Yeah, but neither of those writers who claim its the best in the world are long-time published experts on chocolate.

Jun 06, 2020,10:52 AM
 

It is very expensive chocolate if you're looking at the "cask aged" versions.  But those are extremely overpriced for what they are.  Consider alcoholic spirits.  They wouldn't get such a large upcharge for being in a cask for a few years.  Chocolate, being a solid, is even easier to store than an alcoholic spirit because it's more stable.  This company is probably overcharging for the "marketability" of overcharging. 

That being said, I have had To'Ak's normal line of Ecuadorian line of chocolate.  It is very good.  It was very expensive as well about $30 for a 50gram bar!  The chocolate was very fresh and very fruity and bright.  It's good.  Solid.  Smooth but not too smooth. 

For price performance, I'd say Jacot Chocolate in Switzerland is very good.  It's a favorite among the staff at Greubel Forsey.  It's also somewhat reasonably priced.  About $10 a bar for a bar that looked like it was 50-60 grams.  Expensive, but 1/3rd the price of To'Ak.   

There's a lady here in Silicon Valley who takes chocolate lovers on tours of chocolate producing regions in India, Madagascar, Indonesia, Ecuador, etc.  I've never been on any of her tours, but I have attended her chocolate tastings and there are other chocolates at significantly lower price points (still very expensive, but around 30-70% less than To'Ak, but likely equal in quality.  Unfortunately she recently ended her chocolate business (she was doing this more as a hobby and the business never really made money and she wanted to spend more time with her family), but the education remains. 

A funny fact.  Belgium is arguably the largest or second largest producer of chocolate in the world.  Yet, almost all these high producing chocolate countries don't grow chocolate within their borders! 


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Has anyone tried To’ak Chocolate?

 
 By: Centurionone : June 6th, 2020-04:21
Robb Report , Quill & Pad alleges " If Not The Best Chocolate In The World, It’s A Worthy Contender (Also For The Most Expensive!) " ...  

Like for wine, whisky, food in general

 
 By: piccolochimico (aka dsgalaxy1) : June 6th, 2020-05:23
When it's time to rate, there's no The best. The power of marketing 😎

Agreed [nt]

 
 By: Centurionone : June 6th, 2020-05:55

Yeeep! [nt]

 
 By: amanico : June 6th, 2020-15:41

I totally agree about marketing and hype

 
 By: NT931 : June 6th, 2020-19:00
I have not tried Toak, but I can think of many other bean-to-bar chocolate makers from all over the world (USA, UK, Iceland, Thailand, Peru, Vietnam, France , Belgium, New Zealand, Taiwan, Canada and many more) who make very very good chocolate at much lo... 

Laderach for me [nt]

 
 By: Patekphilippecollector : June 6th, 2020-05:35

Läderach pralines, yes! [nt]

 
 By: Centurionone : June 6th, 2020-05:54

For me Claudio Corallo is the best chocolate maker

 
 By: brauner : June 6th, 2020-07:43
With Ploprof in Sao Tome ...  

For some reason, To'ak got me thinking about Kopi Luwak

 
 By: NickO : June 6th, 2020-08:50
I hope there's no Civet poop in it. Actually, if there was, I bet it would be even more expensive........

Yeah, but neither of those writers who claim its the best in the world are long-time published experts on chocolate.

 
 By: patrick_y : June 6th, 2020-10:52
It is very expensive chocolate if you're looking at the "cask aged" versions. But those are extremely overpriced for what they are. Consider alcoholic spirits. They wouldn't get such a large upcharge for being in a cask for a few years. Chocolate, being a... 

Thanks for this very informative reply Patrick..

 
 By: Centurionone : June 6th, 2020-11:34
I agree that marketing and hype must play a lot of role when it comes to pricing.. Like in most commodities exclusivity is the key to get the attention of the big spenders. Of course without reasonable quality it wouldn't last long and would be a flash in... 

Mendiant Milk Chocolate from La Maison du Chocolat

 
 By: U3O8 : June 6th, 2020-14:46
My favorite. I get the Mendiant that comes as chocolate bark. Not the ganache option. It’s milk chocolate bark with hazel nut, almond, pistachio, raisin and orange zest. $83 a lb. I get 1 lb a week. Standing order. It’s just a small nibble each night afte...