Our Top Clean Tasting Couverture Chocolates

When it comes to couverture chocolate, there are many characteristics used to define different types; white, dark; high viscosity, low viscosity; smooth, gritty.

One particular characteristic we’re going to be focusing on is ‘clean tasting’.

Clean tasting couverture chocolates are packed with flavour but don’t linger on the tongue after they’ve melted, leaving no sticky or claggy remnants. If you’re interested in how it works, we wrote an article all about the scientific ins and outs.

They’re perfect for drizzling over complex desserts, summer-chocolate product lines, tasting and pairing events - anything that requires a clean, neutral palate after the mouthful has been melted and swallowed.

Before we get started on our top clean tasting couvertures, a quick note about dark chocolate.

Dark Couverture Chocolate

Dark chocolate acts to enhance the true flavour profiles of cacao and aims to tamper with them as little as possible.

By ‘tamper’ we mean adding sweeteners, solvents and fats to alter the flavour profile of the chocolate; softening out the bitter notes, and balancing the tang of red fruits with something creamier and sweeter.

It means that, naturally, dark chocolate has little to no sugar and milk powder content, relying on the pressing and conching process to smooth out the finished product.

As a result, a lot of dark chocolates are already clean tasting, but not everyone has the acquired taste for very bitter, roasted, tree bark-like notes.

When the cocoa mass percentage comes down, to cater for a softer palate, it’s common that, in turn, the chocolate loses its clean tasting properties - depending on the recipe.

Cacao Barry

A name that, in the world of chocolatiering, needs no introduction, Cacao Barry are revered for their luxury couverture chocolate, sitting at the top end of the Barry Callebaut brands.

Therefore, it’s only logical that they also make some of the most clean-tasting chocolates on the market, too.

We, and many renowned chefs and chocolatiers around the world, would recommend the Ocoa 70% dark, Alunga 43% milk, and the Zephyr 34% white for a truly premium summer in chocolate.

Lubeca

Coming in at a lower price point, for just as much flavour and quality, is Lubeca, a German brand.

Here at Keylink, Lubeca’s chocolates are a business-wide favourite. They’re fantastically priced and deliver a taste profile that’s well-balanced, complex, and clean.

We’d recommend their most popular pure origin chocolate: Schok Weiss 33% white.

Never heard of Lubeca before? Thank us later.