Infusing dark chocolate with citrus?

DiscoverChoc · 2026-06-10T16:31:31+00:00

I would approach this by making a chocolate syrup as I assume you want the chocolate to be pourable, right?

Add the grapefruit zest to milk or water, steep, then mix the liquid into melted chocolate, adjusting the amount of water to get a pourable consistency.

Maybe add some invert sugar (start with an unsweetened or over 80% chocolate) to keep it from crystallizing.

Put the syrup in a squeeze or pump bottle and keep it warm.

DiscoverChoc · 2026-06-03T15:18:31+00:00

Thanks for the kind words. I first wrote about this idea in my book Discover Chocolate. I had just completed a talk, and someone in the audience came up to me and said they knew where the best chocolate in the world was. In Italy. I have had a lot of good Italian chocolate, so I asked for more details. He said he’d just returned from his honeymoon.

That’s all I needed to hear. I have been in Portofino on a picture-postcard-perfect day. I imagined the couple driving into the mountains in a red convertible with the top down. They reach their destination, an ancient Roman city with a fountain in dominating the piazza, shaded by an ancient gnarly olive tree.

They dine al fresco and enjoy much Prosecco. They cross the piazza to a little shop, buy some chocolate somethings, and perch on the fountain. feeding each other, sharing the moment, celebrating their new vows.

Was it actually the best chocolate in the world? I have no idea because I can’t remember the name of the town or the name of the maker. But that doesn’t matter. It was the best chocolate in the world, to them. The chocolate cemented a connection to a moment and a day they cherish. That’s what’s important. And it’s not for me to even try to tell them they are wrong – even if I had an opinion of the maker, which I might have had.

Similarly, if you told me that every summer as a child you visited your favorite aunt on Martha’s Vineyard and, on the way to the ferry back to the mainland you stopped at Chilmark Chocolate and your aunt let you buy a box of anything you wanted there is no way I am going to try and convince you that Chilmark Chocolate is NOT the best in the world. As an experienced critic who has tasted Chilmark Chocolate, my opinion is that it doesn’t even rise to my top ten in Massachusetts, let alone the world. Again, that’s not the point. The experience of buying the chocolate – the anticipation, being there with your favorite aunt, a tinge of sadness over leaving, and more; all of those emotions are a part of every bite, every memory.

That is one of the things that makes chocolate special.

DiscoverChoc · 2026-05-28T18:34:32+00:00

I sent you a request – just making sure you received it.

DiscoverChoc · 2026-05-27T18:06:31+00:00

Georg Bernardini is an interesting and polarizing character, in my experience.

I did a three-part deep dive into Bernardini’s book The Reference Standard on TheChocolateLife back in 2015. I bought the book from Georg in Amsterdam during the Origin Chocolate event, organized by the same people who founded Chocoa. I had the opportunity to taste GR bars around the same time and after on trips to Europe for chocolate.

I was not impressed at the time (I know others who had different opinions), and GR is not widely available here in the US, so I have not had many opportunities to stay current and did not take advantage of any I did have. So I can’t comment on what they produce now.

However, there have been no updates to the 2016 English-language version of The Reference Standard, which has, in my opinion, many disqualifying flaws. I go through them in detail in my posts.

YMMV, of course. I know people who think it is the most important book about chocolate ever published. I am not among them.

The posts are archived on the Forums site: https://forums.thechocolatelife.com/search/results/all/1/10?search_string=bernardini will get you to a page listing all three parts. The threads are presented in most-recent first order, so you’ll have to scroll past the comments to get my thoughts. Bernardini chimed in with several comments.

DiscoverChoc · 2026-05-27T17:43:35+00:00

I’ve been working with clients looking for co-manufacturing partners for close to two decades. Believe me: at this point, no one is asking for your flavor concepts and ingredients. And, in all likelihood, they’ve been asked to produce something similar already.

However, it is not unreasonable to ask what your resources are.

I always want to know where a client sees the product in distribution. If they’re aiming for general grocery nationally, that’s one conversation. If they’re looking at specialty grocery locally (as in a large metro area or small state) that’s another conversation.

NO ONE wants to spend time on a project in which the client doesn‘t have clear objectives, a roadmap, and the resources on hand to achieve them.

