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Originally posted by itsmecheryl

Ok! I am going to carry my first bit of organic chocolate and I have narrowed it down to three bars.

Which of THESE three are your favorite?

Nirvana Belgian Chocolate 72%
The Grenada Chocolate Company Organic 71%
Cao Grande Noir 70% Valrhona

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Pressed to choose one, I’d go with the Valrhona. Nirvana is a Barry Callebaut remoulder, and while I like the idea of supporting a small company like the Grenada Chocolate Company their bar is not quite yet up to snuff.

However, I’d consider strongly other choices. It’s really too bad that Domori seem to have exited the market because their organic (Chacao) was the best by far. But now Pralus has released a line, with excellent results. There are some misses here: the Ecuador just doesn’t work, but the Madagascar is excellent as is the Dominican Republic. Terra Nostra produces another excellent organic (can anybody confirm or deny whether they’re bean-to-bar?). So before leaping, I’d see what else may be found, if possible.

Alex Rast
Alex_Rast_Alternate@hushmail.com

Don’t know the Nirvana. The two others are both very good, but the Grenada is best – as Eshra says, a wild, untamed very chocolaty flavour.

Other good organics are Pronatec 71% and Vivani 70% Ecuador. The best organic ever (ever!!!), Claus Meyer 67% unfortunately does not seem to exist any more.

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My name is Polarbear and I am a chocoholic…

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Originally posted by Polarbear

Don’t know the Nirvana. The two others are both very good, but the Grenada is best – as Eshra says, a wild, untamed very chocolaty flavour.
Other good organics are Pronatec 71% and Vivani 70% Ecuador. The best organic ever (ever!!!), Claus Meyer 67% unfortunately does not seem to exist any more.
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My name is Polarbear and I am a chocoholic…

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This makes me think of an interesting simple poll. Style on organics seems to contain 2 camps – those who prefer an organic chocolate to taste “wild” and untamed, and produce a very “rustic” chocolate, and those who aim for a refined, highly “polished” chocolate, whose bars tend to be “approachable”. What style do people here prefer?

I know I’m definitely for the latter, which is why I would go for the Valrhona over the Grenada.

But, each camp has their negatives, and I think illustrate the dilemma in organic these days. The risk, and usually the reality, with the former group is the bars will taste harsh, bitter, chiding. The risk, and again usually the reality, with the latter is that the bars will taste mild, generic and uninteresting (rather as Monte points out with Terra Nostra’s 73% which because of my style preferences I think is still excellent but it could indeed use more oomph and character). It’s this style contrast that IMHO has made a truly excellent organic chocolate so elusive – that most manufacturers seem to be more interested in particular market positions than they are in producing the best chocolate overall. In other words, really, there shouldn’t be any reason to evaluate organic chocolate by standards different from conventional – they should follow the same guidelines and a great organic would be great against all comers, organic or not.

Monte, I didn’t mention Theo because the blend is IIRC fair trade but not yet organic, but I agree it’s better than any of those mentioned. The Madagascar is their only fully organic to date and while it’s reasonable I think still has a fair bit of improvement to go.

It’s been my experience that of organic sources, in general the Dominican Republic seems to produce the best overall-average results and I’ve encouraged Theo to introduce this, but they weren’t overly excited about the origin – I’m not sure why. I’ve heard that Los Ancones is an organic grower – do they actually have certification or not? If so Cluizel could do a grand service to the world by getting the bar certified – and then we’d have an organic that was a hands-down, no-argument-about-it winner that could truly stand up to any competition from any source, organic or not.

Alex Rast
Alex_Rast_Alternate@hushmail.com

I think that the Valhrona would be more enjoyed by the general public.

No one is going to find the Valrhona offensive, and it will be greatly enjoyed by many.

One the other hand, some will find a raw, unrefined tasting bar unpleasant.

Equador Chocolate Boxes

I would stock the Grenada if they would reply to me, but I guess they signed a pretty tight contract – so no Island of Grenada Chocolate for Ireland!