Pick up two 70% bars from different countries and taste them side by side. The gap is wider than between a Chardonnay and a Cabernet. Most people have never done this — and the moment they do, they stop buying chocolate the same way. Here's why the country of origin matters more than the percentage on the label.
Every bean in the bar came from one country, often one cooperative or one farm. Blended chocolate mixes beans from a dozen origins to hit a consistent house flavour, year after year. Single-origin is the opposite — it shows the place, the harvest, sometimes even the vintage. Our single-origin bars at Leidsestraat 87 are sourced from the same farms every year so the lineage is traceable.
Madagascar tastes of red fruit and citrus — bright, almost wine-like. Venezuela tastes of brown spice and wood. Ecuador is floral, grassy, sometimes almost honeyed. Tanzania is dark, tobacco-like, savoury. Vietnam, our current favourite, leans toward stone fruit and tobacco. None of this is poetic marketing — it's geography. The soil, the cocoa variety, the fermentation method.
A 70% bar from Madagascar and a 70% bar from Venezuela contain the same proportion of cocoa solids — but the flavour gap is enormous. Percentage tells you intensity. Origin tells you taste. The number on the label is the least interesting fact about the bar.
Ask for two bars at the same percentage from two different countries. Eat them side by side, breaking each piece in half before tasting. Let each square melt on the centre of your tongue for 30 seconds before chewing. You'll never look at a chocolate bar the same way again.
Amsterdam Chocolate Factory at Leidsestraat 87 sells single-origin bars from Madagascar, Venezuela, Ecuador, Vietnam and Tanzania, alongside several rotating seasonal origins.
Not better — different. Single-origin shows the character of one place; blends prioritise consistency. Most chocolate lovers end up enjoying both for different moments.
Madagascar's volcanic soil and the local Criollo-Trinitario cocoa variety produce naturally fruity beans. The traditional Sambirano valley fermentation method preserves those notes through to the finished bar.