Amedei: Excellence in the Italian Chocolate Valley

To the motorcycle enthusiasts and nostalgic ones, Pontedera – a quiet Tuscan town not far from Pisa with its leaning tower – is mainly related to the Piaggio brand and its beloved models, starting from the iconic Vespa scooter, now also displayed in the Piaggio Museum set in the tooling department of the ancient factory. Yet, over the last 30 years, the area between the Tuscan provinces of Pisa, Prato, and Pistoia also became known to chocolate lovers as the beating heart of the so-called Italian "Chocolate Valley,” thanks to a remarkable concentration of artisan chocolate companies.

A Bean-to-bar Pioneer

In the Chocolate Valley, a prominent place belongs to Amedei: set in a relatively small warehouse – once hosting a foundry – softened by the pinkish facade decorated with blooming cocoa pods, and located not too far from the Piaggio Museum, the company was created in 1990 by siblings Alessio and Cecilia Tessieri (the latter being the first woman to be ever appointed maitre chocolatier) adopting as a brand the surname of their grandmother. Tessieri – currently running her brand Cecilia Rabassi, while her brother launched the Noalya chocolate brand – decided to focus on "bean to bar" chocolate, which back then was relatively new and uncommon in Italy, and Amedei has been achieving great success since then with its elegant and distinctive products, mainly focusing on tablets, bars and Napolitains (yet, the range also includes the oversized Prendimé chocolate bars meant for sharing, pralines, spreads and snacks).

In 2017, Amedei was acquired by the Ferrarelle Group, which is mostly known as a leading Italian brand in the bottled water business. However, this has not changed the company's approach to quality and production system, so much so that many of the historic collaborators—starting with chocolate maker Luca Fiorentini—still work at the Tuscan headquarters.

Making Chocolate with Luca Fiorentini

It is Fiorentini himself who illustrated to us the different phases of processing and the importance of some productive choices that determine the success of Amedei's award-winning products: from the Toscano Black 70 (a very gentle dark chocolate, born in 1998 and still today a flagship product) to the creamy and delicate Toscano Latte (a blend of cocoa beans from Madagascar, Ghana, Venezuela) to most precious chocolate made from the rare Venezuelan Criollo plantations, such as the bold and round Chuao or the elegant Porcelana, named after the pure white color of its seeds.

Working in close collaboration with growers and producers – also paying attention to local working conditions, environment, and biodiversity: Ferrarelle Group is a recognized Benefit Corporation, and every branch has to comply with strict regulations regarding environmental impact, waste reduction, and social responsibility – they source the best raw materials from Africa and Latin America, focusing on Venezuela, Peru, Trinidad, Madagascar, Grenada, and Ecuador. After that, Fiorentini explains, they take care not to spoil them.

Roasting, Shelling & Grinding

The beans are carefully air roasted without ever touching direct flame: there are predetermined times and temperatures for the different varieties, but it is only the expert eye of the operator – and the repeated tastings – that determine when is the right time, avoiding excessive or insufficient roasting and favoring the development of positive cocoa aromas. The following phases include shelling and grinding (among which, also the cocoa bean husks are recovered for the Flora Cacao project started in 2022, producing the special “green” paper used for this year’s Easter Eggs and the 50gram bars, and that will be used for all the packaging by 2025), eventually adding milk or sugar (both from brown cane or maple, for the Acero 95 blend) depending on the final output, and the following two-steps refining process which makes it gradually smoother.

Conching

Yet, conching – preceding the tempering phase, where chocolate is poured into molds, on its own or mixed with other ingredients such as Bronte pistachios, Avola almonds or Piedmont hazelnuts – is what mainly distinguishes Amedei's production: "While most of the chocolate producers turned to faster conching process, we choose to stick to the 'old' slow process, ranging from 8-10 hours up to 72, depending on the variety and type of cocoa used and on the product we want to obtain. This naturally increases costs, but for us, it is fundamental to develop aromas and obtain the desired consistencies and softness", explains Fiorentini. "We use very few high-quality ingredients and choose manual and artisanal processes, often long and demanding, but that allows us to enhance it to the fullest. And, even if naturally every cocoa has its own identity and dark chocolates result in more intense flavors, we choose pleasantness as our 'signature,' which you can find even in the highest percentages." You can still trace it even in the round blend of Toscano Black 100, an elegant and charming 100% cocoa mass tablet.

A Pure Product

Indeed, Amedei chocolate does not contain soy lecithin, preservatives, or synthetic flavors, but only cocoa, cocoa butter, and sugar, plus naturally other ingredients for variations: a super short recipe that determines a shorter shelf life but guarantees taste and health.