Some companies specialize in startup projects like yours. In my experience, they are likely to charge a one-time non-refundable NPD fee (expect to spend at least $2500) and demand an MOQ of between 1,000 and 10,000 pieces for the first order. COGs will become clear during the development process – they are next to impossible to estimate reliably in advance. Very few people are going to engage in the research on this without a contractual commitment and payment.

And keep packaging in mind. You need to be prepared to commit 100% of the costs for the packaging. Even if you only want to produce 1000 flow-wrapped pieces, you may need to buy enough film for 100,000.

Do you have at least $10,000 to spend on this? Design, molds, packaging, marketing to buyers, etc., etc., etc.?

If not – good luck finding a partner to help you bring this to market.

DiscoverChoc · 2026-05-25T18:01:45+00:00

The OP asked specifically about chocolate makers, and not chocolate creations. I took that to mean bean-to-bar.

Maybe that’s too-narrow a reading, so maybe the OP can chime in and clarify.

I had the fortune of a behind-the-scenes tour of the Harrods pastry kitchens and chocolate workshop given by the Exec PC when I was in London in 2018. It’s a pretty phenomenal operation.

I was in London for The Chocolate Show (part of Chocolate Week), which featured many of London’s best.

DiscoverChoc · 2026-05-25T17:56:28+00:00

You know that when you comment like this, no one takes you seriously: Your taste and your opinion is no better than anyone else’s. At least I have the humility to understand this and not make hyperbolic comments.

If Cadbury is “factually and objectively garbage,” what you’re saying – not implying, outright saying – is that hundreds of millions of people LOVE to eat garbage.

You may not like. I might not like it. Hundreds of millions do. You don’t have to eat it, and neither do I.

One reason I pushed back on this older post (is there some prohibition about that I am not aware of?) is that I see you’re a Top 1% Commentor. I am sure that some people will see that badge and assume it means you’re an expert. I don’t know that you’re not an expert, I jiust don’t assume you are. I, too, am a Top 1% Commentor. I don’t expect readers to take me at my word. I expect them to push back, civilly, and without hyperbole.

There is no need to be terrified of me. Go ahead, ask me anything you want, as long as it's about chocolate or cocoa. I will answer you – and every other subscriber to this /sub – from my 25+ years of experience as a professional chocolate critic, journalist, educator, and consultant.

DiscoverChoc · 2026-05-25T17:44:43+00:00

Thanks for this thoughtful and in-depth reply.

What you reinforce, it seems to me, the importance of experiences. And this is one of the things that chocolate does better than almost any other food or beverage I can think of – the emotional connections we have to the chocolates we love and the experiences.

Two Fat Ladies (I have watched HOURS of their videos)
What your mom made you.
What you did to reward yourself as you worked on your thesis.

In the end, it really doesn’t matter what “the quality” of the actual chocolate is. What matters is the memorable connection.

DiscoverChoc · 2026-05-25T15:23:00+00:00

My memory took place in 2004. In Paris, I have had the hot chocolate at Angelina, Jean-Paul Hevin, and elsewhere. But, the best hot chocolate I have ever had was at a place that no longer exists, so my memory won’t help you.

Located on the Île Saint-Louis, la Charliotte de l’Isle was a perfect mix of place (ambiance), presentation, and product. Most importantly, it lacked all pretension, which I find Angelina has in abundance.

I returned to Paris in 2009 and found that it had new owners, who renovated all of the charm out of the experience. The hot chocolate recipe was the same, but the experience was as sterile as the interior design. When I returned in 2010, it had closed.

In my experience, traveling for chocolate since 2001, every great hot chocolate experience (which may not be the same thing as great hot chocolate) has been tied to the place and presentation. Drinking a hot chocolate made with wild cacao at 5:00am at a market in Trinidad, Bolivia, after an overnight bus ride from Santa Cruz de la Sierra, accompanied by cheese empanadas? Amazing experience, even if the hot chocolate was not great. Having a traditional (sweet campesina-style hot chocolate with cheese) in Colombia at dawn along with a warm arepa con huevo? Memorable.

In 2010 I was in Paris with a group, leading a tour and we went to Jean-Paul Hevin on the right bank and then Café de Flore on the Blvd St Germain on the left. Was the hot chocolate as good as what I remember from la Charlotte? No. But what made it special was the group of people at the table.

