{"id":11084,"date":"2018-09-21T18:26:43","date_gmt":"2018-09-22T01:26:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/?p=11084"},"modified":"2024-06-07T12:22:33","modified_gmt":"2024-06-07T19:22:33","slug":"carefully-curated-chocolate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/outsidechocolate\/chocolateroundtheworld\/carefully-curated-chocolate\/","title":{"rendered":"Carefully curated chocolate"},"content":{"rendered":"

In May 2018, Cacaopod and I took a 16-day trip around northern Europe. We had several focuses: art, trains, and chocolate!!! The last post\u00a0was about\u00a0the artisan chocolate scene in Berlin<\/a>. This post is about another curated chocolate collection, this time in Amsterdam.<\/i><\/p>\n

After 2 days in Berlin, where we hardly scratched the surface of the art and chocolate scenes, we spent a day on the train to Amsterdam. This was our least favorite train ride of the trip \u2014 it\u2019s basically a 6-hour commuter route that\u2019s stingy on the AC.<\/p>\n

Our reward on the end was more amazing art museums, a wonderful city, and chocolate! With only 2 days to enjoy, we managed one chocolate destination this time, but it was a charmer.<\/p>\n

\"Amsterdam
A boring train ride ends at the beautifully ornate Amsterdam train station<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"Cacao
The only windmill in Amsterdam that was used to grind cacao beans is in the Cacaomuseum\u2019s neighborhood<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Extremely local chocolate history<\/h2>\n

Amsterdam\u2019s\u00a0Cacaomuseum<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is located a few blocks up from former cacao warehouses that have been converted into a tech hub. A windmill a couple of blocks in the other direction was used to grind cacao beans back in the day.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s all serendipity according to\u00a0Henkjan Laats, Cacaomuseum\u2019s founder and director. When he rented the building in the\u00a0Eastern Docklands neighborhood, he had no idea there was so much relevant history close by. Now it\u2019s a pleasant tree-lined street with a tram running down the middle and lots of boutiques and interesting shops, including a peanut butter store(!) a couple of buildings down, where I got my beloved\u00a0Pinderbass<\/em> (peanut butter boss) T-shirt.<\/p>\n

When we showed up, Henkjan was sitting outside enjoying his lunch in the beautiful spring weather, but he said he was happy to give us a tour and talk chocolate with us.<\/p>\n

Henkjan opened the Cacaomuseum a year ago with his collection of chocolate ephemera and other historical chocolate-related objects, along with a curated selection of bars, many single origin small makers. He carries bars from around the world that he thinks are exceptional or highly interesting. Taza is the only American maker currently carried at the shop, but he is always on the lookout for new additions to the collection.<\/p>\n

Early chocolate innovators<\/h2>\n

While showing us examples of early chocolate advertising in his collection, Henkjan talked about how the Dutch were early chocolate innovators. A Dutch chocolate maker and inventor, along with his father, developed the process for making cocoa powder that was stable and less acidic than the current standard method of simply grinding up cacao beans to make chocolate drinks. The cocoa powder is even named Dutch process.<\/p>\n

\"Droste<\/a>
The Droste Effect is named after this advertising image that seems to endlessly repeat<\/figcaption><\/figure>Dutch process chocolate mixes well with milk (hello, hot cocoa) and is useful in baking. At the time of its invention, the Dutch already controlled almost all trade in cacao beans and Amsterdam was the most important cacao port in the world.<\/p>\n

Add to that the invention of the cocoa press to separate cocoa butter from cocoa mass (by Papa van Houten), then the development of the alkalizing process\u00a0(by C.J. van Houten), and the Dutch dominated cocoa processing. They might still today, although Dutch processing has suffered some dings lately due to the discovery that a lot of the phytonutrients in cacao are destroyed in alkalization.<\/p>\n

The Dutch were also trendsetters in advertising. The Droste Effect \u2014 the endlessly repeating image within an image \u2014 is named that because the visual trick was featured in early Droste chocolate marketing: a Droste chocolate tin printed with the image of a nurse holding the same tin with an image of the nurse holding the same tin, etc.<\/p>\n

Henkjan started his chocolate collection only 2 years ago, and it\u2019s an interesting mix of vintage chocolate posters, tins, antique chocolate-making equipment, and other chocolate-themed ephemera. I don\u2019t know if he\u2019s just lucky or extremely fanatical, but in a short period of time he managed to acquire a good collection that takes some time to look through.<\/p>\n

He also has some original chocolate-themed art on the walls. His wife, Laura Reiman, is an artist, and has painted maps of continents where cacao is grown or processed, such as South America, Africa, and Europe; plus portraits of cacao workers with the intent to highlight the culture and history of cacao, problems and all. The images are nicely rendered and I like the message, but what\u2019s really unique about the pieces is that they are\u00a0painted in chocolate<\/a>. I don\u2019t know how archival chocolate paint is, but it makes for a nice monochromatic medium with a full range of tones.<\/p>\n

