When it comes to expensive foods, there are some crazy records set out there. By expensive, we don’t mean a few hundred dollars for dinner; we’re talking high price tags for single food items, like the world’s most expensive caviar, which costs over $10,000. Desserts, in particular, can be very expensive, ranging from cakes and ice cream to even a simple chocolate bar.
Among one of the most expensive chocolate bars in the world is an Ecuadorean dark chocolate known as Masters Series Enriquestuardo. This dark chocolate bar from To’ak Chocolate costs $490 per bar. The reason for the high price is a combination of limited availability, exclusive design appearance, the use of gold leaf, high-quality chocolate, and the unique extras that are packaged along with the chocolate bar.
What makes this chocolate bar, and To’ak Chocolate as a whole, distinct is the use of Nacional cacao. This specific type of cacao was believed to be extinct until To’ak discovered one of the last standing groves in existence. To’ak has since been dedicated to preserving this cacao, which the company also uses to make Masters Series Enriquestuardo chocolate bars.
Why Masters Series Enriquestuardo is so expensive
On top of the chocolate bar being made with a rare cacao, the bar has an unusual shape. It has a divet in the center that holds a Nacional cacao bean, highlighting the species as the centerpiece of the chocolate bar. The 50-gram bar is embossed with the company’s logo and placed in a sustainably sourced Spanish Elm wood box.
The box also contains a few extra items like an encapsulated cacao bean from the company’s heirloom Nacional cacao trees, a tasting plate and tasting utensil made from the same Spanish Elm as the box, and one original piece of “Guardianes” artwork finished with gold leaf made by Enriquestuardo, an Ecuadorean artist which the bar is named after. The inclusion of these exclusive items combined with the fact that only 500 of these chocolate bars are available is what makes it one of the most expensive desserts in the world.
As for how it tastes, the bar is described as featuring flavor notes of honey, caramel, cashews, and plum. To’ak says the bar is best enjoyed as is or with alcohol like wine or whiskey. The chocolate also makes a great, unexpected pairing with cheese. The bar is available for purchase online on various sites, including the To’ak website, but the steep price point remains the same regardless of where it is bought from.
