Chocolate
A growing interest in good dark chocolate — single-origin and high-cacao bars where the bean's origin actually comes through.
What to look for
- Single-origin bars (one country or estate) over blends
- Short ingredient lists — cacao, cocoa butter, sugar, maybe vanilla; nothing else
- Cacao percentage as a rough guide to intensity, not quality on its own
Favourites
| Bar | Maker | Origin | Cacao | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plantagen Costa Rica | Rausch | Costa Rica | 75% | Dark Edelkakao; first single-origin bar logged here |
Radar
Bars and makers to seek out, weighted toward recent International Chocolate Awards winners and long-standing fine-flavour houses. The ones higher up are easiest to find in Europe.
| Maker | Country | What to try | Why it's on the radar |
|---|---|---|---|
| Friis-Holm | Denmark | La Dalia 85% | Repeat ICA winner; Nicaraguan single varietals, precise roast |
| Vigdis Rosenkilde | Norway | 70% Quellouno | "World's Best Dark" gold; vivid, clean, intense without aggression |
| Original Beans | Netherlands | Cru Virunga, Femmes de Virunga | Regenerative sourcing angle; widely stocked in Germany |
| Pralus | France | Pyramide des Tropiques, Le 100% | Classic single-origin "grands crus"; the origin tasting box |
| Bonnat | France | Hacienda El Rosario, Chuao | Historic 1884 house; benchmark single-origin grands crus |
| Amedei | Italy | Chuao, Porcelana, Toscano Black 70% | One of the most awarded fine houses; rare cacao |
| Domori | Italy | Porcelana, single-origin Criollo | Criollo specialist; reference point for delicate, low-bitter darks |
| Akesson's | UK / estates | 75% Madagascar Criollo | Own estates in Madagascar, Brazil, Bali; strong terroir |
| Marou | Vietnam | Tien Giang 70%, Lam Dong | Defined the single-origin Vietnamese category |
| Cacaosuyo | Peru | Piura Select, El Ganso | Multi-award Peruvian; El Ganso took ICA top origin dark |
| Argencove | Nicaragua | 92 Bar | High-% standout at the 2025 World Final |
| Dandelion | USA (SF) | Camino Verde, single-origin range | Benchmark US bean-to-bar; transparent sourcing |
Friis Holm
O'Payo Milk Hazelnut 50 %, 100 g. økologisk. DK-ØKO-100. EU / IKKE-EU-JORDBRUG
10 Jun 2026 €15.95
Our classic milk chocolate. The O'Payo cacao has acidity and fruitiness which is mixed with the creamy organic milk powder (which we get from Thise dairy). Notes of honey and cream. The organic hazelnuts are from Piemonte, Italy.
Ingredients:
Cocoabeans, sugar, cocoabutter, MILKPOWDER, HAZELNUTS(8%). Organic. Min 50% cocoasolids
Chuno 70 % Triple Turned, 100 g.
10 Jun 2026 €15.95
Our Chuno Triple Turned 70 % is a very unique chocolate made from one type/clone of cacao. It releases flavour very quick and has a balanced acidity. A great beginners chocolate if you don't know where to start. Chuno Triple Turned 70 % if you want a more complex chocolate, try our Chuno Double Turned 70 % where the cacao has been fermented differently.
(GB) Ingredients:
Cocoa beans, sugar, cocoa butter. May contain traces of MILK., Min 70% cocoa solids
La Dalia 85 % The Lazy Cocoa Growers Blend, 100 g.
10 Jun 2026 €15.95
LA DALIA 85 % DARK CHOCOLATE
Made with a mix of cacao varieties from known and unknown old heritage trees from ten growers in the La Dalia region of Nicaragua.
They refuse to sort them by type!
But this mix ferments so well - one of the best we have ever tasted.
Strong aromatic acidity with deep cacao notes.
Ingredients:
Cocoa beans, sugar, cocoa butter. May contain traces of milk., Min 85% cocoa solids