Chocolate. My first love. I’ve always enjoyed trying different types of chocolate when I travel and spend (far too much) time looking at the local offerings so I can try something local and unique to the places I visit. Firetree are making that a little easier and have brought cocoa, grown in volcanic soil to the UK.
Firetree was founded by chocolate industry veterans David and Martyn, who have learned from their time in the industry, that the best chocolate on the market originates from the relationships built between the farmers and their families and the expert chocolatier who understands the full making process.
Firetree source their cocoa beans from small volcanic island farms, which make up just 0.2% of the cocoa beans that are grown at the moment, making them super rare and exclusive. The result is a truly distinct flavour that really packs a punch.
Let’s talk about the different flavours included in the tasting box:
The Solomon Islands Guadalcanal has 69% cocoa and is the lowest cocoa content of the range. This creates a lighter flavour on the palate that has no bitterness at all. There are notes of plum and citrus with fruity notes from red fruits that make it a beautifully balanced chocolate.
On the other end of the spectrum is the Solomon Islands Guadalcanal 100%. It manages not to be bitter though, thanks to the whole bean roasting technique used. It is a truly unique flavour that I’ve not experienced before, and I have tried 100% cocoa chocolate before. Definitely one to try if you like the purely rich flavours created by such a high cocoa content.
There’s also a 75% from the Solomon Islands, this time Makira Island. The flavours in this one a bit more subtle and more akin to some of the better chocolate you may have already tried, thanks to the caramel and raisin notes. It is delicious and a good one to start with and warm your palate for some of the richer bars.
There’s more caramel notes with a touch of honey in the Philippines Mindanao Island 73%. They are sweetened with a touch of honey and then some citrus elements.
My favourite of the range is the Vanuatu Malekula Island 72%. It has hints of cherry and white grape, which makes it a really interesting flavour profile. A touch of lemon rounds it out for a lovely mouthfeel.
Over to Papua New Guinea and Karkar Island for a 72% cocoa chocolate, which brings totally different flavours and a more savoury flavour with an almost wild mushroom truffle type of flavour and a touch of bitterness from walnut notes.
Finally, my second favourite is the Madagascar Sambirano Valley 84%, which livens when warmed in the mouth with juicy red fruits and some raspberry.
The chocolates are so unique and make the perfect gift for the chocolate lover in your life. I guarantee, they won’t have tried anything quite like these and the volcanic soil really yields a totally different flavoured cacao that I have tried before. I spotted that Firetree are also doing some virtual tasting nights with some whisky pairing events too, so it is well worth having a nosey on their website to see what is going on.
