The Story of “Citrus”

The cacao beans for our “Citrus” chocolate come from a certified organic estate in the Sambirano Valley of Madagascar, one of the world's hotbeds of tropical biodiversity.

This Sakalava woman is wearing traditional make up to protect her skin from the sun. The Sakalava number 700,000 in Madagascar, and occupy the western edge of the island from Toliar in the south to Sambirano in the north - where the exceptional beans for our “Citrus” come from. This picture was shot by the manager of the organic farm where our beans were grown, harvested, fermented, and dried.

Notes from the Chocolate Maker (and Founder), Timothy Childs
Designed to be the shining light of the flavor line up, Citrus is derived from some of the finest beans available on the market today. Many premium chocolate makers use Madagascar beans in their chocolate to add rich raisiny/pruney notes since this is the typical flavor expressed with “normal” roasting and conching of cacao beans from this origin.

At TCHO, I am trying to create a spectrum of flavors unique to us. When testing scores of cacao samples for our “Citrus” bar, I noticed that one specific sample had a very slight tinge of citrus somewhat buried within the complex flavor notes of the basic bean.

Working in our Flavor Lab with a 5 kilo sample, I was able to tweak the roasting and conching profiles to strip away some of the overly dark (raisiny) fruit flavors and to further draw out what was initially a very minor citrus top note. The result is a chocolate with light citrus undertones that bounce in and out—to a sour creamy finish. We are very happy with the initial beta results.

The beans come from a grower that I met through John Kehoe way back at my former chocolate company, Cabaret. The growers on this certified organic farm meticulously care for the beans all the way through the various growing, harvesting and fermenting processes. They are quality-obsessed people who put a lot of love into their cacao—and it shines through in this chocolate.

FLAVOR NOTE
Crafted with some of the best quality cacao beans in the world, TCHO’s outstanding “Citrus” chocolate has a delicate cocoa flavor that evolves into a lively citrusy zing on your tongue and ends with a light, smooth sour cream finish. Delightful!

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