Krak Chocolate - St. Vincent a/t Grenadines 55% - Juniper

The cocoa comes from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a small island among the Caribbean islands north of Venezuela. The cocoa there is managed by the St. Vincent Cocoa Company, which manages some 250 hectares of land and buys cocoa from around 100 farmers.

The chocolate itself is made and packed in the Netherlands by Krak Chocolade. The origin on the packaging therefore refers to the cocoa beans, not to the country of production.

This bar contains Dutch juniper berry, so the berry itself and not jenever. Krak lists cocoa beans, juniper berry and unrefined cane sugar as ingredients.

The juniper berry is the cone fruit that is also used to flavour gin, jenever and aquavit, and from which the drink jenever takes its name. In the chocolate the berry provides a fresh, citrus-like note.

The bar tastes round and at the same time fresh and fruity from the juniper berry, with notes of citrus.

If you mainly know juniper berries from marinades for game or from sauerkraut, this combination is a surprise. The berry adds a spicy freshness that cuts through the sweetness of the chocolate.

This bar has a cocoa content of 55 percent and weighs 80 grams.

55 percent is a lot for a bar that is sold as milk chocolate. You clearly taste the cocoa and the bar is less sweet than an ordinary milk chocolate bar.

Store this bar cool, dry and dark, preferably at around 15 to 18 degrees and tightly closed.

Do not put chocolate in the fridge. The cold and the moisture can make the chocolate bloom, which leaves a grey haze on the bar and makes the texture less fine.