Nostradamus 35% is a toasted white chocolate made with caramelised coconut milk instead of dairy. Toasting is what separates it from conventional white chocolate: heating the chocolate slowly caramelises the sugars and develops butterscotch and biscuit notes, producing something considerably less sweet and more complex. Hibiscus adds a cranberry-like acidity that cuts the richness, and raw cacao nibs add crunch and actual cacao solids, the thing conventional white chocolate lacks entirely.
Is white chocolate really chocolate?
It depends who you ask, and the argument is older than most people realise. White chocolate contains cocoa butter, the fat pressed from the cacao bean, but no cacao solids, which is why it is pale and lacks dark chocolate's bitterness. Under UK and EU regulation it must contain at least 20% cocoa butter to be sold as white chocolate. Purists argue the absence of solids disqualifies it. Nostradamus puts raw cacao nibs back in, which adds cacao solids to a white chocolate bar and settles the argument somewhat.
What hibiscus is doing here
Hibiscus sabdariffa is known as bissap in Senegal and Cameroon, sobolo in Ghana, zobo in Nigeria, and agua de Jamaica across Mexico and the Caribbean. It travelled with the transatlantic slave trade and put down roots on both sides of it, which is why the same flower is served at weddings in Dakar and on street corners in Mexico City.
In 2017 the industry announced ruby chocolate as a fourth type of chocolate: pink, fruity, tart, arrived at through a patented process and a proprietary bean. Nostradamus is our answer to it. The deep red comes from anthocyanins, the plant pigments that also colour blackcurrants and red cabbage. They are among the most studied compounds in nutrition science, largely for what they appear to do in the cardiovascular system.
What it tastes like
Butterscotch and caramel from the toasting, floral tartness from the hibiscus, audible crunch from the nibs. Less sweet than conventional white chocolate and considerably more interesting. If you have written off white chocolate as one-note, this is the bar that argues back.
Why the name
Michel de Nostredame was a sixteenth-century French physician and astrologer, best known for prophecies he probably never intended to be read as such. He also, genuinely, wrote one of Europe's earliest recipe collections for preserved fruit and confectionery. Naming a chocolate bar after a man who predicted the future is our small joke about how long Europe took to work out what to do with the cacao bean.
Grown, not bought
The cacao in Nostradamus is harvested, fermented and sun-dried on our family's agroforestry farm in Cameroon. Everyone working it is paid the Anker Living Wage for rural Cameroon: 135,729 CFA a month, about £176 / $180. That works out at the equivalent of £7 a kilo, seven times what most cocoa farmers receive at the farmgate. We don't start from the commodity price and hope a decent income follows. We start from the wage
It depends who you ask, and the argument is older than most people realise. White chocolate contains cocoa butter, the fat pressed from the cacao bean, but no cacao solids, which is why it is pale and lacks dark chocolate's bitterness. Under UK and EU regulation it must contain at least 20% cocoa butter to be sold as white chocolate. Purists argue the absence of solids disqualifies it. Nostradamus puts raw cacao nibs back in, which adds cacao solids to a white chocolate bar and settles the argument somewhat.
What hibiscus is doing here
Hibiscus sabdariffa is known as bissap in Senegal and Cameroon, sobolo in Ghana, zobo in Nigeria, and agua de Jamaica across Mexico and the Caribbean. It travelled with the transatlantic slave trade and put down roots on both sides of it, which is why the same flower is served at weddings in Dakar and on street corners in Mexico City.
In 2017 the industry announced ruby chocolate as a fourth type of chocolate: pink, fruity, tart, arrived at through a patented process and a proprietary bean. Nostradamus is our answer to it. The deep red comes from anthocyanins, the plant pigments that also colour blackcurrants and red cabbage. They are among the most studied compounds in nutrition science, largely for what they appear to do in the cardiovascular system.
What it tastes like
Butterscotch and caramel from the toasting, floral tartness from the hibiscus, audible crunch from the nibs. Less sweet than conventional white chocolate and considerably more interesting. If you have written off white chocolate as one-note, this is the bar that argues back.
