On the 7th July 2021 we collaborated with Origin Coffee Roasters and Appleton’s Fowey pastry chef Mariana Chaves to host a chocolate dessert tasting evening at The Roastery Cafe in Porthleven, Cornwall.
On the night guests got to experience the unique flavour characteristics of our fine crafted single origin chocolate, as chef Mariana Chaves compiled three beautifully balanced desserts using three different chocolate percentages.
The first dessert of the evening was a sensational dark chocolate mousse using our 70% dark chocolate. Served with a delicate whipped fig leaf cream to highlight the flavour notes of the dark chocolate from the region of Manabí, Ecuador and finished with confit figs and coconut. This was paired with a cocktail created by Origin Coffee’s Head Barista Adam Pascoe.
The second dessert presented was a delicious chocolate tart with passion fruit caramel and lemon verbena cream which was paired with Slobodné, Traja Boxeri Sauvignon 2019. A natural white wine from Slovakia. Cacao beans have distinctively different flavour profiles according to the region of Ecuador where they are grown. Using our 60% dark chocolate from the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador, Mariana complemented beautifully the complex fruity profile of the chocolate with the other tropical flavours.
Finally, the third dessert was a tiramisu style Tuscan Trifle full of bold and bright flavours. Made using 80% dark chocolate from the Amazon Rainforest in Ecuador in harmony with a single origin natural coffee from Colombia. Accompanied with a cacao husk infused cream and a sponge cake and paired with a single origin coffee from Origin Coffee Roasters.
£5 of each ticket sold went to Juntos por Olón, a German charity based in Olón, Ecuador who we have partnered with in order to support the cacao farming community in the region.
Olón is one of the few places in the world with a Cloud Forest and a beach in such close proximity, but due to climate change it experienced a severe drought at the beginning of the year. This drought along with the pandemic have had a profound impact on tourism, agriculture, biodiversity and ultimately the livelihoods of people in the community.
Cacao producers have been particularly hit hard in this area and we’ve partnered with a Juntos por Olón to help bring alternative economic activities for the people in their community.