Cocoa Encounters Foundry Chocolate Review

Huge thanks to Kathryn at Cocoa Encounters for this amazing Instagram review (and beautiful photos!) of Foundry Chocolate’s Pichari Alta, Cusco, Peru 70% bar…

F is for Foundry, Floral, Fine-Flavour, Finca and Friends 🍫🍫

For #tttt_f my bar was sourced from @foundrychocolate by my friend @jessicachokolatejourneys and transported by my friend @chocolateunpacked to the land of far-far away that is my home in Lincolnshire. 🙏🙏✈️✈️

Made in a little chocolate foundry just north of Auckland, New Zealand. This bar is proudly described by the makers as “intoxicatingly moreish” so I was expecting something to trigger my floral scent receptors, something heady and delicate. 🌹💐

The flavours are crafted from cacao from the Finca Nueva Esperanza in Pichari Alta, La Convención, Cusco, Peru. We are told the cacao is VRAE-99 and is farmed by third generation cacao farmers Juan and Carmen Laura and their daughter Rosaura, one of the unique genetic varieties of cacao grown on their 2-hectare farm. 🇵🇪 @nueva.esperanza.pichari

My childhood was filled with rose and violet fondant creams in dark chocolate, which were far from delicate! But in fine chocolate, floral takes on a whole new meaning—elegant, ephemeral and impossible to force!

🍫🍫

It’s already there in the aroma, but purple and tangy, more hibiscus than rose. The aroma itself is certainly moreish.

The taste begins with a slightly more herbal feel, like hibiscus tea. Then the sense of someone peeling a mandarin mingles effortlessly into the mix. The rose for me comes towards the end as I breath in mindfully and let the aromas rise through my nose, bringing back memories of a chocolate covered Turkish Delight – my go-to treat in the years between childhood treats and discovering the good stuff!

Thank you @foundrychocolate for crafting this bar with such delicacy and respect for the cacao. Great tasting notes too. I totally agree. I’m just wondering how to get more!