Cacao Trees

Cacao trees (Theobroma cacao L.) are divided into three morphological types: Criollo, Forastero, and Trinitario.

Criollo trees produce the most valuable beans, with better flavor and less bitterness than other types. Unfortunately, they are are vulnerable to disease and have lower bean yields. The lower yields mean that even with substantially higher Criollo bean prices, they generate less revenue for farmers than planting with Forastero or Trinitario. Criollo trees are grown primarily in Venezuela, Columbia, Comoros, Grenada, Jamaica, Java, Madagascar and Trinidad. Between 1% and 5% of the annual world production is Criollo.

Forastero trees are often subdivided into lower Amazon Forastero and upper Amazon Forastero in terms of genetics, but since the chocolate created from both Forastero varieties is generally considered inferior, they are simply called Forastero from a consumer perspective. Both types of Forastero produce higher bean yields and are much more resistant to disease than Criollo, and as a result, are used in most cacao plantations. They are grown in the Ivory Coast, Brazil, Cameroon, Columbia, Ecuador, French Guyana, Ghana, Guyana, Indonesia, Nigeria, Peru, São Tomé, Venezuela, and other countries of West Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. Between 80% and 90% of the world production is Forastero.

Trinitario trees are a hybrid of Criollo and Forastero trees, originally from Trinidad, and are now grown in many countries, including Cameroon, Ecuador, Java, Lesser Antilles, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Sri Lanka, and Venezuela. Acquiring much of the quality of Criollo and the increased yield and disease-resistance of Forastero, Trinitario has become a popular cacao tree among plantations selling to artisan chocolate makers. Between 10% and 20% of the world production is Trinitario.

A recent study published in 2008 suggests that the traditional division into three types of cacao trees does not accurately reflect their genetic diversity. Instead, they propose a new classification of 10 types: Amelonado, Contamana, Criollo, Curaray, Guiana, Iquitos, Marañon, Nanay, Nacional and Purús. Until such a change is widely accepted, I'll continue to use the traditional classification into Criollo, Forastero, or Trinitario.

Note: the ranges of values for world production are because I did not find reliable data, and instead combined data from multiple unconfirmed sources.

Review: Valrhona Grand Cru Manjari

Lindy's Rating: 7.0 (previously **)

Richard's Rating: 8.0 (previously ***)

chocolate maker Valrhona bar Manjari year (unknown) cacao trees (unknown) region Madagascar size 70g ~ 2.5oz plantation (blend) cocoa solids 64% fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring vanilla extract other ingredients (none) list price $6.99

color medium brown texture matte, smooth flower, cut pattern of lines aroma strong aroma: berry, orange liqueur, floral snap medium hard taste mild, currant, woody, slightly acidic melt extraordinarily creamy length short to medium finish acidic

MORE RECENT REVIEW: Valrhona Grand Cru Manjari

Until I started this process of reviewing chocolates in general and tasted the Amedei Chuao in particular, the Valrhona Manjari had been my favorite chocolate bar. It's time to see how it holds up in my ranking of artisan chocolates.

Opening the wrapper unleased the Manjari's aroma, which was strongest of the bars we've tasted so far: mostly berry and a non-citrus orange, with some sort of floral scent in the background. The taste was mild, with a light currant flavor, and to me somewhat woody. Lindy found it slightly acidic.

What was remarkable about the Manjari bar was its exceptional melt. As this chocolate melted in our mouths, we both recognized it as the smoothest and creamiest texture of all the bars we had tasted.

For me the length was short, but Lindy could still taste the flavor 45 seconds after the chocolate was gone and rated it medium. Afterwards, both of us felt the post-chocolate finish was acidic. To me, it was quite mild, but to Lindy the acidic finish was unpleasant.

You can purchase Grand Cru Manjari directly from Valrhona for $6.99.

UPDATE: As of 17 April 2013, the best price I found for purchase online in the U.S. was $5.65 from Chocosphere. In the U.K., you can purchase Manjari online for £3.39 from Chocolate Trading Co. We also have a more thorough and recent review of Valrhona Grand Cru Manjari.

Review: Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate

Lindy's Rating: 3.0 (previously *)

Richard's Rating: 4.0 (previously **)

chocolate maker (unknown) bar Dark Chocolate year (unknown) cacao trees (unknown) region (unknown) size 500g ~ 17.6oz plantation (blend) cocoa solids 54% fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $4.99

color dark brown texture ridged top, smooth sides aroma earthy, leather, muted floral snap hard taste sweet, toffee, brown sugar, hint of vanilla melt smooth, but not creamy length short finish minimal, slightly bitter

Trader Joe's Pound Plus Belgian chocolate bars are so big that they probably shouldn't be considered bars. At 500 grams, they weigh more than a pound, and are 5 to 10 times bigger than a typical artisan bar. For the price of only $4.99, these Pound Plus bars are a fantastic bargain.

We tasted the Dark Chocolate bar. The cocoa content of the this bar is merely 54%, quite a bit lower than the other bars we've reviewed. The additional sugar gave the taste an overwhelming sweetness that hid much of the flavor of the chocolate. Lindy found the finish slightly bitter, but to me the finish was almost nonexistent.

Overall, Lindy liked this chocolate, but only gave it one star due to the significantly reduced chocolate taste from so much sugar.

