Ivee Promenade – Ituri, Congo, Apricot-Infused Dark 70%

About the bar

This 70% dark bar from Ivee Promenade balances the strength of the apricot with the rich Congolese beans. The bar is perfume-like, with an immediate hit of apricot that eventually becomes more floral. On the finish, we get hints of nice chocolatey notes from the cocoa, and the apricot has a great length which persists throughout. As with all of their fruit-infused bars, Ivee Promenade experiments with additional fermentation techniques that go far beyond the traditional post-harvest processes. The beans are re-fermented and aged with apricots, allowing the cacao to develop deeper layers of acidity, sweetness, and depth, creating not necessarily “flavoured”, but naturally evolved chocolate which has subtle fruity and floral notes.

About the maker

Ivee Promenade was founded in 2022 in Gdańsk, Poland by Katsiaryna Dembouskaya, her husband Vadzim Dembouski, and her parents. Kastiaryna initially trained as a pastry chef at the École Nationale Supérieure de Pâtisserie in France, and then continued to train in France and Austria with chefs who viewed desert-making as both craftsmanship and emotional expression. Her interest in chocolate began with a fascination for fermentation and the way in which time, temperature, and care could transform a simple bean into a multidimensional product. Each Ivee Promenade bar is made in their workshop in Gdańsk, where every stage of the production, from roasting to wrapping, is done by hand, maintaining their philosophy of looking at every bar as a piece of edible art.

The beans

Located in the Ituri province in northeast Congo, these beans are grown alongside other crops under the canopy of shade trees in Mayuano. The cacao farms form a forest belt protecting the Okapi Wildlife Reserve, home of the largest population of okapis in the world – endangered forest giraffes known for their typical striped behind. Mayuano cacao is characterised by its chocolatey flavour profile with notes of dried fruits, marmalade, and sweet herbal tones.

Allergens*

May contain milk, may contain nuts

Ingredients

Cacao beans 60%, cane sugar 30%, cocoa butter 10%

*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.