patrick_y[PuristSPro Moderator]
28400
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!