To'ak Chocolate (pronounced Toe-Ahk) is an

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

ian

chocolate Chocolate is a food made from roasted and ground cacao seed kernels that is available as a liquid, solid, or paste, either on its own or as a flavoring agent in other foods. Cacao has been consumed in some form since at least the Olmec civ ...

company founded in 2013 by Jerry Toth, Carl Schweizer, and Denise Valencia. It produces its chocolate from the rare Nacional

cocoa bean The cocoa bean (technically cocoa seed) or simply cocoa (), also called the cacao bean (technically cacao seed) or cacao (), is the dried and fully fermented seed of ''Theobroma cacao'', from which cocoa solids (a mixture of nonfat substance ...

variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

. To'ak Chocolate's Heirloom Nacional cacao bar has been dubbed "the world's most expensive chocolate bar" by

CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...

in 2017.

Chocolate bars

To’ak's chocolate bars are produced from the Nacional variety of

, which was thought to be extinct by some experts. The chocolate bar is handcrafted, and production involves

fermenting Fermentation is a metabolic process that produces chemical changes in organic substrates through the action of enzymes. In biochemistry, it is narrowly defined as the extraction of energy from carbohydrates in the absence of oxygen. In food p ...

the cocoa beans. The chocolate bar is composed entirely of the Nacional cocoa bean, with a small amount of added cane sugar. A single roasted cacao bean is placed in the middle of the bar to signify the bar's origin. To'ak chocolate is pure chocolate, and is not embellished with nuts, gold dust, or ganache, which is similar to some of the world's other expensive chocolates. The company's products include the Vintage 2014 edition that was aged for three years in a French oak cognac

cask A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, u ...

. The company ages bars in wood casks and empty spirit casks. They have been described as a "''boundary-pushing chocolate company''" for launching a bar of dark chocolate that has been aged for 18 months in a 50-year-old Cognac cask. They have also aged chocolate for two years in a Laphroaig Islay whisky cask.

Regenerative cacao

To’ak and the rainforest conservation organization TMA (Third Millennium Alliance) jointly manage a regenerative cacao project in coastal Ecuador, specifically with the agricultural communities that surround the Jama-Coaque Ecological Reserve. The program was designed as a strategy to reverse the trend of

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

of the

Pacific Equatorial Forest The Pacific Equatorial Forest (also known as the Pacific Forest of Ecuador) is a tropical forest ecosystem located along Ecuador's coastal mountain range at 0° latitude, primarily concentrated in northwestern Manabí. The ecosystem is most notable ...

(also known as the Pacific Forest of Ecuador). TMA provides local farmers with start-up capital, seedlings, irrigation equipment, and financial incentives to convert deforested land into regenerative forests. The program is financed by carbon offset revenue, which provides bridge income to the farmers for the first five years, before the cacao trees reach productive age. Once the cacao trees start to produce cacao pods, To’ak offers to purchase the cacao at premium prices.

References

External links

* {{official, https://toakchocolate.com Brand name chocolate Ecuadorian chocolate companies Chocolate confectionery