Food & Drink: Madécasse, Luxury Single-Source Chocolate Made in Africa

Madécasse [Madagascar]

[Image credit: Madécasse]

Pink pepper and citrus, exotic pepper, and sea salt and nibs are just some of the rather interesting flavour combinations you will find in a Madécasse chocolate bar. Recently named ‘one of the world’s 50 most innovative companies’ by Fast Company magazine, Madécasse is on a mission to revolutionise Africa’s chocolate industry by becoming one of the few fine chocolate companies to produce a bar that is not only grown in Africa, but is also produced in Africa. The stats on the website highlight the fact that although Africa produces 70% of the world’s cocoa, actual chocolate production amounts to less than 1%.

Made in Madagascar, Madécasse is luxury gourmet chocolate from a single source and available in a range of chocolate and cooking chocolate bars. I think the packaging is beautiful, a clean and elegant blend of subtlety contrasted with a colourful strip that not only identifies the type/flavour but also serves to help them stand out on the shelf. The founders of Madécasse; Brett, Tim, and Joe spent over ten years living and working on the island as Peace Corps volunteers, eventually setting up the business there in 2008. Madagascar is said to produce some of the best cocoa in the world; a factor that can be attributed to the soil it grows in and the result is a bean with a unique and fruity flavour. Madécasse’s chocolate products made fresh at the source of where the cocoa is grown; partnering with the farmers of the Ezaka Cooperative, which situated in a remote corner of the island, the cocoa bean pods are cultivated by hand and then sent to a factory in Antananarivo where, led by self-taught chocolatier, Shahin Cassam Chenai the chocolate bars are made by a local team who have perfected the roast that gives Madécasse its taste.

[Image credit: Chocolate Bars – Madécasse]

Madagascan vanilla is said to be the best in the world, grown in organic, fertile soils and Madécasse also produces a high-quality range of natural; vanilla bean powders, sugars and extracts for all your baking and cooking needs.

[Image credit: Madagascan Vanilla – Madécasse]

…a very tempting chocolate bar that stays true to the source

Additional Details:
Prices range from: USD$5.99-USD$72.00 / £4.95
For further information and to buy products visit: www.madecasse.com 
In the UK Madécasse can be purchased from: www.chocadores.co.uk
To read one reader’s personal review on select Madécasse chocolate bars visit: http://kokobuzz.wordpress.com