| Industry | Manufacturing |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Orem, Utah |
| Key people | Art Pollard, Clark Goble |
| Products | Confectionery |
| Website | www.amanochocolate.com |
Amano Artisan Chocolate is an American bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturer based in Orem, Utah. Amano’s award winning[1][2] chocolate bars are made in small batches on vintage equipment, which allows the artisan chocolate maker to control and observe flavor development during each stage of manufacture. Amano’s chocolate making has evolved from Italian and French confectionary techniques. The company employes high proportions of cocoa (70%) in their chocolate, using bean from South and Central America as well as Africa and Oceania. The factory is located at a higher altitude than most other chocolate factories in the world (Orem, Utah: 4,774 ft / 1,455 m). The high altitude affects flavor development during conching, and aids in the development of unique tasting notes found in Amano chocolate. Amano is kosher-dairy certified by the Denver-based Scroll K kashrus agency.
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Amano Artisan Chocolate was founded by Art Pollard and Clark Goble in 2006, in Orem, Utah. The company holds to a quality-over-quantity vision. This affects not only their production and marketing, but also the relationship they share with suppliers. Amano, though not Fair-Trade Certified, pays its suppliers nearly double the Fair-Trade standard (over triple the London Cocoa Terminal Market price). The company has expanded its chocolate production in recent years to supply a variety of bars, nibs (culinary ingredients), truffles and other confectionary treats.
Chocolate’s flavor is very complex; more so, according to connoisseurs, than red wine. Depending on the origin of the bean, the chocolate produced will have notes of flavor, much like fine wine. These distinctions in flavor, or “notes,” arise not from additives, but are naturally occurring in the cocoa. Amano Artisan Chocolate produces a variety of confectionary treats; including bars, truffels, and nibs. All Amano chocolate is made, additive free. Their products are created using a variety of cocoa beans from around the world:
Bars Each bar is made from a single-origin bean. The tasting notes described below do not come from added ingredients, they rather come from the bean itself.
Ocumare: this bar uses cocoa made from the Ocumare bean. This bean comes from the coastal regions of Venezuela and has a pronounced plum flavor, with delicate floral notes and a fine profile.
Madagascar: this bar uses cocoa from beans harvested out of the Sambirano Valley in Madagascar. These beans bring a strong, balanced, fruity flavor (citrus and raspberry) to the Madagascar chocolate.
Guayas/Arriba: these Venezuelan beans come from the Guayas River flood-plain. They produce chocolate with a fine profile. The notes are rich and complex, carrying a spicy, smokey, floral flavor with hints of blackberry.
Dos Rios: the beans used to make this bar hail from the Dominical Republic. Its flavor is unique, combining notes of orange, cinnamon and clove.
Montanya: this bar is made from beans harvested from stepe farms in the mountains of Venezuela. Their flavor is described as complex, deep and rich.
Chuao: this rare Venezuelan criollo cocoa has a deep, complex flavor. Its notes are fruity, nutty and carry a faint coffee tone.
Cuyagua: from the tall cocoa trees on the Caribbean coast of Venezuela, these beans bring a rich, deep flavor to the chocolate with spicy, melon notes.
Morobe: Papua New Guinea, lying on the line between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, produces a unique bean. Its definite citrus notes of lime and grapefruit are balanced by the gentle, earthy tones that come from the eastern soil.
Ocumare (milk): this bar is made from the same Ocumare beans (listed above) but has a lower cocoa content.
Truffles, or Filled Chocolates
Yemeni Sidr Honey Ganache: made with Guayas Chocolate
Raspberry Ganache: made with Guayas Chocolate and a white chocolate shell
Cinnamon Ganache: made with Guayas Chocolate and candied pecans
Cardamon and Pepper Ganache: made with Dos Rios Chocolate
Yuzu (Japanese Citrus) Ganache: made with white chocolate
Cherry Cordial: made with Guayas Chocolate
Caramel Ganache: made with Guayas Chocolate
Dos Rios Palet D’or: made with Dos Rios Chocolate
Tangerine Ganache: made with Ocumare Milk Chocolate
Key Lime Ganache: made with Guayas Chocolate
Caramel Ganache: made with Guayas Chocolate
Most truffles (filled-chocolates) are made with Guayas, because that chocolate complements a wide variety of flavors.
Amano's Pastry Chef
Rebecca Millican, a pastry chef who taught at the Institute of Culinary Education in New York, makes the filled chocolates and other confections for Amano. She has recently developed recipes for brownies, cocoa-nib brittle, and chocolate-covered toffee, all of which are available exclusively at the factory store.
Nibs
Accra: these beans come from Ghana. The African climate produces an unmatched richness in flavor.
Madagascar: from these beans, originally from Venezuela, thrive in the African soil. The cocoa carries notes of stark citrus flavor.
Ocumare: Forestaro beans from Venezuela have a rich, fruity, complex flavor.
Barlovento: from the coast of Venezuela, the Carenero bean is balanced, rich, and has a fruity flavor.
Amano is distinguished as being the first American company at the Academy of Chocolate Awards to claim a Gold award, for bean-to-bar dark chocolate[3]. Renowned Italian chocolate manufacturer Amedei is a fellow recipient of the Gold award in the bean-to-bar category. In 2009 Martin Christy, founder member of the Academy of Chocolate and editor of SeventyPercent.com, named Amano as one of the top eight bean-to-bar chocolate companies in the world[4]. Amano is the only American company to make Christy's list.