Vanuatu (not to be confused with Xanadu)

This ain't your favorite Olivia Newton John song (picutre headband and legwarmers). I'm talking about an archipelago of islands in the South Pacific that grows cacao.

Last year, I had a single plantation sampler of chocolates from Pralus. It was great tasting each one side by side to see how environment changes the flavor of the cacao (since everything else in the recipe was kept constant, the only thing that was different was the plantation where the cacao was grown).

Vanuata had the oddest smokey, tobacco, gasoline taste. Although I had my favorites from the others (10 different plantations from Asia, Africa and S. America) - this was the only one that I wouldn't buy again (but then again, I ate Berty Bots - every flavor - so maybe there's a chance for Vanuatu).