\"portraits
These portraits of chocolate workers do not shy away from the issue of child labor in the industry<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When we visited, we saw the telltale signs of indie chocolate-making on the worktable where Laura leads chocolate painting workshops usually. Instead of brushes and paper, there were molds with chocolate in them. Henkjan told us that they were working on making their own bars, but it was a struggle. We will have to check in later to see if they succeeded.<\/p>\n

After touring the chocolate artifacts, it was on to tasting and talking about actual chocolate. We told Henkjan that we were mostly interested in local chocolate and preferred dark with 65%-75% as our sweet spot. He took it from there and gave us a range of options to enjoy.<\/p>\n

\"original
Original Beans is not really hyping this bar when they describe it as \u201cdazzling\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Sustainable rarities<\/h2>\n

The first bar we tried was Dutch chocolate company\u00a0Original Beans<\/a>\u2019<\/strong> Piura Malingas 75%, a limited edition bar made from\u00a0beans from Piura Valley, Peru. I\u2019m not sure, but all of Original Beans\u2019 bars might be limited editions. They have \u201cBean Teams\u201d that look for unique, high quality cacao, then work with the farmers and local cooperatives to ensure that organic, sustainable methods are used to grow and harvest the cacao.<\/p>\n

They take it further, however, with their \u201cOne Bar, One Tree<\/a>\u201d program in which they help preserve and propagate more cacao trees of the unique lineages they discover. They also help cacao farmers restore the land, add irrigation, and protect native lands, such as in the case of Piura Valley, where they are protecting an area of\u00a0dry forest, which is habitat for the endangered puma, birds and butterflies.<\/p>\n

The Piura Malingas bar has only 3 ingredients, all certified organic: Cacao mass, direct-trade cacao butter, and raw cane sugar. It\u2019s gluten free and vegan. Seems like all the boxes have been checked, so how does it taste?<\/p>\n

\u2018Dazzling Dark Chocolate\u2019<\/h3>\n

The adjective Original Beans uses for this bar is \u201cdazzling,\u201d and that\u2019s accurate for this very\u00a0fruity and bright bar. It\u2019s\u00a0not a real chocolatey chocolate, because there are so many other flavors going on. The package mentions\u00a0\u201cnotes of lemon, red berry and passionfruit,\u201d and I tasted a tangy citrus-y flavor and red berry. Not sure about the passionfruit, but I did taste something like green apple, which might be what they are describing. Cacaopod described it as a\u00a0\u201cbouquet of flavors,\u201d\u00a0fruity, not too sweet, with a nice aftertaste.<\/p>\n

The bar also had a smooth texture, with great mouthfeel. It tastes very rich, not bitter at all, and has a nutty aftertaste. It\u2019s really good!<\/p>\n

\"Johe
Quality in an unassuming package<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Classic dark<\/h2>\n

Another lovely bar recommended by Henkjan, was\u00a0Danish chocolate maker,\u00a0Friis Holm<\/a>\u2019s\u00a0<\/strong>Johe 70% Dark, made from Nicaraguan beans. Like Original Beans, they source their beans directly from the farmers, it\u2019s a single origin, and there are only 3 ingredients, no additives.<\/p>\n

It was a very dark but not bitter bar, and slightly citrusy. It had a good snap, good melt, and good smooth texture. It was not too sweet; it was just delicious. We found it to be just like they described on the wrapper: \u201cA classic dark chocolate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Addictive chocolade<\/h2>\n

And the hits just kept coming. Another Dutch chocolate maker that Henkjan recommended was\u00a0Krak Chocolade<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(and yes, we have been making the same wisecracks you are probably thinking of right now).<\/p>\n

I\u2019m not really sure what\u2019s up with the name, but we loved the 2 bars we tried from this new-ish (since 2013)\u00a0chocolate maker. Krak\u2019s founder, Mark Schimmel, a former pastry chef, is doing mostly bean to bar, somewhat similar to SFBA\u2019s Dandelion Chocolate<\/a>,<\/strong> with each type of bean getting its own custom fermentation and roasting.<\/p>\n

We tried 2 bars made from cacao from the same region,\u00a0Soconusco (the very bottom of Mexico, next to Guatamala).\u00a0Both bars were 70% cacao, made of 2 ingredients (cacao & cane sugar), and looked the same.<\/p>\n

\"krak
The ultimate chocolate bar: Krak 45<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The only difference was that the beans for one had been fermented\u00a04.5 days and turned 3 times during the process. The other had beans that were\u00a0fermented\u00a05.5 days, but turned only once. It might not seem like much, but this slight variation made a big difference in flavor.<\/p>\n

