My third and final review of a chocolate purchased from the World of Chocolate Museum and Café in Orlando, Florida is a single origin “Cru” from Amedei Tuscany. The bar is a 70% dark chocolate made from beans grown in Madagascar.

In 1990, Cecilia Tessieri was making pralines in a small workshop. By 1998, Amedei brand chocolate bars were on the market. According to their website, www.amedei.it/en/, they use “..ancient machineries, some dated end 19th century and some other dated after the First World War”. These are integrated with modern equipment to produce and preserve the aromatic character of the cacao beans.

In the language of wine, “cru” stands for a vineyard of recognized quality. There are quality distictions like Grand Cru and Premier Cru. Cru also implies “terroir” because a specific vineyard will produce a specific set of flavor notes and nuances due, in part, to the location’s climate, soil, etc.

In the language of chocolate, “cru” is not so well defined. It’s an unofficial designation but implies quality and terroir just like it does for wine. Grand Cru for chocolate signifies that the beans come from a certain country or region. Premier Cru usually points to a single plantation. 

This bar is reddish-brown, making it look lighter than most 70% dark chocolate bars. The aromas are spicy and fruity. The flavor is robustly chocolate, with ripe berry notes and a hint of citrus and honey. There’s also some spice, toasted bread and a whisper of mint right at the finish.

I’ve had Madagascar sourced chocolates before and most of the time the ripe berries and floral notes jump out at me. This time, it took longer to find these flavors, and I had to coax them out by letting it sit longer on my tongue. The bar is somewhat dry and a tiny bit course. I don’t mind this, but it’s different from the other Madagascar bars I’ve had.

The 1.75 ounce Amedei 70% Madagascar chocolate bar was purchased for $8.97 USD. (Here's a link to the bar on Amazon, though it costs more with shipping included.)

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Bryn Kirk

Course Facilitator at Chocolate University Online

Bryn worked for nearly 10 years in a research and product development for Ambrosia Chocolate Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Now she develops all of the CUO lessons and coaches the members of the Primal Chocolate Club.

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