I have treasure in my kitchen.
Amedei Chuao is a dark 70% single origin chocolate from Venezuela. It is the stuff that legends are made of. As I wrote in a previous post:
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Amedei came about after brother and sister Alessio and Cecilia Tessieri, Italian sellers of baking ingredients, approached Valrhona seeking to distribute their products. Story has it that Valrhona rejected their request, telling them that Italy wasn’t “capable of appreciating fine French chocolate”.
Furiously insulted, the Tessieris formed Amedei, which almost immediately started producing amazing chocolate. Their true moment of triumph though, came when Alessio managed to secure exclusive access to the renowned Chuao cacao plantations, locking Valrhona out of their premium source of beans. It’s a fabulous story – you can read more about it here and here.
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Amedei Chuao is regarded by many as the finest chocolate in the world, but until a few days ago, I’d never tried it. Part of the problem was availability, but there was also the issue of cost – at a recommended retail price of $18.50 for a 50g block, it was way out of my price range.
So…when I discovered that my friend Tania worked for Lario International, the Australian importer of Amedei, and that she could source some Chuao for me at wholesale prices, I leapt at the opportunity. The chocolate comes in elegant one kilogram blocks, wrapped in black and gold…
I chopped up a large quantity for tempering…
…and ended up with nine glossy bars and a dozen or so small fleur de lys chocolates. It was a delight to work with, tempering to a crisp snap and shiny finish…
The chocolate is extremely fine and has a distinct flavour – slightly smoky with delicious plummy notes and a smooth, almost buttery, finish. As Monkey Girl pointed out, the pleasant hint of bitterness fades in the mouth and is replaced with sweetness and well balanced acid. (I love that Big Boy’s girlfriend has such a fine palate!)
The teenagers were hovering as I unmoulded the chocolate, and I tried to explain to them how rare the product was, and how much it cost, and the wonderful story behind it. Unfortunately that didn’t stop them eating it as fast as they could – in the end I had to chase them out of the kitchen!
It is such a treat to have this chocolate to savour and experiment with, especially after reading so much about it. Tania, I can’t thank you enough!
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I love this story, Celia, and your chocolate bars and fleur de lis are so shiny and beautiful and begging anyone to snap off a piece. You are lucky to have Tania as a friend. :) …very lucky
Maureen, isn’t it just the best story? How can anyone resist such a tale of sustained Italian fury? ;-) I think I’m VERY lucky to have Tania as a friend, and certainly not just because I could buy chocolate – she’s absolutely gorgeous!
In my view one of the top chocolates, have been buying it for years on my trips to Italy and pleased to find that the chocolate indulgence I had recently at Quay was Amedei, couldn’t sleep that night but was worth it. Are other mere mortals able to buy the same blocks, maybe I should use my business ABN?
Roz, give them a call! They have a really wide Amedei range, including the 9 and the Porcelana (which is in very limited quantities).
Wonderful Celia! Your chocolate looks amazing as always :)
Jane, thank you! I wish the wolves had spent longer looking and eaten just a bit more slowly. Though to be fair, it was only Big Boy and Monkey Girl – Small Man still prefers milk…
Thanks Maureen that’s very nice of you>>>.. I hope that you and your boys haven’t eaten all that precious chocolate yet Celia, You really do know how to make a great chocolate !!!!.
Tania, I only let the kids loose on the fleur de lys, but I have been sharing the blocks with the neighbours. Everyone is raving about it! Thanks again for making it all possible!
Alright. Am now absolutely jealous. I’ve tried the Chuao, but only had one block which I bought in Siena in Italy and it cost a fortune. I’m not really sure that it’s a good idea for me to know of an Australian source, but I’ll just go have a look anyway ………
Hehehe…Amanda, when you spend a small fortune on Amedei in bulk form, remember that this time, it’s not my fault. :)
Wow Celia, you are very lucky. Pity I am so far away. I would love to have tempering lessons.
Glenda, I reckon we can do them over skype or facetime. Or we’ll book one in for the next time you’re in Sydney! :)
“The teenagers were hovering” and I’m ready to hire a helicopter, land on your roof and shimmy down the chimney to nick some choccie!
Rose, you’re too funny! You know I’d share.. ;-)
What a tasty and reverent post. It made my mouth water from beginning to end.
Siobhan, thank you – it was something special and we felt privileged to be able to taste it!
I would like to think, Celia, that if I were offered a taste of this chocolate, that I would have the discipline to savor each bit, to let it coat my palate in chocolate-y goodness. That’s what I’d like. The reality wouldn’t be much different than your wolves, I’m sorry to say. So, when I visit you, be sure to put away the fine chocolate. Just leave a Hershey bar on the counter.
John, you have a very refined palate – anyone who can distinguish guanciale from speck from pancetta is a true cognoscenti in my book! :)
How lovely of you to share your bounty and good fortune. I think even just looking at it, and smelling would be a sense sensation :)
ED, it was a privilege to have some to share! :) Actually I didn’t mention that, but it really did have the most amazing aroma…
OMG. I am salivating Celia. I can just image the texture and flavour of this chocolate!