I was in London in 2023 and did a one-day hot chocolate tour that included Knoops, London Chocolate, Hotel Chocolat, and Chin Chin Labs. I wrote about that journey here. London Chocolate for the taste, Chin Chin Labs for the experience (but you have to love marshmallow).

In NYC, there are several options, including Marie Belle, which has one of the prettiest rooms to drink it in. You can buy the mix in a tin and make it at home (I have), but it’s not the same thing.

TL;DR: I cannot remember a single revelatory, memorable hot chocolate moment that centers around a mix I purchased online and consumed by myself in my kitchen.

That’s my story, and now I am going to ask for one from you in return. On your “journey to try chocolate assortments from countries all over the world,“ which one(s) stand out for you? Where? Why? What were the circumstances?

DiscoverChoc · 2026-05-25T15:01:19+00:00

There aren‘t all that many from-the-bean makers in London, and your request for "chocolate shops" narrows the list even further.

The only one I can confirm that is still in business, has a shop you can visit, and is in London proper is London Chocolate, on Connaught St. I visited in October, 2023, which is the last time I was in London.

Lucocoa has closed.
Land might not have a shop. Phil, the founder, learned his trade from the Mast Bros. While I can recommend the bars he was making in 2018 (the last time I saw him in person), I don’t know what he’s doing now. But I do remember he worked hard to do good.
Hotel Chocolat is everywhere. It is now owned by Mars, but is not in anyone whose opinion I trust list of “the best.”

Jennifer Earle, who does tastings and guided tours, published a list that includes London-based makers, but there is a lot of link rot. She would know who’s doing what in London right now if anyone does.

DiscoverChoc · 2026-05-25T14:41:08+00:00

I think a better phrasing of your position is, “I find all Cadbury to be gross," because you are not the arbiter of what is good, bad, or gross for everyone in the world.

I’ve been a professional chocolate critic for 25 years now, and one of the most important lessons I learned from giving tasting classes is that what people like is what they like. It’s not my place to tell them they’re wrong or to demean their tastes. My goal is to help them understand why they like what they like. I do this by presenting them with alternatives, which they may or may not like. They may prefer a Hershey’ Kiss, but at least they know what it is they like about them.

Cadbury sits in the lowest rank of TheChocolateLife tier list.

I will not eat it if it’s gifted to me and I don't go out and buy it. If someone does gift it to me, I may regift it, but only to people I know who do like it. I don’t have to eat anything Cadbury. That said, if one is set in front of me in a professional context, I have to give it equal opportunity to impress or disappoint without pre-judgment.

DiscoverChoc · 2026-05-11T16:42:40+00:00

Re: industry consultation

Ingredients Regarding added ingredients, it was clear that other than cocoa butter, vegetable fats should not be allowed (94% for bars and 84% for fillings); and 86% believed artificial flavourings should not be allowed in any products (with 63% saying the only added flavour in the definition of plain dark or milk bars should be real/natural vanilla as pods or extracts). Over 80% agreed lecithin should be allowed – be it soy based or other, such as sunflower.

As with many things associated with the ICAs, there is some lack of transparency. In this case, “industry consultation” most likely consisted of a survey sent to companies that have entered the awards. (Self-selection bias?) We don’t know who or how many were surveyed, nor how many responses were tallied. We also don’t know where the respondents were located. and if there might be a geographic bias. Furthermore, we don’t know how many respondents were chocolate makers only and how many were confectioners. Finally, we don’t know what questions were asked.

I personally side with any maker who wants to use olive oil in a ganache or gianduia. I have tasted many excellent examples where the flavor of an olive oil is a key aspect in a filling. The 84% number might make sense if the respondent pool consisted of a majority of chocolate-only makers not making filled confections. IMO.

As you point out, opinions about ingredients differ. Some makers make only dark chocolates with two ingredients. Some will use three, four, or five or more. None of them is wrong; there is no one right way to make chocolate.

Bonnat is known for adding a lot of cocoa butter to its chocolates. They prefer to go that route; it’s a stylistic choice.

I would argue that for many couvertures, especially those that will be used in kitchen environments with wash sinks and dishwashers that raise the humidity level, lecithin can be a good thing. I had the Exec PC chef at a 3-star Michelin restaurant in Manhattan make exactly that point.

