Tea, Coffee & Confectionary

The indigenous Asháninka people maintain their independence by cultivating and harvesting Peruvian rainforest cacao, which they sell to support and protect their land and communities.

Partnering with rainforest preservation charity Cool Earth to source direct from the growers, we are excited to be able to show off this exquisitely fruity cacao whilst contributing to a sustainable future for the Asháninka.

Tasting Notes

Early notes of green and red fruit, with undertones of hazelnut. Middle tones of apple peel and raspberry slowly give way to a long ending of burnt sugar caramel.

Ingredients

Cocoa beans and unrefined raw sugar.

The Ashaninka People

The Ashaninka are one of the largest indigenous groups that populate the Amazon rainforest. Settled in small communities on their ancestral lands in Peru, their tribal way of life remains intact, relying on traditional methods of hunting, fishing and farming to subsist.

Illegal loggers pose a very real threat to the land upon which the Ashaninka have thrived for centuries, and therefore to their survival as a people.

Rainforest preservation charity Cool Earth has been working with the Ashaninka to educate them in how to cultivate, ferment and dry fine flavour cacao using traditional means that minimally impact their environment. The beans attract a much higher price than commodity cacao, enabling them to fend off the threat to their land and provide a long-term and secure future for their families.

This bar is what dreams are made of a mature take on a childhood favourite. It’s almost as if we took caramel shortbread and used our Chocolarder magic to turn it into smooth, moreish white chocolate. That is essentially what the caramelisation of white chocolate achieves; and it tastes delicious!

We extracted the natural fats from Ghanaian cocoa and combined them with the rich flavours of toasted milk to create a superb blonde chocolate bar.

Tasting Notes

Flavours of biscuit and caramel melting into sweet shortbread

Ingredients

Cocoa butter, unrefined raw sugar and milk powder. 70g

‘Nibs’ are simply pieces of cocoa bean with the shell and husk removed. The beans used for the nibs in this bar are a native variant from the Akesson owned Fazenda Sempre Firme plantation in Bahia, eastern Brazil.

The nibs are lightly caramelised to preserve their flavour and texture when folded into our Peruvian 70% chocolate, delivering intense bursts of complex cacao flavour through every bite.

Tasting Notes

Early notes of red fruit and hazelnut with a hum of toasted cacao nibs. Lingering caramel and earthy cocoa flavours finally give way to a final warming glow of cinnamon.

Ingredients

Cocoa beans, unrefined raw sugar and cinnamon.

Mata Atlantica is the name given to the extensive rainforest which once stretched along most of Brazil’s Atlantic coast. Sadly there is little left now, but what remains is sustained in part by the cacao plantations nestled in the undergrowth. Fazenda Sempre Firme is a small cocoa plantation, just over a square kilometre in size, right in the middle of the Mata Atlantica.

Owned by the renowned Akessons family, they grow the traditional and extraordinary “Parasinho” variety of cacao that earned the Bahia region notoriety for its quality and fine flavour crop.

To accentuate the beans natural woody and earth notes, the nibs are toasted with Sri Lankan Ceylon cinnamon infusing the nibs with its rich aroma, before the toasted nibs are sealed within a cinnamon sugar crust.

Master beekeeper Matt Pitt cares for his colonies of Cornish black bees by using sustainable methods that are stress and chemical free for the good health of his fuzzy compatriots.

He supplies us with fresh tree honey from which to make our own honeycomb, which delivers deep, heavy honey flavours and a pleasing crunch alongside our creamy milk chocolate.

Tasting Notes

Bursting with deep honey and toffee sweetness with a background of toasted hazelnut.

Ingredients

Cocoa beans, unrefined raw sugar, milk powder, honey and bicarbonate of soda.

Cornish Honey

In the springtime the Cornish hedgerows hum with the sound of bees doing their good work, so we looked for a Cornish beekeeper who could supply us with some delicious local honey from which to make our honeycomb.

