Traveling to Grenada? This is what you need to see in Grenada...and taste!

With the Grenada Chocolate Festival in full swing this week, I think this post is a timely one.  A few weeks ago, I received a stack of Grenada Chocolate Company's chocolate bars from my aunt, who vacationed on the Carribean island. Luckily the chocolate was in great condition (very little bloom!) and I have been enjoying the wonderful taste of this fruity, deep-roasted chocolate.

The Grenada Chocolate Company has been referred to as "Probably the most ethical chocolate in the world." (ref) using solar-powered machinery in the factory that pays its employees a fair wage.  Transport of the chocolate bars is even done by sailing ship over the ocean, then individual boxes are transported by a team of cyclists in the U.K., to leave a minimal carbon footprint. Unfortunately, the original owner, Mott Green, passed away in 2013, while working on one of the pieces of equipment that he built with his own hands.  In fact Mr. Green built the entire factory with his own hands, and followed a vision of social responsibility so intensely, that he will forever be imprinted in the heart and soul of Grenada Chocolate's products, and the island from where they come.

Having only tasted Grenada's 82% dark chocolate once before, I was quite excited to enjoy this full package of dark chocolate bars, made ethically and with such passion. And so this will tide me over until I can attend the festival myself someday, and enjoy all that Grenada - and its cacao - has to offer.

If you also can't visit Grenada this week for the festival, or even this year, you can purchase the entire line-up of Grenada Chocolate Company chocolate bars on the Cocoa Runner's website here.

You can also purchase two of Grenada Chocolate Company's bars (with shipping across North America) on the Montreal-based latablette.ca website here.

Here are my tasting notes on these lovely chocolate bars:

Grenada Chocolate Tasting Notes:

Overall, I found Grenada Chocolate Company's dark chocolate to be fruity with pronounced acidity, and an intense roast taste. But with the addition of sugar and other ingredients, there were variations in taste among the chocolate bars. In general, the chocolate texture was smooth and lovely, yet light on the cocoa butter.

The Grenada Chocolate Company's 100% organic chocolate bar is fruity and spicy with a profile that also includes a deep roasted cocoa bean flavour. I would agree with the assessment on the Cocoa Runners website that there is a little grassy flavour (like the sun-dried grass in late-August-to-early-Fall time), but no real hint of pine for me, as they had assessed.  Although I imagine harvest years play a role in the flavours. Once you get used to the boldness of the 100% cacao, and this bar's acidic bite, it is quite enjoyable.

The 82% Grenada dark chocolate bar is quite tangy (acidic), and quite fruity in nature. The dark roast truly stands out in this chocolate. Grenada Chocolate Company's 71% organic dark chocolate has less of a fruity profile than the 82%, but a little spice or pepper flavour with a vanilla taste (although no vanilla is added).

The sweetness stands out in the 60% dark chocolate, which has a nice well-rounded balanced chocolate flavour with fruity and roast tones. I happened to have Valrhona's 65% Kalingo (also Grenada-origin chocolate from a different plantation), and to compare, it is less fruity, and sweeter tasting even than Grenada Chocolate Company's 60% bar. Valrhona's also has strong vanilla overtones, and a fresh flavour (like the freshness peppermint can add).

The 60% Nib-a-licious chocolate bar by Grenada Chocolate Company is both sweet and bitter, with the bitterness coming from the crispy cacao nibs tossed in.  The crunch is quite fun and texturally interesting, thanks to the chocolate maker using an abundance of nibs. Compared to most other nib bars, I really like this one.

I enjoyed every single chocolate bar by Grenada Chocolate Company.  The lingering flavours left behind in the mouth once the chocolate melts away is truly notable, and the best part!

More About Grenada Chocolate Company

Learn all you can about this great chocolate maker on the company's website: https://www.grenadachocolate.com/.

The Grenada Chocolate Company was named one of the 13 most influential candy bars of all time. Read more: http://newsfeed.time.com/2014/02/18/13-most-influential-candy-bars-of-all-time/slide/grenada-chocolate/

There is a film about Mott Green and The Grenada Chocolate Company that was just released at the 2014 Santa Barbara International Film Festival on January 31, 2014.  You can learn more about the movie here:  http://nothinglikechocolate.com/about.php

More About the Grenada Chocolate Festival:

The Grenada Chocolate Festival is happening this week! And from social media posts (Instagram search: #grenadacocoa) it seems that the festival-goers are having a great time. I'm planning to go someday, how 'bout you? Learn more about this annual Spring festival on the website: www.grenadachocolatefest.com.

More about chocolate made from Grenadian cocoa beans:

Want to use Grenada-origin chocolate as a couverture to make truffles, ganache, and for coatings? Check out Valrhona's Kalingo chocolate couverture, which is a mix between sweet and bitter dark chocolate with a lightly fruity and spicy mix, with a hint of peppermint.

Pump St. Bakery also offers an award-winning Grenada-origin chocolate bar, with cocoa specifically purchased in direct trade fashion from Crayfish Bay.