Award-Winning Organic, Fairtrade, Ethically Sourced and Swiss-made Chocolate
The co-founders of Chocolate and Love got together through the love of good chocolate and good food. Richard, a chocolate craving Scotsman and Birgitte, a foodie Dane wanted to create an organic, ethically-sourced brand of chocolate using some of the world’s finest ingredients.
The company was started in 2010 and now Richard and Birgitte are very happy to have their brand stocked across 40 countries worldwide. Chocolate and Love’s team and partners are spread over several countries including Scotland, Denmark, Germany, South America, Switzerland and Mallorca.
The organic produce can be traced from the farm to your home or business with every process along the way obtaining a certificate of conformity. The cacao, cane sugar, vanilla and coffee are all sourced from cooperatives certified by Fairtrade.
There are 9 delicious flavours, 7 of which are suitable for vegans. The chocolate comes in 80gm bars, 40gm bars and gift boxes with both size bars. There are also wonderfully small 5.5gm individually wrapped pieces of chocolate in 5 flavours which are perfect to have with a cup of coffee or for yachts as turn-down chocolates. These napolitains come in a choice of 2 beautiful tins containing 30 chocolates each and also in 1kg or 3.5kg boxes for those who are serious about their chocolate.
The flavours are Madagascar 70% cocoa with delicious bright red berry flavours and citrus. (only in 5.5gm napolitains). Panama 80% full bodied and yet mild with a hint of nuts. Rich Dark 71% complex rich taste with berries ideal for the dark chocolate lovers. Pomegranate 70% cocoa from Madagascar with citrus and berry flavours complimented by the tart pomegranate. Orange 65% using the natural oil from pressing ripe fruit peel of fresh oranges. Mint 67% with natural peppermint oil and a crunchy texture. Coffee 55% elegant chocolate with a subtle coffee taste. Creamy Dark 55% has cacao nibs which give it a gorgeous crunchy texture. Sea Salt and Caramel 55% this is the one for the sweet and salt lovers, the caramel is crunchy and the sea salt adds a wonderful addition of flavour. All variants are suitable for vegans except Creamy Dark and Sea Salt and Caramel.
They are constantly looking to new recipes to reduce the sugar level in their chocolate whilst retaining the lovely flavours. Although the chocolate may sound like it has a high cocoa content, the quality of the beans and the manufacturing processes ensure that the flavours are rich and luxurious.
The company believe firmly in sustainability and doing what they can to protect forests. The wrapping on the bars are made of Forest Stewardship Council certified paper and the internal (foil looking) and external wrappers of the 80gm and 40gm bars are biodegradable.
If you would like to read further about the Chocolate and Love story and their chocolate please look at their website www.chocolateandlove.com or contact Tania@chocolateandlove.com
TASTING CHOCOLATE – It is just like tasting wine without the spittoon !!
Look and Listen : Fine chocolate should have a brown tone. Listen for a sharp snap, it breaks cleanly without crumbling
Smell : Take a deep breath and inhale, perhaps close your eyes too. Aromas can be detected especially at the breaking point
Taste : Place a piece of chocolate in the middle of the tongue and allow it to melt slowly. Coat the whole mouth with the chocolate so all your taste buds are activated. If you chew, the flavours will be less intense. Look for fruit flavours, acidity, sweetness or bitterness. Note how the flavour can change during the seconds you are tasting it. Think about how long the flavour lasts and the intensity. Good chocolate will have a texture that is fine and velvety with a long pleasant aftertaste
There are more than 400 flavour notes in chocolate and these depend on many things; the bean, the soil, the temperature, the fermenting and drying processes, the flavour additions and obviously the manufacturing processes.
Some examples of flavour notes are :
Fruit : red berries, black berries, citrus, passion fruit, banana
Flower : rose, jasmine, orange flower
Spices : pepper, licorice, cinnamon, vanilla
Others: nuts, wood, milk, honey, mushrooms, olive, bread, soil, leather, hay
Cleanse your palette between different chocolate flavours to get the best out of them all.