Delayed gratification<\/h3>\n

The 4.5 had a hard snap and perfectly smooth\u00a0texture. The\u00a0flavor took some time to develop and was slightly raisin-y but mostly chocolatey. The beans were well roasted, with absolutely no bitterness. The bar is not too sweet; as one of my tasters declared: \u201cThis is\u00a0what chocolate should taste like.\u201d<\/p>\n

This bar was a clear favorite\u00a0with everyone who tried it. It\u2019s perfect, except for one thing: Krak is not available in the U.S.<\/span><\/p>\n

We also liked the 5.5, but we didn\u2019t love it like the 4.5. It was\u00a0not as hard to break, and it had a\u00a0creamier mouthfeel. It had a\u00a0bigger, more complex flavor that tasted darker with\u00a0raisin overtones.\u00a0The longer fermentation also made it taste\u00a0more acidic.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s still a very good bar that I would not refuse, but it is amazing what a difference the extra day of fermenting with less turning made with the same beans. This was a fun chocolate comparison, especially since we discovered a new favorite bar \u2014 and another reason to visit Amsterdam again!<\/p>\n

\"amma
Cupuassu: the better chocolate alternative<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Chocolate-like bar<\/h2>\n

Since we were game to trying things outside our chocolate comfort zone, Henkjan pulled out a bar of not-quite chocolate for us to try. Instead of cacao, the bar was made from\u00a0cupuassu (or cupua\u00e7u)\u00a0seeds. Cupuassu is a tropical rainforest tree related to cacao (both are from the Theobroma family) that grows in the Amazon. It grows big seed pods like cacao, and the fruit pulp that surrounds the seeds is popular in the region in desserts and such.\u00a0The beans are being marketed as\u00a0a potential cacao alternative (but way tastier than carob for those unfortunate enough to have tried that chocolate-free mess).<\/p>\n

The bar we tried was Theobroma Grandiflorum Cupuassu 80% by AMMA<\/a>.<\/strong>\u00a0AMMA is a bean-to-bar maker in Brazil that also makes conventional chocolate bars from organic cacao beans. The cupuassu in this bar was not organic, but the cane sugar used to sweeten it was, and the bar is certified kosher, halal, gluten free, lactose free, and some other stuff that I don\u2019t know what the logos mean.<\/p>\n

We were very excited to try this bar. It comes in a beautiful, but chaotic-looking, wrapper with lots of information printed both inside and out. When we opened the package, we notice that\u00a0although it\u2019s 80% cupuassu, it\u2019s lighter in color than an 80% cacao bar. It has a fermented chocolate-esque aroma, more like a chocolate dessert smell than straight up cacao, if that makes sense.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a raw bar, so it has no snap. Instead it has a clay texture, not super grainy, but kind of like solid sludge. It\u2019s not unpleasant, but I wonder what would happen if the beans were roasted and the \u201cchocolate\u201d tempered.<\/p>\n

The taste is chocolate like, but not really chocolate; it\u2019s hard to describe. It\u2019s\u00a0a little bitter, very fermented tasting with caramel overtones. I don\u2019t think anyone who is into dark chocolate would mistake this for cacao, but you wouldn\u2019t\u00a0hate it. It\u2019s a variation on a theme, I\u2019d say.<\/p>\n

Dutch chocolate concentrate<\/h2>\n

I wish we had had more time in Amsterdam to explore their local artisan chocolate scene, but the Cacaomuseum was a wonderful find. If, like us, you visit Amsterdam in a narrow timeframe and want to check out a range of chocolate makers, I recommend you visit Henkjan at the Cacaomuseum. The place is charming, and Henkjan will have some delicious, interesting chocolate you should try. I can\u2019t wait to go back and see if he has any more Krak!<\/p>\n

Cacaomuseum<\/a>,<\/strong>\u00a0Czaar Peterstraat 175<\/span>, 1018 PK Amsterdam, <\/span>The Netherlands<\/span><\/p>\n

Next stop: An afternoon in Brussels<\/a>, a true chocolate destination<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Looking for chocolate in Amsterdam, we found a windmill that ground cacao<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":11497,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,946,169],"tags":[996,982,1002,999,1558,1557,985,986,997,969,993,995,983,886,994,833],"class_list":["post-11084","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chocolateroundtheworld","category-european-chocolate","category-reviews","tag-amma","tag-amsterdam","tag-cacaomuseum","tag-child-labor","tag-cupuacu","tag-cupuassu","tag-droste","tag-droste-effect","tag-dutch-process","tag-ecuador","tag-friis-holm","tag-krak-chocolade","tag-kuna","tag-mexico","tag-original-beans","tag-peru"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11084","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11084"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11084\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":43163,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11084\/revisions\/43163"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11497"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11084"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11084"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11084"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}