Åkesson’s Fazenda Monte Allegre

Dom has already had a taste of the Åkesson’s Milk Bar with Fleur de Sel (which sounded rather lovely), and now it falls to me to investigate a dark bar made with cacao from Åkesson’s Brazilian plantation.

This time the distinctively moulded bar is a dark, rich reddish brown colour and is made with 75% Forastero beans grown by the fifth generation of cacao farmers in a region of Brazil that has the highest biodiversity on the planet. The variety of beans grown is known as ‘parasinho’ and is grown on 150 hectares on land in the middle of the Mata Atlantica in Bahia.

The chocolate has quite a woody, citrussy smell about it, and when it hits the palate it’s immediately incredibly smooth and soft on the tongue. Those woody, acidic notes are there right away, backed up by quite mellow, well rounded cacao with a hint of deep red fruit. The finish is clean, with a lingering citrus/wood note. The packaging blurb mentions that this cacao has a hint of the local Pitanga fruit about it, but of course I’m not in a position to be able to confirm or deny that particular claim.

What I can say is that this is further proof that Åkesson’s are a company with a future. They were very popular at the Academy of Chocolate awards this year and I recall tasting their wares. Dom was quite keen on their 43% Fleur de Sel bar, and its darker sibling is certainly worth a look if you like your chocolate fruity, acidic and smooth.