It may be the best thing in 80 years, or it may simply be an attention grab. I for one, want to believe.

Barry Callebaut’s new ‘ruby chocolate’. Source: Barry Callebaut.

Some things in life are simply sublime. Like a walk in the park on a sweet summer morning. A glass of wine after a hard day’s work. Or you know… chocolate. Chocolate has changed quite a bit since it was first brewed by the Aztecs but nowadays, the main types of chocolate are pretty well established: you get the classic milk chocolate, the exquisite dark chocolate, and the mild white chocolate. But what if there was a new kind, a new sensorial experience?

That’s exactly what the chocolate engineers at Barry Callebaut claim to have done: invented a new type of chocolate. They call it Ruby Chocolate.

Ruby Chocolate

“Ruby chocolate is an intense sensorial delight. A tension between berry-fruitiness and luscious smoothness,” they write in a press release. “Ruby chocolate is made from the Ruby cocoa bean; through a unique processing, Barry Callebaut unlocks the flavor and color tone naturally present in the Ruby bean. No berries or berry flavor is added. No color is added.”

Barry Callebaut’s new ‘ruby chocolate’. Source: Barry Callebaut

What makes this type of chocolate unique is not only the reddish color, but the fact that the berry fruity taste emerges naturally, from the Ruby cocoa bean. The texture is also reportedly different, more creamy and refreshing than other chocolates. But not everyone is convinced.

British chocolate expert Dom Ramsey told The Independent that he is “sceptical” of the claim, since Barry Callebaut didn’t really say much about their recipe.

“A few years ago, French chocolate company Valrhona launched a caramelised white chocolate that they also sold as the ‘fourth type of chocolate’, and that turned out to be little more than marketing.”

“Barry Callebaut are not giving much away about what this new chocolate is, or how it is made, but as I understand it, they’ve used a combination of processing techniques and specific cacao varieties to produce a milk chocolate that has lightly fruity colour and flavour.”

It remains to be seen whether this is really a new type of chocolate or just a marketing gimmick. I, for one, can’t wait to taste this Ruby Chocolate.

Speaking of enjoying chocolate, we should do it while we still can. The world is heading towards a chocolate crisis by 2020, with no simple solution in sight.