FOOD + DRINK

the c note: artisan chocolate

If you’re someone who likes to know where your food comes from – and I don’t just mean the local supermarket – then you will want to explore what local artisan chocolate company The C Note has to offer. ‘Explore’ being the operative word here, as the company’s founder, Sophie Meyer, actually calls herself a ‘chocolate explorer’ who has been travelling, filming and investigating cacao for the past 18 years. She describes her Single Estate dark chocolate as a guilt-free “journey through sensuous pleasure”. Naturally, we need to find out more!

Confessed ‘chocoholic’ filmmaker, journalist and researcher Sophie Meyer is a true Renaissance woman, describing her love of chocolate as the longest relationship she’s ever had. Her adventure began while filming a documentary in Trinidad about a music tradition called Parang, where she fell in love with the beauty of the place, its people and its smooth trinitario cocoa… Sophie’s natural curiosity led her to investigate the source of the best dark chocolate. Sophie explained that, as her work took her to exotic parts of the world, “it led me closer to what counts most for me, which is culture, people, connection and a respect for nature.”

It was during her numerous trips in the forest that she fell in love with the sacred land of cacao and the small producers who have tremendous respect for the Earth. Inspired by local chocolate makers and farmers, Sophie finally set up as a chocolatier with her chocolate brand that reflects her passion for intense and rich flavours in 2016.
It has since grown into a well-established and trusted award-winning local brand. C Note’s strong ethos stems from the fact that they are health-conscious, as well as committed to sourcing the best ingredients with great care and integrity. They state they are only offering what they would give to their children. The idea of healthy chocolate may sound like an oxymoron, but C Note Artisan Chocolate appears to have achieved this much sought after dream.

“The uniqueness in the flavour is that, even though we have a variety of flavours, you always know that the layers are different, that you have different notes on your palate”

Sophie personally selects the cacao herself, describing the process as “bean to bar artisan chocolate”. “We only work with small to medium size cacao producers who love their cacao”, Sophie explains, “we visit them every year, not only to see about the quality and refine techniques to match an ever-evolving C Note dark chocolate but also to learn from them and from the amazing fruit that is cacao”.
At the moment, most of the cacao is sourced in Trinidad & Tobago, Panama and Grenada – but there are plans to expand to Latin America too. The journey of cacao is one of hard work and commitment from the planting, harvest, fermentation, drying, roasting and finally the chocolate making.

Taking the true gourmand approach, Sophie argues that understanding the quality of cacao for chocolate is similar to the refined blending of grapes for wine. The way she describes the sensory experience of her chocolate blends is very similar to appreciating a fine wine: “The uniqueness in the flavour is that, even though we have a variety of flavours, you always know that the layers are different, that you have different notes on your palate. And this is why The C Note is unique because the experience of chocolate is in the sense that you can have chocolate with depth and still have the experience of chocolate, not just the flavour.” Sophie explains that one of the things she wanted to achieve with this exceptional blending is so that people can ‘own’ their experience of very high-quality chocolate with particular flavours”, referring to “the alchemy of mixing spices with cacao.”

The C Note flavours range from the more traditional -  coffee, Amaretto, almonds, Grand Marnier, black cherry and orange to the marvellously unusual: Star Anise, Violet, Dill, Fig, Basil, Lime & Black Pepper and Honey & Bee Pollen.

Their dark chocolate is organic and packed with natural ingredients and nutrients. With no added pesticides or chemicals and no child labour involved, you can happily eat these delights with a very healthy conscience too! Sophie uses coconut sugar rather than sugar cane, as it has dubious links to the slave trade and the historic planting of sugarcane around the world has led to significant impacts on biodiversity. She states: “I know that cocoa plantations were also part of the slave trade, but now many of them are owned by family members of the former slaves.”

The C Note only produces a minimum of 72% cacao and does not use dairy milk. Chocolate with high cacao content (at least 70%) contains all-important antioxidants and essential minerals such as iron, magnesium, copper, manganese, potassium, zinc, selenium. It reduces blood pressure, cholesterol and promotes a healthy heart when eaten in moderation.

But even the flavouring that C Note uses is good for you too! Their 75% vegan dark chocolate hearts, for instance, are infused with organic Rose Otto essential oil. Rose is used in herbal medicine to treat stress, depression, nausea, colds, insomnia, menopausal symptoms as well as reduced libido and eating disorders amongst many other things! Traditional uses for Black Cherry include treatment of dry and irritable coughs, as well as to ease indigestion and symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome. And did you know that bee pollen is a Superfood and in Chinese medicine is considered to be an energy and nutritive tonic? Apparently, pollens gathered by bees are rich in proteins, free amino acids, vitamins including B-complex and folic acid.

Fans of white chocolate will no doubt appreciate that these are organic and vegan made with lucuma powder. Lucuma is a fruit native of Peru, rich in nutrients such as beta-carotene, vitamin B3, iron, zinc, calcium, magnesium, and other vitamins and minerals. They also use ceremonial matcha (high-quality green tea) from Japan which contains antioxidants, amino acids, vitamins, and minerals that deliver amazing health benefits!

As the C Note has been known to deliver masterclasses in chocolate tasting, I’m definitely first in the queue for the next one!

www.thechocolatenote.com @thechocolatenote

By Charles Osaji & Stella Keen

All images © ImageCrate

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