Description
TASTING NOTES
This delicately floral dark chocolate has bright highs of raspberry, dried prunes, and pecan. Made in Switzerland from Peruvian beans, this classic Original Beans creation is sure to satisfy with its vibrant intensity, rounded off with roasted notes in a silky smooth melt.
As Annalisa Barbieri wrote in her Notes on Chocolate column for the Guardian:
“[It’s] a super-smooth, super-bright chocolate made from Peruvian white cocoa from a parched landscape. It tastes so fruity that if you were blind testing, you’d swear there were sultanas or raspberries in it.”
ABOUT THE MAKER
Original Beans was founded in 2008 by Philipp Kauffmann, a former conservationist at the World Wildlife Fund and the United Nations, to be a regenerative chocolate making company that focuses on protecting farmers, the rainforest, and thousands of endangered species. Their One Bar : One Tree programme promises that a tree is planted every time an Original Beans bar is sold, which can be tracked on their website with a special code on the back of the packet.
THE BEANS
The rare Piura Porcelana white cacao was discovered by the Original Beans team in 2007 in the dry desert valleys of northern Peru. Decades of deforestation, drought and flooding had pushed these beans near to extinction, but now their widespread cultivation has reforested the valleys, protecting the life-giving streams that the whole ecosystem and community depend upon.
But don’t just take our word for it! Have a look at what the attendees at one of our recent Virtual Tastings had to say about it:
Lynette A. –
Very fruity. Of course, everyday I taste something else. After a slow melt at the end I got Carmel today. Maybe a little wine early on. Was it raspberry? Some sort of berry as well. All of Original Beans is excellent quality. I think if you like some, you will like this too.
Bronwen P. –
Maybe our all-time favourite chocolate: fresh bright berry flavours, very long and complex, brilliant texture. World class chocolate.
Christine S. –
I really enjoyed this smooth moreish bar. I will buy again
Zoe D. –
(Received as part of a virtual tasting kit)
Aroma: berries
Melt: quick, satin
Flavour: two types of raspberry- a darker raspberry that is present throughout, and a brighter, tangier raspberry that appears in bursts.
Nice but not a personal favourite.
Ben S. –
A very nice chocolate, but not as tasty as the Virunga
Jane E. –
This is my favourite so far! Beautifully smooth as it melts in your mouth. Absolutely delicious if you’re a dark chocolate addict like me!
Irene W. –
Very smooth and melts beautifully in the mouth. Lovely fruity flavours.
Lucinda W. –
My mother has a thing for dark chocolate from Peru. One that she tried a while ago seems to have disappeared. So I’ve been scouring good chocolate makers for an alternative. And my goodness she’s hard to please. All my efforts had been rejected until… this. Hurrah! She loves it. Oh how she loves it…. *adding more bars to cart*
Steven F. –
I’m new to craft chocolate but so impressed by the Original bars so far
Their description is spot on – faint raspberry notes, bright taste but not acidic
Like me did you used to hate Fry’s Turkish Delight?
Well it’s like that but nice!
Paweł F. –
Classic brown colour, although quite bright as you’d expect from Piura Porcelana. Strong on the nose, sweet with a hint of tobacco. Strong taste, starts with a strong almond and a hint of raspberry, then mellows down towards the finish. Absolutely delicious!
Julia M. –
Best of the Piura Porcelena cacao bars I have tried so far. Exceptionally silky.
Dina A. –
I can certainly taste the lime and toasted pecan notes, a good intense dark chocolate that isn’t too bitter.