To'ak Chocolate facts for kids
To'ak Chocolate is an Ecuadorian chocolate company that was founded in 2013 by Jerry Toth, Carl Schweizer and Dennise Valencia. To’ak is pronounced Toe-Ahk. To'ak produces chocolate with a variety of Arriba cacao called Nacional cocoa, which some experts formerly believed to be extinct. It is said to have more floral notes and richness of flavors than other cacao varieties. The Heirloom Nacional cacao bar produced by To'ak Chocolate was dubbed "the world's most expensive chocolate bar" by CNBC in 2017.
Chocolate bars
To’ak's chocolate bars are produced using the Nacional variety of cocoa bean, which some experts thought was extinct. Groves of cocoa trees producing the Nacional variety were discovered in the valley of Piedra de Plata located in the mountains of the Arriba cacao-growing region of Ecuador, in the province called Manabi. DNA analysis confirmed that the beans were comprised purely of the Nacional genotype.
The chocolate bar is handcrafted, and production involves fermenting the cocoa beans. The chocolate bar is composed entirely of the Nacional cocoa bean, with a small amount of added cane sugar. A single roasted cacao bean sits in the middle of the bar to serve as a reminder where chocolate comes from. To'ak chocolate is pure chocolate, and is not embellished with nuts, gold dust, or ganache, which is similar to some of the world's other expensive chocolates.
The company's products include the Vintage 2014 edition that was aged for three years in a French oak cognac cask. The company ages bars in wood casks and empty spirit casks. They have been described as a "boundary-pushing chocolate company" for launching a bar of dark chocolate that has been aged for 18 months in a 50-year-old Cognac cask. They have also aged chocolate for two years in a Laphroaig Islay whisky cask.
