Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker Releases New 'Markham Valley' Single-Origin Chocolate Bar From Papua New Guinea

HERSHEY, Pa., Nov. 1, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker releases the Scharffen Berger® Markham Valley limited-edition chocolate bar, the newest Chocolate Maker's Series single-origin bar made from cacao beans sourced from Markham Farms in Papua New Guinea. The bar will be sold exclusively online on Amazon.com as a 6-count set and at www.ScharffenBerger.com . The only retail location selling the bar will be the Scharffen Berger Store in the San Francisco Ferry Building Marketplace.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20090805/NY57225LOGO)

Scharffen Berger Markham Valley is a 68% cacao dark chocolate bar that's pleasantly creamy with notes of red fruit, cherry and raisin and a hint of vanilla. The constant heat and unique terroir of this cacao-growing region, located in a transition zone between savannah and alluvial rainforest, along with Scharffen Berger chocolate's small-batch, artisanal chocolate making methods all contribute to the bold, remarkable flavor of the Markham Valley chocolate bar.

"At Scharffen Berger, we came across a sample of Markham Farms cacao by sheer accident and we were astonished by the complexity of the flavor," said Ray Major, Master Chocolate Maker for Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker. "The flavor is an explosion of red fruit with subtler hints of vanilla and pipe tobacco.  We immediately knew that we had to make a single-origin bar out of it."

While Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker began chocolate making with the idea that a blend of beans gives a fuller, more intense experience, the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker's Series started in 2009 as a result of discovering exceptional beans of a single origin with the uniqueness to justify a limited-edition bar made from just one bean type.

Previous editions of the Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker's Series include the Ben Tre bar from Vietnam, Aminia bar from Madagascar, Camahogne bar from Grenada and Asante bar from Ghana.

Starting November 2011, the limited-edition Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker's Series Markham Valley bar will be sold on Amazon.com as a 6-count set for $24.50 ($4.08/bar). The bar will also be individually sold at www.ScharffenBerger.com and at the Scharffen Berger Store in the San Francisco Ferry Building Marketplace.

For more information on the Scharffen Berger Markham Valley chocolate bar and for a fascinating three-part travel journal of Ray Major's cacao sourcing trip to Papua New Guinea, visit www.ScharffenBerger.com.

About Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker

Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker was established in 1997 in San Francisco, California, and first earned national recognition for its artisan-quality chocolate in 1998.  Producing bean to bar premium chocolates, Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker is one of the world's finest chocolate makers.  All Scharffen Berger chocolate is composed of proprietary bean blends from up to nine different cacao-growing regions throughout the world.  Scharffen Berger chocolate has received recognition throughout the U.S. for its high quality chocolate. Scharffen Berger products are sold by retailers nationwide, at Scharffen Berger chocolate's own retail location in San Francisco and through its website www.ScharffenBerger.com.  Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker is part of the Artisan Confections Company, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Hershey Company.  For more information please visit www.ScharffenBerger.com.

Anna Lingeris
Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker
[email protected]
(717) 534-4874

Laura Giannatempo
RF|Binder Partners, Inc.
[email protected]
(212) 994-7543

SOURCE Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker