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Kastbergs Dark Chocolate

At Kastbergs, we love developing our own ingredients—especially when it comes to rich, dark chocolate. That’s why, in 2017, Joachim travelled to Paris to create his very own dark chocolate recipe

Kastbergs’ Own Dark Chocolate

Joachim has always had a soft spot for great dark chocolate—especially when it comes to chocolate ice cream, whether it’s classic chocolate, stracciatella, or something entirely different. But he wasn’t satisfied with the chocolate options available to him. So, in 2017, he realized that to make the perfect chocolate ice cream, he would need a custom dark chocolate tailored specifically for his ice cream. And who better to help him than the very best in the field?

Naturally, the choice fell on Callebaut, one of the world’s leading names in chocolate and innovation. Callebaut’s development lab, known for its cutting-edge methods, helps chefs and professionals around the world create custom chocolate to fit their exact needs—including tailored dark chocolates. With over 175 years of history and more than 100 years of chocolate expertise, Callebaut supplies around a quarter of the world’s chocolate and cocoa-based products. They also aim to use 100% sustainable ingredients in all of their products by 2025, which aligns perfectly with Kastbergs’ own commitment to sustainability and ingredient traceability.

In 2017, Joachim Kastberg visited Callebaut’s development center, Or Noir, in Paris to create his very own dark chocolate. The goal was to craft a chocolate that would perfectly match Kastbergs’ ice cream—both in taste and texture. Not only did the flavor need to complement the creaminess of the ice cream, but the chocolate also needed to have the ideal snap when frozen, especially in products like Stracciatella. Most standard chocolate is not designed to be frozen, which can make it too hard to chew when used in ice cream.

Working closely with Or Noir’s master chocolatiers, the result was a dark chocolate with a cocoa content of 72.7%. Its flavor profile is deep and slightly tangy, with notes of fresh berries—crafted specifically to retain the right texture and taste when frozen. This chocolate gives our ice cream a bold yet refined chocolate flavor—true chocolate, not just cocoa.

Cocoa Beans for Kastbergs Dark Chocolate

Kastbergs Dark Chocolate (72.7%) is crafted from two distinct types of cocoa beans, which together create a deep, slightly tangy chocolate with notes of fresh berries. The first of these beans is the ‘Criollo Amazonia’ from the Alto el Sol plantation in Peru. These beans grow in the heart of the Rio Abiseo National Park, where the plantation is surrounded by lush vegetation that provides the cocoa trees with rich nutrients and ideal growing conditions. This unique setting contributes to the distinct quality of the plantation and its cocoa.

More specifically, the plantation is located in the Pachiza District, in the San Martin Region of Peru, which receives an average annual rainfall of 1600mm and maintains a consistent average temperature of around 27°C. The fermentation process for these beans lasts between 6 and 8 days in wooden boxes, after which the beans are sun-dried on concrete floors. This bean offers a unique aromatic profile that evolves over time. Thanks to its red fruit notes and balanced acidity, Alto el Sol contributes to an intense, sharp, and very fruity chocolate experience.

The second cocoa type in our house-developed dark chocolate is Organic Saint Domingue. This cocoa’s flavor profile is balanced and robust, with subtle hints of dates, honey, and pepper. These beans come from the Yacao Farmers’ Cooperative in the Yamasá region of the Dominican Republic, and are of the Hispaniola and Sanchez varieties. Like the Criollo Amazonia, these beans are also fermented, though only for three days, reflecting different practices depending on the plantation, the variety, and the desired flavor and aroma characteristics.

Thus, the beans used in Kastbergs’ Dark Chocolate originate from two different regions. When blended, they produce the delicious dark chocolate used in products like Chocolate Ice Cream, Stracciatella, Chocolate Blackcurrant, Mint Chocolate, and Chocolate Soft Serve. The result is a deep, slightly tangy flavor profile with distinctive notes of fresh berries.