Single Cote Chocolate

We're proud to be the world’s first chocolatier and cocoa grower to present a single côte chocolate; The Rabot Estate Marcial 70% dark

Not just single origin (from one country), or even single estate, we've gone deeper into the world of cocoa and produced single côte. From our own cacao farm in Soufriere, Saint Lucia, the cocoa has been kept separate as it is picked and fermented from each côte (terroir section) within the estate. This particular côte, Marcial, is a beautiful part of the estate near the Rabot lake, with a mix of grizzled 80-100 year-old trees and fresh new four-year-old trees planted as seedlings, all bearing the rare Trinitarios bean unique to the Rabot Estate. This year’s result is a broodingly powerful chocolate tablet with notes of shiraz wine, antique oak, roasted cocoa and stewed spiced plums.

Just like a fine wine, the terroir, fermentation techniques and plant type itself are the major influencers of flavour. An estimated 80% of the flavour potential of the chocolate is locked into the bean by the time it leaves the cacao farm.

Rabot Estate, single côte Marcial is part of our Rabot 1745 range. The boutique collection houses only rare, fine flavour cocoa from the world’s most sought after growing regions. There are 18 different chocolate tablets, each with a distinct character and flavour nuance. The batch label includes the length of time it was roasted and conched, the name of the individual chocolatier who created it and the year of harvest - reflecting the continual changes made depending what nature provides each time. Every single harvest is fully evaluated before deciding which recipe will really do justice to it.

Angus Thirlwell, CEO and Co-founder, Hotel Chocolat, said: “At Hotel Chocolat we are always looking for original ways to submerge guests into our world of cocoa and unite them with the flavours of the cacao farm simply, authentically and ethically. I am incredibly proud to be able to say that we planted, grew, harvested, fermented, dried, shipped, roasted, winnowed, conched, tempered, packed and retailed what we believe to be the world’s first single côte chocolate.

We are one of the few chocolate makers in the world who actually grow our own cocoa, and have created a blueprint for sustainable cocoa growing on the island of Saint Lucia. As growers and producers we have been able to bridge the vast disconnect between raw agriculture and fine chocolate, marrying our expertise in both areas to make some of the world’s rarest, most sought after cocoa beans into fine chocolate.”