Best DR Congo Chocolate
The 33 best Congolese chocolate bars on Chof made with cacao from the DR Congo, ranked by the Chof Score.
The DR Congo regions named on these bars are Virunga National Park, Ituri Province, Eastern Congo and Rwenzori Mountains. Makers list the cacao as Amelonado, Forastero and Trinitario Forastero.
Ranked by the Chof Score
- Rank 1:
ZOTOKilimamwenza 75%
75%darkDR Congo - Rank 2:
ZOTOManya 60%
60%milkDR Congo - Rank 3:
Chocolate MakersCongo 68%
68%darkDR Congo - Rank 4:
Chocolate MakersCongo 37%
37%milkDR Congo - Rank 5:
Original BeansFemmes de Virunga 55%
55%milkDR Congo1 award - Rank 6:
Chocolate MakersCongo 92%
92%darkDR Congo - Rank 7:
Hasnaâ ChocolatsIturri Dark Nuts 60%
60%darkDR Congo1 award - Rank 8:
The Belgian Chocolate MakersCongo 44%
44%milkDR Congo - Rank 9:
Original BeansAssortment of 4 chocolate mini bars
Peru, DR Congo, Tanzania & Ecuador - Rank 10:
BlanxartCongo 82%
82%darkDR Congo - Rank 11:
OcelotViolet Milk
55%milkDR Congo - Rank 12:
OcelotFemme 55%
55%milkDR Congo - Rank 13:
OcelotSea Salt 70%
70%darkDR Congo2 awards - Rank 14:
OcelotMatcha Crunch 70%
70%darkDR Congo - Rank 15:
Virunga OriginsIntense Dark 95% Cocoa
95%darkDR Congo - Rank 16:
Virunga OriginsWhite Coconut
29%whiteDR Congo - Rank 17:
OcelotBlack Cherry 70%
70%darkDR Congo - Rank 18:
OcelotBuckwheat 55%
55%milkDR Congo - Rank 19:
OcelotBlood Orange 70%
70%darkDR Congo - Rank 20:
VGANThe Essentials 70%
70%darkSierra Leone & DR Congo - Rank 21:
Virunga OriginsDark 63%
63%darkDR Congo - Rank 22:
Virunga OriginsDark Chocolate With Peanuts 61%
61%darkDR Congo - Rank 23:
Theopure milk 45%
45%milkDR Congo - Rank 24:
Virunga OriginsCoconut Milk Chocolate 54%
54%milkDR Congo - Rank 25:
TheoSalted Almond 70% Dark Chocolate
70%darkDR Congo - Rank 26:
Ivee PromenadeApricot Congo 70%
70%darkDR Congo1 award - Rank 27:
Ivee PromenadeCongo 70%
70%darkDR Congo - Rank 28:
TheoSalted Toffee 55%
55%darkDR Congo - Rank 29:
TheoPure Dark 85%
85%darkDR Congo - Rank 30:
OcelotLemon Olive Oil 70%
70%darkDR Congo - Rank 31:
TheoPeppermint Crunch
70%darkDR Congo - Rank 32:
Theonutcracker brittle
55%darkDR Congo - Rank 33:
TCHOToffee Time
53%milkEcuador, Peru, Ghana, DR Congo & Haiti1 award
Bars with awards
5 bars with cacao from the DR Congo have award results on Chof, newest first. How Chof lists awards
What is DR Congo chocolate known for?
Congolese chocolate is mostly deep and earthy, with black tea, dark fruit such as cherry or fig, and warm spice. Most of the cacao grows in the east of the country, in North Kivu around Beni and Virunga National Park and in Ituri around Mambasa, and makers mostly label it Amelonado or Forastero.
Many Congolese bars use cacao from around Virunga National Park in North Kivu, and their makers describe it in similar terms: Original Beans lists morello cherry, earthy and black tea for its Virunga 70%, Rózsavölgyi's Big Gorilla bar is sold on notes of tea, cinnamon, passion fruit and fig, and Chocolatemakers in Amsterdam gives black tea and pepper for its Congo 92%. Esco Kivu, the Beni exporter that supplies Chocolatemakers, says the cocoa has a palate close to West Africa's.
Ituri province, to the north, gives a sweeter and fruitier cacao. Farmers around Mambasa grow it under shade trees on the edge of the Okapi Wildlife Reserve and ferment it centrally in Mambasa. Silva Cacao, which sells it to makers, describes it as sweet and round with orange, fresh wood and spice, and The Belgian Chocolate Makers list cherry, vanilla and cashew for their Okapi Mambasa 70%.
Cacao reached the country in the late 19th century, and the colonial plantations of the 1920s and 1930s were in the west, along the Congo River, where they declined after independence in 1960. The eastern crop is recent: Esco Kivu began promoting cacao around Beni in 2000, when coffee wilt disease was destroying the Robusta coffee farmers there relied on, and its farmers near the Rwenzori mountains grow hybrids of Amelonado, Marañón and Iquitos cacao.
Makers with the most DR Congo bars
Popular cocoa percentages for the DR Congo
Frequently asked about DR Congo chocolate
What does Congolese chocolate taste like?
Most Congolese bars taste deep and earthy, with black tea, dark cherry or fig and some warm spice, a palate the Beni exporter Esco Kivu compares to West African cocoa. Bars from Ituri, around Mambasa, are sweeter and fruitier, with orange, vanilla or cherry, so the region on the wrapper tells you which style to expect.
Where does DR Congo cacao grow?
Mainly in the east, in North Kivu and Ituri provinces. Craft bars name Virunga National Park in North Kivu, or Ituri and its town of Mambasa, next to the Okapi Wildlife Reserve. Some colonial-era plantations survive in the west, in Équateur province.
What Congolese chocolate brands are there?
Chof lists no chocolate brand or maker based in the DR Congo. 12 makers on Chof use DR Congo cacao.
Which makers work with DR Congo cacao on Chof?
Of the 12 makers using DR Congo cacao on Chof, the three whose top DR Congo bar has the highest Chof Score are ZOTO, Chocolate Makers and Original Beans.
How are the best DR Congo chocolate bars chosen?
The DR Congo bars are ordered by Chof Score, which is built from what the maker discloses: how precisely the origin is named, how clean the ingredient list is, how much of the fermenting, drying and roasting is documented, and what lab evidence exists. Community ratings do not change the order.
How many DR Congo chocolate bars are listed on Chof?
Chof currently lists 33 chocolate bars made with cacao from the DR Congo.
What cocoa percentages of DR Congo chocolate are most common?
The most common cocoa percentages for DR Congo cacao on Chof are 70%, 55%, 60%, 54% and 37%.
Cacao varieties in DR Congo chocolate
Bean varieties the makers of these bars list for the DR Congo, as stated on the label. Open one to see what it is, how it tastes, and how to tell a real one.
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