
Maker
Amedei TuscanyAmedei Tuscany a gourmet Italian chocolate brand was founded by Cecilia Tessieri, the world's first female master chocolatier. From Tuscany, Italy, Tessieri started making confections in tiny 480 square foot space with just one employee, until she realized that not everything was made completely by her. Tessieri spent 24 years traveling around the world, working with chocolatiers in a male dominant field and visiting cacao plantations in search for the best chocolate. Tessieri created Amedei, named after her grandmother in 1990. Amedei uses only the best ingredients and Tessieri carefully overseeing each step the cacao beans go through to ensure fine quality chocolate. Only 1% of the beans harvested are deemed worthy to create Amedei’s chocolate. Amedei evolved as one of the world’s premier luxury chocolate makers and is a six time winner of the Academy of Chocolate’s “Golden Bean” award (equivalent to the Academy Award for chocolatiers, according to Tessieri.

Cacao Strain
CriolloCriollo is the only one of those original three which has proven to be its own evolutionarily unique type. The clusters were finally identified in 2008 using hundreds of samples collected throughout the Americas over the previous century. With the least genetic diversity of the ten, criollo cacaos are the most predictable in terms of both appearance and flavor, as well as proper post-harvest protocol; they’re known to have a very chocolaty base flavor and little to no bitterness. Some criollos also show a light nuttiness or florality, but overall they’re prized for their mild flavor, and under-cultivated due to low yield. Criollo is the only genetic cluster found growing wild in the primary forests of Central America.
Attention CA Residents
WARNING: This product can expose you to chemicals including lead, which are known to the State of California to cause cancer and birth defects or other reproductive harm. For more information, go to www.p65warnings.ca.gov.
