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VALRHONA CHOCOLATE
Since 1922 the vocation of Valrhona has been to create exceptional gourmet chocolate, while respecting the artisan's know-how and fine French taste. Dedicated to quality, Valrhona selects and purchases its cocoa beans directly from choice plantations, thus securing an exclusive supply of Grand Crus from South America, the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean. Valrhona was one of the first chocolatiers to describe their chocolate in a similar fashion to wine with the labelling of such creations as grand cru, single origin, single estate and even vintage chocolate. Valrhona is regarded as being amongst the best of the few french chocolate makers today creating their chocolate from bean to bar (cacaofevier). Read more about Valrhona.
Valrhona Komuntu, 80% dark chocolate bar
From Valrhona
A higher cocoa dark chocolate with a strong, bittersweet and woody aroma with underlying notes of roasted cocoa nibs. Created from a blend of cocoas and described by Valrhona as 'the ultimate in responsibly made chocolates'.
Valrhona Bahibe, 46% milk chocolate bar
From Valrhona
Valrhona have created this single origin, high cocoa milk chocolate bar from fine flavour cocoa from the Dominion Republic. A balance between the sweetness of milk and intensity of cocoa with notes of nuts, a little fruity acidity and smooth melt.
Andoa Lait, 39% milk chocolate bar
From Valrhona
This organic and Fairtrade, milk chocolate bar from Valrhona provides an intensely, creamy milk chocolate with caramel and malt notes and typical of Valrhona high quality.
Valrhona Caraibe, 66% dark chocolate bar
From Valrhona
The Caraibe chocolate is a mellow, mild mannered dark chocolate bar from Valrhona with not too much bitterness and a smooth melt and lingering finish. Incredibly smooth. Made exclusively from the Trinitario bean from the Caribbean islands.
Valrhona Manjari, 64% dark chocolate bar
From Valrhona
The Valrhona Manjari is a particularly fruity dark chocolate bar from Valrhona with exceptional flavour and very popular. Suited to most tastes due to the lower cocoa content and surprising sweetness for a dark chocolate.
Andoa Noir, 70% dark chocolate bar
From Valrhona
This organic and Fairtrade, 70% dark chocolate bar from Valrhona provides a powerful chocolate with a lasting flavour and typical of Valrhona high quality. Created from single origin cocoa grown in Peru.
Valrhona Abinao, 85% dark chocolate bar
From Valrhona
A high cocoa, bitter dark chocolate bar from Valrhona with powerful lingering intensity. The Abinao chocolate bar is created from a blend of Forastero cocoa beans from Africa.
Valrhona Jivara, 40% milk chocolate bar
From Valrhona
The Valrhona Jivara is created using Nacional cocoa, a Forastero-type cocoa from Ecuador, is a smooth and mild mannered milk chocolate with added malt. An easy eating sweet milk chocolate with a creamy texture and light finish.
Valrhona Millot, 74% dark chocolate chips
From Valrhona
Single origin dark chocolate chips/drops created from organic cocoa beans from the Millot plantation in Madagascar. A grand Cru chocolate that is bursting with fruity flavour (plum, mango, citrus) from its special origin.
Valrhona Nyangbo, 68% Drinking Chocolate
From Valrhona
A premium quality, single origin, hot chocolate! Created using single origin cocoa from Ghana. A rounded flavour profile with notes of spice and vanilla. For the perfect hot chocolate, mix 10 teaspoons with 20cl (7oz) of hot milk and add sugar to taste.
Valrhona Dulcey, 35% Blond chocolate bar
From Valrhona
A world first for Valrhona. Valrhona claim to have created a new type of chocolate. Not milk, dark or white but 'Blond'. The new Dulcey bar is a 35% cocoa content chocolate with very sweet, biscuit, fudge and malted flavours, unlike any other chocolate.
Valrhona Oriado, 60% dark chocolate bar
From Valrhona
A Grand Cru dark chocolate created with a blend of organic cocoa beans from Peru and the Dominican Republic. A particularly sweet dark chocolate with notes of apricot/peach and vanilla with a creamy mouth feel. Low roast, little bitterness.
Valrhona Tulakalum, 75% dark chocolate bar
From Valrhona
A single origin dark chocolate created using cocoa from Belize. A chocolate offering both deep chocolatey mouth filling notes with both a bitter then tart fruit edge, reminiscent of cherry. A wonderfully wide flavour profile with a lasting finish.
Valrhona Guanaja, 70% dark chocolate bar
From Valrhona
Valrhona Guanaja is a powerful flavoured, single origin chocolate bar with reduced acidic taste. A noticeably lingering chocolate with intensity and depth. Guanaja chocolate is also available as couverture chips.
Valrhona Araguani, 100% dark chocolate bar
From Valrhona
Pure 100% single origin cocoa from Venezuela with no added sugar. This is a high end bitter dark chocolate for the strict, high cocoa dark chocolate lover. Vanilla and woody notes.
