Toscano Black 63% Amedei (Madagascar)

"Chocadores Gourmet Chocolate" or "Chocadores" for short, is a great name for a website, it has such a fun and slightly operatic feel about it. The name really conjours up what I think about chocolate and has already put me in a good mood to review a sample of the gourmet chocolate they provide via their website.


About: Chocadores came to fruition after the owners tasted some delicious chocolate from Artisan du Chocolat. Armed with scant knowledge of chocolate but with huge bags of enthusiasm they embarked on a journey to discover the world of fine chocolate. Their mission is to bring some of the finest and purest chocolate to our attention. Not only do they want to bring excellent chocolate to the fore but they also want to ensure traceability and sustainability is high up on the producers list of responsibilities. 
They have set 5 key criteria that the chocolate must meet before it will go on sale via their website, as follows:

• Have an ethical/fair trading policy in place
• Use of only real ingredients (no additives, artificial flavourings)
• True provenance must be demonstrated on products
• Cocoa beans sourced from sustainable plantations (non African)
• The finest beans to be used in production (Criollo, Trinitario and sustainable Forastero)

There are a wide variety of products to choose from Chocolate Selection Boxes, Chocolate Bars, Chocolate Buttons and even Chocolate Gift Sets. Chocolatiers featured on their site include Amedei, Artisan du Chocolat, Auberge du Chocolat, El Ceibo (this is a favorite of mine), Pamaco and the list goes on!

Ok, let's get down to tasting this bar of chocolate. 

The Packaging: I would describe this as typically Italian, very stylish, smooth and sophisticated! A lovely red package with the Amedei logo emblazoned in black, on the inside there is lots of information about Amedei and the chocolate you're about to try. The chocolate is encased in a yellow foil jacket to keep the chocolate in tip top condition.

The Chocolate: The 'Tuscan Blacks' are a blend of three different cocoa beans with varying cocoa % exclusively selected by Amedei. This particular chocolate has a 63% cocoa content. The chocolate is perfectly tempered and has a good 'snap' as you break into it. It is a very acceptable and agreeable chocolate but it's not going to set the world on fire. It does not have the intensity of single origin dark chocolates but it is certainly smooth, creamy and slightly sweet. There are definite fruity tones, a hint of tobacco but no bitterness and the flavour lasts.

Toscano Black 63

Overall I give this bar of chocolate a score of 7/10 for balance, flavour and ethical policy. If you're looking to break into dark chocolate, no pun intended, this is a good place to start. This bar is available from Chocadores at £4.25 for a 50g bar plus postage and packing. 


To purchase this bar now click here, Chocadores