It’s a known fact – chocolate has superpowers. On the spectrum of benefits, it’s an antioxidant, can make your heart healthier, and some say even it gets you in the mood. So, for this Valentine’s Day, it’s only befitting that we were in search of the most expensive chocolate in the world. And the country where we found it will surprise you.
The Company
The most expensive chocolate in the world is……..To’ak. We discovered this on our trip to the Galapagos Islands on the way home through Quito. Yes, expensive stuff does follow us around. At a few hundred dollars for a bar of chocolate, it was certainly rich for our blood. So what’s so special about this chocolate? You’re about to find out.
Carl Schweizer and Denise Valencia founded To’ak in Ecuador where cacao is native. That’s not the reason why it’s so expensive though; To’ak uses Nacional, the most coveted type of cacao in the world. Native Ecuadorians used Nacional for at least 5300 years until Scientists believed this variety of cacao went extinct. That is, until, Nacional was discovered again growing in Piedra de Plata, Ecuador, and the most expensive chocolate in the world was born. Besides its rarity, To’ak pays the highest rates to farmers for cacao in the world today. So yes, that kind of made us feel better about splurging on the chocolate.
The Process
As you would expect by the premium price, the chocolate-making process is thorough. The To’ak team hand sorts through every cacao bean individually and removes any imperfect beans. The To’ak method to make chocolate is similar to making whiskey, where the chocolate is compounded and aged in barrels. To’ak was the first chocolate company to actually use the whiskey method to make chocolate. As a result, To’ak chocolate has some of the most unique and complex flavors; as you would expect from a whisky or wine aged in a barrel.
The Chocolates
To’ak creates a variety of chocolates, some more familiar to the American palate than others. One of their most popular products is their luxury dark chocolate bar blended with malva olorosa. Its history is as rich as the chocolate itself. The malva flower was used by Ancient Andean cultures for medicinal purposes. It adds a mild, fruity flavor to the chocolate.
For the more adventurous chocolate lovers, To’ak creates a dark chocolate bar blended with Amazonian “lemon ants”. Interestingly, the ants have been used by many generations of Amazonian people to add a subtle tang to their cuisine. Another fan favorite of To’ak’s is the Caramelized pop amaranth bar. Amaranth is a superfood native to Ecuador. It gives the bar a crunchy texture to contrast the creamy dark chocolate. This bar is full of protein, in addition to being delicious.
To’ak makes a little something for everyone, or at least everyone is willing to pay the price for the most expensive chocolate in the world. They make chocolate that has salty, sweet, tangy flavors, or a combination thereof. For those who don’t live near a To’ak retailer, (that’s most of us) the chocolates are available for purchase on the company’s website.
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