Quite a name ‘Kerta Semaya Samaniya 2021’ – but it is a dark chocolate (70%) from the cooperative with this name (KSS abbreviated) from Bali Indonesia.
The history of Jembrana’s cacao cooperative, Kerta Semaya Samaniya (“KSS”) is characterised by perseverance, patience and creativity. One of the key pillars of KSS’s strategy is gender equality. Historically, women were often limited to ‘helpers’ despite doing most of the work on the farm. The introduction of female-led trainings on good agricultural practices and post-harvesting processing has helped increase their self confidence as well the ability to train other female farmers across the farmer groups. Further, women can now join the cooperative, which allows them to sell their cacao directly to KSS and therefore gain full transparency of the income generated.
Taste goes in many directions, from soft and sweet to more earthy and almost mushroom-like, certainly also somewhat nutty and spicy.
Taste notes described by the maker: Arrack, passion fruit, walnut.
Also nice to read what chocolate blogger the ‘Schokolade Hunter’ has to say about it, with a very detailed description of how he experiences the taste: “Here you will find exceptionally exciting and at the same time extremely pleasant aromas of jammy-sweet dried plums, raisins, dates and figs, which are accompanied by harmoniously matched notes of malt, caramel, rum, umami spices and dried culinary herbs, including a delicate biscuit note. As icing on the cake, there is also a subtle, gently accentuated salty component, which is especially is expressed in smell and makes the aroma stand out even better. A spectacular fireworks of flavors – I have no words for words.”
Ingredients: cocoa, sugar.
Allergy note: may contain traces of milk.
About the cocoa:
Country: Indonesia
Region: Jembrana (West Bali)
Producer: KSS Cooperative
Biodiversity: Cultivated with jackfruit, mangosteen and snakefruit.
Altitude: 20-400 meters above sea level
Harvest: 2021
Fermentation: central fermentation in 2-tier wooden boxes covered with banana leaves (6 days / 48h-48h-48h)
