Single Orgin Chocolate collections?

December 19, 2010 4:54 PM

Chocolate expertise needed: Which diverse collection of single origin or single plantation bars would make a good gift for a chocolate lover?

I'd like to give a good friend a collection of chocolate bars from - preferably - a European manufacturer. I know that she would prefer single bars and not truffles, hand-crafted bon-bons, etc.

I'd like to avoid bars that she might come across at, say, Whole Foods or Trader Joe's, and I'd like a diverse selection from a single chocolate maker (or is this, perhaps, a mistake?).

Chocosphere has a good selection of 70g bars, and I've been considering Amedei, Domori, and Cluizel (learning most towards Cluizel). I'd like to budget it under 70$... Suggestions? (ideas on specific favorite bars to include would also be appreciated)

posted by Auden to Food & Drink (15 answers total)

My husband works in a specialty shop that includes single-origin chocolate bars from all the manufacturers you mentioned and more. He said that any of the ones you mentioned are great--equally so. You might also consider:

Bonnat: their chocolate is heavily conched = more buttery, smoother chocolate; he says that the Porcelana is the best chocolate he's ever tasted--smooth, rich, flavors of caramel, brown butter, and candied/toasted nut (he's a total foodie)--but it's also like $22, which is a third of your budget. Husband says their other bars are also quite delicious.
posted by Fui Non Sum at 5:35 PM on December 19, 2010

Although they are based in Brooklyn the Mast brothers make tasty chocolate bars.
posted by phil at 5:36 PM on December 19, 2010

I came here to recommend Mast Brothers, but I see phil beat me to it. They're not only tasty and single sourced (each type of bar will indicate where it's from), they're also beautifully wrapped. My personal favorite of theirs is the Almonds & Sea Salt. The Dominican Republic one is also very good.
posted by jacquilinala at 5:51 PM on December 19, 2010

Fui Non Sum - tell your husband thanks! I hadn't thought of Bonnat, and it definitely fits the bill: relatively unknown in the US (at the retail level), highly regarded... I'd love to send (and try for myself) the Porcelana (thanks for linking that) but it would exceed my budget. But I'm going to keep it in mind for the future....
posted by Auden at 5:54 PM on December 19, 2010

Thanks for the thorough reply, kalessin. I did decide against Valrhona because I have seen it carried at TJ's and elsewhere... this is also true of Cluizel, but much less so. I'm going to look into all the chocolates you've mentioned. I'm lucky about Chocosphere, because, for me, it's local and I can do a pick-up and not wait for the shipping.
posted by Auden at 6:06 PM on December 19, 2010

Ethel M (yet another not-very-known American company) has very nice single-origin bars from Trinidad and Porcelana. They have some really tasty blends as well -- get the box set and eat the blends yourself!
posted by vorfeed at 6:25 PM on December 19, 2010

Amedei is also carried in most upscale supermarkets (as in, not specialty stores), and would be a standard brand to most people who have purchased fine chocolate.
posted by halogen at 7:25 PM on December 19, 2010

Same goes for Bonnat. Lots of stores carry it, for a reason. Their chuao is the best. Chocolate. Ever.
posted by halogen at 7:28 PM on December 19, 2010

I'm a big fan of Amedei. Bonnat is really good, but kind of buttery for my taste. Michel Cluizel is really excellent.
posted by signalnine at 9:38 PM on December 19, 2010

You know about seventypercent.com, right?
posted by signalnine at 9:40 PM on December 19, 2010

Pralus, don't forget about them. Also available on Chocosphere. Their Venezuela is my current favorite bar.
posted by beetsuits at 10:39 PM on December 19, 2010

I definitely love the Amadei Porcelana and the Valrhona Guanaja - but if you can get it the "La Joya" from Cacao Sampaka is a great taste experience. Pralus' Pyramide des Tropiques takes you around the world on a chocolate tasting tour :)
posted by alchemist at 12:46 AM on December 20, 2010

Yeah, it really sounds like the Pralus Pyramide is what you're after here.
posted by Acheman at 5:37 AM on December 20, 2010

+1 to Bonnat. I've tried dozens of single plantation chocolates, and their Trinidad bar is the one I crave time and time again.
posted by TheOtherSide at 11:48 AM on December 20, 2010

If you haven't tried Taza - it makes for a wonderful, unique experience. -www.tazachocolate.com

It is a stone-ground chocolate that is not "cooked" in the traditional sense, using only the heat from the stone mills to "explode" the sugar and liquefy the chocolate. A very grainy, unique taste.

While not a daily-eating type of chocolate, it is something hard to replicate and a must try for a choclate lover and the floral and fruit-y aspects of the chocolate are very noticeable.
posted by polyhistoric at 1:09 PM on December 21, 2010