Original Beans Chocolates

Chocolate is more than just a sweet treat, chocolate is sensual pleasure. Wine and chocolate have many things in common. Both sweeten the day, awaken the spirits and have been considered an aphrodisiac for centuries. Chocolate was even sold in pharmacies as a ”strengthening agent“ until the 19th century. While wine was grown in ancient times already, America first had to be discovered in order to enjoy chocolate. The starting phase, however, was quite bumpy. When Christopher Columbus brought the first cocoa beans to the Spanish court, only botanists were interested in the shriveled beans with the bitter taste. Only 20 years later, Hernán Cortés knew how to make the divine drink of the Aztec rulers from vanilla, chili, honey, cane sugar and cocoa powder. Because cocoa and cane sugar were so expensive, drinking chocolate was only consumed at royal courts and by rich merchants. Until the 18th century, guests were even more impressed with hot chocolate than with a full wine cellar. With falling import costs, cocoa gradually became affordable for all levels of society. When chocolate became available in tablet form in the second half of the 19th century, it lost its exclusive aura. Today, there is a counter-trend: back to the noble, original aroma of cocoa.

Depending on the degree of sweetness, wine is divided into dry, semi-dry and sweet. From the wine, however, many more nuances can be tasted. To adequately put the taste into words, connoisseurs and wine lovers have developed an extensive terminology. For chocolate so far no special vocabulary has developed. It would be quite appropriate because of its many taste facets, though. Researchers at the Technical University of Munich have found that a cocoa bean contains almost 600 components that affect the aroma of chocolate. Hence, for connoisseurs there is much to discover.

Just as the grape variety and growing area determine the character of a wine, the variety and origin of the cocoa beans determine the temperament of a chocolate. Cocoa trees are very demanding plants. They thrive only between the 20th latitude of the north latitude and the 20th latitude of the south latitude. Outside of this zone, which is also called ”cocoa belt“, the tree bears no fruits. In addition to tropical temperatures and enough rain, cocoa trees also need plenty of shade. They are just as sensitive to direct sunlight as they are to cold.

Cocoa can be divided into consumer cocoa (Forastero) and premium cocoa (Criollo, Trinitario, Nacional). However, these are not botanical distinctions. The first cacao trees grown in Central America by the Olmec, Mayas and later the Aztecs were Criollos. Through crossbreeding and cultivation in other regions, numerous new varieties have been created over the centuries. It is very difficult to distinguish between them. Because the appearance of the fruit can already vary widely within a variety. To make matters worse, different varieties and hybrids grow side by side on cocoa plantations. Today, Forastero is the most prevalent variety in the world. It is resilient, fruitful and is grown mainly in the West African countries of Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon. The cacao trees, which are still growing in the rainforests of South and Central America today, are much more sensitive and have smaller fruits. Often they grow in very inaccessible places that can only be reached on foot or by canoe. But their aromas are also considered to be particularly intense.

The cocoa tree owes its botanical name to the natural scientist Carl von Linné: ”Theobroma cacao“. The genus name ”Theobroma“ comes from the Greek and means ”food for the gods“. That this name was chosen appropriately can also be tasted in the noble creations of Original Beans. From rare cocoa beans chocolates are created for special moments of pleasure. Like most tree fruits, cocoa absorbs the aroma of its environment. Its seeds are full of nutrients and, when carefully harvested, fermented and dried, cocoa reveals the character of its manifold origins.

Original Beans Beni Wild Harvest is a fine dark chocolate made of hand-picked wild cocoa from the wooded islands of the Bolivian Amazon region. The special feature of this chocolate with at least 66% cocoa solids are the delicate nuances of floral honey, apricot and jasmine tea. Each Original Beans Chocolate surprises with its own unique character: the Cru Virunga with a warm hint of sour cherry and black tea, the Cru Udzungwa with a pleasant touch of orange and toffee, the Piura Porcelana with light notes of lime, raspberry and pecan and the Beans Zoque with tropical aromas of lychee. Grand Cru Blend No. 1 is a dark chocolate made of rare cocoa from the rainforest areas of South America and Africa. The chocolate consists only of cocoa beans and raw cane sugar. Nothing else. However, the passion for good chocolate and the processing of especially rare cocoa varieties reveals itself with every Original Beans bar. You will taste it.