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Our Second Whisky & Chocolate tasting with Anverness.

By on July 17, 2012 in Tastings & Events

Anverness and Choqoa recently joined forces again to setup a fantastic Whisky and Chocolate tasting event. We accomodated a full house, people who were all very curious to join our journey of aroma’s, flavors and sensations.

The pairings we offer pass by far the idea of putting red wine with meat and white wine with fish. We take it a lot further, offering genuine one-to-one pairings where one specific whisky elevates one specific chocolate. With our previous experiences in mind, we raised the bar again approving our pairings. Should I first bite the chocolate, or rather begin with a sip from the whisky? Given the complexity of aromas in both, getting them together is truly a challenge.
Peter and I have been working hard to try and taste over 60 combinations of whisky and cacao. Some don’t result in anything special, others just walk together fine, few pairings really create a clash. the cream of pairings however yield wonderful and fine sensations that surpass the individual elements. And those are the ones we offer: world-class whisky and chocolate pairings.

Photo taken from our Whisky Import Belux tasting.

We came with a very challenging chocolate selection, that I would never run, unless it were with these fine accompanying whisky’s. We kicked off with the bold François Pralus Vanuatu, shaking our general idea on chocolate. Putting then 3 different bars of Pacari opened people’s eyes on origins and single region chocolate. But we also matched Original Beans ‘Beni Wild Harvest’ and a Rogue Chocolatier ‘Silvestre’, a unique opportunity to taste the results of different chocolate makers working with the same Bolivian beans.
The ‘Cru Virunga’ from Congo and the brand new Menakao from Madagascar closed the series of complex pleasures.

The exquisite whisky’s we offered included highly premium bottles from the likes of Bushmills, Glenn Garioch, Tullibardine, Glendronach, Benromach, Ledaig… to name a few. Along the pairings we shared background information on both food & drinks.

@Choqoa Heerlijke whiskey & chocolate tasting gisteren. Openbaring. Tot een volgende keer. *

Tx @Choqoa om je fascinerende chocolades te koppelen met wonderbaarlijke whiskeys #choqoa  *

No use trying to describe how it feels. Those who attended where at least impressed and very pleased with our pairings, proof their reactions. They were gladly sharing – if not bragging about – their experiences with their friends through Twitter and Facebook.
But above all, they had a great time discovering the wonderful sensations of origine chocolate. Will you be next?

 

The Salon du Chocolat 2010, a first report from Paris.

By on October 30, 2010 in Interviews & Video, On Chocolate & Cacao, Trips

What a hectic day it was this time at Salon du Chocolat. Was it the crowd, the number of exhibitors, or the fact that I wanted to do so many things in so little time? For all the things I could not do, however I got many very inspiring talks in return. And eventually that is the main reason for me to return to Paris every year.

What didn’t happen were the many video interviews I planned. Many chocolate people were subject to loaded schedules and the talks I did have left little window for an extra video. So I ended up with only three. And I didn’t shot a single photo. Gosh. Didn’t talk with Stéphane Bonnat, talked but didn’t interview Diego Badaro, and well some other things.
The good news though, I was really glad to run into Clay Gordon again, my inspiring chocophile from the US. Also Bertil Akesson was running a booth for the first time and I finally met a charming Santiago from Pacari. Also nice shaking hands with London’s most talked chocolatier Paul A. Young and Kate Johns, the director of The UK Chocolate Week, and an inevitable warm talk with Valérie from Pralus. It was a great surprise as well to see the Rizek family, the Dominican Republic cacao producer.

Salon du Chocolat 2010

My two most inspiring moments were meeting Duane Dove and Chloé Doutre-Rousell. Duane devoted 7 years of his life to revive a true cacao plantation in Tobago, beautiful story. And now he releases his chocolate with the help of François Pralus. And yes I do have a short video with him.
The second encounter with Chloé was the longest talk of the day, but we needed 100 times more time. Her experience, attitude and now the El Ceibo project fired up talks and thoughts on our shared passion. Must be continued. Video, check.

On the chocolate side, it was crowded and the discoveries came from rather unexpected moments. It was not by queuing booths but through sharing passion that those discoveries happened. Tasting the Rizek family chocolate was exciting, trying the ‘El Ceibo Heritage’ was unique, and getting a non commercial sample from a rare Brazil Forastero variety was truly … rediscovering chocolate!