Meeting Matt Pitt was a revelation to us. Not only could he readily supply the goods, he also came with an abundance of bee expertise and knowledge that turned our foodie interest into bee-vangelical fervour.

Matt keeps Cornish Black Bees, and is working hard to support and encourage their colonies to repopulate Cornwall. This breed of honeybee is naturally resilient to our climate, but numbers have significantly declined, largely due to human interference.

It’s estimated that there are now half the number of bees in the UK that were here just 20 years ago. Threats include non-traditional beekeeping methods and hive transportation that stress the colonies, the importation of non-native bees along with pests and diseases, and the loss of most of our wildflower meadows.

That perfect balance of salty and sweet, we’ve made 50% Gola Rainforest milk chocolate, and run locally harvested salt crystals throughout.

The cacao beans for this chocolate were grown under the canopy of Sierra Leone’s Gola Rainforest National Park. Various charities, including RSPB, have been working with local farmers to grow the cocoa in harmony with the park rather than drive deforestation.

In addition, we’ve sprinkled in some Cornish sea salt, which hand-harvested from the protected, open waters of the Atlantic Ocean, just a stone’s throw from our Falmouth chocolate factory.  Inspired by the original methods of harvesting ocean salts, production of these sea salt crystals references century old techniques, delivering the unique mineral profile that creates such a distinctive flavour.

Tasting Notes

Rich fudge notes with pockets of zesty salt crystals and a melt in the mouth, creamy finish.

Ingredients

Cocoa beans, unrefined raw sugar, milk powder and sea salt. 70g

African chocolate has a dark history.

That is why projects in the Virunga National Park, the oldest in Africa, are so important. In 2016 the Femmes de Virunga project was launched, the first ever female-led cacao cooperative in the world, and in one of the most dangerous places to be a woman. The project educates and supports these women, enabling them to provide for and support their families.
Since the project started in 2016 more than a quarter of a million cacao trees have been planted and there are over 1500 women farmers in the cooperative.

Tasting Notes

Deep chocolate and light brightness of dried red fruits with a peaty whisky end note.

Ingredients

Cocoa beans and unrefined raw sugar. 70g

We want to showcase the incredible natural flavours found in cocoa beans, and on our mission we had to share these.

Great lengths were gone to, to grow and transport the cocoa beans used in this bar. From Guadalcanal in the Solomon Isles, where the only bridge to the mainland has been swept away by storms. Navigation by boat is not possible, so to take beans off the island requires the farmers to wade across the river, with 70 kg sacks of beans on their heads. If this isn’t enough, the river is homed to crocodiles!

This bar has an exciting combination of tropical fruity notes which as they melt turn into the flavours of malty biscuits, coffee and notes of walnut. This is really unlike any bars in our selection at the moment.

Tasting Notes

Mango and pineapple melt into malty biscuits, coffee and notes of walnut

Ingredients

Cocoa beans and unrefined raw sugar. 70g

The perfect union. Comforting flavours of toasted hazelnut praline and raisin-flavoured cacao have been crafted into a texture that melts on the tongue but still has the snap of tempered chocolate.

Famous organic Italian hazelnuts paired with Seram Island cocoa. The largest cocoa plantation on the island contributes to the community by supporting local schools, constructing medical facilities and renovating churches and mosques.

As with all our products, the chocolate is made in our Falmouth factory.

Tasting Notes

Melting hazelnuts, finishing with rich toffee and spice flavours from Indonesian cocoa

Ingredients

Cocoa beans, unrefined raw sugar, hazelnuts (NUTS), Cornish sea salt

On our hunt to showcase the incredible variety of natural flavours in cocoa beans, we bring you this limited edition Guatemalan bar.

