Double Fermentation Kidavoa 50%

After launching its first Double Fermentation dark chocolate, Valrhona once again turned to its long-term partner, the Millot Plantation in Madagascar, to develop Kidavoa 50%. As partners of more than 20 years’ standing, we worked hand in hand to adapt our exclusive Double Fermentation process to a milk chocolate recipe. The Millot Plantation and our experts came up with the idea of combining Madagascan fine cocoa with locally harvested bananas to create a milk chocolate with unique aromatic notes.

Thirty years after the release of Guanaja 70% - the world’s bitterest chocolate at the time - and more recently the first blond chocolate, Dulcey, Valrhona is once again pushing back chocolate’s boundaries with an innovative process called “double fermentation” which is paving the way for a new generation of aromatic profiles. When the cocoa has fermented once as tradition dictates, a second fermentation is triggered by adding pulp from locally sourced fresh fruit. For Kidavoa, this is banana. This fruit is naturally sugar-rich and comes from the same terroir as the cocoa, giving the chocolate a unique aromatic character. A very carefully managed technique is used to infuse the cocoa’s aromas with notes of banana.

One of the challenges behind Kidavoa milk couverture was making sure that the cocoa and banana could both show off their respective qualities, creating a complex aromatic profile.

Mathias Menegoz - R&D PROJECT MANAGER VALRHONA

SENSORY PROFILE

Kidavoa’s cocoa-rich banana notes lend it a warm, melodic tone straight out of a Madagascan a cappella choir.