Chocolate and Love Panama 80%

Chocolate and Love is like a chocolate social enterprise. The chocolate is made in Switzerland, using Fairtrade cacao from the Dominican Republic, Peru, and Panama. All the ingredients within the chocolate are certified organic and Fairtrade, also you are given the cooperatives who grows them (i.e the cacao, sugar, vanilla). There are no emulsifiers within

In this 80% dark, the cacao came from the COCABO cooperation in Panama

The chocolate was dark in colour. The aroma distant, chiefly vanilla, butter. The taste was very cocoa powder, some light acidity opens up to make it that little bit more complex. Overall, the flavour was very soft and one dimensional, purely chocolate. The texture was buttery, yet very cocoa dust, as if extra cocoa powder had been added (however, this was not the case)

An easy dark chocolate. Slow to eat. It's a good bar if you enjoy the pure chocolate flavour. I thought this chocolate would work well for a rich, dark chocolate cake!

Vivani 50% Dark Milk with Coconut Blossom Nectar

Vivani is a German chocolate company, of whose chocolate can be found in Planet Organic, Wholefoods, most health-stores in the UK. All the ingredients in this chocolate are organic: coconut blossom sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cream powder, bourbon vanilla. The use of coconut blossom sugar is particularly interesting, I know that it isn't as sweet as cane sugar and contains more health benefits than cane sugar. Vivani pride themselves in not using soy lecithin

An aroma of flowers, vanilla, coffee. In taste there was bitterness, flowers, vanilla, dairy (ricotta), smoke. There's a distinct bitterness (far from unpleasant!) because, even though sugar is the first ingredient, coconut blossom isn't as sweet as cane. I don't suppose much of the Panama comes through, but none the less it was a good chocolate. A chocolate that would appeal to those who solely like dark and solely like milk chocolate

Doble & Bignall

The craft chocolate revolution is pretty much alive in the UK. It has excited and entertained myself and many others; it has inspired myself and few others - to do it themselves, from the bean! Doble & Bignall rode the wave (think: 'new wave chocolate' #boom) in the summer of 2013, after listening to a Radio 4 programme on making chocolate from the bean

Doble & Bignall craft their chocolate in micro-batches in Gloucestershire, mixing their beans with cane sugar and cocoa butter

Raven Johe, Nicaragua 72%

This cocoa had grown in the Jinotega region in the northern mountains of Nicaragua. The colour was a brighter, more chocolate brown than the Venezuela. Trying to get the aroma of this chocolate felt like I was behind double-glazed windows. It was always 'chocolate', but I occasionally captured  smoke, spice, leather, nutty, malted milk (Horlicks®); it was sweet and all delicate

Straight on the tongue there was ash and a super juicy acidity (mineral acidity - Jinotega has very rich soils!). There was a berry buzz - so fresh and tangy, greenery and a taste of burnt/blackened toast. This Raven was all 'silent but deadly': quiet aroma, loud taste!

Raven Puerto Cabello, 72% Venezuela

Made from Cabello cocoa beans from the Mantuano region of Venezuela. The aroma was piss, spice, excrement, floral - it actually smelt of a Mr Bean™ rub-and-sniff sticker collection I had years ago

The taste was coffee, coconut water, heavy roast, something fruity and then the bitter coffee finished. My third and final attempt at this chocolate was actually very pleasant (it wasn't distinctly coffee nor coconut like before), though I still wasn't hot on the roast 

Tawny Owl Tierra Oscura, 50% Panama (milk)

An aroma so buttered fruit scone (made with 50/50 flour), quite creamy/milky. The taste was a less satisfying wheat taste, and a sudden tight bitterness (very astringent) but then after awhile dried fruits, some lactic acidity and pure butter came out

Tawny Owl Puerto Cabello, 50% Venezuela (milk)
Made from the same beans as the Venezuelan Raven. The aroma was very creamy, quite like a white chocolate. The taste was delicate, there was a flicker of liquorice and toasted oats and vanilla cheesecake. A very easy to eat chocolate, quite delicious!

Smelling its wrapper after the chocolate had gone, it was so cheesy and kinda like puke, but 12 hours later it was caramelised white chocolate

Out of these 4 chocolates Doble & Bignall craft, my favourites were the Venezuelan milk Puerto Cabello and the Nicaragua 72! This Nicaraguan Raven had that kind of kickin' acidity that I just LOVE in chocolate