Single origin chocolate or blend?
In recent years, single-origin chocolate bars have become highly sought-after among cocoa lovers, and enthusiasts clearly prefer them to blends.
Enrico Rizzi himself, who for years has dedicated himself to the research of the best varieties of cocoa on the market to create increasingly refined chocolate bars, has recently launched a very rich line of single-origin bars called "Cioccolati Rari", which ranges from Venezuela to the Philippines.
All of this could lead to an easy conclusion: single-origin chocolate is always preferable to blends. But is this always the case? To establish this, we must first clarify the terms.
Read also: 10 tips for tasting chocolate
Single Origin Chocolate: What Does It Mean?
A single-origin chocolate is a chocolate made exclusively with cocoa beans from the same geographical area .
A single-origin bar, therefore, could be made only with cocoa imported from Colombia, or to be even more specific, from a certain area of Colombia.
For example, Enrico created a 66% single-origin bar, made only using cocoa from the province of South Cotabato , because he found during his explorations that the local beans were characterized by notes of yellow and tropical fruits, honey and cereals.
The production of single-origin chocolate, although constantly growing, is still a niche compared to that of blends , for reasons we will analyze shortly.
There are also other definitions similar to, but not identical to, that of single-origin chocolate, which indicate similar products, but with even more specific and different characteristics, such as:
Single variety chocolate
Single-variety chocolate is made only with cocoa beans of a specific variety , which may however also come from different geographical areas.
Raw chocolate
Cru chocolate is made exclusively with cocoa beans from a specific plantation . It is therefore an even more specific indication than that of single-origin chocolate.
Read also: Rum and chocolate, 5 perfect pairings
Chocolate Blend: What Does It Mean?
When we talk about blend, contrary to what we saw above, we mean a chocolate made by combining different cocoa varieties according to pre-established proportions . In short, it is a mixture of different cocoa varieties.
By combining different cocoa varieties, it is possible to give chocolate the desired characteristics of each one.
In general, the vast majority of chocolate bars are made with cocoa blends , for reasons we will see shortly.
Read also: How the cocoa plant is made
Single origin vs Blend: pros and cons
Both types have advantages and disadvantages, which we list below to "decree" which is the best chocolate.
The advantages of single-origin chocolate
- Uniqueness : Since the cocoa comes from a single area, type or plantation, the aromas of a single-origin chocolate are different from those of all the others. It is, therefore, a truly unique product.
- Originality : in single-origin chocolates it is possible to find aromas and scents that you will hardly find in a blend, such as leather, tobacco, ripe cherries. In short, what you are tasting is not "simple" chocolate.
- Quality : the research and selection process behind a single-origin chocolate is almost always a guarantee of good, if not excellent, quality.
The disadvantages of single-origin chocolate
- Cost: the main disadvantage of single-origin chocolate is that the starting raw material, being of the highest quality and sometimes produced on a small scale, is more expensive, and this naturally translates into a higher final price.
- Originality: we put it among the advantages, but paradoxically it could also be a disadvantage... precisely because the bar you are tasting does not only taste of chocolate, depending on your personal tastes you might not even like it.
The benefits of blended chocolate
- Standardization : making a chocolate with a blend allows for greater control over the final yield of a product and consequently a more stable yield, and this is the reason why the vast majority of original chocolates are the result of blends.
- Balance : Mixing different cocoa varieties allows you to obtain well-balanced chocolates, with characteristics of sweetness, bitterness and acidity that generally make them pleasant to large groups of consumers.
- Cost-effectiveness : it is not always true, but a blend is generally cheaper to produce than a single-origin, so the final cost for the consumer is often lower (although there may be significant exceptions, given that a blend can be made with top-quality cocoa varieties).
The disadvantages of blended chocolate
- Homologation : the "downside" of standardization is of course homologation, because by mixing so many different varieties of cocoa, their most characteristic aromas will end up remaining hidden. It is therefore difficult, although not impossible, to find a blend that has the same personality as a single origin.
Read also: The origins of cocoa and chocolate
Final Verdict
In reality, it is not possible to establish a priori whether single-origin chocolate or blended chocolate is better.
Conceptually, single-origin chocolate wins because it is by its very definition a truly unique product , capable of making you experience emotions that no other chocolate can make you experience.
But the truth is that a good blend, created by wisely dosing the different varieties of cocoa, can be clearly superior to many single origins . Also because, as already said, in a blend you can still use varieties of the highest quality, if you know how to use them and you can harmonize them without covering their characteristics.
Read also: What does Bean to Bar chocolate mean
An excellent example of this is the 71.4% ER 2024 dark chocolate bar, created by Enrico in the OrNoir laboratories in Paris, with the best varieties of cocoa on the market following extensive research and experimentation: the result is a chocolate with great character, with light notes of red fruit, a pleasant acidity, a hint of cocoa, good aroma, pleasant bitterness, pleasant hints of toasted dried fruit.
The same thing happens with wines, after all: there are many DOCs of undisputed quality that are not produced in purity, but are the result of the encounter between different grapes, such as Bramaterra from the hills of Alto Piemonte , which is made with Nebbiolo, Croatina, Vespolina and sometimes Bonarda.
In short, what determines whether single-origin or blended chocolate is better is the quality of the raw materials and the ability to use them to their best advantage .
In the shop you can find bars of both types, accompanied by creative bars inspired by Enrico's famous Symphonies . To decide which type you prefer, all you have to do is start tasting!