By the way, this chocolate is excellent for baking. I use the Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate bar to make my favorite icing. Here's the recipe.

Trader Joe's also has a 72% Dark Chocolate bar that we'll review in the future.

Review: Amedei Chuao

Lindy's Rating: 10.0 (previously ****)

Richard's Rating: 10.0 (previously ****)

chocolate maker Amedei bar Chuao year 2010 cacao trees (unknown) region Venezuela size 50g ~ 1.8oz plantation (blend) cocoa solids 70% fat cocoa butter sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price N/A

color medium brown texture smooth aroma raspberry snap hard taste initial honey, then strong cherry melt creamy length medium finish mildly acidic

MORE RECENT REVIEW: Amedei Chuao

I decided to taste the Amedei Chuao as soon as possible, because it is reputed to be one of the best chocolate bars. It currently has the highest rating on the UK chocolate enthusiast site SeventyPercent.com.

Approaching our tasting with both hopeful anticipation and some skepticism, we were delighted to discover that the reputation of Amedei's Chuao bar is well-deserved. With a lovely aroma of raspberries, a creamy melt, multiple rich flavors of honey and later cherry, and a taste that lingered longer than any other bar we have tasted, this chocolate was superb. The wonderful flavor slowly and subtly faded away, leaving a mildly acidic finish.

Lindy raved about the surprising initial burst of honey transitioning to the strong cherry flavor, and I must agree: it was luscious. We each felt this bar deserved our first four star rating.

Note that the Amedei Chuao does not have a list price. This 50 gram bar is currently available at Chocolopolis for $13.00, and thus is the most expensive bar we've yet tasted. It is also the best.

UPDATE: As of 16 April 2013, the best price I found for purchase online in the U.S. was $14.50 from three places: Caputo's, Chocosphere, and World Wide Chocolate. We also have a more thorough and recent review of Amedei Chuao.

Review: Coppeneur Chuao

Lindy's Rating: 8.5 (previously ***)

Richard's Rating: 8.5 (previously ***)

chocolate maker Coppeneur bar Chuao year (unknown) cacao trees Criollo & Trinitario region Venezuela size 50g ~ 1.8oz plantation (blend) cocoa solids 70% added fat (none) sweetener cane sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring (none) other ingredients (none) list price $7.95

color medium brown texture smooth surface, pleasant crunch aroma fruit (plum, berry), sweet, earth snap medium hard taste plum, hint of ginger, tart melt creamy length short finish tart

Yesterday we tasted two bars with cocoa from Venezuela: the Coppeneur Chuao and the Amedei Chuao. Chuao is a village in Venezuela renown for its quality cacao plantations, including many Criollo trees.

The Coppeneur Chuao comes in a black package sealed with a bit of gray wax stamped with the Coppeneur icon. Inside the package is a small 40-page informative booklet about cacao trees, planting regions, the plantations used by Coppeneur, and their chocolates. The bar is wrapped in plastic and has a pretty design with an opened cacao pod in relief on the surface.

Lindy and I both liked this simplest of chocolate bars, made only of cocoa solids and cane sugar. The flavors within this creamy cocoa were somewhat elusive, and we had trouble finding good descriptions, even with a reference list of potential flavors. Plum seemed closest, but not quite right. The pleasant finish was not at all bitter, but was still somewhat sharp, so tart seemed the best word to describe it.

I'll post about the Amedei bar next.

UPDATE: As of 17 April 2013, Coppeneur is not selling the Chuao bar.

Review: Lindt Excellence 85%

Lindy's Rating: 5.0 (previously **)

Richard's Rating: 5.0 (previously **)

chocolate maker Lindt bar Excellence 85% year (unknown) cacao trees (unknown) region (unknown) size 100g ~ 3.5oz plantation (blend) cocoa solids 85% fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier (none) flavoring bourbon vanilla other ingredients (none) list price $3.50

color medium-dark brown texture stripes of smooth & matte aroma cherry, roast snap very hard taste earthy, roast (coffee), grapefruit melt slow start length short finish bitter

Lindy and I tasted four bars today, including the Lindt Excellence 70%, which has been updated to merge Lindy's tasting notes and add her rating, and the Lindt Excellence 85% reviewed here.

The color and texture were nearly identical to that of the 70%. The snap was a bit harder. The aroma of cherries was much stronger than in the 70%, and overwhelmed any subtler scents other than some roast. Surprisingly, that cherry aroma did not come out in the flavor, and instead this bar tasted earthy and of roast coffee. Lindy also noticed a grapefruit flavor. The length was longer than the 70%, but still short. The finish was more bitter. Overall, we both liked this bar slightly more than the 70%. Another solid bar in the inexpensive category.

UPDATE: As of 20 April 2013, the best price I found for purchase online in the U.S. was $3.50 from World Wide Chocolate. However, you can frequently find Lindt Excellence bars on sale for $2.00 or less at local groceries and pharmacies.

Help wanted

I find that I'm having some difficulty fully describing the aroma and flavor of the chocolates I'm tasting and think that a second opinion and overall rating would be helpful.

If you live in the Seattle area and are interested in getting together once a week to taste chocolates, I would enjoy sharing this experience and appreciate your help in describing them. Please email me, and we can work out the details.