The beans for this bar were produced by farmers who are part of the Q’eqchi’ Maya tribe, living in Sierra de Las Minas in Guatemala. Using agroforestry techniques, farmers help to preserve habitats for rare and endangered species. Only 10% of the cocoa beans are exported and used internationally from Guatemala. This exclusivity is reflected in the quality of the beans, making this chocolate very special and one we are privileged to be able to make.

This is a smooth creamy dark chocolate, with notes of toasted bread and brazil nut coming through as it melts in the mouth.

Tasting Notes

Brownie, fudge and molasses melt to reveal spices, toasted bread and brazil nut.

Ingredients

Cocoa beans and unrefined raw sugar. 70g

This is no ordinary milk chocolate! These beans from Kuapa Kokoo have been roasted to a mellow flavour of toffee and sweet honey. Balancing this rich and creamy flavour brought us up to the highest cocoa milk chocolate we have made, and we can’t get enough. We often find ourselves helping milk chocolate fans into the world of great dark chocolate, with this bar, we are doing the opposite! Welcome to what milk chocolate can be.

Tasting Notes

Flavours of brownie and cinder toffee with a vanilla finish.

Ingredients

Cocoa beans, unrefined raw sugar and whole milk powder. 70g

A bar with an incredible story, made to showcase the irresistible flavour of these Costa Rican cocoa beans.

In the early 1980s, Costa Rica’s cacao was devastated by the fungus “Monilia,” which spread throughout the country’s huge cacao fields, killing tens of thousands of hectares of cacao crop.

While Costa Rica’s cacao industry has never quite recovered, there have been plenty of efforts made thanks to cacao producers like Nahua Cacao. They are dedicated to not just providing the greatest quality post-harvest services, but also to improving the lives of smallholder farmers via training, assistance, and community participation, as well as encouraging sustainable farming techniques, reforestation, and conservation.

Tasting Notes

Rich cocoa flavours with notes of coffee, fig and caramelised banana.

Ingredients

Cocoa beans, unrefined raw sugar. 70g

Established in 1904, Millot Farm sprawls across 15 km² in the Sambirano Valley, northern  Madagascar. It produces spices, essential oils and this incredible aromatic cacao.

The farm is a big draw to the region for its lush landscape and stunning scenery – for us the fruity punch of this Javan originating hybrid strain of cacao is definitely the main attraction.

Tasting Notes

Bursting with tart cherry and sweet raisin flavours leading to light sandalwood and smokey notes giving an incredibly complex finish.

Ingredients

Cocoa beans and unrefined raw sugar.

The Millot Farm

Although Madagascan cacao only accounts for 0.5% of worldwide production, the small but incredibly lush and fertile island is recognised for growing almost exclusively ‘fine flavour’ cacao (as opposed to commodity) and so is looked to by the high end chocolate industry and discerning independent craft makers (hiya!) for quality, characterful beans.

Malagasy cacao is not native – Lucien Millot started cacao cultivation on the farm with Trinitario trees from Java, and over a century later the beans they produce are some of the very best on the market. The plantation now employs over 800 people – the majority women – and supports the local school attended by many of the employees’ children.

For more than 50 years Adriano de Jesus Rodriguez and Gualberto Acebey Torrejon have generously shared their expertise to build a community dedicated cacao farmers in the Duarte province, Dominican Republic.

The care taken to nurture the quality of their cacao shines through in the stunning mellow tones that work beautifully left to stand alone and when combined with other ingredients. A lovely bean from lovely people.

Tasting Notes

A very nutty aray of flavours from the cacao and browned butter base. A slow build to interesting flavours of vanilla ice cream and honey over light white fruit flavours.

Ingredients

Cocoa beans, unrefined raw sugar and browned milk powder.

The fruity Peruvian rainforest cacao cultivated by the indigenous Ashaninka people is the perfect bean for showcasing in its purest form.

Nothing else is added, leaving only natural flavours and sweetness that are coaxed and developed through the careful crafting of the chocolate maker. The holy grail for chocolate purists.

