Chocolate of the Day: Franceschi Chocolate
Choroni 70% bar
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total package of 2 thin bars
Calories: 159 calories (estimate) in 1 bar (1/2 package)
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA
Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Venezuela Theme Week, and I tried a Choroni 70% bar, the first of a trio of bars from family-run Franceschi Chocolate (Venezuela).
What or where is Choroni? It's a beach town in the Aragua State of Venezuela. The nearby valleys of Aragua reach inland and are home to valuable heritage Criollo cacao trees.
As part of an overall mission to save fine cacao (Criollo, Trinitario) throughout the country, the Choroni cacao (an ancestral Criollo variety) used in today's 70% bar was "rescued" by Franceschi Chocolate (Venezuela) and others.According to the date on the packaging, the origins of the company date back to 1830. And the Franceschi family name runs throughout the management team. Alberto (Franceschi) is President, Juan de Dios, Vicente, Claudia, Cristina...they're all Franceschis. So one hopes the legacy will continue for many years to come.
Franceschi makes their own bars (tree to tablet), and has supplied beans to chocolate makers (e.g. Escazu Artisan Chocolates and Dandelion Chocolate in the U.S.).
The subtle but complex flavor notes in today's Choroni bar were intriguing: light, floral pipe tobacco, roasted brown sugar, light fruit (ripe peaches). A wonderful, unique bar. This is probably the most delicately sweet and nuanced bar of the Venezuelan bunch I've tried so far this week.
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