Dark Chocolate the Next Red Wine?
Norman Love Thinks So.

The varied flavors and beneficial health effects of dark chocolate are spurring the growing demand for high quality, single origin confections. Norman Love Confections has introduced Black, an ultra-premium line of dark chocolates featuring origin chocolates from some of the finest growing regions in the world.

“Consumers’ palates have been changing over the past few years,” says Love, noting the the rising consumption of dark chocolate.

Chocolate has long been known to soothe the soul but more recently it’s also been shown to help the heart. Dark chocolate contains antioxidants that destroy free radicals, which have been implicated in heart disease. Dark chocolate also contains endorphins, the body’s natural opiates, which provide a feeling of well-being and reduce sensitivity to pain. Another element, the amino acid tryptophan, produces serotonin in the brain, promoting feelings of calm and well-being. And, according to a report in The Journal of the American Medical Association, dark chocolate can help lower blood pressure.

Just as with single-vineyard wines, the flavor of an origin chocolate depends on a variety of conditions unique to the place in which the cocoa beans used to make it are grown. Black features confections made with five signature couverture, which are made by the Swiss supplier Max Felchlin AG, a 100-year-old boutique manufacturer of high quality cocoa products.

“My intention with Black is to create five origin confections with varied cocoa contents that combine the robust flavors of the chocolates with sensuous ganache fillings,” Love says. Each box of Black includes pieces made with:

• 74 percent Hacienda Elvesia, a robust chocolate made from beans from the Dominican Republic, has notes of black tea and a hint of tobacco. The processing method produces a fruity note that is sustained by a hint of orange and grapefruit.

• 72 percent Arriba, made with cocoa beans of the prized Nacional from Arriba Mocache, Los Rios, Ecuador. The flavor is enhanced by intense coffee and licorice fragrances. A processing technique gives rise to an intense dried plum bouquet and a long finish of flowery black currants.

• 68 percent Cru Sauvage, the world’s first chocolate made from beans harvested from wild cacao trees growing in the Beni region of north-eastern Bolivia. This chocolate possesses fresh lemon and grapefruit notes, an intense dried plum bouquet, and a hint of vanilla.

• 65 percent Maracaibo Clasificado, made with noble criollo cocoa from the vicinity of Lake Maracaibo in Venezuela. This balanced chocolate is enhanced by coffee and plum aromas, with an undercurrent of orange blossom and cinnamon and a light, sweet raisin bouquet.

• 64 percent Madagascar, made with cocoa beans of the trinitario variety from Sambirano, Madagascar. This is a fruity chocolate with a roasted hazelnut aroma and wild berry notes as well as a subtle hint of clove and cedar.

Edited by Patricia D. Sherman

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