Amelonado Chocolate
The dependable backbone of the chocolate most people grew up on. 52 Amelonado bars on Chof, from 34 makers, at an average of 73% cocoa.
Chof's Amelonado bars come mostly from São Tomé and Príncipe, Brazil and DR Congo, and every bar lists Amelonado the way its maker states it, not as a verified fact. Tasting notes that come up most often: honey, caramel, citrus, coconut, floral and fruity.
What is Amelonado chocolate?
Amelonado is a real, definable Amazonian group and the backbone of everyday chocolate. Historically domesticated in the lower Amazon and carried to West Africa, it is what most people picture as a straightforward, chocolatey chocolate: solid, nutty and dependable rather than flashy.
Amelonado is the backbone of the chocolate most people grew up on. Unlike the vague Forastero umbrella it is a real, definable Amazonian group (Motamayor et al., 2008), historically domesticated in the lower Amazon and then carried across the Atlantic to become the foundation of West African cocoa.
The same genetics now turn up at both ends of the market. Amelonado is the workhorse behind bulk West African cocoa, yet single-origin lots are also sold as premium, even "grand cru", chocolate. That is not a contradiction: terroir, fermentation and roasting, not the genetic group alone, decide whether a bean becomes commodity powder or a bar worth seeking out.
That reputation for reliability is why it reads as undramatic rather than bad. Across Chof's Amelonado bars, tasters log fresh fruit and berry alongside solid nutty, creamy and brown-sugar notes, at the highest average cocoa percentage of the launch varieties. A curiosity worth knowing: Catongo, a natural white-beaned mutant of Amelonado, proves that a pale bean does not always mean Criollo.
How to read a Amelonado claim
Every Amelonado bar on Chof shows the variety as its maker lists it, not as an independently verified fact. Of the 52 that name Amelonado, 22 list it as part of a blend rather than on its own; open any bar to see the full bean line its maker gave.
- Amelonado is the benchmark of dependable, deep-cocoa chocolate rather than a fine-aroma variety, so expect straightforward chocolatey character.
- A pale-beaned Amelonado (Catongo) is not Criollo, even though both have white beans, so read the origin and maker notes.
Best Amelonado bars
Ranked by the Chof Score
- Rank 1:
SOMARamage, Vanuatu Malekula Island
70%darkVanuatu - Rank 2:
FoundryKorosim Microlots Solomon 70%
70%darkSolomon Islands - Rank 3:
PlaqMaya Mountain 76%
76%darkBelize - Rank 4:
Dandelion ChocolateMaya Mountain, Belize 2022 Harvest
70%darkBelize - Rank 5:
ZOTOKilimamwenza 75%
75%darkDR Congo - Rank 6:
RaakaCoconut Milk
60%milkUganda - Rank 7:
PlaqMaya Mountain 84%
84%darkBelize - Rank 8:
FossaKokoa Kamili 72%
72%darkTanzania - Rank 9:
20nord20sudMatô Sonhôto
100%darkSão Tomé and Príncipe - Rank 10:
20nord20sudAnamalai 76%
76%darkIndia - Rank 11:
Luisa AbramAcará River 70%
70%darkBrazil - Rank 12:
La BrigaderieBonança 70%
70%darkBrazil - Rank 13:
Barre ClandestineMaya Mountain 73%
73%darkBelize - Rank 14:
Marco ColzaniSão Tomé 78%
78%darkSão Tomé and Príncipe - Rank 15:
KaitxoUganda 70%
70%darkUganda - Rank 16:
MIKE&BECKYRoça Sundy 90%
90%darkSão Tomé and Príncipe - Rank 17:
Dick TaylorVanuatu Malekula 78%
78%darkVanuatu - Rank 18:
Standout ChocolatePríncipe Roça Sundy 70%
70%darkSão Tomé and Príncipe - Rank 19:
TamanIndonesia West Papua Ransiki 72%
72%darkIndonesia - Rank 20:
La BrigaderieLajedo do Ouro 70%
70%darkBrazil - Rank 21:
Luisa AbramAcará River 81%
81%darkBrazil - Rank 22:
TaucherliWest Papua 80%
80%darkIndonesia - Rank 23:
Åkesson'sFazenda Sempre Firme 100% Forastero Cocoa & Cocoa Nibs
100%darkBrazil - Rank 24:
AO Cacao94% Cacao Single Origin
94%darkSolomon Islands - Rank 25:
ChokaicoWalikeewa 70%
70%darkBolivia - Rank 26:
Svenska KakaoUganda 72%
72%darkUganda - Rank 27:
Ór Dubh ChocolateUganda 75%
75%darkUganda - Rank 28:
Gallette ChocolatesCatongo 65%
65%darkBrazil - Rank 29:
Standout ChocolateSemuliki Forest 85%
85%darkUganda - Rank 30:
Standout ChocolateSemuliki Forest Uganda 100%
100%darkUganda - Rank 31:
Palette de BineVanuatu 85%
85%darkVanuatu - Rank 32:
BaianíChocolate Intenso 70%
70%darkBrazil - Rank 33:
Chocolatoa70% Idukki Hills
70%darkIndia - Rank 34:
Original BeansFemmes de Virunga 55%
55%milkDR Congo - Rank 35:
La BrigaderieAcara 70%
70%darkBrazil - Rank 36:
Dick TaylorQuinoa Crunch Milk Chocolate
55%milkUganda
Where Amelonado grows
Makers working with Amelonado
Common cocoa percentages
Frequently asked about Amelonado chocolate
What does Amelonado chocolate taste like?
Straightforward and chocolatey: solid nutty, creamy and brown-sugar notes with some fresh fruit, and less floral lift than fine-aroma varieties. It is the flavour most people think of as classic dark chocolate, and it usually sits at a higher cocoa percentage.
How many Amelonado chocolate bars are on Chof?
Chof lists 52 Amelonado chocolate bars, from 34 makers, at an average of 73% cocoa.
Which makers work with Amelonado cacao on Chof?
The most-represented makers using Amelonado on Chof are Ocelot, Moka Origins, Diogo Vaz, La Brigaderie, Standout Chocolate. Each bar links to the maker that made it.
Sources and further reading
- Motamayor et al. (2008). Geographic and Genetic Population Differentiation of the Amazonian Chocolate Tree (Theobroma cacao L.). PLOS ONE.The DNA study that regrouped cacao into ten genetic clusters, retiring the old three-name folk model.
Related varieties
Learn more
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