CHOCOLAT MADAGASCAR | Single Origin Fine Dark Chocolate | 100% Cacao | 85 g

Product Information

The Madagascan box is decorated in reds, whites, and greens, and depicts a graphic of a lemur together with an outline of the country. The Peru box features more reds and oranges, and includes a depiction of a llama. The Grenadian box is perhaps the brightest of them all in a happy cacophony of yellows, greens and reds, together with a graphic of a butterfly. The three bar boxes side-by-side You can find three types of cocoa beans on the island of Madagascar: Trinitario, Criollo, and Forastero. The cocoa grown in Madagascar is considered 100% fine cocoa, and of all the countries where cocoa is grown, Madagascar is the only one to obtain that distinction. In fact, it is believed that each cocoa tree in Madagascar has its own unique properties that produce a different flavor and aroma of chocolate each time! We will call our coffee Arabica Elita,' Spiliopoulos says, 'and we will start a branding system, like appellation controlée for wines, for gourmet coffee grown in this district. To be competitive with the great coffees, we have to limit our production and focus on quality. The maximum we will ever produce in this region is 1,200 tons a year.' Malagasy has shown a strong interest and samples have been tested for quality by CIRAD, a certifying body in Montpellier, France. 'They liked it,' Spiliopoulos enthuses, 'and I believe we have a strong chance of being among the best three coffees in the world.'

Manufacturing accounts for a great deal of the finished product’s taste so the risk, says Pralus, is to ruin a very good bean with mediocre processing. Starting from scratch is an onerous task, even for experienced hands. Pralus, who has a small cocoa plantation on the island of Nosy Be in north-west Madagascar, says that he gave up on plans to build a chocolate factory there because of the difficult business climate – the country is ranked 164 out of 189 countries for ease of doing business according to the World Bank. As well as a successful business producing premium chocolate bars, MIA is also one of the companies at the forefront of efforts pushing for change in the cocoa sector, by basically either paying farmers more for their beans - and in MIA’s case bringing a value-added share of a chocolate bar, by keeping production in the origin country.But it is growing, he says, partly because of its quality, and partly because of greater consumer awareness of what single-origin chocolate means. Ambanja, MadagascarSome of the best cocoa on Earth is produced in Madagascar, where an updated approach to farming cacao, the main ingredient in the world’s favorite sweet, is offering benefits for the country's unique ecosystem. Consumers are more mindful and inquisitive about what they eat ... with the health impacts, environmental, ethical and economic considerations, Kelsall says. Fine chocolate

However, it is an alert to the company. When you label a product, costumers trust it. If you say it is VEGAN, and the list of ingredients does not mention milk, I trust your product. Together with Big Tree farms we support in Bali the preservation of traditional farmers through the development of social, ecological and economically sustainable supply chains. Our bars are the first Bali Single Origin ever made in Europe. The cocoa is produced by the Sukrama family over 7 ha in the Melaya area in the western part of the island. Madagascar chocolate is so unique because its flavor profile is unlike that of any other chocolate. Due to where the cocoa beans are grown and how they are harvested, Madagascar chocolate has aromatic fruit, citrus, and forest flavors that aren’t found in any other type of chocolate. You’ll taste notes of citrus, including pineapple, grapefruit, and cranberry. You may also notice hints of gin, as well as the forest aromas of cedar, juniper, and fir. Cocoa Beans Grown in Madagascar A number of chocolate producers are getting on the sustainability bandwagon. Beyond Good organic chocolate company works directly with 150 Malagasy cacao farmers to bring them up to date on the most progressive agroforestry practices, from tree selection for shade and soil health to species diversity that helps maximize the survival of the island’s threatened lemurs. Madagascar’s ring-tailed lemur population has plummeted at least 95 percent since 2000. The delicate Criollo was introduced in the early 1800s followed by the Forastero from Sao Tome. Cacao growing then moved to northwest Madagascar, among the forests of the Sambirano river valley, with the benefit of cyclone protection of the Tsaratanana mountains.This chocolate has a very expressive cocoa aroma with subtle fruity-sweet tartness and pleasant flavor notes that evoke citrus and red berries. We combined it with the finest and rarest pepper, the Voatsiperifery from Madagascar, whose earthy and woody taste is completed by intense flowery aromas bringing freshness to the palate. awards: Caramel and butterscotch flavours lead in the tasting, with pronounced lactic notes too. The creamy-caramel-butter notes lead and continue right through into the aftertaste. It's here the flavour is augmented slightly by notes of vanilla and toffee. As you know, we issued a call for Fairtrade to consider this model as a standard certification. I will be pushing more behind the scenes, and we plan to make a submission to the FCIA Glossary to help solidify the broader meaning of the term for the industry. I’ll also be coordinating with industry players and will look to issue a group press release in the coming months​,” he informs ConfectioneryNews. Certified Organic– Located in the Sambirano Valley, near Ambanja, in the North-West of Madagascar, Bertil Åkesson’s estate spreads over about 2000 ha and is divided into smaller plantations like Ambolikapiky.

