Chocolate Notes: Morumbi, Columbia 70% with Ground Almond inclusion bar

“Chocolate Notes” is a series that explores the process of making chocolate and how Chocolat Voyageur founder and chocolate maker, Dominique Chartrand, creates her unique chocolate.

We have had a peak behind the making of the Semuliki, Uganda 69% Basil Tomato inclusion bar and the Haskap & Blueberry 72% Öko Caribe inclusion bar.  Next we will explore the Morumbi, Colombia 70% ground almond inclusion bar.

Each single origin cacao bean that Dominique works with has its own unique flavour profile.  This profile is affected by the roasting process.  The art of making chocolate rests on the knowledge of knowing how to adjust the roasting recipe to accentuate and develop the natural flavour of the beans.  Mixing chocolate with other ingredients sometimes requires adjusting the roasting profile to optimize the flavour combination of all the ingredients.  This was the case for the ground almond and Morumbi chocolate inclusion bar.

Can you tell us about the thought process behind the creation of your Morumbi, Colombia 70% ground almond inclusion bar?

Dominique Chartrand “When I was planning my inclusions for the year, I wanted to start off with a bar that represented the Canadian Fall Harvest, another that was owed to berries in New Brunswick and the next to nuts. 

I love peanut butter and especially peanut butter and chocolate. To me it is a match made in heaven. In my boutique I do sell 2 beautiful Peanut Butter Bars. The first from Mcguire’s Chocolate Co. which is a 62% chocolate with peanuts ground into the bar itself and the second is PB & Joy by Hummingbird Chocolate that is a 65%! 

However, I must limit my peanut butter intake as I do not digest it very well. If I eat too much, I do not feel well for several days. When I choose to use an ingredient in my chocolate, I need to at least be able to safely test my products regularly. If I cannot, I do not use the ingredient in my chocolate. 

This can be limiting, however it also makes me think out of the box, which I enjoy. Due to my limitation with peanuts, I decided that my nut of choice would be almond. 

Almonds and chocolate go hand in hand as well and in my mind are both really nice with maple sugar. So this bar was an easy decision to make. The choice really came down to the cacao bean. "

How did you choose which cacao bean to use?

Dominique Chartrand “At that time, I did not feel I had the right bean for this bar. Around this time I had ordered two new beans from Mabco Inc. The first was the Thailand Chathaburi and the second Colombia Morumbi. I made a test batch of both and when I tasted the notes of each bean in my own recipe, I decided to use the Colombia Morumbi. It had a nice strong roast flavour and it was bright and creamy, as well as a slight fruit note!”

Cacao beans from Mabco Inc.

Can you tell us how you adjusted your recipe to work with the almonds?

Dominique Chartrand “To create the bar, it took me 4 attempts. First I roasted the cacao beans for a longer period of time and then added the raw almonds to the mélangeur as I was feeding the cacao nibs. This bar had a sweet note and was very good. However, I felt it was hiding the character of the delicious cacao. 

To change that I decided to soak the almonds and roast for less time; to see what would happen with the flavour. This second batch started to show the character of the bean more. It was not as initially sweet and I could taste the bean. However, it still did not taste quite like I wanted it to. I really wanted to play with the roast profile and make a point of really finding the collaboration of the bean to the nuts. 

For the third attempt, I decided not to roast the almonds at all to see how that would affect the flavour.  I also reduced the roast time on the cacao beans. It did not have the effect I wanted. I still really enjoyed the bar, but without the almonds being roasted, it did not bring me the exact calibration I was looking for. 

Lastly, I decided to roast the nibs a little longer, as well as soak and roast the almonds. This is what proved to be the winning version for me. This last version, gives the beans a little roast onto themselves instead of through the husks. The depth of flavour from the Colombia cacao from Morumbi marries so well with the almonds.  The texture is light and the almonds are subtle on the tongue. As you let it melt, the flavour of the almonds come through and some of the roasted cacao notes from the bean. The sweetness is there but with more subtlety and in the end you taste the earth of where the beans are from!”

Dominique adding nibs to the mélanger.

If you would like to lean more about founder and chocolate maker, Dominque Chartrand, visit our About Us page.