Peru chocolate

25 Peru chocolates from 9 independent UK chocolatiers, from £2.85.

Peru has surged to the front rank of fine cacao, and it is a bean-to-bar maker’s dream: enormous genetic diversity, plentiful native Criollo and wild Amazonian cacao, and strong organic, traceable supply. Beans come from Piura (home to the pale, prized Porcelana-type “white” cacao), Cusco, San Martín and the Amazon. Peruvian chocolate spans a wide range — nutty and caramel-sweet at one end, bright citrus and berry at the other — usually clean and well-balanced. For UK buyers, Peru offers some of the most rewarding single-origin bars around, with a high chance of certified-organic, clearly-traced cacao. A Piura or Marañón lot is a fine-flavour benchmark worth seeking out.