In ancient Mayan culture, the cocoa bean was revered for its health benefits, and was consumed in the form of a drink called xocoatl, or “bitter water.” As sugars were unknown to the Mayas, they blended their cocoa with different spices as flavourings, sometimes even adding hot peppers.

Today chocolatiers are going back to the roots of the remarkable cacao bean by paying tribute to the cultural customs of chocolate making and experimenting with exotic flavours. They are catering to a new breed of chocolate enthusiasts who appreciate the culinary finesse and historic tradition of their beloved cocoa.

Cynthia Leung, of Toronto’s renowned Soma Chocolatemakers, has been importing beans and creating unique chocolates for years. She is what many would refer to as a chocolate artist, and sees truffles as canvases for her creations.

“The world of chocolate is so artistically open,” Leung explains. “Cocoa beans all have their own personalities so why not infuse them with something really exotic that complements the profile of the bean?”

The truffle, a delicate confection made with a chocolate ganache (chocolate cream) centre coated in chocolate or cocoa powder, is Soma’s go-to experimentation confection. The ganache centre can be blended with a variety of liqueurs, spices and flavourings that make it a popular choice for luxury chocolates. Leung prides herself on exotic flavour blends such as the balsamic truffle, a staff and patron favourite:

“The Balsamic is sweet and slightly acidic,” she says, “which matches perfectly with cocoa beans we import from Madagascar.  The beans have high red note flavours that work really well with the acidity of the balsamic.”

Soma’s more exotic chocolate flavours include Mayan truffles made with chili pepper, ginger and orange peel; Valentine’s truffles featuring Persian spices and berries; Indian chai-infused milk chocolate truffles; and delicate olive oil truffles.

Across the country, Vancouver favourite Mink Chocolates Inc. is recreating the way we view chocolate bars by introducing the newest in cocoa luxury: the ganache-filled chocolate bar.

“Ganache is the perfect chocolate vehicle to carry a world full of unique flavours,” explains president Marc Lieberman. “The chocolate bar, if properly designed, is the most portable way to enjoy multiple bites of chocolate, and the soft, sensual goodness of ganache.”

Chocolate bars are more portable than their smaller truffle relatives, too. “They can be easily stashed in a shirt pocket, purse or briefcase,” says Lieberman, “making your access to chocolate reliable.”

Mink specializes in explorations of flavour, making their chocolate bars a taste and cultural sensation of spices and liqueurs. Their ganache bars are named charmingly to hint at the flavours within. Customer favourites include “Open in Case of Emergency,” consisting of freshly chopped mint in a Kentucky Bourbon dark chocolate ganache and “Peace in Provence,” a delicate blend of French lavender in dark chocolate ganache with a hint of Grand Marnier.

Mink also offers a wide variety of organic chocolate bars, promoting biodiversity and sustainable practices. “Anything that mitigates the disruption to the ecosystem where cocoa is grown has to be a good thing,” says Lieberman. And the flavour? Lieberman describes his high-quality organic chocolates as being “less sweet, having very pronounced deep notes of earthiness of the soil it was grown in, and a longer-lasting aftertaste.”

Today, chocolatiers go to great lengths to investigate the nature of their imports and dedicate huge amounts of time to developing new recipes that will appeal to an ever-discriminating clientele. In the new world of designer confection, each piece must stand alone as a tribute to the flavours and cultures it represents.

Lifestyle asked Lieberman for a description of the experience of a Mink chocolate bar, which resulted in serious swooning among our chocoholic staff:

“Opening a Mink chocolate bar box reveals a carefully wrapped 50 gram tablet of luxurious chocolate. Undoing the silver foil, turning the bar right side up, reveals an architecturally designed bar with fine structural detail. The sheen of the chocolate stimulates your senses. The aroma causes you to salivate. The snap of the bar heightens your anticipation. The first piece warming slowly in your mouth, releasing the majesty of flavour, provokes an endorphin rush. And then,” says Lieberman, “you’re hooked.” •

Photo courtesy SOMA chocolatemaker