Chocolate, chocolate of all kinds. Chocolate7 is the chocolate shop most important in Italy. This is because it has the largest assortment of tablets in our country. “Turin is the only Italian city where there is a real chocolate culture – he told us exclusively John Benedict, owner of Chocolate7 –. Turin is the city of gianduia, made from cocoa and hazelnuts from the Langhe. Giovanni’s passion for chocolate began as a child. It is therefore profound and spontaneous. “I tasted a dark bar made with Venezuelan Chuao cocoa, with a plum and berry aroma. That wonderful chocolate excited me and I went in search of more. From bar to bar, I first became a chocolate taster, almost as if I were a sommelier, then a consultant for the best bean to bar chocolate producers in the world.”
What are the elements that distinguish the different chocolate bars?
“Over the years I have tasted thousands of bars, and more, produced by hundreds of producers from all over the world. From practical experience I can say that quality chocolate has 3 characteristics: the first concerns the raw material used to produce the chocolate. The top chocolate is produced using only aromatic cocoa (Criollo, Trinitario, and the few varieties of Forastero aromatico), it is the aromatic notes that are perceived when we taste the chocolate that excite us. Therefore, to be excellent, chocolate must be made using fine cocoa. The second characteristic is linked to the production technique. Aromatic cocoa can only be processed in small batches by bean to bar producers, this is because aromatic cocoa to best express their potential requires a process that involves the direct control of the chocolatier over all production phases (fermentation, roasting, conching). etc.). In other words, fine cocoa cannot be processed industrially, because to enhance the aromatic notes typical of each specific cocoa subvariety it is necessary that every single processing phase is dedicated to that cocoa bean. Finally, to understand if a chocolate is excellent it is sufficient to carefully read the list of ingredients, quality chocolate is made using only two ingredients, fine cocoa and sugar, any other ingredient is superfluous. Obviously, all the chocolate I select for Chocolate7 has these 3 characteristics.”
How do you choose the products?
“Only products that are objectively good/excellent enter the Chocolate7 selection. Being objective when choosing is not easy. Obviously I don’t choose products based on my personal tastes, but based on the characteristics of the product. The products that I taste or have tasted have arrived at my disposal in various ways. First of all, the bean to bar producers send me their samples, because goodness they consider Chocolate7 one of the best selections of bean to bar chocolate in the world, and therefore they want to be included in my selection. Then by participating in the Salon du chocolat in Paris, or other chocolate fairs (Madrid, Amsterdam etc.) I have the opportunity to taste the chocolate of hundreds of producers from all over the world, who present their products, especially new productions”.
What is the most valuable product you sell?
“From 2016 (the year Chocolate7 was founded) to today I have sold more than 1600 different bars, not to mention hundreds of other products (pralines, spreads, etc.), so it is difficult to say which is the most refined bar or product , particular or refined. I consider every product a little jewel.”
