TRY THE WORLD'S MOST EXPENSIVE CHOCOLATE WITH ME IN HARRODS
Brand Collaboration | AD
Have you ever wondered what the most expensive chocolate in the world tastes like? And more importantly, why it's so expensive?
With much of the world having been plunged into a cost of living crisis last year, many people are understandably tightening their belts and counting their pennies. So, a piece of chocolate that’s on the market for 490 USD was bound to raise more than a few eyebrows.
Let me introduce you to To’ak, an artisanal chocolate brand that was founded in 2013.
Last month, I popped into Harrods in London, which is arguably one of the most luxurious department stores in the world to try and understand what makes To’ak's chocolate different and worthy of its eye-watering price tag.
Developed 10 years ago, To’ak’s founders have two missions in mind. One, to elevate chocolate to a fine art or delicacy that's on par with vintage wine or a trip to the theatre. And two, to restore the rainforest that had been harmed by certain cacao farming practices, and regenerate agricultural land.
Ultimately, what To’ak is trying to do is to go against the mass production that we’re seeing in the chocolate making industry. To'ak's Andrean Mints chocolate from its Alchemy line.
To’ak’s founders say that this approach to chocolate making can cheapen products and create even more of a distance between the brand’s bosses and the chocolate’s origins. As a result, To’ak aligns itself with the bean-to-bar movement for precisely this reason, and they pay their cacao growers well too, at around 3 to 9 times more than the Fair Trade price.
The reason why this chocolate can be the same price as a designer handbag is because it’s made from Ancient Nacional.
This type of cacao that’s found in To’ak's chocolate, which is native to Ecuador, is so valuable because it used to be the most cherished in the world. Back in the 1800s, pretty much all the cacao grown in Ecuador was 100% pure Nacional. But at the turn of the century, Nacional was believed to be extinct after two fungal diseases annihilated most Nacional trees.
A still from a video package that I created for To'ak in Harrods.
Widespread hybridisation was then rolled out to keep things afloat, which again disrupted the Nacional line. Fast forward to 2013, and To’ak’s founders found a valley were it turns out that some of these trees had survived. In a bid to save Ancient Nacional from the brink of extinction, To’ak cloned a few of these pure Nacional trees and produced seedlings which have since been planted once again.
So, that’s why the chocolate so expensive, but is it worth it?
To’ak kindly sent me their entire Alchemy line to test out.
The Alchemy line is To’aks new culinary line which brings the experimental flavours and combinations found in luxury dining to the world of chocolate making.
I sampled (willingly!) the entire Alchemy line range, from their Rainforest Nuts chocolate to their Caramelized Pop Amaranth chocolate and found all to be pretty delicious, with the Caramelized Pop Amaranth flavour being my firm favourite. I particularly loved that the chocolate company had included Amazonian and Ecuadorian superfoods in their mixtures, which certainly made me feel better about consuming large swathes of chocolate while elevating the experience of eating chocolate to indulging in a culinary masterpiece.
Is it worth it? Well, like most things in life, the answer to this question depends on how much you're able and willing to spend on a piece of chocolate. But there's no doubt that To'ak's artisanal creations are definitely not only great chocolate, but also ethically produced too.
All views are my own and are in no way representative of any media outlet.
To'ak's Andean Mints chocolate in Harrods.
SHOOT LOCATION: HARRODS, KNIGHTSBRIDGE, LONDON
BUY TO'AK CHOCOLATE HERE: https://toakchocolate.com/
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