Why the name
Michel de Nostredame was a sixteenth-century French physician and astrologer, best known for prophecies he probably never intended to be read as such. He also, genuinely, wrote one of Europe's earliest recipe collections for preserved fruit and confectionery. Naming a chocolate bar after a man who predicted the future is our small joke about how long Europe took to work out what to do with the cacao bean.
Grown, not bought
The cacao in Nostradamus is harvested, fermented and sun-dried on our family's agroforestry farm in Cameroon. Everyone working it is paid the Anker Living Wage for rural Cameroon: 135,729 CFA a month, about £176 / $180. That works out at the equivalent of £7 a kilo, seven times what most cocoa farmers receive at the farmgate. We don't start from the commodity price and hope a decent income follows. We start from the wage
Toasted white chocolate is made by slowly heating white chocolate until the sugars and milk proteins caramelise, turning it golden and developing butterscotch and biscuit notes. The result is far less sweet and considerably more complex than conventional white chocolate. Nostradamus 35% uses caramelised coconut milk rather than dairy, so it achieves this transformation while staying entirely plant-based.
Is white chocolate actually chocolate?
It depends who you ask. White chocolate contains cocoa butter, the fat from the cacao bean, but no cacao solids, which is why it is pale and lacks the bitterness of dark chocolate. Some purists argue this disqualifies it. Under UK and EU regulation it must contain at least 20% cocoa butter to be sold as white chocolate. Nostradamus adds raw cacao nibs back in, which puts actual cacao solids into a white chocolate bar and closes the argument somewhat.
What does Nostradamus 35% taste like?
Butterscotch and caramel from the toasting, a floral tartness from the hibiscus, and audible crunch from raw cacao nibs. Less sweet than conventional white chocolate and considerably more interesting. If you have written off white chocolate as one-note, this is the bar that argues back.
What is hibiscus and why is it in the bar?
Hibiscus sabdariffa is known as bissap in Senegal and Cameroon, sobolo in Ghana, zobo in Nigeria, and agua de Jamaica across Mexico and the Caribbean. It travelled with the transatlantic slave trade and put down roots on both sides of it, which is why the same flower is served at weddings in Dakar and on street corners in Mexico City. In 2017 the industry announced ruby chocolate as a fourth type of chocolate: pink, fruity, tart, arrived at through a patented process and a proprietary bean. Nostradamus is our answer to it. The deep red comes from anthocyanins, the plant pigments that also colour blackcurrants and red cabbage. They are among the most studied compounds in nutrition science, largely for what they appear to do in the cardiovascular system.
Is Nostradamus 35% vegan and dairy free?
Yes. Conventional white chocolate is built on milk powder. Nostradamus uses caramelised coconut milk instead, which is what makes it plant-based while still achieving the creamy, toasted character. No dairy, no milk solids, no lactose.
Does Nostradamus 35% contain nuts?
The recipe is built on coconut, cacao nibs and hibiscus. Coconut is classified as a tree nut in some jurisdictions including the United States, though not in the UK or EU.
Why is the bar named after Nostradamus?
Michel de Nostredame was a sixteenth-century French physician and astrologer, best known for his prophecies. He also, genuinely, wrote one of the earliest known European recipes for preparing preserved fruit and confectionery. Naming a chocolate after a man who predicted the future is our small joke about how long it took Europe to work out what to do with the cacao bean.
Is toasted white chocolate less sweet than regular white chocolate?
Yes, noticeably. The caramelisation process converts some of the sugar and develops roasted, biscuit-like flavour compounds, which shifts the balance away from pure sweetness toward complexity. Adding hibiscus for acidity and cacao nibs for bitterness pushes Nostradamus further in the same direction. It reads as a dessert rather than a sweet.
All Natural
Dairy Free
Gluten Free
No Lecithin
Soy Free
Vegan
a delightful dairy-free surprise
If you’re a fan of caramel or butterscotch flavours, this might just become your new favourite chocolate!
Sooo addictive
I do not know what’s in there or how you guys worked your magic but man that’s so good and that nib’s crunch! Yum-my