Cocopia Dark Chocolate Slab

Another small slab from Tesco’s own private Swiss chocolate maker, Cocopia. This one is (as you can see) made with a 64% cocoa chocolate which uses Javan Criollo beans. It’s also dusted with cocoa nibs (a personal favourite – I just love crunching my way into them as the chocolate dissolves).

The chocolate itself has a great bittersweet flavour, and although it’s not as rich as some of the higher content bars I’ve tried recently it does have quite a good mix of citrus tanginess and that rich, almost burnt taste one tends to associate with the darker chocs. The beans used are Criollo beans, which have a stronger citrus element in their flavour makeup, with an additional mildly smoky note.

These beans tend to be used in milk chocolate, and so I’m assuming that the lower cocoa content is a way of keeping these flavours in check. I happen to be rather partial to a cup of Javan coffee, and the beans tend to be dark, strong and complex in flavour. Well, there are elements of that in this bar as well.

Because Cocopia have used a single bean variety, this bar offers an opportunity to taste how a single variety grown in one region can taste. The same beans from a different region will naturally taste somewhat different, so if you’re on a mission to discover the wide variety of flavours a single bean variety can produce in differing climates, then it’s worth trying to find more Criollo from other areas.

If, however, you’re just looking for something a bit different or a tasty little treat for yourself or a friend, then I’d recommend investing £1.50 in some of Cocopia’s little slabs.

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