Chocolarder - Virunga | 75% Dark Chocolate Bar

Name: Virunga | 75% Dark Chocolate Bar Chocolarder
Brand: Chocolarder
Price: 7.5 GBP
Availability: InStock

Virunga 75% Dark Chocolate Bar from Falmouth, UK. Bean to bar chocolate from cacao sourced from the first ever female led cooperative in Eastern Congo

£7.50

Tax included. Shipping calculated at checkout.

Free UK shipping on orders over £85

In stock, ready to ship
Inventory on the way

Rich 75% Dark Craft Chocolate Bar from Female Led Cooperative

Virunga 75% Dark Chocolate Bar from Falmouth, UK. Bean to bar chocolate from cacao sourced from the first ever female led cooperative in Eastern Congo. The Femmes de Virunga project educates and enables women to provide for and support their families. The project has planted over a quarter of a million cacao trees since its launch in 2016.

Chocolarder are a multi award winning craft chocolate manufacturer with a sustainable approach. Started by pastry chef Mike Longman in 2012, the bars have won multiple awards and the company has been actively involved in reforestation projects around the world.

70 g bar
Origin : Virunga, Eastern Congo
Taste: Deep chocolate and light brightness of dried red fruits with a peaty whisky finish
Made in Falmouth
Vegan Friendly

Cocoa beans, unrefined raw sugar

We ship to all UK Mainland addresses.

Shipping choices and charges are calculated by weight and size and we offer the following shipping options:
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Small items + large letter size (parcels up to 250g) :

Royal Mail 24: (delivery aim next working day but not guaranteed; fully tracked): £6.00

Royal Mail 48: (delivery aim 2/3 working days but not guaranteed; fully tracked): £4.50
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Standard Parcels (up to 3kg) :

Royal Mail 24: (delivery aim next working day but not guaranteed; fully tracked): £8.00

Royal Mail 48: (delivery aim 2/3 working days but not guaranteed; fully tracked): £6.50

Royal Mail Special Delivery: (next day guaranteed service; fully tracked): £10.00
Note. this service has a 2kg limit (rather than 3kg)
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Large Parcels (3kg +) :

Royal Mail 24: (delivery aim next working day but not guaranteed; fully tracked): £12.00

Royal Mail 48: (delivery aim 2/3 working days but not guaranteed; fully tracked): £10.00

Royal Mail Special Delivery: (next day guaranteed service; fully tracked): £15.00
Note. this service is for 2kg+ (rather than 3kg+)
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General

Any order over £85 is free delivery and will be shipped using a Tracked 48 service unless another service is specified.

Delivery methods are auto-calculated at checkout and are dependent on size and weight.

Orders received by 1 pm will usually be dispatched same day. Orders received after 1pm will ship on the next available working day (Mon-Fri).

Note: We do not usually dispatch orders on Saturdays or Sundays.

Rethinking Chocolate

The Bean-to-Bar Revolution

The term Bean-to-Bar chocolate was coined as a way for Craft chocolate makers, some of whom would be producing just a few hundred bars at a time, to distinguish their product from mass produced chocolate and that made by chocolatiers, who melt chocolate that they buy in to make chocolate confectionery.

Bean-to-Bar is a revolution in the chocolate industry and USTUDIO are glad to be on board, stocking a great range of chocolate from artisan, small-batch producers from around the world, with a particular focus on those based in the UK.

Out With the Old

There are a lot of problems with the traditional chocolate industry. The environmental impact of manufacture, guaranteeing fair pay and fair working conditions for farmers, and variation in the quality of cacao are all problematic within the mainstream industry.

In With the New

In sharp contrast, Bean-to-Bar chocolate makers are involved at every stage of production. All the way from the cacao bean to the finished bar. This ensures the sustainability, ethics, and quality of the chocolate produced. And it also ensures that it tastes heavenly!

How it Works

What is Bean-to-Bar?

The Bean-to-Bar process is at the heart of all our suppliers’ chocolate making. The chocolate is handcrafted, from a raw cacao bean all the way through to a finished bar. The incredible flavour of the cacao is honoured, unlike in the mass-manufacturing process which focuses on keeping costs low and products consistent. Industrial chocolate is cheap because it is full of unnecessary and harmful fats, e-numbers and additives, and often has less than 20% cacao content.

Craft chocolate makers buy cacao in small amounts, working directly with the farmers, and then take on the whole process of creating their chocolate, including cleaning, roasting, cracking, winnowing, and grinding the cacao beans, conching and tempering the chocolate. It is a lengthy process, but the results speak for themselves

First Steps

The first job when the beans arrive from the farmer is to hand sort them, preparing them for the roast. This process involves removing spoiled beans and any foreign materials. If hand sorting through endless kilos of cocoa beans sounds time consuming, well that’s because it is!

Roasting the Beans

The next stage is roasting, to bring out the natural flavour and personality of the cocoa bean- every variety is distinctly different and will be roasted accordingly. Roasting drives off volatile acids from the beans and converts amino acids and sugars into tastier fully formed flavour compounds through the browning process.

A Lengthy Process

Care and Attention

Next step is to crack open the beans and discard the unwanted husks. Then the cocoa nibs are thrown into a grinder. These machines break down the nibs and sugar over a 72 hour period into liquid form. By the end of the grind particle size reduces to something between 15-20 microns, something that feels smooth on the tongue.

The chocolate is then moved onto the conching phase for some final flavour development. This involves agitating the chocolate to improve mouthfeel, drive off any left-over volatile acids and coax out the deeper, more nuanced flavour notes.

Finishing Off

The final step before wrapping is tempering, which gives chocolate structure and a nice shine. It involves heating and cooling down the chocolate and allowing the cocoa butter to crystallise. It’s this crystallisation which is crucial to giving chocolate its glossy finish

Single Origin | Chocolate

Vegan-Friendly Options

Naturally, all of our Craft Chocolate makers' dark chocolate is vegan, and we have many different sorts to choose from! In addition, some of our suppliers also make delicious oat milk and cashew nut milk chocolate, so vegans get a milk chocolate option!

Vegan Friendly | Chocolate

how to eat craft chocolate

The 7 Steps to Heavenly Taste

When a craft chocolate maker has put in the time and effort to make bean-to-bar chocolate, you really want to get the most out of eating it. A mindful approach is the way forward, engaging all of your senses and taking your time over each stage.

7 Steps to Tasting Heaven | Blog

Bean to Bar Chocolate | FAQs

Bean-to-Bar is a phrase coined to describe craft chocolate makers who oversee the whole process of making chocolate-from selecting the beans all the way to wrapping the finished, high-quality chocolate bar.

Ethically, bean-to-bar chocolate is a positive choice as the farmers are paid fairly and the producers focus on sustainability. Taste-wise, so much care goes into making the bar and getting the best from the cacao that it tastes amazing!

Yes! All of our suppliers' dark chocolate is vegan, and we also stock some oat milk chocolate options.

This process is similar for most chocolate makers, starting with the fermentation of the cacao beans then drying, winnowing and finally conching. then the chocolate has to be moulded and wrapped. This whole process takes around 7-10 days. Letting the chocolate rest for a few weeks after making enhances its flavour too.

'Cocoa' is essentially an English corruption of the Spanish 'cacao' which came in turn from the Mayan 'kakaw'. Nowadays 'cocoa' can also refer to a ready-mixed powder for a hot chocolate drink in the USA, but in general the terms 'cacao' and 'cocoa' are interchangeable.

Chocolate does contain caffeine, but much less than a cup of coffee! Dark chocolate has more caffeine than milk (but not much) and white chocolate doesn't contain any.