Single Origin dark chocolate Tulakalum 75%

Tulakalum means “together” in Mayan dialect, and it was only thanks to collaborative efforts between our partner-producer Maya Mountain and our sourcing team that we were able to relaunch this exceptionally rare Belizean cocoa variety. Our flavor experts got to work so that you could enjoy this chocolate just as nature intended it. Because this was our aim, Tulakalum has a cocoa content of 75% and does not contain any lecithin. Its high fat content comes from its cocoa and offers an ideal texture for all kinds of pastrymaking and chocolatier’s applications, including coating. Our desire is to offer you the best of Belizean cocoa in a chocolate with a high cocoa content and a unique sensory profile. The cocoa beans in this chocolate come from the Cayo District.

The plantation in the heart of Belize produces cocoa exclusively for Valrhona. It was founded in the 1970s and planted up with a unique mixture of cacao varieties. It is the only cocoa plantation for miles around and is nestled in a valley known as “Yamwits”, which means “between the mountains” in the Cayo district’s Mayan dialect. Over the years, it has changed hands multiple times, been abandoned and left battered by cyclones, but its most recent owner, Henry Canton, has managed to preserve its unique cacao tree orchard and intends to develop it further. We signed a ten-year partnership to rehabilitate and develop it through a variety of different schemes. Together with our partners, we reconstructed the plantation’s infrastructure so that it could produce exceptional cocoa – which allowed us to create Tulakalum in 2019.

Tulakalum’s high cocoa content lends an astonishing chocolatey power to all kinds of applications, as well as investing them with delicate, complex aromatics.

Rémi Poisson - PASTRY CHEF INSTRUCTOR ÉCOLE VALRHONA

SENSORY PROFIL

Tulakalum’s nutty intensity and powerful cocoa nibs dreamily encapsulate the gorgeous biodiversity of Belize, an endlessly colorful country with rich culture and history.