Valrhona Cocoa powder bulk
From Valrhona
An economical, 3kg box of high quality cocoa powder from Valrhona containing 3 x 1kg foiled bags for ease of use. Pure, unsweetened 'dutched' cocoa powder created for chocolate making, cakes and desserts.
Gastronomie range cocoa powder
From Valrhona
This high quality cocoa powder by Valrhona is 100% unsweetened, pure and intense. Also 'dutched' this cocoa powder is created for all kinds of chocolate making, cakes and desserts.
More on Valrhona...
Valrhona - a reputation for quality
Valrhona was one of the first fine chocolate makers to penetrate the UK market with its high quality chocolate, particularly aimed at the professional trade with it’s range of couvertures, perfected for pastry chefs. Fine chocolate up until this point was almost unheard of in the UK and certainly not readably available on the high street. During its growing popularity Valrhona launched many new products appealing to non professionals and today has a wide range of fine chocolates and a long-standing reputation for quality.
A French chocolate
Valrhona is a French chocolate manufacturer based in the small town of Tain L'Hermitage in Hermitage, a wine-growing district near Lyon. The company was founded in 1922 by Monsieur Guironnet, an enterprising French pastry chef from the Rhône valley who opened La Chocolaterie du Vivarais, his first chocolate factory.
History of Valrhona
In 1939 messieurs Bourget and Gonnet bought Guironnet’s chocolate factory on his death and renamed it Etablissements Gonnet, after Albert Gonnet, master confectioner and the company’s new director. He is quickly joined by his son-in-law, Louis Gelet and then by Guy de Loisy, son in law of Bourgeat.
- The company was renamed Gonnet-deLoisy after the death of Albert Gonnet.
- The trademark of Valrhona was first adopted at the beginning of the 1960’s
- In 1975 Luois Gelet retired and Guy de Loisy is succeeded by his son, Oliver.
- In 1984 the company was bought by a family-owned French group.
- From 1985 – 1988 the company launched the “carres” in their black box and the Equicnoxe.
Valrhona today
Each year Valrhona created new chocolates and particularly couvertures, the main part of Valrhona’s business to the professional industry.
Valrhona is today one of the leading producers of high-quality chocolate in the world with 5 subsidiaries and 60 local distributors across the globe.. The company also maintains the Ecole du Grand Chocolat, a school for professional chefs with a focus on chocolate-based dishes and pastries. To make superior chocolate, only the best cocoa will do.
For many years:
- Valrhona has been working to seek out, identify and select the best varieties of cocoa tree in all the regions of the world.
- Building partnerships with planters in carefully selected cocoa-producing countries.
- Creating new plantations where it grows rare species - some of which were in danger of extinction.
The Way it Works
In a space of two years Valrhon’s buyer can review around 80 cocoa plantations in 22 countries. Working direct with producers rather than dealing with wholesale markets and dealers. Working direct with the growers also ensures quality and maintains checks on growing conditions and methods of harvesting, fermenting and drying of the cocoa.
From the plantation to Valrhona
The cocoa beans, once dried, should be stored on the plantation for a limited time only. The beans are examined before shipment to Valrhona and properly packed into appropriate ventilated containers.
Upon arrival at Valrhona’s factory, the cocoa beans receive a painstaking inspection for the following purposes:
- Detect off-odours and eventual off-flavours
- Check for the presence of foreign bodies
- To verify the moisture content
- Ensure all Valrhona’s specifications have been met
- Once in storage the jute sacks of cocoa beans are probed with a sampling iron to extract sufficient beans for a triple qualitative analysis:
- A certain number of beans are cut-test in search of specific faults such as mould or insect damage, evidence of germination, excessive flatness.
- A percentage of hole beans are roasted and smelled.
- A small quantity of roasted beans are made up as chocolate tasting-sample for the in-house experts of Valrhona’s “cacaotheque”, who judge each single-origin specimen for both flavour and conformity to the standard expected from the cocoa of the designated source.
On the basis of these three criteria will be decided the acceptability- or not- of each consignment of cocoa beans to Valrhona.
The storage of accepted shipments of cocoa beans are then held under clean, dry, insect free conditions at a temperature of about 16ºC. They are classified by flavour.
Valrhona chocolates
Valrhona today produce an extensive range of superior quality chocolates from their retail range of vintage and single origin chocolate bars through to bonbons and chocolate specialities including their equally impressive food service products such as their world famous couvertures, fillings and chocolate decorations. As with most top end chocolatiers, Valrhona does not introduce a great deal of new chocolate for the seasons such as Christmas or Easter as this market is mainly focused on lower priced novelties and trends. Valrhona could never be described as a fashionable company although their sleek packaging and high finish of presentation certainly make an impression on anyone lucky enough to receive Valrhona chocolates as a gift. Valrhona's designer look is an added bonus for what is essentially a case of quality over quantity.
Another French chocolate maker of equal, superior quality you may be interested would be Michel Cluizel >