Tasting Notes

A slow build to intense roasted brazil nuts, with accents of grapefruit and plantain. This bar is un-sweetened but still delivers a beautifully balanced flavour.

Ingredients

Cocoa beans

No where to hide

In our humble opinion, a 100% bar isn’t worth tasting unless it’s made from bean to bar by a skilled chocolate maker. The reason for this is that most chocolate ‘makers’ are buying in commodity chocolate which they make palatable by adding sugar and flavourings. Without these additions the chocolate would be far too bitter to want to consume, with the possible exception of some hardcore sugar avoiders.

A 100% bar from the right hands, however, is a labour of passion and patience. The discernible flavours and sweetness have to be carefully coaxed out of the bean and preserved at every stage of processing, through fermentation, drying, roasting, grinding, conching, ageing and tempering, a process that spans months and continents! There is nothing to hide behind. At first, the intensity of unadulterated cacao can be a shock, but approached with an attitude to savour rather than scoff, it may even prove a game-changer in your perception and appreciation of chocolate as a food.

A single origin white chocolate bar crafted from Peruvian cocoa butter, pressed from the bean by Chocolarder in Cornwall

Impressively crafted from Chocolarder’s very own virgin-pressed cocoa butter, this bar will have you reaching back for more with a dangerous frequency!

When you first unwrap this bar, you’ll notice that it isn’t the creamy colour that you might expect from a white chocolate bar. This chocolate has retained its natural, deliciously golden colour, having been spared the process of bleaching. It is also a reflection of the meticulous processes of production that have inspired its conception and creation.

This white chocolate bar is both a rare and remarkable achievement – few makers in the world press their own cocoa butter as few can boast of their own cocoa butter press. Of these, fewer still are based in the UK, with Chocolarder a true pioneer. Perhaps even more impressive is that this press started its life as a car jack, meticulously and ingeniously repurposed by Chocolarder frontman Mike, in order to bring you an extraordinary chocolate tasting experience. By pressing their own cocoa butter, Chocolarder are able to ensure that the subtle flavours of their beans are coaxed out and showcased without the need for the addition of vanilla. Furthermore, this cocoa butter does not undergo a process of deodorisation, extraordinarily unusual in itself. Industrial chocolate makers, for example, often deodorise cocoa butter so that they can eliminate its flavours and aromas, to ensure that it does not impart any taste upon the chocolate. So, by using cocoa butter that hasn’t been deodorised, Chocolarder is able to produce an authentic, chocolate tasting experience in its white chocolate bar.

This is a white chocolate bar crafted in Cornwall, but that started its life as Criollo cacao in the heart of the Peruvian Amazon. Mike sources these beans from Asháninka farmer cooperatives in the rainforests of the Ene River valley, with the help of environmental charity Cool Earth, who are dedicated to protecting against deforestation. The Asháninka are an indigenous population who live mostly in the Peruvian Amazon, for whom biodiversity and its protection is a central tenet of existence. Harvesting and selling cacao provides them with a sustainable income stream. This is crucial to combat the challenges they face from illegal logging, mining and deforestation.

Chocolarder is the creation of former Pâtissier, Mike Longman, who began his bean-to-bar journey after committing to make as many of his own ingredients as possible. Starting out in his kitchen, Mike now operates out of a small factory in Cornwall, where he is dedicated to sourcing unique and exciting local inclusions ranging from wild gorseflower, to the honey of native Cornish black bees. Mike is dedicated to a production process that is truly transparent and sustainable, both economically and ecologically. Not only does he source his beans direct from the farmers, but he transports them back to his factory by sail boat, all in the name of zero carbon transport!

Tasting Notes

In the words of Chocolarder, this 40% white chocolate bar is “an embodiment of winter comfort.” And we agree. It’s the creamy texture and warming chestnut flavour, balancing of nutty tones and sweetness, and the finishing of a soft smokiness that makes it feel so comforting.

