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5:03 am
October 20, 2005
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Hi All,
I buy a lot of my chocolate bars from a local market chocolatier. Among other things, he moulds bars from single origin couvertures – nothing special but it works out cheaper than buying them in the manufacturers’ packaging/wrapping. I always have a chat with him and ask who the manufacturer is of the various bars I buy – he tends to use Valrhona and Felchlin.
This weekend he was not at the stall and the “stand-in” wasn’t sure on details. I bought a 70% Cuban origin bar and I was wondering who the manufacturer could be? I am going to check next time I’m there but the only producer of Cuban chocolate I know is Cacao Barry. Are there others? Do Felchlin or Valrhona do a Cuban origin?
Cheers
6:45 am
July 5, 2006
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I think Pralus does a Cuba bar…and it looks like Lindt has one as well…
9:58 am
May 21, 2007
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quote:
Originally posted by gapI bought a 70% Cuban origin bar and I was wondering who the manufacturer could be? I am going to check next time I’m there but the only producer of Cuban chocolate I know is Cacao Barry. Are there others?
Italian company La Molina does a 70% Cuban origin.
5:15 am
October 20, 2005
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Thanks Robert – I hope it is Pralus but I haven’t seen their chocolate in Australia before (someone please jump in if you can correct me – I’d be happy to hear it 
I’ve seen the Lindt Cuba before but is that in bulk couverture form as well?
9:39 pm
July 4, 2006
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gap,
I may be telling you something you already know but I think Pralus Cuba is 75% cocoa and Lindt Cuba is 55% so it’s unlikely that your bar is either of these if it was marked as 70%.
1:25 am
August 1, 2006
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The only 70% Cuba origin I’m aware of is produced by Cacao Barry.
But if your chocolate is not produced by Cacao Barry, then it’s conceivable to add extra sugar to Pralus’ Cuba and knock it down to 70%, I suppose, and then market it as a 70%. That would be a clever marketing tactic, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see it practiced. I’m not aware if that’s a common procedure, but I know for a fact that the Forum Blend No. 1 was a blend of three chocolates (100%, 80%, and 67%), and the final percentage clocked in at 75%. Not to say that sugar was added to your chocolate, gap, but rather implying that modifications such as that can be performed.
Another possibility is that maybe your chocolate is in fact Pralus but the couverture format is available in 70% and not the 75% standard of the bars. Domori’s Quantum blocks were produced in the 75% range rather than the 70% of their bar brethren (I think).
And, of course, another possibility is that everyone here (including me, of course) is wrong altogether and that your chocolate is something totally different!
8:40 pm
March 17, 2005
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Hotel Chocolate here, in UK has Cuba 70%, I believe they use Coppeneur.
Are you going to the market this weekend, Gap? Let us know how they going with their chocolate..
10:22 pm
July 5, 2006
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I didn’t know that Coppeneur had a Cuba bar and I couldn’t find it on their site…is it a newer bar or have they had it for a while?
11:06 pm
March 17, 2005
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Hotel chocolate has had it for a while, a year at least, alongside with other origines.
11:10 pm
March 17, 2005
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And may be they use some other sources as well, like Callebaut?
11:13 pm
July 5, 2006
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I just found another producer called “Maglio Italian Chocolate”. They are sold on http://www.worldwidechocolat.com.
12:00 am
March 17, 2005
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I’ve tried Maglio, and they also use someone else’s chocolate, as La Molina and Hotel Chocolate.
4:09 am
July 5, 2006
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Oh…good to know…thanks for sharing. There are lots of companies these days that just get their chocolate made by other companies…
1:23 am
October 20, 2005
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For the curiosity factor, the bar was indeed Cacao Barry 70% Cuba. Even better though, I had a long discussion with the owner and he mentioned he’s looking to import some other well-known chocolate brands which aren’t currently available in Australia. Fingers crossed!!
1:40 am
October 13, 2009
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quote:
Originally posted by ellieAnd may be they [Hotel Chocolat - ADR] use some other sources as well, like Callebaut?
Virtually certainly. Some of their chocolates list the manufacturer, others don’t.
More interestingly, however, Hotel Chocolat seems to be embarking on experiments in couverture blending. I’ve seen some new chocolates come out that aren’t immediately identifiable with a manufacturer and by their labelling appear to be their own blends, produced from couverture bought presumably elsewhere. They’re worth trying: some of them are quite good. I think this is a reasonable route for the chocolatier who doesn’t have the resources to invest in production equipment for a bean-to-bar operation: blending from multiple sources means you can create your own custom chocolates all the same.
Alex Rast
Alex_Rast_Alternate@hushmail.com
1:43 am
August 1, 2006
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quote:
Originally posted by gapFor the curiosity factor, the bar was indeed Cacao Barry 70% Cuba. Even better though, I had a long discussion with the owner and he mentioned he’s looking to import some other well-known chocolate brands which aren’t currently available in Australia. Fingers crossed!!
Thought so! Suspicions always head there when uncertainty abounds!
11:33 am
April 24, 2004
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I think Caffarel make a 70% Cuba bar, bought one at the chokolate museum in Köln last fall. But could not find anything on their website, http://www.caffarel.it
***
My name is Polarbear and I am a chocoholic…
