You’re right, Madagascar is undeniably producing some top notch cacao, and indeed there is much latent potential coming from there, but ultimately, the profiles from the chocolate are rather limited and sometimes come off as uninspired. For example, Valrhona struggles aimlessly with this country, and even Cluizel failed to produce a winner. The cacao here often embodies two extremes with which it’s quite difficult to strike a harmonizing chord. Guittard has done wonders with Ambanja, and even Domori produces something of admirable merit, but ultimately, this is an iffy origin. For the worst interpretation, check out Bonnat’s disaster.
Equador is one of my favorites as well, with a shared preference for Arriba. In fact, I think that so much Arriba is on the market today that it’s axiomatic to equate any Equadorian chocolate as Arriba. Anyway, I absolutely love that cacao, but again, many producers often struggle with it, but when handled properly, it can truly be a magical experience (e.g. Slitti, Felchlin).
So while Equador may be one of my favorites as well, I might have to nominate Dominican Republic perhaps, since two of my favorite chocolates come from there: Los Ancones and Chacao Absolute. There’s something awe-inspiring about those two chocolates that no other origin has quite been able to duplicate.
I also think Jamaica has much potential if the cacao sourced therein can be consistent enough to produce quality chocolate. Scharffen Berger and Pralus did wonderful jobs here, while Amedei being merely okay.
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