Weather is stupid. It’s cold and windy. At least the dogs look happy–both are laying on their sides with all fours sticking straight out. Guess that means I get to pass the time with chocolate. After randomly picking a chocolate bar to review out of the big bag o’ chocolate I brought back from the NWCF, I’m excited to see which one I picked. When I talked with these chocolate makers, I got a sense of their genuine commitment to making quality products, and absolute pride in their work. Let me introduce you to KAIRI Chocolate Company. KAIRI Chocolate was founded in 2017 by Deosaran Jagroo and Cherie-Anne Ramlakhan, a husband and wife team who took their passion project and turned it into an award-winning business. They exclusively use cacao grown on their family’s estate, La Carlota Estate in Guaico Tamana, Trinidad. Their chocolate is made entirely on-site from blossom to bar, or as Deosaran explained, “She’s the chocolate maker, I’m the farmer.” With a focus on quality, sustainability, and preserving traditional farming methods, they also offer training and facilities to neighboring cacao farmers to improve local cacao production. In addition, they support HEAL House, a local rehab center. From what I’ve been able to find with a brief online search, KAIRI Chocolate has won 4 awards from the Academy of Chocolate.
Now let me introduce you to KAIRI’s 70% chocolate bar. As stated, this single-estate cacao was grown, fermented, roasted, and processed on their estate in Trinidad. The cacao is Trinitario, and is grown on century-old trees.
Sight: their outer packaging has a great design–inner package includes info about Trinidad and their cacao flavor profile graph; the bar is small at 37g; clean and clear molding with a modern design; dark brown with shiny surface
Sound: good snap with break
Smell: moderate intensity; pleasant and floral
Mouth Feel: creamy with even and ready melt
Taste: initial jasmine and raisin/dried fruit flavors that blend with a hint of citrus and finishes with very mild bitter nuttiness
Astringency: mild
Summary: I enjoyed this bar very much and wished it was bigger so I could enjoy even more of it. Its floral-y and fruit-y notes deliciously blend with the citrus and are complimented by the mild bitterness. Knowing how tasty this bar is, I can’t wait to re-introduce myself to their Chai Spice bar…