Amelonado Chocolate
The dependable backbone of the chocolate most people grew up on. 39 Amelonado bars on Chof, from 29 makers, at an average of 74% cocoa.
Chof's Amelonado bars come mostly from Brazil, Uganda and Ghana, 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, coconut, fruity, walnut and woody.
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 39 that name Amelonado, 20 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:
Dick TaylorQuinoa Crunch Milk Chocolate
55%milkBrazil - Rank 2:
SOMARamage, Vanuatu Malekula Island
70%darkVanuatu - Rank 3:
FoundryKorosim Microlots Solomon 70%
70%darkSolomon Islands - Rank 4:
Dandelion ChocolateMaya Mountain, Belize 2022 Harvest
70%darkBelize - Rank 5:
PlaqMaya Mountain 76%
76%darkBelize - Rank 6:
ZOTOKilimamwenza 75%
75%darkDR Congo - Rank 7:
RaakaCoconut Milk
60%milkUganda - Rank 8:
PlaqMaya Mountain 84%
84%darkBelize - Rank 9:
20nord20sudAnamalai 76%
76%darkIndia - Rank 10:
Luisa AbramAcará River 70%
70%darkBrazil - Rank 11:
La BrigaderieBonança 70%
70%darkBrazil - Rank 12:
Barre ClandestineMaya Mountain 73%
73%darkBelize - Rank 13:
Marco ColzaniSão Tomé 78%
78%darkSão Tomé and Príncipe - Rank 14:
Dick TaylorVanuatu Malekula 78%
78%darkVanuatu - Rank 15:
Standout ChocolatePríncipe Roça Sundy 70%
70%darkSão Tomé and Príncipe - Rank 16:
TamanIndonesia West Papua Ransiki 72%
72%darkIndonesia - Rank 17:
MIKE&BECKYRoça Sundy 90%
90%darkSão Tomé and Príncipe - Rank 18:
La BrigaderieLajedo do Ouro 70%
70%darkBrazil - Rank 19:
Luisa AbramAcará River 81%
81%darkBrazil - Rank 20:
Svenska KakaoUganda 72%
72%darkUganda - Rank 21:
Åkesson'sFazenda Sempre Firme 100% Forastero Cocoa & Cocoa Nibs
100%darkBrazil - Rank 22:
AO Cacao94% Cacao Single Origin
94%darkSolomon Islands - Rank 23:
FossaKokoa Kamili 72%
72%darkTanzania - Rank 24:
Standout ChocolateSemuliki Forest 85%
85%darkUganda - Rank 25:
BaianíChocolate Intenso 70%
70%darkBrazil - Rank 26:
Chocolatoa70% Idukki Hills
70%darkIndia - Rank 27:
Ór Dubh ChocolateFig Jam & Cinnamon 75%
75%darkUganda - Rank 28:
Palette de BineVanuatu 85%
85%darkVanuatu - Rank 29:
ChokaicoWalikeewa 70%
70%darkBolivia - Rank 30:
La BrigaderieAcara 70%
70%darkBrazil - Rank 31:
ZotterLabooko Ghana 72%
72%darkGhana - Rank 32:
Original BeansFemmes de Virunga 55%
55%milkDR Congo - Rank 33:
Standout ChocolateSemuliki Forest Uganda 100%
100%darkUganda - Rank 34:
SjokoladeSão Tomé Island Bean to Bar
75%darkSão Tomé and Príncipe - Rank 35:
OcelotBlack Cherry 70%
70%darkDR Congo - Rank 36:
Moka OriginsGhana 72%
72%darkGhana
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 39 Amelonado chocolate bars, from 29 makers, at an average of 74% cocoa.
Which makers work with Amelonado cacao on Chof?
The most-represented makers using Amelonado on Chof are Moka Origins, La Brigaderie, Standout Chocolate, Dick Taylor, Plaq. 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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