Amedei Porcelana
Amedei Porcelana, a dark chocolate made by the Amedei chocolatier of Tuscany, Italy, was called the world's most expensive chocolate.[1][2][3][4][5] It has won various awards from the "Academy of Chocolate", including "Best bean to bar", "Best Dark Chocolate Bar",[6][7] and the "Golden Bean award."[8]
Manufacture[edit]
Amedei Porcelana is made from translucent, white[2] cocoa beans of a variety now called "Porcelana" due to its porcelain-like color. This cocoa bean, a genetically pure strain of the highly-prized Criollo, is native to Venezuela and may have been grown there in the pre-Columbian era.[9][10]
Porcelana cocoa was called "Maracaibo" in colonial times, since it was primarily exported from that Venezuelan port community. Along with a few other Mexican and Colombian cocoas beans, Maracaibo cocoa was classified as one of the world's highest quality cocoas until the 1920s.[9]
Today, many of these Mexican and Colombian cocoas have disappeared and have been replaced by more disease-resistant hybrids.[9] Maracaibo, or Porcelana cocoa is grown on small plantations in Venezuela. Amedei produces about 20,000 bars a year from this cocoa bean.[10]
Packaging[edit]
Amedei Porcelana is sold in individually-numbered packages[4] that have been called "the reference standard for the industry on how to package a chocolate bar."
Price[edit]
A 1.8 oz bar sells in the United States for $19-$22.[11] The often-quoted price of this chocolate is $90 a pound.[1][3][4] Amedei Porcelana has often been called the world's most expensive chocolate [1][2][3][5]
Golden Opulence Sundae and Golden Phoenix Cupcake[edit]
Porcelana is included in the Golden Opulence Sundae, a $1,000 dessert sold at the Serendipity 3 restaurant in New York City and mentioned in the Guinness Book of World Records.[5] Porcelana is also used in making the most expensive cupcake, the Golden Phoenix, which is made by Bloomsbury's, a boutique cafe in Dubai.[12]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c [1] New York Times December 3, 2003
- ^ a b c [2] Archived 2011-07-16 at the Wayback Machine Food of the Gods: Amedei Chocolates from Tuscany
- ^ a b c [3][permanent dead link] Good Times
- ^ a b c [4] CNN: Chocolate
- ^ a b c [5] World’s Most Expensive Ice Cream — Golden Opulence Sundae
- ^ [6] Archived 2008-09-29 at the Wayback Machine Academy of Chocolate Awards 2006
- ^ [7] Archived 2008-05-16 at the Wayback Machine Academy of Chocolate Awards 2008
- ^ [8] Archived 2010-02-02 at the Wayback Machine Academy of Chocolate Awards 2009
- ^ a b c [9] Archived 2008-08-12 at the Wayback Machine Fine Dark Chocolate 2008
- ^ a b [10] New York Times December 19, 2004
- ^ [11] Mel and Rose Fine Foods
- ^ "BBC News". CNN. August 12, 2012. Archived from the original on January 16, 2013. Retrieved August 23, 2012.