Origin
There is more to this chocolatey flavor that we have all grown up loving. Cacao beans possess a wide variety of inherent flavors, which vary greatly depending on their origin.
Most people think of chocolate as just one fudgy flavor because the vast majority of cacao used to make chocolate comes from one region that exhibits this flavor: West Africa. The reality is chocolate is one of the most diversely and densely flavored foods in the world, surpassing even coffee and wine. Yep, that's right - there are more flavors in the chocolate world than in your favorite wine shop. Who knew? (Clue: We did!)
Chocolate is layer upon layers of certain flavors. You have the typical chocolatey-fudgy taste we all know and love; then you have other flavors we categorize as Fruity, Nutty, Citrusy, Earthy, and Floral. We'll expand upon each in a minute, yet why are there so many flavors, you ask? Well, just as grapes are to wine, cacao is grown worldwide and picks up its flavor notes depending on its origin.
Each cacao origin has its unique genetics of the cacao plant (fancy people call this varietals). The soil, atmosphere, fermentation, and drying processes are different from origin to origin, all of which highly impact the flavor of the origin's cacao beans. Roasting also has a very high impact on the final taste, just like in coffee, we have light to dark roasting levels across the board.
Finally, we chocolate makers get to work with the cacao on our own to conch, blend and ultimately control the final flavor profile. It's truly an art, and our final product is dependent on the quality of the cacao beans we buy from origins and how we select these various flavors to use when making our chocolate. So, without further adieu, let us dig into each flavor specifically.
Fudgy
The flavor we all know and love: fudgy. How most of us describe what chocolate tastes like because we grew up consuming bars and confections made using cacao from West Africa, which is inherently "chocolatey."
Nutty
Cacao beans are basically nuts. So when roasted, people inherently associate "roasted" with "nutty." While this can be true, cacao can contain nut-like flavor notes such as dried, roasted almonds, walnuts, and almond skins, and Ecuador's cacao often contains these flavor notes.
Earthy
Think tobacco, dried forest leaves, and even dried clay. Believe it or not, there are vibrant earthy notes found in many cacao beans, and they are just often overshadowed by more robust flavors like fudgy. Earthy can be found in cacao from Haiti and the Caribbean.
Fudgy
The flavor we all know and love: fudgy. How most of us describe what chocolate tastes like because we grew up consuming bars and confections made using cacao from West Africa, which is inherently "chocolatey."
Nutty
Cacao beans are basically nuts. So when roasted, people inherently associate "roasted" with "nutty." While this can be true, cacao can contain nut-like flavor notes such as dried, roasted almonds, walnuts, and almond skins, and Ecuador's cacao often contains these flavor notes.
Earthy
Think tobacco, dried forest leaves, and even dried clay. Believe it or not, there are vibrant earthy notes found in many cacao beans, and they are just often overshadowed by more robust flavors like fudgy. Earthy can be found in cacao from Haiti and the Caribbean.
Fudgy
The flavor we all know and love: fudgy. How most of us describe what chocolate tastes like because we grew up consuming bars and confections made using cacao from West Africa, which is inherently "chocolatey."
Nutty
Cacao beans are basically nuts. So when roasted, people inherently associate "roasted" with "nutty." While this can be true, cacao can contain nut-like flavor notes such as dried, roasted almonds, walnuts, and almond skins, and Ecuador's cacao often contains these flavor notes.
Earthy
Think tobacco, dried forest leaves, and even dried clay. Believe it or not, there are vibrant earthy notes found in many cacao beans, and they are just often overshadowed by more robust flavors like fudgy. Earthy can be found in cacao from Haiti and the Caribbean.
Fruity
There are two types of fruity flavors in chocolate: fresh fruit and dried fruit. Cacao from Madagascar can exhibit fresh fruit notes like sour cherry, raspberry, strawberry, and acai. In comparison, cacao from Peru can taste like dried fruit like raisins, dried plums, dried cherries, and fig.
Citrusy
"When I think about bright, citrusy notes in cacao, it's all about the juiciness," says Brad Kintzer, TCHO's Chief Chocolate Maker. Madagascar cacao is often described as containing lemon zest, mandarin orange, and even a light sour creaminess flavor.
Floral
Most folks cannot wrap their heads around floral as a flavor. Yet, it's a beautiful aspect of cacao that adds a top note vital to the experience. Rose, jasmine, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon are common flavors we classify as floral. Ecuador, Peru, and Caribbean cacao (especially Trinidad) can contain floral notes.
