Author: Kelley

At the Northwest Chocolate Festival, there’s a lot of chocolate. I mean, a lot of chocolate. My focus was single origin chocolate. And that’s all this company does. Let me introduce you to Argencove Chocolate. Founders, Sally and Peter McFadyen, are from Australia and worked in Peru on a project in fine foods for a few years. While there, they were influenced by its food culture and, with some other Australian families, developed an appreciation for chocolate that eventually led to chocolate making. After visiting quite a few countries to determine their optimal chocolate making location, they chose Nicaragua, specifically Grenada, Nicaragua. They bought a derelict farm, then did the smartest thing they could have done– they sought out some of the best resources in the world to help them understand everything about making chocolate. Everything from cacao genetics, to soil and wind studies, fermentation programs, roasting, etc. I love this. If you want to make great chocolate, not just chocolate, ask people who have already been there. (One of their resources was Alan McLure, formerly of Patric Chocolate, a pioneer of the US craft chocolate movement.) They bought their farm in 2015 and started Argencove Chocolate in 2018. According to the internet, Argencove has won 76 international awards from the Academy of Chocolate London, Chocolate Alliance Awards, International Chocolate Awards, Northwest Chocolate Festival Awards, and others.

Now let me introduce you to Agencove’s Apoyo 70% Nicaraguan chocolate bar. This single origin, 2 ingredient, chocolate bar is made at origin and is named after a local Nicaraguan natural landmark. The Apoyo Lagoon Nature Reserve is located between the departments of Masaya and Granada in Nicaragua, and it protects a volcanic lake occupying the caldera of an extinct volcano.

Sight: dark brown with a hint of red; clean, sharp molding in a classic design
Sound: good snap with break
Smell: moderate intensity; fruity
Mouth Feel: melts readily with slightly different mouth feel–likely because there’s no added cocoa butter in the bar
Taste: it starts with red berries, then a mild bite of lime and then blends beautifully with rich chocolate notes
Astringency: mild astringency that accents the flavor in such a good way

Summary: Argencove’s Apoyo 70% chocolate bar hits pretty much all the right notes for me. I have a fruit bias when it comes to chocolate, and this bar does not disappoint. I will buy it again.

This bar is so beautiful! Just look at that molding, or at least what you can see from my somewhat sketchy photography (I’ll get it right some day). Let me introduce you to Aroko Chocolate. I was first introduced to it at the Northwest Chocolate Festival this year. The chocolate makers are Dubraska and Johonny, a Venezuelan couple, whose company is based in Riese Pio X, Italy. They use only Venezulan cacoa beans to create their bean to bar chocolate. Some of their expertise comes from their college years, when they took master’s level classes in the science and technology of cacao and chocolate. After college, Johonny and his wife moved to Italy, and eventually started their brand–Aroko Chocolate–in 2021. Since that time, Aroko Chocolate has won multiple awards, including International Chocolate Awards Gold in Italy (2023), Silver in Europe (2023 and 2024), and Bronze at the World level (2024) all for their Chuao 70% bar, as well as other International Chocolate Awards.

Now, let me introduce you to Aroko’s Chuao 70% single plantation chocolate bar. The beans are from the village of Chuao, near Henry Pittier National Park in the Aragua state of Venezuela. This cacao is considered a Modern Criollo. (Of note, in 2021 Chuao cacao became the first cacao in the world to receive a certified Designation of Origin, Denominacion Oficial Cacao de Chuao.)

Sight: clean, well molded with a beautiful and modern design; rich dark brown with hint of red; great outer package color/design that’s resealable. (Resealable can be handy for some but is wasted on me–it doesn’t make it back into the packaging.)
Sound: that’s a snap!
Smell: moderate intensity; rich chocolate with a hint of dried fruit
Mouth Feel: initially a little waxy but then with ready, smooth melt
Taste: starts with a subtle plum flavor, then turns a little more fruity/berry-y and finishes with a deep chocolate flavor
Astringency: mild

Summary: Aroko’s Chuao 70% is delicious. Its flavor notes are mild and accent the richness of the chocolate well. I’m glad I have another bar…

I woke up today and couldn’t wait to eat more of this chocolate bar. Throughout the photo shoot over the last few days (“photo shoot” is too strong–just remember I’m learning), I added “life and texture” to the photo by adding nibble marks to the bar. The nibbles got bigger and bigger. As I nibbled, I remembered this bar and how sensational it was when I first tasted it. I picked up this bar, and many others, at the Northwest Chocolate Festival near Seattle, WA a little over a month ago. When I was there, I met the chocolate maker of this bar and had such a good conversation with him about the bean to bar chocolate industry–where it was and where it’s going. Let me introduce you to BOHO Chocolate. Charlie Burke, founder and chocolate maker, started in the ’80’s by opening a small chain of chocolate and confectionery shops. While expanding that business and trying a little film making, he decided to challenge himself by making his own chocolate from bean to bar. He now creates award winning organic farm to table chocolate that’s socially, environmentally, and economically sustainable. Let’s talk awards. According to an AI search, since its start in 2014, BOHO chocolate has won over two dozen awards from The Academy of Chocolate, The International Chocolate Awards, and The Good Food Awards.

Now let me introduce you to BOHO’s Bolivia 70% chocolate bar. The beans are from the La Paz region of Palos Blancos, Bolivia. The cacao varieties are trinitario and nativo (wild). The beans were fermented in wooden boxes and sun dried.

Sight: well molded with sharp edges in classic design; color is a rich dark cocoa color; partially shiny finish
Sound: good snap with break
Smell: mild intensity; deep chocolate with a mild sweet fruitiness
Mouth feel: smooth texture; melts readily
Taste: starts with a fudgy chocolate flavor, then adds a mild bright fruitiness and finishes with a little raisin-y richness
Astringency: little to none

Summary: This bar has a deep chocolatey flavor that’s accented well by its mild bright fruity acidity. It’s a flavor profile that’s both mild and wonderful. I look fwd to finishing the bar. And starting another one…