After all an unexpectedly very interesting Salon du Chocolate 2010. And for next year, I do need business cards. Taking a time now to reflect on many things, and do the video edits. More in detail of all of the above soon, for there is of course much more to tell!

Choqoa opens its new chocolate season with taste!

By on October 4, 2010 in Tastings & Events

Thursday last week, it was ‘officially’ the moment to reopen the chocolate rediscovery season with Choqoa’s Tasting Events. From the very first time I organized such a chocolate tasting with a group of people, I realized it is a great setting for curious minds to join their senses, and enjoy sharing their experiences and sensations.

From all the past tastings, I gathered the constructive feedback and spontaneous suggestions that were given by enthusiasts aficionado’s. So I reworked the tasting concept a little bit to give it another vibe. Next to that, a lot of people subscribed, we were actually heading for a full house, first time! And amongst them, we had both a lot of totally new people joining Choqoa and some first-hour superfans who returned again for another Choqoa discovery. That felt absolutely awesome, thanks to all of you!
There were also some students from the C-MD project, twitter folks who got to Choqoa via my “1000th Tweet” contest, and even a young researcher from the CacaoLab at the Ghent University, how cool is that? So although it wasn’t the first time, I was a bit nervous though, really.

Choqoa
(foto by Choqoa fan Peter Pvw04 – Nettooor)

Lucky all those who were there, since my recent trip to the USA (a post on that soon) made me return with a lot of exclusive offerings from great chocolate makers like Amano, Taza, Patric, the Mast Brothers (who I met in person) and Rogue Chocolatier, my current “editor’s choice“. I put a lot of those fantastic american bars in the line-up, sure enough it made the whole evening a fun time to rediscover chocolate.
For extra fun I even opened the world’s infamous “Mo’s Bacon Bar” from Vosges chocolate. And yes: for those who dared, there was eventually on popular demand a piece of Cote d’Or “Noir de Noir” available. For those who were a bit skeptical on the differences… it convinced all that we are on a new level with Choqoa, oyé!

And that’s precisely what we all enjoyed: a great evening rediscovering chocolate, the wonderful world of premium cacao, a bit of its production, a touch of history and a twist of culture. And off course, all these wonderful aromas and flavors that you would never have believed to find in pure cacao. It was great to find all your positive reactions so swiftly on Twitter and Facebook, keep sharing the passion for Choqoa and help everybody to rediscover chocolate!

Every last Thursday of the month, that’s the day that I mostly try to schedule my tasting events on. So keep an eye on the events on the Choqoa Facebook FanPage or our event listing on EventBrite.

Here is the list of bars we had this time: (after the break)

  1. Bonnat “Trinité” 75%
    deep chocolatey bar, the brand that started it for me
  2. Pacari “Esmeraldas” 60%
    surprises you with its fresh, floral tones but also the dextrose feeling
  3. Patric “Madagascar – Sambirano” 67%
    chewy and citric, great development
  4. El Ceibo 71%
    the bar from Chloé, not too bad at all, a very nice discovery with a typical Bolivian touch
  5. François Pralus “Djakarta”
    very unexpected, and therefore very good
  6. Taza Stone Ground 70%
    almost everybody was in awe, and appreciated the unique taste beyond the typical ground grittiness
  7. Cote d’Or Noir de Noir (54% – what’s in a name)
    yeah yeah, finally I am sure and (re)assured that eveybody tastes the difference!
  8. Mast Brothers “Ocumare de la Costa”
    waw this is top-notch liquorice experience
  9. Rogue Chocolatier “Piura”
    I love Colin’s bars and this very very exclusive Piura proves his passion and craftsmanship again. Wonderful.
  10. Amano “Dos Rios”
    the Dos Rios is far beyond chocolate, the aromas you experience with this cacao change everything you think about chocolate
  11. Vosges “Mo’s Bacon Bar”
    hilarious, food innovation awarded, just for fun!
  12. François Pralus “Le 100%”
    the ultimate cacao experience; it was, is and will always be the last bar I will serve at my tasting events

