Kürzi Kacao – Betulia, Colombia, Dark 85%

About the bar

This 85% dark bar uses Swiss beet sugar to add just a little sweetness to the chocolatey notes of Colombian cacao, with that classic smoothness you expect from Swiss chocolate.

About the beans

These beans are grown by Hacienda Betulia, a single organic farm in Maceo, Antioquia, Colombia. The estate has approximately 50 hectares planted with cacao alongside a 30-hectare natural reserve. Cacao is intercropped with plantain, banana and hardwood trees, combining production with the conservation of the surrounding landscape. The B6 cacao is a rare single variety composed of approximately 98% white beans. Annual production is extremely limited, at around three metric tonnes. Hacienda Betulia was founded by cousins Juan Pablo and Christian Vélez near the town of Maceo in Antioquia, north-western Colombia, a region with a long tradition of cacao cultivation. Their vision is to grow organic, single-variety Colombian Criollo cacao with rare and complex flavours but without the pronounced bitterness associated with many other cacao varieties. They focus on aromatic quality, genetic selection and responsible agricultural practices. Hacienda Betulia became the first cacao plantation in Antioquia to receive Best Agricultural Practices certification. In 2018, the Federación Nacional de Cacaoteros recognised it as Colombia’s most innovative cacao farm.

About the maker

When Britta and Martin met in Asheville, NC in the USA, many of their first dates were at French Broad Chocolate Company – another great craft maker. After they moved to Martin’s native Switzerland in 2017, Britta was disappointed to find there were relatively few bean-to-bar makers in a country famed for its chocolate. As she adapted to her new home, her and her now husband Martin made a small chocolate factory in their spare room. At first, it was a hobby, but by 2019 their first few bars were launched at a Christmas market in Zürich.

Kürzi’s mission is to expand people’s perception of chocolate and help them experience it in a way they never have before. Whilst people often traditionally think of chocolate in three categories – milk, dark and white – the team behind Kürzi have set out to challenge this. People are often surprised to find that their range is entirely plant-based; rather than selling it as a vegan alternative, they aim to reveal how diverse, exciting and complex chocolate can be, looking beyond people’s expectations.

No nutritional information available for this product.

*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.

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