The second ‘official’ Choqoa Tasting event yesterday in Antwerp was a great fun chocolate celebration. We were with a group of 16 enthusiast people; friends bringing their own friends, and even an older couple who got the Tasting Event as a birthday gift from their daughter: what a great surprise! And also my chocolate buddy Sofie ‘Chocolaterie’ from Barry Callebaut, happily joined this event.
Learnings from previous sessions made me make a selection with bigger care and offer a broader variety of cacao experiences. I also therefore bought some Domori and found myself a bunch of bars I hadn’t taste myself yet: Zotter, Pacari, and Bouga.
I started with a small introduction into cacao trees and pods, the bean-to-bar process, and to all delight Sofie from Callebaut passionately helped explain into detail the various steps, with good interaction from the crowd.
Off to the tasting! I projected the Amano tasting wheel in the screen to give guidance to the tasting, and people really enjoyed discovering such a chocolate sensations. This time I had a good variety that really added value to the tasting experience and was more than appreciated. It was pleasurable to see people taking chocolate to the next level! Everybody shared his impressions so the atmosphere was pretty comfortable. Halfway already people giggled and said they started to feel the chocolate raising to their brain, giving them the cacao ‘high’ 
Yes it’s positive magic.
All in all we had 10 different chocolates, list & details are below, and everybody really said to have enjoyed, and even would return another time! Everybody happily took their 2 included bars home, bought some more even to continue sharing the passion.
I’m already looking forward to the next event, you’re all invited to join Choqoa!
Read on for details of all the tasted bars!
List of tasted bars:
- Michel Cluizel “Mangaro”:
Always a great opener, everybody loves this citric bar. - Valrhona “Guanaja”:
Introducing a classic, this bar was the first to delight the lovers of bitter dark chocolate. I explained that this legendary name refers to Christopher Columbus when he landed in 1502 on the Island of Guanaja, discovering the cacao been the first time. - François Pralus “République Dominicaine”:
A light tinted bar with rougher sensations switching from a fresh start to a deeper chocolate melt down. - Domori “Sur del Lago”:
Domori has a very strong aroma and a swift powerful tasting curve, with coffee, caramel, butter and light fruity flavors. - Pacari “Manabi” 65%
First time trying this ‘raw cacao’ bar. The specific fermentation gives good taste and fruity aromas, a nice discovery! - Bonnat “Hacienda El Rosario”:
Definitely one of Bonnat’s best bars, lengthy tasting pleasure, approved by the public. - François Pralus “Indonésie”:
A sharp starter bar, a whirlwind of spices, marking the signature taste of a chocolate maker, like François Pralus. - Zotter “Nicaragua 80%”:
Excellent discovery from Austria, this 80% Nicaragua bar contains a secret pinch of salt, and gives a very pleasant aroma evolution for such an intense cacao. - François Pralus “Le 100%”:
From Madagascar this very red colored bar is an experience, not a chocolate. It’s always fun to see people react to this - Michel Cluizel ‘Grand Lait 45%’:
Time for a break, an awarded milk bar that makes you rethink milk chocolate. - François Pralus “Chuao”:
Revealing the story of the Chuao village and cacao war, people enjoyed to discover the complexity of this bean, that offers so many aromas that each bite has its own pleasure.
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