Inspiration for this chocolate

Although the cacao for our house dark chocolate is not actually grown in the city of Popayán in Colombia, we feel that it’s appropriate to give the name to our 70% cacao ganache filled chocolate, one of the six new flavours we have brought out this autumn! The ganache is made using the same 70% cacao in our Tablette chocolate bar which won a Great Taste Award in August 2015 for the fruitiness, “sour notes and the depth of the flavour”. This chocolate is using Trinitario cacao beans grown in only 2 regions in Colombia with very different climates, to give it the complex flavour and different notes coming through as the chocolate melts in your mouth. Popayan is approximately in between these 2 regions, and with the rich heritage of traditional cooking, we decide that this UNESCO City of Gastronomy would be a perfect name for our house dark chocoalte.

We only spent half a day in Popayán in January when we were in Colombia, but we fell in love with the city. The colonial architecture in the downtown area was beautiful, with many of the buildings painted white. The San Francisco church just by the town square (shown left) is worth a visit.

The city had a rather relaxed atmosphere to it, and people were extremely friendly. A policeman, who doubled up as tourist information officer outside the police station, was eager to tell us about all the attractions in the city that he’s proud of, and recommended a list of places we should visit. Just a shame that we didn’t have time to explore much   well, there’s an excuse to return to this city!

We spent some time walking round looking at food stalls and eating places in this City of Gastronomy, to better understand the reasons behind this designation. One of the most famous snacks in Popayan is Empanadas de Pipian, which are empanadas (pastry) filled with potatoes, chopped eggs and peanuts, and served with a spicy peanut sauce (similar to a satay sauce but without the coconut flavour in it). We went to a little shop called La Fresa which serves freshly fried empanadas (i.e. be prepared to wait even when there isn’t a long queue… but good things are well worth waiting for!). Following the Lonely Planet guide’s recommendation, we washed these tasty little snacks down with bottles of “Pony Malta”, a malt-based drink. A wonderful mid-afternoon snack.

Popayán became the first UNESCO City of Gastronomy because of the traditional cooking using the fine fresh ingredients in Colombia. It’s a country with very diverse fauna and flora, as well as culture and ethnic groups. Colombia is famous for its coffee, but not so much for its chocolate internationally. Until recently, the cacao production in Colombia has been mostly for the domestic consumption (Many Colombians drink hot chocolate for breakfast). But Colombian cacao is full of flavour, thanks to an active cacao research program they have in the country, as well as the climate and geographical advantages they have.