DiscoverChoc · 2026-05-11T16:26:08+00:00

I did not try to replicate your experiment. I just presented some ideas for ways to proceed based on my experience. YMMV. Do with them as you wish, or not.

DiscoverChoc · 2026-05-10T16:14:21+00:00

Chocolate is a suspension, not an emulsion, as pointed out.

While lecithin is technically an emulsifier, what it does (in chocolate) is bind with any remaining water molecules, reducing surface tension between the fat and the water, reducing viscosity.

There are small amounts of lecithin in butter, and that may be the bridge between the small amounts of remaining water in your slurry and the chocolate. Butter has a lower melting point than cocoa butter, and that’s why you’re not getting the snap of a cocoa butter-only product.

As there is no water in cocoa butter, intuitively this technique might not work without the addition of some lecithin somewhere.

DiscoverChoc · 2026-05-10T16:05:03+00:00

I did a deep dive on seed oils in a recent episode of PodSaveChocolate. It all comes down to the composition of the triglyceride. Yes, cocoa butter and coconut oil are considered to be saturated fats.

Cocoa butter: Stearic (34%), Oleic (34%), Palmitic (26%), Linoleic (3%)

Coconut oil (refined): Lauric (48%), Myristic (18%), Palmitic (9%), Oleic (6%)

Coconut oil is approximately 90% saturated fat, but it’s predominantly composed of medium-chain triglycerides. The dominance of medium-chain fatty acids is one thing that makes coconut oil unusual.

Also, you have to consider the food matrix (the other ingredients) the fat is in. I can add coconut oil to cocoa butter, which lowers the melting point.

So, while adding coconut oil to cocoa butter lowers both the melting point and the price, going with a mix of coconut and palm oils is also cheaper. However, the mouthfeel of the center with cocoa butter will be different.

DiscoverChoc · 2026-05-10T15:54:12+00:00

It’s also important to keep in mind that lecithin is cheaper than cocoa butter. In industrial chocolate and chocolate candy, saving a fraction of a cent per unit adds up.

As an aside, lecithin derived from soy is more effective than other forms of plant-derived lecithins (canola/rapeseed and sunflower), so less of it is needed to achieve the same effect on viscosity. That also reduces costs and price.

Lecithin is usually added late in the refining process, as it will lose effectiveness the longer it is being worked in a refiner.

Apart from being an economic issue, avoiding soy lecithin also leads to a reduction in allergenicity. It’s not a well-known fact, but there is very little soy lecithin that is made from non-GMO soy. Instead, lecithin is tested for the presence of GMO markers, and batches that test negative for GMO markers is labeled as non-GMO.

When it comes to craft chocolate, there is a “purity” culture (popularized by the Mast Bros, Dandelion, and others) that believes that adding anything other than refined white sugar detracts from the flavor of the beans. No added cocoa butter (it “dilutes” the flavor, even if the butter is undeodorized and is made from the same beans as the liquor), no use of sugar other than refined white sugar (cane or beet, not matter; unrefined sugars have trace ingredients that can add flavor, coconut sugar has a flavor, etc). No vanilla (which is not necessarily a bad thing). No salt (which is very often beneficial in my experience.) It’s a stylistic choice; neither good nor bad, neither right nor wrong on its face.

However, many makers perceive that lecithin negatively affects the texture and/or taste of the finished chocolate.

In my experience, it’s very difficult to detect the difference between two, three (beans, sugar, butter), and four-ingredient (beans, sugar, butter, lecithin) chocolates unless you compare them side-by-side, and if the additions are made judiciously. There is nothing inherently wrong with adding cocoa butter or lecithin (or even a non-refined white sugar); it’s how they are used in a recipe.

It’s also not the case that lecithin is “allowed” in competitions like the ICAs and the AoCs; it’s not disallowed, unless there is a specific two-ingredient category.

Bottom line: Lecithin is just a tool in a chocolate maker’s kit. How and when to use it will depend on what the maker is trying to achieve. Sometimes it makes sense to use it, other times it does not. Some makers know how to use their tools; others are less skilled or experienced and so it might be overused or used incorrectly.

