Chapon – Rio Caribe Venezuela 100%

A smooth and intense chocolate, this bar definitely packs more of a punch than fellow countryman Pralus’ 100%. The high cocoa butter means that the flavour is initially released slowly. As you let a small piece melt, notes of raisins and dried fruits are revealed. We detected a wooded notes mixed into the thickly textured bar.

Much harder to describe than the flavours, is the bar’s intensity. Eating a piece gave us a sort of buzz, similar to eating a particularly fizzy sherbet but far more savoury.

Made with nothing but cocoa beans, 100% bars are always hard to get right. Without sugar, milk, flavourings or inclusions the final taste is determined so much more by the maker’s treatment of the beans. Of course, the terroir and variety of the beans themselves, but what really comes through is how the maker has treated them – from the roasting to the conching to the tempering.

In 2010 pâtissier-chocolatier Patrice Chapon set himself the mission of making chocolate from the bean. Already with several shops selling his own line of bonbons and confiseries, he started experimenting with the raw product. He researched and traveled to different plantations in order to find the best beans. Through a process of elimination and experimentation Patrice started to craft his own range of single origin chocolates. Making chocolate from the bean is about starting from scratch, and Patrice took one step further even making his own machinery.

His love affair with all things chocolate began much earlier when he was working in London. Here he joined La Maison Du Sorbet, who supply ice creams and sorbets to Buckingham Palace. He became fascinated by chocolate during his stay in England, and has said he took trips to Harrods daily to visit the chocolate hall.

All of Chapon’s packaging is resealable, so that you can savour at your own pace.

Allergens*

May contain peanuts, may contain soybeans, may contain milk, may contain nuts, may contain sesame

Ingredients

Cocoa mass, cocoa butter

*Allergen advice: We directly import, and purchase, all products from independent makers and have these shipped by our partner warehouse (which is not certified allergen-free), and so we cannot guarantee that any product will be allergen-free. Even where an allergen is not listed, products may have been produced, shipped, or stored in facilities which handle allergens.

If you would like further information about a specific product, please contact us on [email protected] or contact the maker directly.