Launched in 2006, Abinao pushes the boundaries of bitterness a little further, with a cocoa content of 85%. As with the revolutionary Guanaja, Valrhona wishes to offer those who enjoy bitter chocolate a unique sensory experience underpinned by the strength of tannins and the taste of raw cocoa beans. This way, Valrhona reinforces the importance of selecting excellent cocoa where it is grown. With so little added sugar, the cocoa used must be flawlessly pure.

Abinao is a complex blend of aromatic African cocoas. These profiles are blended until they have Abinao’s singular, consistent flavor redolent of bitterness and woody intensity.

This chocolate is less sweet than any other in the range. It has a characteristic intensity and strength.

Mélanie Moréa - PASTRY CHEF AND TECHNICAL SUPPORT L’ÉCOLE VALRHONA
SENSORY PROFILE

Abinao’s raw, woody intensity and bitterness capture the essence of an immense African jungle shrouded by a dark night.

Abinao 85% dark chocolate beans, Blended Origins Grand Cru.
Pure cocoa butter
Powerful and Tannic.

Recommended Applications

Bars – Mousse – Cream mix & Ganache – Ice creams & sorbets

Pairings

Date – Pear – Prune – Coffee – Pepper – Vanilla

Applications:
- Ganache chocolate: yes
- Coating: no
- Molding: no
- Ganache patisserie: yes
- Mousse: yes
- Sauce: yes
- Ice cream and sorbets: yes
- Chocolat drink: yes
- Decoration: yes
- Glaze: yes
- Cream: yes

Tempering gragh: Melting T1 (55/58°C or 131/136°F) -> Crystallisation T2 (28/29°C or 82/84°F) -> Working T3 (31/32°C or 88/90°F)

Tempering technique (by l'Ecole du Grand Chocolat):
1 - Melt the couverture for 12 hours in order to ensure that the cocoa butter is properly melted.
2 - Check that the temperature is T1.
3 - Temper the required amount of couverture, making sure that you always have some warm couverture in reserve.
4 - Stir regularly and check that it is at setting temperature T2.
5 - Stop cooling the mass and immediately raise the temperature to T3 by:
- adding warm couverture at T1
- warming it in a bain-marie
- warming it in a microwave oven (400/500 W max, so as not to burn it)
6 - Check that the couverture is at working temperature T3 and stir regularly to ensure that the temperature, and thus setting, is evenly distributed.

Ingredients: cocoa beans, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (soya lecithin), natural vanilla extract.
May contains traces of nuts, milk and egg proteins, gluten and peanut.

Composition: sugar 14% - fat 48%