find it at our factory or online at askinosie.com and enjoy the excitement of the holidays as a kid again. 'Tis the season!
Get your facts straight. MSG is monosodium glutamate, a 'free glutamic acid' which is artificially and chemically produced outside of the body. Malted barley is barley that has been malted, developing the enzymes required for modifying the grains' starches into various types of sugar.
The farmer on the front of this package, Vitaliano Saravia, helped gather and ferment the cocoa beans for the award-winning bar inside. His farm is located near San Jose Del Tambo, Ecuador where I travel often to meet with Vitaliano and other farmers. By knowing each farmer in this group, I can ensure the quality of the beans and you can know exactly where your chocolate comes from. Without these direct trade relationships, we couldn't handcraft good chocolate from the bean. - Shawn Askinosie, Founder & CEO.
Mababu, Tanzania cocoa beans (Trinitario), organic cane sugar, cocoa butter (made in our factory with Mababu beans), organic vanilla bean.
Processed in a facility that also processes milk, peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat.
85g (3oz.), 92x204mm (3.6x8")
Vic's rating = 7
Deb's rating = 7
Purchased in 2016
We've partnered with our pioneering friends, Zingerman's, in Ann Arbor, Michigan to develop this rustic bar. Using our 70% Tanzania dark chocolate we craft this bar with little conching and refining, for a coarser texture, then top with whole organic vanilla bean pieces from Papua New Guinea.
Purchased in 2014 from Auberge du Chocolat, Chesham, HP5 1SD, ENG, United Kingdom
On the high plains of Ecuador grows an exceptional Forastero bean famous for its delicate aroma. Known as Arriba it enjoys a unique climate which produces an intensive dark chocolate. This 'Great Taste' Gold Award winner is powerful, full of fruit notes complemented by hazelnut. Fine chocolate is best enjoyed by letting the chocolate melt in your mouth allowing the flavours and overtones to work their magic.
Purchased in 2014 from Auberge du Chocolat, Chesham, HP5 1SD, ENG, United Kingdom
Fiery, spicy ginger blended beautifully with rich dark 70% Fairtrade chocolate brings inherent warmth as well as an amazing taste. The dash of lime at the end just adds that finishing touch.
Purchased in 2014 from Auberge du Chocolat, Chesham, HP5 1SD, ENG, United Kingdom
The label says 'Single Origin'... then lists two origins!
Unusually this is a combination of two different single origin chocolates. Winner of an award from the Academy of Chocolate this 66% cocoa bar combines the very fruity Madagascan and the strong, dry tasting Peru to create a well balanced chocolate bar. Fine Chocolate is best enjoyed by letting the chocolate melt in your mouth allowing the flavours and overtones to work their magic.
Cocoa mass (origin Venezuela 72%, St. Dominique 70%), sugar, cocoa butter, 100% natural bourbon vanilla, soya lecithin).
90g (3.17oz.), 92x166mm (3.6x6.5")
Vic's rating = 8
Deb's rating = 8
Purchased in 2014 from Auberge du Chocolat, Chesham, HP5 1SD, ENG, United Kingdom
This 'Great Taste' Gold award winner combines two of the finest single origin chocolates. The 71% bar combines a fruity Venezuelan with strong, long finishing St. Dominique chocolate, successfully combining Criolo [sic] & Forestero [sic] beans. Fine Chocolate is best enjoyed by letting the chocolate melt in your mouth allowing the flavours and overtones to work their magic.
Cocoa mass (origin Venezuela), sugar, cocoa butter, 100% natural vanilla.
May contain trace milk or nuts.
90g (3.17oz.), 92x166mm (3.6x6.5")
Vic's rating = 7
Deb's rating = 8
Purchased in 2014 from Auberge du Chocolat, Chesham, HP5 1SD, ENG, United Kingdom
A rare & sublime chocolate. A subtle union of highly aromatic Criollo and Trinitario beans producing a bar which is both tangy & fruity. Fine chocolate is best enjoyed by letting the chocolate melt in your mouth allowing the flavours and overtones to work their magic.
variety = Criollo and Trinitario origin = Venezuela
Our Reserve Collection is passionately crafted from the finest beans of a single harvest to bring out the rare, distinctive characteristics of each community and their land. Located at the foothill of Mt. Matutum, Tupi in South Cotabato is one of the most fertile regions in the Philippines, giving its chocolate hints of raisin, red wine, orange confit and dried mango notes.
We hear the word "chocolate" and it's like someone is about to tell us a secret. Our classic Dark Chocolate Bar captures that sense of giddy anticipation. It's a little creamy, a little bitter, a little smoky. Break off a square and share. Or keep it all to yourself. We won't tell.
Purchased in 2013 from Bahen & Co., Margaret River, W.A., Australia
Far Away in Fzenda Sempre Firme, a treasure of intense Brazilian origin expression is salvaged. Our beans are honourably sourced, roasted, cracked, winnowed, stone ground, conched and aged, all in ridiculously small batches by rare vintage machines. I am an expression of dark fruit & deep brooding chocolate characters. This is my Journey. From bean to bar.
Purchased in 2013 from Bahen & Co., Margaret River, W.A., Australia
In our House Blend we bring forth the chocolate makers craftsmanship to create the perfect blend of single origin cocoas. Our beans are honourably sourced, roasted, cracked, winnowed, stone ground, conched and aged, all in ridiculously small batches by rare vintage machines. This is my Journey. From bean to bar.
