Good Food Awards for Chocolate 2016

The Good Food Awards published their winners for 2015. The following unflavored bars won awards in the chocolate category:

Brasstown Ecuador 75%
Dick Taylor Bolivia Alto Beni 70%
Escazú Piura Blanco, Peru 70%
Fruition Bolivian Wild Harvest 74%
Just Good Madagascar 70%
Lonohana Estate Kanahiku 70%
Ritual Mid-Mountain Blend
Ritual Belize 75%
Rogue Jamaica
Rogue Tranquilidad

Review: Ritual Madagascar

Richard's Rating: 7.5

chocolate maker Ritual bar Madagascar region Madagascar plantation Somia cacao trees unknown year unknown size 43g ~ 1.5oz cocoa solids 75% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $6.75

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1431 Fudgesickle appearance smooth, scoring, somewhat glossy aroma fruit (citrus, berry), earth snap hard taste earth, fruit (citrus, grapefruit), nut (walnut), roast (tea), sweet (brown sugar), acidic melt more smooth length medium finish somewhat acidic, slightly tannin

Best Prices Online
$6.49 from Caputo's
$6.75 directly from Ritual
$7.00 from Chocolopolis
$7.00 from The Meadow

Review: Ritual Belize

Richard's Rating: 7.0

chocolate maker Ritual bar Belize region Belize plantation blend cacao trees unknown year unknown size 43g ~ 1.5oz cocoa solids 75% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $6.75

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken appearance smooth, scoring, uneven sheen aroma roast (tobacco, cocoa), fruit (prune), earth snap medium hard taste roast (tobacco), fruit (prune, cherry), sweet (honey), earth, acidic melt more smooth length medium finish acidic, somewhat tannin, slightly bitter, slightly sour

Best Prices Online
$6.49 from Caputo's
$6.75 directly from Ritual
$7.00 from Chocolopolis
$7.00 from The Meadow

Review: Ritual Balao

Richard's Rating: 6.5

chocolate maker Ritual bar Balao region Ecuador plantation Camino Verde cacao trees unknown year unknown size 43g ~ 1.5oz cocoa solids 75% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $6.75

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken appearance smooth, scoring, uneven sheen aroma earth (burlap), floral, spice snap medium hard taste roast (tea, cocoa), earth (burlap), fruit (blackberry), tannin melt more smooth length medium finish tannin, slightly acidic

Best Prices Online
$6.49 from Caputo's
$6.75 directly from Ritual
$7.00 from Chocolopolis
$7.00 from The Meadow

Academy of Chocolate 2015 Awards

The London Academy of Chocolate released their ridiculously large number of award winners for 2015.

They had two bean to bar dark chocolate categories: under 80% and at least 80%.

GOLD under 80%
Åkesson's Madagascar 75% Criollo
Amano Ocumare 70%
Bar au Chocolat Dominican Republic 70%

SILVER under 80%
Åkesson's Bali 75% Trinitario
Bar au Chocolat Madagascar 70%
Castronovo Colombia Sierra Nevada 72%
Chocolat Madagascar Fine Dark 65%
Chocolat Madagascar Organic Fine Dark 70%
Dick Taylor Madagascar Sambirano
Green & Black's THIN Dark 70%
Hotel Chocolat 70% Saint Lucia Rabot Estate Bord du Lac
Pump Street Bakery Grenada 70% Crayfish Bay Estate
Pump Street Bakery Madagascar Criollo 74% Åkesson's Estate
Red Star Duffy’s Honduras Indio Rojo 72%
SPAGnVOLA Nigeria 70% Oda Cocoa Estate
SPAGnVOLA Dominican Republic 70% Single Estate

BRONZE under 80%
Amano Chuao 70%
Amano Cuyagua 70%
Amano Madagascar 70%
Amano Morobe 70%
Amazona 74% El Shunté (Tiesto)
Amazona 72% Valle del Chanka (Lamas)
AQUIM Q 65%
Chocolate Tree Madagascar Sambirano 72%
Chocolate Tree Peru Marañon 69%
ChocXO Camino Verde Ecuador 72%
ChocXO Guantupi Ecuador 75%
ChocXO Tres Rios Peru 68%
Damson Ecuador 70% Los Rios
Damson Madagascar 70% Åkesson Estate
Dick Taylor Belize Toledo
Dick Taylor Ecuador Camino Verde
Doble & Bignall Raven Johe 72%
Domori Ocumare 77 Criollo 70%
Du Jour Pure 70%
Hotel Chocolat 70% Honduras Mayan Red
Idilio Origins No. 3 Selección Cata Ocumare
Idilio Origins No. 4 Carenero Urrutia Superior
NAÏVE Nicaragua Nicalizo 72%
Omnom Madagascar 66%
Original Beans Papua Kerafat
Original Beans Piura Porcelana
Pacari Esmeraldas 60%
Red Star Duffy’s Nicaragua Chuno 70%
Ritual Mid Mountain Blend
Rococo Organic Dark 65% Artisan Bar
Rozsavolgyi Madagascar Criollo 71% Åkesson Estate
Rozsavolgyi Puerto Cabello 74%
Rozsavolgyi Porcelana 71%
Tobago Cocoa Estate