Cinagra's 72% cocoa Tsar bar with roasted cocoa nibs and its 44% cocoa variety with natural vanilla For the discerning consumer, the single origin or single estate or single terroir chocolate tasting journey is interesting, offering three-dimensional flavours​,” says Kelsall, “ that lingers on the tongue​.” Located in the Sambirano Valley, near Ambanja, in the North-West of Madagascar, Bertil Åkesson’s estate spreads over about 2000 ha and is divided into smaller plantations like this Ambolikapiky. Since 1920, these farms produce world-famous aromatic cocoa and spices (like this pink pepper) used by most of the top chefs and chocolate makers around the world. In this subtle chocolate, the fruity-sweet tartness of cocoa, its pleasant flavor notes that evoke citrus and red berries are enriched by the floral notes of our pink pepper. Even in the capital, Antananarivo - a shadow of its French colonial past, and brought to its knees by frequent power cuts - people go to extraordinary lengths to earn a crust. By the roadside, a man with a white puppy under his arm offers it for sale to passing motorists. 'It's a dog from Toliara, in the south,' says my guide, 'a breed that is valuable.' When we stop at traffic lights, our 4x4 is besieged by children begging and there are other signs of inventiveness - or desperation. On one side, men shuffle through the rain carrying garbage and bales of collapsed cardboard boxes on their shoulders, hoping for a resale. On the other, a young mother stands under an umbrella with her toddler, trying to sell two bananas and a handful of cashews. She is unlikely to make a dollar a day - the minimum required for a city dweller, according to aid workers. All three bars come sealed inside a brightly coloured cardboard box. Each features a gold-foiled J.D. Gross logo and the cocoa origin information is similarly styled.Winners of the Golden Bean for the single origin 100% bar, the fruity fine flavour cacao is selected from the independent cacao farmers of Sambirano – Grand cru de Sambirano and fermented and dried ( single origin), carefully roasted, ground and conched without chemical manipulation (alkalisation) or added flavours, thereby preserving of integrity of flavours and more flavanols, under the direction of Chocolatier Hery Andriamampianina.

A recent article in National Geographic referred to Madagascar as 'a massive island nation' … one of the most biologically diverse places on the planet, but the country has lost 25 % of its tree cover since 2000, primarily to firewood and charcoal production. Deforestation will also exacerbate erosion in the northern part of the country as climate change drives stronger cyclones and increasingly heavy rainfall’. We walk as quietly as we can in the dark through the plantation, cacao trees sprouting football-shaped red-and-orange pods from their trunks. Madagascar’s premium fruit-flavored heirloom variety of cacao, called criollo, needs shade to tolerate the extreme heat, and companion planting has been practiced a long time for that variety. Private investments since 2005 with Malagasy company Chocolaterie Robert SA created Africa's first exports of world class Chocolate . Exporting world class Chocolat from the Madagascar origin creates a much greater economic benefit for the Malagasy people than just exporting cocoa only , raising the value at origin by many times, RaiseTrade. ORIGIN+.The new ‘Chef de Cuisine’ selection comprises six of the brand’s most popular chocolates, available in 2kg bags, and includes two of its coveted vegan chocolates. These are: