Gourmet chocolates

Quality Chocolate at Terres de Café

Quality chocolate shares several principles with specialty coffee: traceable origins, careful work by the producer and expertise throughout the transformation process. Our chocolate bars are made by Encuentro, a chocolate maker founded in Lille in 2017 by Antoine and Candice and one of the pioneers of bean-to-bar chocolate in France.

Encuentro sources the cacao beans and then roasts and transforms them into finished chocolate at its own workshop. The recipes focus primarily on cacao and organic cane sugar, allowing the characteristics of each cacao origin to take centre stage.

How to Choose Quality Chocolate

Choosing the right quality chocolate depends primarily on its origin and the flavour profile you are looking for.

• Las Violetas 70% – El Salvador: cacao from Las Violetas farm in El Salvador, grown in an organic agroforestry system by Vidal Roger Fuentes and made from a blend of Criollo and Trinitario cacao beans. A rounded and indulgent Grand Cru chocolate.
• Costa Rica Osa Peninsula 70%: cacao from Costa Rica's Osa Peninsula, grown in agroforestry systems by small producers who have been cultivating cacao for generations. We were introduced to these producers by Alejo Castro, the coffee producer behind Finca Volcan Azul, who is also involved in a project supporting a wildlife and biodiversity corridor on the peninsula. The chocolate offers notes of elderflower, chocolate cake and raisin, with a rich, creamy texture and a long finish.

These two chocolates illustrate a principle that is particularly important to us: approaching cacao with the same focus on sourcing and traceability that guides our work with coffee, sometimes even through relationships connected to the same producer partners.

Quality Chocolate and Specialty Coffee: The Same Focus on Origin

Some coffee-growing regions are also cacao-growing regions. Both crops can thrive in tropical environments, and in some cases we encounter the same terroirs and producer networks through these two different products.

At Terres de Café, this creates a natural connection between specialty coffee and quality chocolate: understanding where the product comes from, who produced it and how its raw material was transformed.

Which Chocolate Bar Size Should You Choose?

Our 70% dark chocolate bars are available in two formats: a 75g chocolate bar, ideal for enjoying at home or giving as a gift, and a smaller 19g format, designed for an individual tasting or a small gift.

With 70% cacao, these chocolates offer a balance between the intensity and aromatic character of the cacao and the sweetness provided by cane sugar.

How to Store Quality Chocolate

Store your quality chocolate away from light, heat, moisture and strong odours, ideally in a cool and dry environment. Keeping it in its original packaging also helps protect its aromatic qualities.

A temperature of around 15 to 18°C is generally well suited to chocolate storage. Avoid frequent temperature fluctuations and, whenever possible, avoid refrigeration, as condensation can affect the appearance and texture of the chocolate.

FAQ About Quality Chocolate

What Is the Difference Between Quality Chocolate and Industrial Chocolate?

High-quality bean-to-bar chocolate places particular emphasis on the traceability and character of the cacao beans. The chocolate maker controls the transformation process from selected cacao beans through to the finished bar, allowing the characteristics of individual origins and terroirs to be highlighted.

This differs from more standardised chocolate production, where cacao from multiple origins may be blended to achieve a consistent flavour profile.

Why Does Terres de Café Also Offer Chocolate?

Coffee and cacao can share similar growing regions and, in some cases, connections with the same producer networks. This is the case with Alejo Castro, whom we know through his Volcan Azul coffee project in Costa Rica and who also connected us with cacao producers on the Osa Peninsula.

Chocolate therefore allows us to explore another product through the same focus on origin, producer relationships and traceability that guides our approach to specialty coffee.

What Does Bean to Bar Mean?

Bean to bar describes an approach in which the chocolate maker works directly from cacao beans and manages the main stages of transforming them into finished chocolate.

Rather than starting with ready-made couverture chocolate, a bean-to-bar maker can control key stages such as roasting, grinding, refining and the final formulation of the chocolate bar.

What Is the Difference Between the 75g and 19g Chocolate Bar Formats?

The 75g format is designed for enjoying at home, sharing or giving as a gift, while the smaller 19g format is particularly well suited to an individual tasting or a small gift.