GOLD at least 80%
Åkesson's Madagascar 100% Criollo

SILVER at least 80%
Papa 80% Peru
Pump Street Bakery Honduras Finca Tres Marias 80%
SPAGnVOLA Dominican Republic 80% Single Estate

BRONZE at least 80%
Bar au Chocolat Trinidad 80%
Baravelli's Madagascan Sambirano 82%
Chocolat Madagascar Fine Dark 85%
Michel Cluizel Noir Infini 99%
Domori Criollo 100% Hacienda San Jose
Hazel Mountain 87% Venezuela Bean Sur del Lago
Szanto Tibor Baracoa Cuba 88% Ocenta y Ocho

Here's a link to the full lists of 2015 Award Winners in all of the categories.

2013 Good Food Awards for Chocolate

The Good Food Awards published their winners for 2013. The following unflavored bars won awards in the chocolate category:

Amano Chuao
Dandelion Sambirano, Madagascar
Fresco Papua New Guinea 220
Patric Madagascar 67%
Patric Madagascar 75%
Ritual Costa Rica
Ritual Madagascar
Rogue Hispaniola
Rogue Rio Caribe
Rogue Sambirano

The links above go directly to our associated detailed chocolate bar review.

Review: Ritual Costa Rica

Richard's Rating: 6.0

chocolate maker Ritual bar Costa Rica region Costa Rica plantation (unnamed) cacao trees Trinitario year 2011 size 57g ~ 2.0oz cocoa solids 75% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $9.00

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1431 Fudgesickle texture smooth, scoring, glossy, uneven sheen, uneven thickness aroma roast (coffee), earth, vinegar, fruit (blackberry) snap hard taste earth, roast (coffee, cocoa), fruit (blackberry), tannin, sweet melt smooth length medium finish somewhat tannin

Usually we wait at least a year before reviewing another release of a chocolate bar we've reviewed in the past. However, chocolate makers Robbie and Anna explained that our original review was of a bar from under-roasted batch 7, and we should try a newer release. You can read their thoughts in the comments below that review. For this review, we picked up a bar at Chocolopolis.

Ritual currently makes bean to bar chocolate with Trinitario cacao from the 2009 harvest of an unnamed farm in Guapiles, Costa Rica. The farm was certified sustainable by Rainforest Alliance. Although their Costa Rica bar was not certified, it was made from organic ingredients and with cacao purchased at above fair trade prices.

The ingredients of Costa Rica were 75% cacao beans and 25% cane sugar. The two ounce bar was scored into nine pieces and came carefully hard-wrapped in thin gold-sided foil. Recycled brown paper with an informative label enclosed the wrapped bar. The label indicated batch 11 and a production date of 11 November 2011.

The chocolate had a medium brown color closest to Fudgesickle (PANTONE 19-1431), but more brown. The surface was smooth with a glossy top. There was some unevenness in the sheen. The thickness was also slightly uneven, with one side being thicker than the other (probably due to the bars being hand-molded). The snap was hard.

Costa Rica had a coffee roast aroma, with additional scents of earth, vinegar, and blackberry. The aroma of this bar was much better than the one from batch 7, with the vinegar reduced to a pleasant level and none of the chemical scent we experienced with that chocolate.

The taste started out earthy, followed by a strong coffee roast. Cocoa joined in the mix as fruit in the form a strong blackberry flavor developed . The taste was also tannin and sweet.

This chocolate had a smooth melt. The length was medium, with the chocolate flavor lasting about 25 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The finish was somewhat tannin.

You can purchase Costa Rica online for $9.00 directly from Ritual, or for $8.99 from Chocolopolis.

Store: Seattle chocolate store updates

Chocolopolis now carries Ritual Costa Rica, and I've updated their detailed original store posting accordingly.

kakáo is now open on Saturdays from 8 a.m. to noon, but no longer open on Sundays. They've added a few bars by Michel Cluizel. I've similarly updated the kakáo store posting.