IngredientsCocoa butter, unrefined sugar, whole milk powder

So popular as a limited edition, it’s jumped over to our permanent range, time to find out what all the fuss is about; but is it savoury or sweet? Oh it might be used to being paired with potato and lamb, but rosemary is oh so brilliant paired with sweet things. Having tried it once in a caramel ice cream, we thought now was the perfect time to bring rosemary chocolate to the world in bar form.

A delicious chocolate bar that blends salty and sweet flavours with locally harvested rosemary from Cornwall. We’ve chosen 50% Öko Caribe cacao from the Dominican Republic as the foundation, but it’s the rosemary that steals the show. With local Cornish sea salt crystals from the Lizard.

A perfect gift, the balance of delicious chocolate that makes them double take, without having a negative impact on the planet.

Tasting Notes

Rich fudge notes with subtle pockets of zesty salt crystals and a melt-in-the-mouth, creamy finish, subtly but impactfully infused with fragrant rosemary.

Ingredients

Cocoa beans, unrefined raw sugar, milk powder, rosemary and sea salt. 70g

Just three ingredients, cocoa beans, unrefined sugar and toasted whole oats. This bar is both dairy and gluten free.

The cacao beans for this chocolate were grown under the canopy of Sierra Leone’s Gola Rainforest National Park. Various charities, including RSPB, have been working with local farmers to grow the cocoa in harmony with the park rather than drive deforestation.

We’ve added toasted whole oats to the cocoa beans and sugar to replicate the creaminess without using dairy.

Tasting Notes

Deep cocoa melting to sweet marzipan and brandy notes with a brownie finish

Ingredients

Cocoa beans, unrefined raw sugar and toasted gluten free oats. 70g

The Gola Rainforest

The Gola Forest is one of only two national parks in Sierra Leone, referred to as the ‘green diamond of the nation’. A remnant of the Upper Guinean Tropical Rainforest, it is home to over 330 bird species, of which 14 now face global extinction.

The Gola Rainforest project is providing a livelihood and income for farmers around the national park while helping them to protect the rainforest from deforestation. Growing cocoa isn’t an easy task, and harvesting the pods can only be done by hand when grown under the canopy of the rainforest, hence the destruction of nearly all of Ghana’s rainforest when they opted for easy harvesting, leaving devastation.

The project has been supporting farmers to harvest, ferment and dry their cocoa beans to the best quality to yield higher prices from chocolate makers around the world.

The rainforest is home to many endangered species including forest elephants, pygmy hippos and chimpanzees.

Picked by hand in late spring from the prickly hedgerows that line the rugged Cornish coastal path, these small yellow flowers are a right pain in the fingers to harvest!

However, once steeped in cocoa butter pressed from our own beans, the flowers impart their heady warm coconut scent to our milk chocolate for a unique flavour that makes it all worthwhile.

Tasting Notes

Warming toasted coconut with hints of fudge and roast nut, ending in light red fruit.

Ingredients

Cocoa beans, unrefined raw sugar, milk powder and gorse flowers.

Tasting Notes

Gorse bushes can be seen in abundance across the Cornish landscape from moorland to coastal paths, through towns and invading gardens. These large spiney bushes provides shelter and food for many insects and birds, such as Stonechats, Dartford Warblers, and Yellowhammers.The flowers on these prickly bushes are a vibrant yellow and bloom in the years early sunshine, these are the treasures we seek for our chocolate.

During their bloom, clouds of warm coconut scent drift on the breeze from the gorse bushes and are integral to our nostalgia for the long unmitigated summers of childhood that everyone seems to remember but no-one can quantify.

Traditionally, Gorse has had many roles aside its burst of coconut fragrance as we trek the coastal paths. The dry branches can be gathered for an effective fuel, used in bread ovens and stoves, and when bound together could form an efficient chimney brush. The flowers have also been widely used in making wine and cordial but most surprisingly being turned into colourings to decorate Easter eggs.