Chocolate From Around The World

As of late, chocolate fans have really started to pay attention to where all of their chocolate comes from.  Single source chocolate has become very important to some people.  People choose this kind of chocolate because they believe it to be more ethical or environmental.  The ethics of chocolate can be seen on the surface, however, what about the taste of different chocolates?  Is there a difference between flavour a chocolate made in Ecuador and Trinidad?  I came across a box of chocolates made by J.D. Gross of Germany,  each chocolate contains beans from one particular region of the world, so I'm going to taste test these square to find out if there are any differences in flavour.

First we have the Amazonas chocoalte, it's fairly subtles with a smooth chocoalte flavour. It's not very fruity or very nutty, it has just a hint of a bitter aftertaste.

Even more subtle, at first, than the Amzona, the Ecuador flavour catches up with you and is extemely strong and nutty. The bitter aftertaste is not nearly as strong as the Amazonas either.  This chocolate almost has a refreshing aftertaste, which is strange for a dark chocolate.

The Trinidad chocolate is much nuttier than the first two, and much less fruity as well.  Similar to the Ecuador the aftertaste is much more subtle but the flavour seems more consistant and unchanging as I eat it.

This is easily the fruitiest chocolate from this collection.  The Venezuela has a much less bitter aftertaste than the Trinidad and the Amazona, it is also much more refreshing throughout.  So it appears that regional chocolates do have a different flavour.  It could be the type of cocoa they use (since there are three main varieties used in cocoa production), or it could be the environment that changes the flavour.  Frankly my knowledge of the actual cocoa bean is fairly minimal and I think it's something I should really look into.

CC