I love chocolate as much as the next person, maybe even more. A (semi) unpopular opinion I have is that dark chocolate is the superior kind. I have come to love the slightly bitter taste from 72% or higher dark chocolate. On my quest for some high quality dark chocolate, I went on Goldbelly and I stumbled upon K+M chocolate, a collaboration company from world-renowned chef Thomas Keller and Armando Manni, the owner of Manni Extra Virgin Olive Oil. I know what you might think, chocolate made with olive oil? let me explain.
In a film featured on their website, they explain that their chocolate, instead of being made with cocoa butter, is made with a small amount of extra virgin olive oil. They explain how cocoa has a lot of antioxidants, but a lot of it is lost in the chocolate making process. They combat this problem by combining cocoa with extra virgin olive oil, which brings back a lot of the antioxidants that are lost, giving their chocolate health benefits.
The Chocolate Taste Test
Their chocolate is categorized by type (milk, dark, and dark milk) in addition to country, where the cocoa beans come from.
The four pack I bought included Dark Milk Nicaragua, Milk Ecuador, Milk, coffee and sea salt (with beans from Ecuador), and Dark Madagascar.
The Dark Milk says it has notes of black currant and malt, and while subtle, I could definitely taste those flavors. The flavor of malt is nostalgic for me, it takes me back to the malt sodas and malt chocolate milk I drank growing up.
The four chocolates taste slightly different from each other, but one thing in common is that they are both super smooth and creamy. The Milk Ecuador tastes like the highest quality milk chocolate that I’ve ever had, and has notes of caramel and butterscotch.
The dark chocolate is the one I was most interested in trying, given my affinity for dark chocolate. The Madagascar has notes of grapefruit and caramel, and the slightly fruity note comes through, giving it a unique flavor.
Finally, the milk coffee and sea salt flavor has coffee grounds, and the flavor is prevalent, balanced well by the milk chocolate and sea salt. The tasting notes of caramel and butterscotch are also present here, as they are in the milk.
Overall, my thoughts on K+M chocolate are that they are of the highest quality in taste in addition to a clean, simple presentation, and they are a brand I would recommend to all of my chocolate lovers out there, or anyone out there looking for something like this.