Our own-developed dark chocolate

Joachim has always had a weakness for good dark chocolate, and not least for a good chocolate ice cream, whether classic chocolate ice cream, stracciatella or something else entirely. He was not quite satisfied with the options available for the chocolate in his ice cream, and so in 2017 he realised that he needed his own variety of dark chocolate, tailored to his ice cream, in order to achieve the perfect chocolate ice cream. And who should help him with that? It had to be the very best experts, of course.

The choice naturally fell on Callebaut, as they are among the best in the world when it comes to chocolate and the development of new chocolate variations. Their innovative methods and processes mean that chefs and professionals from most of the world can come and get help developing their very own chocolate, for example a dark chocolate that suits their unique needs precisely. Callebaut also has more than 175 years of history and more than 100 years of experience with chocolate, and is present in roughly a quarter of the world's chocolate and cocoa products worldwide. So they have plenty of experience. On top of that, the Callebaut Group has set itself the goal of using only 100% sustainable ingredients in all its products from 2025. This goes hand in hand with Kastbergs' dedication to sustainability, while allowing us to get our own unique dark chocolate, and it fits with our wish to develop as many of our own ingredients as possible.

As mentioned, in 2017 our very own Joachim Kastberg travelled to visit Callebaut's development department, Or Noir, in Paris. There he received help developing his very own dark chocolate for his ice cream. A chocolate that had to suit his ice cream well, in terms of both flavour and texture. The flavour had to be a perfect match for Kastbergs' cream ice cream, and the chocolate also had to have just the right snap in the ice cream when, for example, it is melted and frozen together with the ice cream, as when we make Stracciatella. The problem here is that ordinary chocolate is not developed to be frozen, but rather to be eaten as it is or used in baking. In those cases, the chocolate can typically become very hard when frozen, so Kastbergs needed a dark chocolate with the right flavour that would not become too hard when frozen, as it can then be too difficult to chew.

In collaboration with Or Noir's chocolatiers, the result was a dark chocolate with a full 72.7% cocoa content. The flavour profile is deep and slightly tart, with notes of fresh berries, and it is of course made to be perfectly suited to being frozen together with the ice cream. It gives our ice cream a wonderfully rich yet still elegant taste of REAL chocolate, not of cocoa.

Kastbergs Dark Chocolate (72.7%) is made from two different beans that together create this deep, slightly tart chocolate with notes of fresh berries. The first of these is the 'Criollo Amazonia' bean from the Alto el Sol plantation in Peru. The beans grow in the heart of the Rio Abiseo National Park, where the Alto el Sol plantation is protected by a lush environment and surroundings that give the cacao trees all the nourishment and substance they need, and that make this plantation and its cocoa beans something special. More precisely, the plantation is located in the Pachiza District in the San Martín Region of Peru, which has an average annual rainfall of 1600 mm and an average temperature of 27°C. The fermentation of this bean takes place over 6–8 days in wooden boxes. Afterwards, the beans are dried in the sun on concrete floors. This bean offers a unique aromatic profile for a chocolate that evolves over time. Thanks to its red fruits and notes of acidity, Alto el Sol is an intense, sharp and very fruity chocolate. The next type of chocolate in our own-developed dark chocolate is Organic Saint Dominigue. Its flavour profile can be described as balanced and powerful, with hints of dates, honey and pepper. The two beans that together make up this chocolate come from St. Dominigue, Yacao Farmers' Cooperative in the Yamasa region of the Dominican Republic. The bean varieties are Hispaniola and Sanchez. Just like the Criollo Amazonia bean, these beans also go through a fermentation process, though only over three days, as the methods used differ between plantations and producers. This may be due, among other things, to differences between the individual bean varieties, or to differences in what one wishes to bring out in each bean in terms of, for example, flavour and aroma.

The beans in our own-developed Kastbergs Dark Chocolate therefore have two different origins. Combined, these origins and beans become the delicious dark chocolate we use in products such as Chocolate Ice Cream, Stracciatella Ice Cream, Chocolate Blackcurrant, Mint Chocolate and Chocolate Soft Serve, and give an overall flavour profile that is deep, slightly tart and with notes of fresh berries.