Akesson's 43% White Madagascar

I remember this bar making an appearance on the chocolate scene last winter. This is Bertil Akesson's first white chocolate; it is made from cocoa butter that had been pressed from organic cacao grown on his Bejofo plantation in Madagascar 

There are a number of reasons as to why this white chocolate is different to 'standard' white chocolate, for example, the simplicity of ingredients. Just organic cocoa butter, organic milk and organic sugar, in that order. The cocoa butter is non-deodorised too, which means you are getting the authentic flavour of the butter of the Bejofo cocoa bean! This is unlike nearly all white chocolate, of which are made with deodorised cocoa butter (i.e odourless). Lastly, there is no vanilla, so again you will get the true Bejofo cocoa butter experience 

That list was not exhaustive, I could go on, but I won't

The taste was great, I loved it, a lot. A little smokey, very creamy, somewhat cheesed, sweet. The aroma and taste matched

Overall, this Akesson's bar was not just a sophisticated white chocolate, but a sophisticated chocolate full stop

A good comparison would be Willie's Cacao El Blanco white chocolate. It has a slightly lower cacao % (36%), of which is Venezuelan (not Madagascan), but similarly it is non-deodorised! The sugar of Willie's Cacao is raw cane, which could add a darker sweetness. Also, it's priced at around £1.80, where Akesson's is £5.95 

Åkesson's 75% Trinitario & "Wild" Voarsiperifery Pepper

Cocoa and pepper both grow in Åkesson's Ambolikapiky plantation, which is located in the Sambirano Valley, Madagascar. The voatsiperifery pepper was said to be the finest and rarest of all pepper, and have a profile of earth, wood and flower

Despite this chocolate having won gold in the International Chocolate Awards and in the Academy of Chocolate awards, I don't think I was as excited to try as if it had been the Madagascan chocolate alone (without the pepper). The cocoa was said to have a fruity-sweet tartness and a flavour that evoked citrus and red berries which, to me, is a cocoa to die for. I felt that the pepper would distract ...

The aroma was black pepper. The taste was black pepper. A soft bitter cocoa came through once the pepper had marked its territory. I was surprised when I had eventually found a fruitiness in the aroma (of which was very pleasant) and also gherkin, as the pepper was most potent. The taste gifted, after long delay, an acidity and fruitiness too, which made the chocolate become far more impressive. The finish was peppery and lasted a very long while

The texture was smooth with little crackles of pepper darted around. The chocolate was made from organic cacao, organic cane sugar, organic cacao butter, emulsifier, and then 2% pepper

This spiced chocolate was warming, certainly preferable to chilli in chocolate, and one that I'd recommend. Although, I do think I'd have rather had the single plantation 75% Trinitario chocolate alone