Artisan duo create award winning chocolate flavour

Artisan award winners Co Couture, a chocolatier, and Suki Teahouse, both based in Northern Ireland created an innovative milk chocolate bar with a Japanese Cherry Sencha infusion which gained a silver medal in the prestigious World Final International Chocolate Awards.

The success is the latest collaboration between the two small businesses which are both based in Belfast. The unique chocolate bar was among 950 different products from around in the world in the annual competition.

Deirdre McCanny, owner of Co Couture, said the chocolate bar has added to Co Couture's growing international ranking products.

"The judging panel comprised experts, food journalists, bloggers, chefs, sommeliers and pastry chefs and attracted fine chocolate makers from across the globe," she adds. "The awards are designed to reflect international tastes and celebrate and recognise traditional craft companies such as Co Couture.

"The combination of this fine chocolate and Suki Tea's Japanese Cherry Sencha blend has given this bar the filling needed to secure silver in this highly competitive category."

Oscar Woolley, Suki Tea managing director, says: "The award highlights the versatility of our gourmet teas now being recognised in Britain and further afield."

The International Chocolate Awards is an independent competition recognising excellence in fine chocolate making and in the products made with fine chocolate. As the world's only fully independent international fine chocolate competition, it aims to support companies producing fine chocolate and chocolatiers, small companies and artisans working with fine chocolate. By helping these markets to grow and develop, it also aims to support the skill and dedication of farmers who grow fine cacao.

The awards were founded in 2012 based on years of experience running chocolate awards and other events in the UK and are run by a group of international partners based in the UK, Italy and the US.

Competitions are held in countries and regions around the world, including Italy, the UK, US, Germany, Scandinavia and other locations, with more competitions being held each year.

Winners of the regional competitions are judged together at the World Final, which celebrates the best entries of the year.

By making consumers more aware of the hard work and craft that goes into the best fine chocolate products, the awards help the fine chocolate industry to grow and develop in established regions as well as new markets. By helping to identify the best chocolate made with the best cacao, the awards hope to help chocolate makers, chocolatiers and cacao farmers continue to succeed at producing the world's best fine cacao and fine chocolate.

The categories, which range from origin bars to filled chocolates to spreads, are designed to reflect the current chocolate industry.