Valrhona Grand Cru Dark Guanaja 70% Beans

TASTING NOTES FROM THE CURATOR

Incredibly versatile and well-balanced, Valrhona Dark Guanaja 70% Bean is one of the world’s favorite dark chocolates. It is aromatic, with warm notes. Its flavor is perfectly bitter, with hints of floral, molasses, and fruit. An extraordinary baking chocolate, it’s warm and intense, with a long-lingering flavor, and a beautiful complexity.

PREPARATION AND PAIRINGS

This is a wonderful baking chocolate, and will elevate any chocolate dessert you use it in—cookies, brownies, mousse, etc. These feves are very easy to weigh out, and are quick to melt. Why not try making some delightful chocolate truffles to serve at your next get-together? It’s easy, delicious, and impressive:

• Boil heavy cream and honey in a sauce pan (make sure to watch it so it doesn’t burn).
• Pour 1/3 of this mixture over a bowl of your Valrhona Dark Guanaja 70% Bean. With a spatula, stir rapidly until the mix is smooth and glossy.
• Slowly add in the remaining cream mixture, stirring continuously to keep it smooth and glossy.
• Keep mixing until chocolate is thoroughly combined.
• Stir in softened butter, and mix carefully. Leave to chill until chocolate is set.
• Once it’s set, use a small cookie scoop to portion out some of the chocolate into your hand. Roll the chocolate into a ball with your palms.
• Roll each chocolate ball in Valrhona Cocoa Powder until completely covered.
• Serve, and enjoy with a Merlot, Shiraz, or a Moscato D’Asti.

A RARE BEAN

The Valrhona Dark Guanaja 70% Bean is made of a blend of Trinitario and Criollo cocoa beans, both very high quality and both low yielding, making them top shelf beans. Criollo, in particular, represents only 3% of the world’s cocoa production. Its name means “of local origin” in Spanish, and is a very aromatic bean that lacks bitterness. It’s very rarely used on its own, though, as it is very scarce and expensive.

Storage Instructions

Store your chocolate feves in a cool, dark place, ideally between 18 to 24°C. You can use the refrigerator, but place the chocolate in an airtight container to keep the moisture and humidity out—and retain its full range of flavors, of course!