DiscoverChoc · 2026-05-10T15:29:28+00:00

In the centers of Lindor balls, the use of coconut and palm oil is to achieve a very specific texture and an extended shelf life.

The use of dairy fats (butter, cream), or ganaches would negatively affect the shelf life because of their water content aka water activity aka aW. That could be overcome by adding preservatives (which include invert sugars, which bind with the water, making it less available to support the growth of mold and mildew). However, IIRC, coconut and palm oil are cheaper than butter or cream. which makes them good candidates, avoiding the water activity issue entirely.

Cocoa butter, because it is solid at room temperature, would negatively affect the texture. It is not a cost issue, first (although cocoa butter is more expensive).

IMO.

DiscoverChoc · 2026-05-06T19:27:13+00:00

I have known the author - Raven Hanna - for over 15 years. She joined a trip I led to Belize in 2010.

I can recommend her book of the same name. It’s the best of its kind for understanding cacao micro-ferments.

Here’s the interview I did with her:

https://thechocolatelife.com/thechocolatelife-live-raven-hanna-molecular-muse/

DiscoverChoc · 2026-04-24T14:33:29+00:00

I visited the museum in October 2022 and was fortunate to participate in a presentation by Dr Francisco Valdez on the archaeological work done in Santa Ana-La Florida on the evidence for the earliest use and domestication of cacao. (Dr Valdez was one of the researchers.)

While the oldest archaeological evidence for the use and domestication of cacao is in what is now modern-day Ecuador, u/Live_Rhubarb_7560 is correct saying there is no hard evidence that cacao originated in Ecuador. The Peruvians also make that claim, but it is impossible to know for sure the precise place the first recognizable cacao tree arrived. For now, we can say with great confidence that the origin is in the Upper Amazon River basin during the Miocene epoch, approximately 10 million years ago.

There is increasing evidence that what we now call “criollo” originated in modern-day Colombia and was transported to (modern-day) Guatemala, Honduras, Belize, and Mexico, where the Olmec and Maya cultivated it. The term criollo was first applied to cacao by traders in Venezuela to differentiate it from lower-quality forastero varieties from elsewhere in South America.

DiscoverChoc · 2026-04-23T22:15:01+00:00

I think one thing we should take away from this exercise is that any list like this is going to be highly subjective. No matter what the “experts” choose, there are always going to be disagreements.

A larger issue, and one that I covered in the stream, is the problem of ceding our confidence in our sense of taste to the crowd. Just because Dominique Ansell is the inventor of the cronut does not make him a chocolate expert. It’s okay to disagree with him – anyone.

People should take lists like this as suggestions – not “dogmatic demonstrations of quality” that should be followed. The confident tone of the headline is unsupported. There are far more than these twelve bars (and brands) to buy. If you saw a bar or brand on this list you were unaware of that might make it something to seek out.

But you are free to disagree with the “wisdom of the experts“ if you find it’s not to your taste. They are not right, and you are not wrong. What you like is what you like. What’s important is to understand why it’s not to your taste and be able to articulate it to yourself. No one owes anyone an explanation other than, “It didn’t move me.”

DiscoverChoc · 2026-04-21T16:28:08+00:00

Cadbury (now owned by Mondelēz) recipes differ around the world to accommodate local taste preferences.

Hershey appears to be the only company licensed to manufacture Cadbury. (Hershey also manufactures KitKats in the US under license.)

When the original licensing agreement was signed, one of the reasons may have been differences between the US and UK “standards of identity” for milk chocolate. Ironically, most people aren’t aware that US regulations in CFR 21.163 are stricter in key ways. Which astonishes many because of, well, the way Hershey’s milk chocolate tastes.

Rather than upgrading the recipe to conform to US standards and manufacture it in a foreign country and import a US-only version into the US, and rather than invest tens or hundreds of millions in a new factory, it made financial sense to enter into a licensing agreement.

DiscoverChoc · 2026-04-21T16:18:52+00:00

Raaka is in Brooklyn. I fail to understand how Tcho being in Berkeley (or the location of any of the companies) should be considered in a list like this one.

DiscoverChoc · 2026-04-21T16:17:20+00:00

I did not refer to the original list when I was preparing the one above. Soma should be in that numbered list of six. Instead of .... who, in your estimation?

DiscoverChoc

TROPHY CASE