Look out for Lök Colombian chocolate

By bogotapost February 9, 2016

Lök Premium Chocolate, Lök ColombiaChocolate doesn’t have to make you fat!


Lök is a company on a mission. They want to teach people in Colombia that chocolate is so much more than chocolatina.

Colombian chocolate is unique. The country’s rich biodiversity and ecosystems offer ideal conditions for the cultivation of quality single origin beans, which are gaining recognition around the world.

In fact, many believe that the beans actually originated here and were then traded with Mexico where where Montezuma discovered them before the arrival of Hernan Cortes in 1519.

María Carolina Angulo, CEO and co-founder of Lök Foods, who studied the science and art of chocolate making with experts in Belgium, has an understandable passion for using these distinct beans to make quality chocolate here in her home country.

At Lök, the company is involved in every step of the process from bean to bar, ensuring workers are paid fair prices and that the chocolate is produced according to the company’s exclusive recipes.

Lök Premium Chocolate, Lök Colombia

The chocolate is organic too, as Colombia has not been hit by the same cocoa bean plagues as other chocolate producing regions.

Carolina explains that the beans are “the most aromatic on the planet” and, perhaps more surprisingly, extols the health benefits of decent chocolate (i.e. chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa).

She points out that chocolate is packed with antioxidants that attack the free radicals in your body and so reduce cell degeneration. Some go as far to say it contains the secret to eternal youth, with properties that reduce the risk of heart problems and which can help to fight cancer and other diseases. Plus of course, as many people know, chocolate increases your serotonin levels, reducing stress and making you happier.

Like coffee beans, single origin cocoa brings many different flavours depending on the soil, climate, sea level and humidity. For example, volcanic soil gives the final product a fruity flavour. Lök blends the floral beans of the Tumaco region with the fruity beans from Arauca to create markedly different, yet still typically Colombian, flavours.

70%

This smooth fruity chocolate is the enthusiasts’ favourite – its delicate balance of slightly acidic tones offset by notes of honey make this chocolate stand out. Lok70

 

60%

This perfect combination of citrus fruit and berries captures the particular flavour of Colombian beans. The sophisticated taste is ideal with red wine or nuts. Lok60

 

58%

A sugar-free bar with lots of personality, this chocolate contains hints of dried fruits, macadamia and almonds. You don’t have to like dark chocolate to like this! DSC_0523

 

38%

A milk chocolate with an unusually high level of cocoa brings the benefits of Lök to this classic taste. The clearly defined dairy notes are complemented by a heady mix of floral flavours, nutty caramel and malt. Lok38

 

Lök challenge:
What can you taste?

There are three different types of cocoa bean, each with different sensory profiles. The most common is the Forastero, which accounts for about 92% of the world’s production. Then the Criollo, of which only a few trees remain, and the Trinitario, which is a hybrid of the two. The majority of the world’s Trinitario cocoa comes from Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador.

Here’s our step by step guide to create your very own chocolate tasting at home:

1) Drink a glass of water (must be room temperature, not cold) or eat a salty cracker to cleanse your palate
2) Break the chocolate and smell it to take in the aroma
3) Place a very small piece of chocolate (just 3-5g) on your tongue. Don’t chew it – allow it to melt a little, activating your taste buds as it does so, and experience the explosion of flavours
4) Check off some of the flavours you can taste from the list below, or add your own:

Citric fruits
Herbs
Panela
Honey
Floral
Dried fruits
Caramel
Malt
Chocolate
Coffee
Forest fruits
Cocoa
Sweetness
Acidity
Nuts
Compare your list with friends – or your Valentine – and see how much your tastes differ.

Order online at www.lokfoods.com or look out for Lök chocolates in over 1,000 shops throughout the country.


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