Some of our members may have never tasted real Grand Cru Chocolate before joining The Gourmet Chocolate of the Month Club! Many confections and bakery products that call themselves "chocolate" contain very little, if any, real chocolate. They contain mostly sugar, partially hydrogenated palm oil, and other vegetable filler fats.

Real chocolate products, like the ones you will receive from The Gourmet Chocolate of the Month Club are created with chocolate liquor made from secret blends of the highest quality cocoa beans, that are ripened, fermented, and roasted to perfection. [Occasionally chocolate is made from only one kind of bean.] Real chocolate may be as high as 80% cocoa butter and it is a smooth as velvet because it has been conched... sometimes for several days! Cocoa beans vary greatly according to the variety and the growing conditions.

• Brazilian beans are said to be slightly smoky but robust
• Guyaquil cocoa beans are sweet
• Sumatra beans are acrid
• Indian Ocean cocoas are pungent and sour, but not bitter
• Madagascar beans are strong in flavor and aroma.
• Venezuelan cocoas, primarily the Criollo variety, are considered by many to produce the very finest chocolate... a delicacy, since only 10% of the world’s beans are Criollos.

All other ingredients in the products we select are also of the very highest quality, and no preserving agents or vegetable fats (other than cocoa butter) are included. Sugar, a preserving agent, is only used in moderation.

Of course, the expertise of the handwork, and each Chocolatier’s personal creativity is also important. Fine chocolate making is truly an art, and our monthly selections will be created by chocolatiers who are acknowledged within their industry. Experience the sensational tastes of true Grand Cru and Vintage Chocolate by joining today.