Be amongst the first in Europe to try chocolate by Crow & Moss, crafted on the shores of Lake Michigan by Mike Davies.
We reached out to Mike as our first attempt to import from the US. It was Mike’s first foray into wholesale international shipping, though he has sent some of his chocolate to friends in Brighton before. Fortunately everything seemed to go smoothly and Mike has been exceptionally supportive and engaging.
One of our first orders for Mike’s chocolates was from a maker in France.
To the best of my knowledge it is the first of my chocolate to be consumed on the Continent
Mike Davies
JUST TWO INGREDIENTS
The Crow & Moss single origin bars contain just two ingredients: cacao and organic cane sugar. The additions have been expertly chosen to complement the bars. Bolivian Rose Salt (Mike’s best selling bar) accompanies Columbian Aruaca whilst Coffee from the Santos region of southern Brazil is blended with Honduran Wampusirpi cacao. It it’s tea that you are after, try the fusion of Earl Grey and decadent Honduran Wampusirpi chocolate.
Prepare yourself for the gorgeous aroma as you open the bar…
Colombia Arauca
From the Arauca River Basin on the border with Venezuala, the Villa Gaby farm is owned and run by a second-generation cacao grower named Elizabeth Agudelo. The Arauca region lies on the border of Colombia and Venezuela along the Arauca river basin. Cacao is an important source of employment for female heads of households and has helped in the recovery of peace to the region.
Over 600 species of birds populate these fertile river banks where the cacao trees grow to sweet perfection. Elizabeth has identified Arauqita5 which is a native cacao on her farm. The production capacity of this farm is about 10MT, and the farm meets the fermentation and drying standards set by Cacao de Colombia and Uncommon Cacao, ensuring high and consistent quality for these delicate and delicious beans.
Ecuador Camino Verde
Camino Verde is a privately owned fermentary located in Duran, just minutes outside Guayaquil, Ecuador. Built on a passion for impeccable quality and consistency in beans, as well as an understanding of the applied science in cocoa fermentation that pushes the boundaries for new-age methods of cocoa post harvest processing.
Camino Verde’s owner, Vicente Norero, has years of experience in microbiology, which brings a unique approach to cocoa processing. With Vicente’s deep understanding of fermentation methods he produces a variety of flavor profiles, using enzymes and inoculants to push specific flavor precursors forward in the beans.
Honduras Wampusirpi
Biosphere makes these beans possible, they source from 100+ Miskito producers cultivating small plots typically under forest canopy along the banks of the Rio Patuca.
Cacao Direct financed the construction of a fermentary, provided the farmers with the tools (solar-powered weed-whackers) necessary to reclaim the cacao trees growing in the rainforest there and sustainably harvest cacao, and provided oversight of the fermentation, transport, and marketing of the beans. Farmers are paid immediately at the time of delivering the raw/unfermented cacao, a step which required special dispensation by the Honduran government.
Dominican Republic Zorzal
From Dr. Charles Kerchner’s 1,019 acre bird sanctuary in the mountainous Reserva Zorzal, where the beans are grown, dried and fermented with meticulous attention to detail. Working with partners and landowners in the DR, they formed a team that initiated the first private reserve in the Dominican Republic, as part of the National Protected Area System. Reserva Zorzal has become a model for private landowners to participate in landscape-level conservation.
Reserva Zorzal has set aside 70% of its 1,019 acres as “forever wild”, devoted to the wintering grounds of Bicknell’s thrush, which of course benefits biodiversity and many other species.