Purchased in 2013 from Bahen & Co., Margaret River, W.A., Australia
For many moons, the Sambirano Valley has basked within the perfect cacao micro-climate of the 20° parallels. The distinct 'green gold' beans are honourably sourced, roasted, cracked, winnowed, stone ground, conched and aged, all in ridiculously small batches by rare vintage machines. I am distinctly Madagascan, with expressions of citrus fruit, red berries and raisins. This is my Journey. From bean to bar.
This chocolate is proof that happy unions are indeed possible for all who strive for them. The strongly-flavored, you could say, macho, cacao bean and the more subtle and resilient character of the organic, non-fat milk powder get along so well that it’s a true pleasure to have them over to the house. The beans are grown in the Cibao region of Duarte Province, Dominican Republic, whereas, the milk comes from a dairy in Petaluma, which is located in Sonoma County, California. It would seem an unlikely match, but ... it works beautifully. Their marriage took place and continues to be celebrated in our very own studio with the hope of bringing joy to both friends and family. Enjoy!
Pulse is a chocolate made from a blend of single origin cacao and cane sugar. It aged for one year in Caffe Luxxe coffee beans permitting the bold aroma to delicately infuse the chocolate. Enjoy.
How small and interconnected is our world! Deep in the Kilombero Valley of the Morogoro region in Tanzania, there is a village called Mbingu, meaning “heaven” in the Kiswahili language. The beans from heaven are shipped to America. Closer to home, from our own, beautiful Vermont, pure maple sugar also makes its way across the country to California. Here, in our studio, an important meeting takes place between the beans, the maple sugar and our chocolatemakers. The result is: Goodwill, fairness, understanding, and the joy of good taste. May the spirit of this chocolate bring harmony to our world.
Writer V.S. Naipaul once wrote of his native Trinidad: "The cacao woods were like the woods of fairy-tales, dark and shadowed, and cool. The cacao-pods, hanging by thick short stems, were like wax fruit in brilliant green and yellow and red-crimson and purple." The setting in which the cacao of Gran Couva's Montserrat Hills is cultivated conveys magic and beauty, both. Rooted in the rich soil of the region, cacao trees flourish beneath the orange-flowering canopy of monstrous, 'flaming' Immortelle trees. One taste of this chocolate's delicate flavors and you will feel like you are living "happily ever after."
This bar originates from Kokoa Kamili, a cacao producer whose goal is to elevate Tanzanian cacao by providing farmers fair prices for their work through direct trade with artisanal chocolate makers. With fruity aromas and hints of red huckleberry, lychee, and green papaya, this chocolate is bright, crisp, and sparkling.
Đồng Nai: An area mainly formed of plain, wave-shaped hills, low and relatively flat mountains with bazan, alluvial soil has created appealing taste of cacao beans. Once enjoying, never forgeting [sic].
Ben Tre: wedged between the two main branches of the Tien Giang River, Mekong River Delta, this province is generally flat, with complex river systems, fresh water and alluvial soil. The chocolate original from this region is luscious fruity and fragrant, would be a nice impression in your memory.
This chocolate bar made of beans from Lam Dong, a highland region, mountainous provide with temperate and mild climate all the year round. The richest flavour and unimaginable taste are special features that we can find in this bar.
Tien Giang: Tien Giang Province's terrain is flat, located in the Mekong River Delta. Having been grown up by alluvial soil and the tropical monsoon climate, the cacao beans make delectable and flavourful chocolate that would bring you a pleasingly rich feeling.
Cacao beans are sourced directly from farmer Mr. Tran Van Thanh in Vung Tau, a port city in the Ba Ria province in Southern Vietnam. With 15 years of experience, Mr. Tran dedicates his time to refining the growing, fermenting and drying methods to deliver the best cacao beans, demonstrating excellent farming practices as per UTZ standards. Texture: smooth. Year of harvest: 2018. Roast: low. Conche time: 36 hours. Bean type: Trinitario.
The beans of the plantation Chuao in Venezuela are considered the best in the world. Their aromatic complexity and their rarity makes this chocolate an exceptional Cru.
This chocolate from Ecuador, made with cocoa beans which grow between the Andes and the Pacific Ocean, reveals a pure and powerful character with aromatic accents.
This chocolate from Santo Domingo, made with cocoa beans which grow in the heart of Caribbean, astounds with its power and balance with an extended aromatic overtone.
This chocolate from Tanzania, made with cocoa beans which grow between the savannah and the Kilimanjaro, leaves a persistent and long-lasting taste in the mouth with fruity and acidulous notes.
Fine single variety dark chocolate made of Grand Cru Nacional Arriba cocoa from Ecuador. Tart tasting with notes of coffee, liquorice and a fruity-flowery, slightly acidulous, edge.
Fine single origin blended dark chocolate made of Grand Cru Criollo Java cocoa. A harmonious blend of strong bodied cocoa with distinct notes of coffee, fruit acid and sweet dried figs.
Deep dark single variety chocolate made of Criollo Maracaibo, Venezuela cocoa. This fine, yet intense chocolate unveils the richness of the Grand Cru Criollo natural flavours.