Lizzy, it’s absolutely divine. Maybe you need to grab a block to play with.. ;-)
I still have not been brave enough to try tempering my chocolate! Thanks for sharing the story behind this brand :)
Tandy, you know me, I love a good backstory.. ;-)
Lucky you, Celia, and it looks as if you’ve put the chocolate to very good use – your bars look very professional.
Thanks Suelle, I did try extra hard with these ones. I was relieved they came out so shiny!
Haha that’ll teach the French not to share! I don’t think it would have lasted to be tempered in my house. I could have gobbled up those shavings!
Claire, I must confess, I did eat quite a bit of it as I was chopping it up.. ;-)
What a great success story and you are so good at tempering chocolate. I can imagine the teenagers were hovering – typical – they have an innate sense for anything outside of their own budget xx
Charlie, you’ll laugh – Big Boy said (very tongue in cheek) that Small Man was spoilt. “He has Amedei study chocolates, when I was his age, I only had Valrhona!” :D
That must really be the caviar of chocolate Celia – it looks so perfect and just has to be good for you:)
Jan, I think you’re right, it’s 70% dark, so surely it must be good for us!
I’m buying some too :) Who can resist it? I love the stuff although I picture myself just breaking off a bit every night only to find the whole thing gone…
Lorraine, that’s why I tempered it up into blocks – must easier to manage that way and to avoid eating the whole kilo block in one sitting! :)
what beautiful chocolate celia..you have done it justice..x
Jane, thank you! :)
I remember reading that story when you mentioned it before….It’s such an addicting tale: I followed from link to link, so eager to read more. :-) So fun to get to try some and those bars are beautiful. You would’ve had to chase me out of your kitchen, too!
Thanks Abby! If you ever get a chance to get Mort Rosenblum’s Chocolate, it’s a great read! No recipes, but some great chocolate tales!
How lucky are you Celia! I’m very impressed you shared with the teenagers, I would have been tempted to hide it and hoard it :)
Becca, how often do I get a chance to share something this good? Couldn’t deprive them.. ;-)
Dear Celia,
That’s a great story. I remember a very close family friend’s mother always told her to never refuse a gentleman if he asked her to dance at a party. She reasoned to give others the benefit of the doubt if there is little effort to please somebody and turning down good intentions can leave a permanent scar like how this story proved.
Yes indeed, and it’s important never to piss off Southern Europeans too. ;-)
Ok, I am drooling. You had me at ‘smoky’ and ‘plummy notes’. Really, I’m drooling. The color and shine on that chocolate is awesome Celia! I bet you treasure every bite :)
PS- You better hide some before the teenagers raid your stash!
Emilie, thank you! I actually did hide some of it – the kids were let loose on the single chocs, and I put the bars away. :)
Such a wonderful story- I love it when the end comes out in favor of the underdog. And just looking at those chocolates is giving me chocolate passion.
Heidi, isn’t it great? I think the chocolate world is a continuing tale of intrigue and jungles and passion…
Can you get Amano there? My favourite chocolate is Amano’s Dos Rios bar. Just adore it. (American).
I’ve never seen it Kavey, but I’ll look out for it. Thanks for the headsup! :)
Your chocolates are always so beautiful with that shine and the details on the pieces. Tempering is on my to do list for when I get better. I too would love to be able to have tempering lessons from you. Sometimes I’ll only try something after I’ve watched someone else do it and then I can try to repeat what I’ve seen. If I ever get over to Europe someday I’ll have to try to find some of that chocolate. I doubt I’d be able to afford it even if I could get some over here in the states.
Mel, my friend Roz went to a chocolate tempering class recently, and the melted chocolate was worked on marble benches the old fashioned way. I think I must be cheating – I bung it in the microwave, drop in a blob of chocolate, stir it, leave it alone until it’s the right temperature and then spoon it into moulds. Like all things, it gets much easier with practice, but I really don’t do anything fancy!
What a wonderful treat! And I’m imagining what it was like to carefully open the gold an dblack wrapper, and take that first inhale of chocolate!
Claire, it really was!! It was like Christmas! :)
If I were at your house, between the teenagers and me there would not be any chocolate left to share with anyone.
Norma, I’d love to share with you! :)
I nominated you for the Inspiring Blog Award….Congrats!!!
http://annashortcakes.wordpress.com/2012/08/20/grilled-tilapia-with-jalapeno-pesto-and-an-award/
Thanks Anna, that’s very kind of you!
You are welcome! Thanks for all your fantastic posts!
You must have been thrilled, not being a chocolate lover myself I think I should feel sorry for myself! watching you work is great though!! thank you celia.. c
You’re very kind Celi, thank you! xx
Aren’t you a lucky fish, I’m positively green with envy!
Cindy, we are very fortunate indeed! :)
If your looking in the UK I found some at Kings Fine Foods
http://www.kingsfinefood.co.uk/shop/amedei-chuao-50g-a5350.html
Thanks David! MUCH cheaper in the UK!! :)
Sounds wonderful Celia, you’ve described it so well. I’ve heard it’s a really good chocolate, but have never tried myself – not yet anyway!