Fruity
There are two types of fruity flavors in chocolate: fresh fruit and dried fruit. Cacao from Madagascar can exhibit fresh fruit notes like sour cherry, raspberry, strawberry, and acai. In comparison, cacao from Peru can taste like dried fruit like raisins, dried plums, dried cherries, and fig.
Citrusy
"When I think about bright, citrusy notes in cacao, it's all about the juiciness," says Brad Kintzer, TCHO's Chief Chocolate Maker. Madagascar cacao is often described as containing lemon zest, mandarin orange, and even a light sour creaminess flavor.
Floral
Most folks cannot wrap their heads around floral as a flavor. Yet, it's a beautiful aspect of cacao that adds a top note vital to the experience. Rose, jasmine, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon are common flavors we classify as floral. Ecuador, Peru, and Caribbean cacao (especially Trinidad) can contain floral notes.
Fruity
There are two types of fruity flavors in chocolate: fresh fruit and dried fruit. Cacao from Madagascar can exhibit fresh fruit notes like sour cherry, raspberry, strawberry, and acai. In comparison, cacao from Peru can taste like dried fruit like raisins, dried plums, dried cherries, and fig.
Citrusy
"When I think about bright, citrusy notes in cacao, it's all about the juiciness," says Brad Kintzer, TCHO's Chief Chocolate Maker. Madagascar cacao is often described as containing lemon zest, mandarin orange, and even a light sour creaminess flavor.
Floral
Most folks cannot wrap their heads around floral as a flavor. Yet, it's a beautiful aspect of cacao that adds a top note vital to the experience. Rose, jasmine, nutmeg, allspice, and cinnamon are common flavors we classify as floral. Ecuador, Peru, and Caribbean cacao (especially Trinidad) can contain floral notes.
Origin bars,
pure & simple
Grab a variety pack featuring our single-origin dark chocolate. Holy Fudge uses cacao from Ghana, Born Fruity from Peru, and Dark Duo is the perfect harmony of both.
$35.99
Local Partners
While TCHO Source was built to co-create better cacao by working directly with farming partners globally, we certainly don't stop there. We have the same high quality standards when working with farming partners and ingredient suppliers in the United States.
TCHO has made all kinds of chocolate over the years, from straight-forward to straight-up-funky. And just cause we're going plant-based doesn't mean we'll stop making bars that will dance with your taste buddies.
When we began talking about launching an entirely new line of bars, we knew we had to reimagine our best sellers. We worked with many formulas and tasted a ton of chocolate before we eventually nailed them all. From Mokaccino to Choco Latté, Toffee + Sea Salt to Toffee Time, and Almond + Sea Salt to Aww Nuts!
Maisie Jane's
Chico, CA
Just a short drive away from Berkeley, we work with this fourth generation farm on custom roasting levels and small batch nuts.
Blue Bottle Coffee
Oakland, CA
We worked with Blue Bottle Coffee on our very first flavored bar, Mokaccino, so it only made sense we brought them along for Choco Latté.
Vegan Toffee
Texas
When we told our toffee partner we were going plant-based, they said, "well, let us try to make you a custom small batch vegan toffee." The rest is history.
Maisie Jane's
Chico, CA
Just a short drive away from Berkeley, we work with this fourth generation farm on custom roasting levels and small batch nuts.
Blue Bottle Coffee
Oakland, CA
We worked with Blue Bottle Coffee on our very first flavored bar, Mokaccino, so it only made sense we brought them along for Choco Latté.
Vegan Toffee
Texas
When we told our toffee partner we were going plant-based, they said, "well, let us try to make you a custom small batch vegan toffee." The rest is history.
Maisie Jane's
Chico, CA
Just a short drive away from Berkeley, we work with this fourth generation farm on custom roasting levels and small batch nuts.
Blue Bottle Coffee
Oakland, CA
We worked with Blue Bottle Coffee on our very first flavored bar, Mokaccino, so it only made sense we brought them along for Choco Latté.
Vegan Toffee
Texas
When we told our toffee partner we were going plant-based, they said, "well, let us try to make you a custom small batch vegan toffee." The rest is history.
West Coast Cacao
Enjoy a box of our local flavors. You'll receive 6 packs total, two each of Choco Latté, Toffee Time, and Aww Nuts!
$35.99