Pairing Chocolate & Whisky at the Choqoa & WIB Masterclass

By on July 7, 2010 in Tastings & Events

Since Choqoa and WIB found each other, we recently had a third Whisky & Chocolate Masterclass, which was initiated ‘due to popular demand’. At regular Choqoa tasting events people are often inspired trying out the rich tasting chocolate they just discovered with other premium foods and drinks, and if I mention the whisky option, well it boosts the interest let’s say!
After the first Masterclass at The House of Marketing, we also had a private one for a global company Agile as the cherry on the cake for an intimate VIP event with their top clients and preferred partners. Our latest one welcomed both new people and those who even already attended a Choqoa tasting.

Choqoa & WIB: Chocolate & Whisky Masterclass

With Whisky Import Benelux we have an excellent offering that specifically works with pairings of the Carn Mór Vintage Collection. More than just putting some whisky and chocolate together, we have been specializing and having fun in taking the idea of whisky and chocolate a step further with carefully selected one-on-one pairings. Bart from WIB is a truly passionate whisky ambassador and has an excellent nose for matching aromas. We have been working on a list of wonderful whiskies that create an exciting combination with special selected origin chocolates.

On the list are chocolate from François Pralus, Bonnat, Michel Cluizel and even a superb Pacari pairing. So far my two favorite combinations are the fruity Pralus Papouasie with a single cask Balmenach 2001 and the iconic and incredibly sour “Le 100%” with a very wholesome Caol Ila 1983. It’s just wonderful to feel how both build upon each other in new dimensions.
The whiskies have enough power to give balance to these upfront tasting origin chocolates, and blending something edible with something aromatic fluid must be a key to give a delightful experience on the palate.

Though taste is always personal, it’s encouraging to surprise people to change their mind with this level of both chocolate and whisky. So you could never believe dark chocolate can taste like this? I didn’t know whisky can be so fine either :) . We learned from our first tasting, and now people really where enthusiast about the idea, the combinations and the way we present them. After all, great taste is something to share anytime!

If you ‘re inspired, we’ll continue our tastings after the summer break, so stay in touch with our blog, websites, and both our Facebook Fanpages (Choqoa – WIB)!

Choqoa introduces the finest origins to Barry-Callebaut

By on April 8, 2010 in Tastings & Events

Who would have ever thought of this scenario? I could have dreamed about it,… but it actually happened! This week I gave a Choqoa Tasting workshop for the European team at Barry Callebaut HQ in Wieze, and introduced them to ‘my world’ of premium origin chocolates.

Both my curiosity to their reactions and above all what I could learn from them myself, overruled any reason of being nervous. In the end this was not about pleasing them with good chocolates, it was about sitting together and explore the amazing varieties great cacao has to offer us.

We started our session with a Pacari, and I also brought Francois Pralus, Bonnat, Michel Cluizel, Domori, and Akesson’s. Especially for this Callebaut team I equally shared a nutty TCHO bar from the US and opened an extraordinary fine Criollo ‘Porcelana’ bar from Domori.
With every bar I gave some inspiring background on the brand, the region and bean type, shared a personal memory from my youth or revealed a very particular process that creates signature tastes for a passionate chocolate maker.
We talked about the idea and relevance of percentages, complex genetics of cacao, the ‘myth’ of Belgian chocolate, and consumer preferences across countries as well.

It was just great to discover together with such a team how different cacao flavors can develop, even within a single small geographical area. There were several Venezuela’s on the table and most of the participants were astonished how very different these cacao bars did taste! Whether it was wonderfully fruity or way too sour, very balanced aromas or flavors jumping around, all together we rediscovered the incredible variety fine origin cacao brings to our palate.

The personal Top 3 from the participating Vice President?

  1. Michel Cluizel “Vila Gracinda”
  2. Bonnat “Hacienda El Rosario”
  3. Domori Criollo “Porcelana”

Let’s hope this saga continues, for there is so much more we can learn from each other, when a passionate guy meets and innovative leading company. A big thanks to Barry Callebaut for inviting me to share my obsession!
Once more it confirmed that chocolate is one of the most inspiring, intriguing and passionate products in the world :)

Continue reading for details on the tasted bars…

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