Menakao – Dark Chocolate 100% with Cocoa Nibs
Maker: Menakao
£5.95
Fair price for allCocoa Runners ensures fair pay for growers and producers of the world’s best craft chocolate.
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A must-try for the 100% lovers. Menakao’s bar packs far more of a punch than Akesson’s and Pralus’ more mellow Madagascan 100% bars. This award winning dark bar is an intense 100% Madagascan dark chocolate. The bar has no sugar in it at all and is made with nothing but cacao, revealing all of the richness of the cocoa.
Unwrap the chocolate and you are instantly hit by a strong fruity aroma. Delicious and inviting as this may be, don’t be fooled into breaking off a great chunk as this chocolate has a serious intensity! The initial berries have a citrus edge, leading to a powerful and sharp finish. A roasted note is mixed with the fruits, which reminds us a little of strong filter coffee. The almost sherbet – like astringency, gives a mouth-watering quality as the chocolate fills your mouth with strong flavours.
This bar doesn’t just taste good, it does good. Madagascan chocolate maker Menakao proudly crafts its chocolate on the island, using only local ingredients. Unfortunately, this is rare even for craft chocolate – it’s estimated that less than 5% of the world’s chocolate is produced in the same country the cocoa is grown. By making the chocolate in Madagascar in addition to growing the cacao on the island, Menakao generate about 4-5 times the benefit of Fair Trade for the local Madagascan economy.
In honour of the men and women of Madagascar of all ethnicities who are at the heart of Menakao chocolate, Menakao decided that the bars should proudly bear the image “not [of] the face of Madagascar, but [of] Madagascan faces.” The beautiful image on the wrapping of this bar is of a Betsimisaraka man. The Betsimisarka (Betsimisaraka meaning “many and inseparable”), are celebrated for their rhythmic dancing traditions and are the largest group on the east coast of Madagascar, a region noted for lush vegetation, dense forest and tropical climate.
- Better pay for farmers
- Sustainably crafted
- Expertly curated
- Ingredients traced from farm to bar
- Safe and secure checkout
- Made to be savoured
- Better pay for farmers
- Sustainably crafted
- Expertly curated
- Ingredients traced from farm to bar
- Safe and secure checkout
- Made to be savoured
What do other people who've discovered Menakao - Dark Chocolate 100% with Cocoa Nibs have to say?
One of my favourites, always add to my basket. Packs a punch whilst still being creamy, a wonderful 100% bar.
Diane W.
Cocoa Runners customer
Really enjoyed it, nice creamy texture, melts in the mouth beautifully. Coffee and citrus, a little less of the typical sweet, dark berry of Madagascan chocolate. The cocoa nibs are nice, but have a bit of a strange texture on the outside of the bar - when I let it just melt in the mouth the texture makes me think of having a thin foil wrapper that’s accidentally stuck to the chocolate. Removed a star for that, but the taste is lovely.
Julie M.
Cocoa Runners customer
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Maker
Menakao
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Diane W. –
One of my favourites, always add to my basket. Packs a punch whilst still being creamy, a wonderful 100% bar.
Julie M. –
Really enjoyed it, nice creamy texture, melts in the mouth beautifully. Coffee and citrus, a little less of the typical sweet, dark berry of Madagascan chocolate. The cocoa nibs are nice, but have a bit of a strange texture on the outside of the bar – when I let it just melt in the mouth the texture makes me think of having a thin foil wrapper that’s accidentally stuck to the chocolate. Removed a star for that, but the taste is lovely.
Ben –
One of my favourites – Menakao make the punchiest chocolate I know of.
Extremely acidic so stay away if that’s not your thing but if you’re in search of stronger flavours then congrats, you’ve found it.
I preferred their earlier 100% bar without the nibs as it feels like the nibs mellow it out a little. Fortunately you can still get that as buttons in the ‘Cooking Chocolate’ section.
sshelton676 –
Ignore the bad reviews. I have tried lots of 100% bars, being an avid fan, and I love it. The acidity and bitterness is amazing, giving me a real punch, which I adore. Man up and enjoy the kick. I adore it!
Sally E. –
Very strong with strong citrus aftertaste. Distinctive, I would buy again.
tasaras1234 –
extremely acidic in comparison with anyother 100% i have tried. in order to tolerate with this one half a square is enough. almost the same happens with 80% menakao. However 72% and below menakao chocolates are really interesting ,full of aromas with the 63% combava pink pepper being my favourite
Sophie K. –
I was initially dissuaded from buying this because of the negative reviews, but as I love Menakao’s 80 percent and am a 100% fan, I finally bought a bar and I’m so glad I did. It’s amazing! It has a wonderfully powerful roasted cacao flavour which is quite savoury, tempered by a gorgeous citrus sweet edge. Its my new favourite 100% bar!
Simon W. –
Like Dina A said it is a strong bold chocolate
Personally I like the creamer one like Bonnat
I’m a relatively newbie with 100% cocoa – so the older hands may taste things I’m not ???
Amanda K. –
We’ve been rating our bars on our regular deliveries for the past 6 months now, this bar scored the worst of all the bars we’ve tried. The high percentage of cocoa stops adding complexity and flavour and tips the scale firmly into the bitter and unpleasant zone. It’s just too much. We used half the bar in cooking, it wasn’t a nice experience as chocolate in its own right.
Dina A. –
This is a strong, bold 100% bar, the highly roasted tones and that strong citrus aftertaste mean one piece is enough for me. Unfortunately I just find it too acidic and not fruity enough for my liking for a high percentage cocoa content.