No Cane Sugar Chocolate Gets Better and Better

Hummingbird, Akesson's and Chaleur B Introducing New Chocolates Made with Alternate Sugars

I had the privilege of tasting a few new chocolates made with alternate sugars (i.e. no cane sugar chocolate) last week, and I was quite impressed with the taste and the quality. More and more, chocolate makers are testing out chocolate made with different types of sugars to appeal to chocolate lovers who are following new diet trends that reduce or eliminate cane sugar. In the beginning, these chocolate bars had a 'healthy' flavour, usually a taste that only a true health-addict could palate.  But nowadays, with dried and ground alternate sugars (like coconut blossom sugar and maple sugar) being made readily available, it has become easier for a chocolate maker to choose a great-tasting sugar that suits their chocolate-making philosophy.

Hummingbird Chocolate of Almonte, Ontario, is using maple sugar to make a 70% dark chocolate bar, with flavourful organic Trinitario cacao and maple sugar.  The chocolate is bitter and sweet all at once, with a nice, sharp maple flavour, and some fruity notes and high cocoa flavour.  It really is quite delicious.

I purchased this particular chocolate bar online at Chocexchange.com. You can find Hummingbird's chocolate at a variety of retailers.  Click here for a list.

Akesson's Single Plantation Chocolate, headquartered in London, U.K., has chosen a Bali-origin cacao paired with coconut blossom sugar and fleur de sel, also from Bali, to make a truly single origin chocolate bar. Together with the milk and mild flavour of the coconut sugar (some coconut sugars can be very strong, like a very rustic dark brown sugar, but not in this chocolate), and the addition of a little salt, a real Dulce de Leche-style caramel flavour is at the forefront. Sweet and tasty with a low glycemic index!

This chocolate bar was purchased for me at JoJo Coco in Ottawa on Hazeldean Road. Learn more about Akesson's on their website: http://www.akessons-organic.com/.

Quebec's Chaleur B Chocolat is now experimenting with beets (known in French as 'betteraves') to make white chocolate that is both sweetened and coloured with the root vegetable. Although the chocolate maker is still in the experimental stages, I have tasted a chocolate from one of the test batches and can say that the texture is super soft and silky, with a clear high content of cocoa butter. There is a strong fruit flavour in this chocolate, that seems like a combination of red berries and beets. It is certainly different than the norm, but enjoyable for a curious chocolate eater. So keep an eye out for this chocolate from Chaleur B Chocolat possibly to be launched in the coming months.


Interested in more chocolate made with no cane sugar?

You can find a full list of chocolate made with no cane sugar here. If you know of other great tasting cane-sugar-free chocolate bars, please share with us in the comments below.

Happy chocolate eating!