Product Details:

It is rare that cocoa is grown in the mountains, most all cocoa is grown in secluded valley's or in flat areas. This chocolate is made from cocoa beans that break this mold. The cocoa beans for Montanya come from deep with in the mountains of Venezuela. The only way to reach these secluded farms is either to hike or by horseback. Similarly, the cocoa beans are brought out by horseback after the farmers have carefully harvested, fermented, and dried the beans to bring out their most beautiful flavor. These rare cocoa beans produce a chocolate like no other with a complex deep and rich flavor that is sure to make chocolate lovers swoon.

This chocolate is being released as a “Limited Edition” due to the rarity of the cocoa beans we use to produce it.

The Chocolate Maker's Notes:

When I discovered the cocoa beans that are being produced by a small group of farms deep in the mountains of Northern Venezuela, I was enchanted. The more I learned about these farms, the deeper my appreciation for them became.

There are few places in the world where cocoa is grown in the mountains and this is one of them. The heritage of the cocoa comes through Ocumare. In the 1940's, graftings were taken from Ocumare and brought to these remote farms. Since that time, much Trinitario (a variety of cocoa bean that has its roots in Trinidad) has been brought to Ocumare. It is very possible, these remote farms hold purer Ocumare than Ocumare itself does today.

In our small factory, just south of Salt Lake City, I tested a small batch of these beans and their flavor was incredible. From them, I made a small batch of chocolate. The instant I tasted them, I was in love with the deep complexity of flavor produced by these beans. This experience was shared by each person I shared them with. It was not long before I had brought these rare beans to our factory to turn them into chocolate.

There will be those who debate how much of Montanya's flavor comes from the cocoa bean's roots in the mountains of Venezuela. While altitude the soil and growing conditions unique to the mountains surely have a significant impact on the flavor of the finished chocolate. How much the altitude affects the flavor, it is impossible to say, there simply are too few places in the world where cocoa is grown in the mountains to make this kind of judgment. In the end, it simply does not matter. The flavor is enchantingly complex and it will create a passionate lover of this beautiful chocolate out of each person who tries it.

Art Pollard
Founder, Head Chocolate Maker

Inscription on the Back of the Bar :

Accessible only on horseback in the mountains of northern Venezuela are several family-owned plantations. Here I discovered a limited supply of truly exquisite cocoa beans. We are the first to make a single-origin chocolate from these precious beans. Our vintage process gently accentuates their finest flavors. The result is a remarkable chocolate with flavor notes of apricot and marshmallow that you will find enchanting.

Amano Artisan Chocolate is dedicated to reviving the art of making fine chocolate from the bean. We craft our chocolate in small batches only from the finest cocoa beans, pure cane sugar, and whole vanilla beans. I hope you enjoy our chocolate.

Presentation:

Each bar is individually foil wrapped and beautifully boxed. Each box is printed on high grade paper providing a luxurious feel in the hand. The Untitled painting is an original piece of artwork by artist Carie Henrie commissioned by Amano Artisan Chocolate specifically for the Montanya Limited Edition 70% Dark chocolate. The borders and details have been gently highlighted with gold foil accenting creating a stunning presentation making it suitable for gifts as well as your own enjoyment.

Artist: Carie Henrie

Gallery Websites:
http://www.marymartinart.com/caryhenrie.html
http://www.meyergallery.com/artist.php?last_name=Henrie

Ingredients:

Cocoa beans, Pure cane sugar, Cocoa butter, Whole vanilla beans.

Our Single Origin Guarantee:

All of our single origin chocolate is backed up with our "Single Origin Guarantee" so that you know that we have only used beans from in and around the Jembrana Regency, Bali Indonesia to create this incredible bar.