Luxury Chocolates
Showing 37–48 of 58 results
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To’ak’s inaugural Art Series edition is also our very first blend, inspired by the late Oswaldo Guayasamín—Ecuador’s most celebrated artist. Two vintage editions of To’ak chocolate with totally different personalities carefully blended into a beautiful and exceptionally well-balanced expression of Ecuadorian dark chocolate.
Ecuador’s native son, Oswaldo Guayasamín, is one of Latin America’s most celebrated artists. His work has been on display in many of the finest museums and galleries in the world. In 1976, Guayasamín and his children created the Fundación Guayasamín with the mission to honor Ecuador’s rich indigenous culture and history. In service of this mission, To’ak and Fundación Guayasamín co-created a special edition of dark chocolate that pays tribute to the ancient history and culture of Ecuador in a way that has never been done before.
Art is part of our DNA. At To’ak, we’ve never been satisfied with simply making chocolate. Ultimately what we present to the world is a work of art, and dark chocolate is our medium of expression. As artists who live and work in Ecuador, we are keenly aware of Guayasamín’s legacy. One element that has particularly drawn our attention is his depiction of sharp contrasts. Guayasamín painted about cruelty as well as tenderness, life and death, desperation and hope. He explored both the light and the darkness within the human condition.
With each edition of chocolate, our goal is to faithfully express the unique aromas and flavor profile of Nacional cacao. But just as a person cannot be defined by any single characteristic or mood, Nacional cacao has many different faces. In 2015, we launched two expressions of chocolate, each representing different ends of the spectrum in terms of flavor profile and character. Our 2015 “Light” edition was soft, subtle, nuanced. Our 2015 “Dark” edition was raw, powerful, unapologetic.
We released both of these editions to the public in 2015, but separately. We allowed people the opportunity to experience both sides of the Nacional flavor personality but only side-by-side. For the Art Series, we created our very first blend, using chocolate aged from our 2015 harvest. We integrated our “Light” and “Dark” editions into a single unified expression, which we call the Duality Blend. This metaphor extends beyond flavor and can also been interpreted in the context of our work on the land. In the drawing by Guayasamín that accompanies this edition, we see an indigenous man that has been beaten down by cruelty, and yet he is planting a tree. In spite of the suffering that he bears, what he offers is an expression of hope.
Something similar can be seen in the destruction of habitat and the loss of ancient food varieties. Over 93% of the world’s food varieties have been lost over an 80-year span. The next in line is Ancient Nacional cacao in Ecuador, which is on the brink of extinction. Under the shadow of destruction, we at To’ak are currently planting as many Ancient Nacional cacao seedlings as we can, to give new life to this culinary treasure. This is our hope for the future.
To metaphorically describe his connection to the past, Guayasamín once said that his hands have been painting for more than five thousand years. Interestingly, Nacional cacao also traces its roots back by roughly 5,000 years in Ecuador. In this rare edition of chocolate, we are celebrating that which is far older than any of us and transcends time. We are celebrating the human experience in all of its many shades.
To’ak art series.
Nose: Tobacco, caramel, floral, woody.
Palate: Woody, buttery caramel, tobacco, honey, dark fruits, softly floral, earthy, nutty.
Finish: Honey, toffee, earthy, nutty.
Variety: Heirloom Nacional
Vegan, lactose and gluten free.
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To’ak’s first ever 100% cacao bar has become an office favorite. Surprisingly light, with a hint of sweetness, it reminds us of an 80% bar.
In 2016 the valley of Piedra de Plata experienced the torrential rains of El Niño followed by an unexpected drought during the critical ripening period, and top it off an unusually late harvest was forced by a 7.8 magnitude earthquake. This is single-origin 100% Ecuadorian dark chocolate at its finest.
To’ak signature series.
Nose: Berries, floral, forest floor.
Palate: Floral, berries, mint, red wine, forest floor.
Finish: Sweet floral berries and tannic red wine.
Variety: Heirloom Nacional
Vegan, lactose and gluten free.
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“I that from Tabascao come, with heritage of Mayan blood, where ground cacao gave a new meaning to water.” (Carlos Pellicer). This dark spicy chocolate is made in an authentic Mexican traditional style, using the ancient criollo hybrid cacao of Tabasqueño.
Made in a factory that handles dairy and nuts.
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Sale!
