Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker releases the Scharffen Berger Markham Valley 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.

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.