Review: Ritual Costa Rica

Lindy's Rating: 5.0

Richard's Rating: 5.0

chocolate maker Ritual bar Costa Rica region Costa Rica plantation (unnamed) cacao trees Trinitario year 2011 size 57g ~ 2.0oz cocoa solids 75% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $9.00

color medium brown PANTONE 19-1015 Bracken texture smooth with scoring, uneven sheen, uneven thickness aroma chemical, vinegar, roast (cocoa), earth, fruit snap hard taste fruit (berry, blackberry), tannin, bitter, earth, floral, sweet melt smooth length medium finish somewhat tannin

MORE RECENT REVIEW: Ritual Costa Rica

At present, Ritual makes one chocolate bar: Costa Rica. Ritual purchased the Trinitario cacao beans for this chocolate directly from a single unnamed farm in Guapiles, Costa Rica. Thus, it is not only a single origin bar from Costa Rica, but also a plantation bar. The farm where the cacao was grown was certified sustainable by the Rainforest Alliance. Renown chocolate maker Steve DeVries oversaw the fermentation and sun drying of these cacao beans from the 2009 harvest.

Costa Rica was crafted from 75% cacao beans and 25% cane sugar. Both ingredients were organic, but the chocolate was not certified. The two ounce bar was scored into nine pieces. It came enclosed in thin gold-sided foil wrapped inside recycled brown paper with a product information label sealing it closed with double-sided tape. There was no production or best before date.

The color of the chocolate was a medium brown Bracken (PANTONE 19-1015). The surface was smooth, but had an uneven sheen (though not as dramatic as it appears in the photo above). The thickness of the bar was uneven, with the pieces on one end being substantially thicker than those on the other.

The bar had a hard snap. The initial aroma was a disagreeable chemical and vinegar. As we smelled the chocolate, strong scents of cocoa roast and earth were present. I also noticed some fruit.

Fortunately, the taste of Costa Rica had none of that initial aroma. Instead, it tasted fruity, and more specifically of a berry that Lindy identified as blackberry. We both experienced strong tannin and floral flavors. I found earth and sweet flavors as well, while Lindy found it bitter.

The melt was smooth. The flavor lasted 20 to 25 seconds after the chocolate was gone, giving it a medium length. The final aftertaste was somewhat tannin.

You can purchase Costa Rica online for $9.00 directly from Ritual, or, to buy it along with other brands of chocolate, for $8.99 from Chocolopolis.

Maker Profile: Ritual Chocolate

company name	Ritual Chocolate
website	http://www.ritualchocolate.com
email	ritualchocolate@gmai​l.com
chocolate makers	Robbie Stout and Anna Davies
factory location	Denver, CO, USA
factory tours	no
direct online purchase	Ritual
direct stores	N/A
retail store purchase	where Ritual is sold
selling bars since	2011
plantation bars	Balao Costa Rica Madagascar
single origin bars	Belize
blend bars	none
production cycle	bean to bar
added fat	none
sweetener	cane sugar
flavoring	none
emulsifier	none
organic	yes (not certified)
sustainable	yes (not certified)
economics	direct trade (not certified)
last updated	January 28, 2012

In 2008, Robbie Stout and Anna Davies met, soon fell in love, and began making chocolate together. On a 2010 trip to Costa Rica, they took a course with renown chocolate maker Steve DeVries, learned about his factory in Denver, Colorado, and arranged to use it. Although they now share the same equipment and some of the same cacao, Robbie and Anna use different techniques to craft their own unique chocolate. In July 2011, they released their first chocolate bar: Ritual Costa Rica.

They source their Trinitario cacao beans from the same farm as Steve DeVries in Costa Rica. Ritual makes their chocolate in small 80 pound batches in the factory in Denver, but does not quite follow the standard formula for making chocolate. They roast at lower than typical temperatures, use a roll mill for more consistent particle size, and age their chocolate about one month before remelting it to temper and form into bars.

Ritual uses only cacao beans and cane sugar in making their chocolate. No additional cocoa butter, emulsifier, or flavoring is added. The cane sugar is certified organic and fair trade. The farm where their cacao is grown is organic and certified sustainable by Rainforest Alliance. However, their chocolate bar does not yet have any certifications.

Robbie and Anna are also considerate of the environment in their chocolate making. The only waste product at present is cacao bean shells, and they are investigating having their wrappers made from the shells. Their current wrappers are made from foil and recycled paper. Even the local delivery of chocolate bars in Boulder, Colorado, is done by bicycle.

You can purchase Ritual chocolate online directly from them, or in person at retail locations in nine cities in the western United States and in New York.