Out of stock
This bar is not for everybody. But it is for folks like you and me. We relish the opportunity to taste the unadulterated purity of 100 percent cacao chocolate. With no sweet embellishment, the seed and the maker can both show their true colors.
This is a bar of great intent: a blend of cacao origins our chocolate makers individually roast and refine, before blending them to taste in the conche. Though
no sugar is added, the bright acidity manifests as natural sweetness. This blend surprises tasters with its harmonious balance of flavors.Just one square of this potent chocolate captures the intensity of a freshly pulled espresso shot. Bold and intensely dark cocoa flavors are balanced with complex and wild fruit flavors of grape and lime.
Dairy-free and suitable for vegans.
May contain traces of: milk, peanuts, eggs, corn, tree nuts, wheat and soy.
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Coconut Almond Dark Bark is a seriously satisfying snack with just 7 grams of sugar per serving! We start with our stone ground, 80% dark chocolate. Why stone ground? Because less processing means more bold chocolate flavor! Then we stir in crispy, protein-packed puffed quinoa and top it off with a craveable crunch of toasted coconut and roasted almonds, for a delicious anytime treat.
Contains almonds and coconut. May contain traces of other tree nuts and sesame seeds.
This product is certified USDA Organic, Direct Trade, Gluten Free and Kosher Pareve, and Non-GMO Project Verified. It is also dairy free, soy free, and vegan.
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Toasted Coconut Dark Bark is a seriously satisfying snack with just 7 grams of sugar per serving! We start with our stone ground, 80% dark chocolate. Why stone ground? Because less processing means more bold chocolate flavor! Then we stir in crispy, protein-packed puffed quinoa and top it off with a craveable crunch of toasted coconut, for a delicious anytime treat.
Contains coconut. May contain traces of other tree nuts and sesame seeds.
This product is certified USDA Organic, Direct Trade, Gluten Free and Kosher Pareve, and Non-GMO Project Verified. It is also dairy free, soy free, and vegan.
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Salt & Chocolate? You bet! So many of our lovely customers asked us to make a dark chocolate seasoned with salt. We hope you enjoy this version too! A truly vegan chocolate bar too!
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Pre-historic coral reef over millions of years became the bedrock and soil of Belize, creating a unique terroir. Criollo hybrid cacao grows nestled in the Maya Mountains, where biodiversity is being preserved by organic agroforestry.
Made in a factory that handles dairy and nuts.
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Porcelana; the famous heirloom cacao of Venezuela. This rare variety fruits a beautifully light pod, yielding a superior nutty flavour.
Made in a factory that handles dairy & nuts.
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Dangerously tasty!
Dark chocolate made with Forastero cocoa beans from Congo – Virunga National Park, where the last mountain gorillas live. The cocoa provides the inhabitants with extra income.
- 100% Gluten free
- Produced on solar energy
- 100% Organic chocolate
- Zero waste & plastic-free
The Virunga region lies at the crossroads of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The area is threatened by ongoing deforestation due to illegal logging and encroaching small-scale agriculture.
Planting cocoa restores land and prevents deforestation. This keeps the Virunga National Park intact and protects the last habitat of the mountain gorillas.
In Africa, Forastero cocoa trees are predominant; the taste of the beans is powerful, you taste a pure, uncomplicated chocolate.
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Hand carved from solid wood and burned slightly for darker shades. Slender handle makes it easy to twist between palm of hands. Smooth pestle bottom softens and grinds chocolate as it dissolves in hot milk. Loose rings aid in whipping air into hot chocolate and eventually results in frothy top.
The ritual of drinking chocolate originates in southern Mexico where they revered both the drink and its froth with divine qualities.
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Out of stock
The 92% Gorilla bar is a fusion of two special projects. Thanks to these projects, both the habitat of the endangered gorilla in Congo and the habitat of the Orangutan in Indonesia are protected.
- 100% Gluten free
- Produced on solar energy
- 100% Organic chocolate
- Zero waste & plastic-free
The Virunga region lies at the crossroads of Uganda, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The area is threatened by ongoing deforestation due to illegal logging and encroaching small-scale agriculture.
Planting cocoa restores land and prevents deforestation. This keeps the Virunga National Park intact and protects the last habitat of the mountain gorillas.
In Africa, Forastero cocoa trees are predominant; the taste of the beans is powerful, you taste a pure, uncomplicated chocolate.