Duffy's Chocolate

Duffy's - Nicaragua Amarillo, 72%

60 g Fine Dark Chocolate
Regular price $16.00 USD
Sale price $16.00 USD Regular price

The Best British Dark Chocolate 2025 

Origin & Craftsmanship
This single-origin bar is crafted in Lincolnshire by Duffy’s Chocolate using Nicaliso Criollo cocoa beans sourced from Nicaragua. Each batch is roasted, stone-ground, and refined by hand, reflecting the brand’s commitment to luxurious bean-to-bar craftsmanship and direct trade with farmers.

Flavor Profile
A delightfully smooth dark chocolate with malty warmth and fruity complexity. Rich caramel tones marry feminine fruit accents—think dark red berries—with gentle malt undertones that soften and enrich the palate.

Accolades & Awards
This bar earned European Silver in the Micro-Batch – Plain/Origin Dark Chocolate Bars category at the 2018 International Chocolate Awards, and Gold in the British Craft Chocolate Competition 2025 for Direct Traded Micro-Batch chocolates—recognitions that underscore both its flavor and integrity

Tasting & Pairing Guide

Let the bar melt slowly to reveal its dark berry fruitiness undercut by cozy malt and caramel warmth. Pair it with a robust red wine like Merlot or rich Tawny Port to mirror its depth. Alternatively, a smoky black tea or barrel-aged rum works beautifully, enhancing its malty and fruity nuances. For a textured match, try salted almonds or malted biscuits—their crunchy, toasted character harmonizes with the chocolate’s layered flavor.

Summary

The Duffy’s Nicaragua Amarillo 72% Dark Chocolate is a refined and award-winning expression of artisan chocolate-making. With its intricate profile of fruity and malty notes, clean ingredient list, and ethical sourcing, it’s an esteemed choice for those seeking craftsmanship and character in every bite.

Vegan, Dairy-free

Duffy's Chocolate: A Pioneer in British Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Making

In the quaint town of Linkonshire, England, an unlikely chocolate revolution began in 2008. Duffy Sheardown, a former Formula One motor racing engineer, heard a radio broadcast that would change the course of his career and the British chocolate industry.

The Birth of a Chocolate Maker

The broadcast revealed that Cadbury's was the only company in England making chocolate directly from cocoa beans. For Sheardown, this sounded like both a challenge and a gap in the market. A year later, while on holiday in Guatemala, he purchased two 500g bags of cocoa beans, determined to teach himself the art of chocolate making.

Back in Lincolnshire, Sheardown spent 18 months honing his skills, experimenting with recipes, and mastering techniques. In 2010, he took a leap of faith, renting a small factory in his hometown, and Duffy's Chocolate was born - becoming the UK's first small artisan bean-to-bar chocolate company.

Craftsmanship and Quality

Now, over a decade and countless awards later, Duffy's Chocolate maintains its dedicated, hands-on approach. The company sources approximately 90% of its cocoa beans directly from farmers, focusing on the finest 10% of beans available. This commitment to quality is key to the unique taste of Duffy's chocolate.

Sheardown's engineering background is evident in his meticulous approach to chocolate making. He spends hours comparing different combinations of roasting and conching (mixing, kneading, and agitating) to achieve the precise flavors he seeks. The process is labor-intensive and time-consuming: it takes four days of careful roasting and stone-grinding to produce just 30kg of chocolate - enough for about 300 bars.

After production, the chocolate is aged for up to three months, allowing the flavors to mature and develop fully. Each bar is then individually wrapped by hand, emphasizing the company's commitment to quality and craftsmanship.

Ethical Sourcing and Global Reputation

Duffy's Chocolate has built a global reputation for flavor, sourcing small quantities of beans from carefully cultivated contacts in Central America. The company intentionally pays significantly above fair-trade prices, supporting their guiding principle of helping other small businesses along the way.

This approach not only ensures a decent living for farmers and enables them to send their children to school but also incentivizes the cultivation of unusual cocoa bean varieties. These unique beans contribute to the complex, rich flavors that have become Duffy's signature.

A Hidden Gem

While not easily found on foot, Duffy's Chocolate has made its mark in the online world. Available on Hello Chocolate, these award-winning chocolates offer consumers a taste of some of the world's finest chocolate while supporting sustainable and ethical practices.

By choosing Duffy's Chocolate, customers are not just indulging in exceptional confectionery; they're supporting a small British business, sustainable farming practices, and the preservation of diverse cocoa varieties in countries such as Ecuador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, and Venezuela.

From a Formula One engineer to a master chocolatier, Duffy Sheardown's journey embodies the spirit of innovation and craftsmanship. Duffy's Chocolate stands as a testament to the remarkable flavors that can be achieved when passion, ethics, and expertise converge in the world of artisanal chocolate making.

Single-origin cocoa beans, Organic cane sugar, Cocoa butter, Sunflower lecithin

No milk, soy, nuts, or gluten used in this

Keep in a cool, dry place, away from direct light and strong odors. Store at maximum
18 ° C in its original packaging

Our chocolate makers proudly refrain from using any artificial stabilizers or preservatives in their products, making their creations more temperature-sensitive compared to other premium chocolates.

To ensure the optimal taste experience, it's advisable to store our chocolates in a cool, dry place where the temperature hovers between 16°C and 18°C. Please refrain from refrigerating our chocolates, as this may cause sugar crystallization due to increased humidity, altering their texture and flavor.

On the contrary, if stored in excessively high temperatures, cocoa butter may separate and form a white film on the chocolate's surface. This loss of cocoa butter can lead to the chocolate drying out and, consequently, a potential alteration in flavor. Your mindful storage practices will help preserve the integrity of our delectable chocolates.

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