Christopher Elbow Chocolates - Dominican Republic 72% Dark (bar) - Oct. 25, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Christopher Elbow Chocolates
Dominican Republic 72% Dark (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.95 (plus shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Christopher Elbow website, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate, Dominican Republic and Haiti Theme Weeks.

Today's Dominican Republic 72% Dark (bar) was from Christopher Elbow Chocolates (Kansas City, MO). 

This chocolate had an aroma with dried fruit (goji berries, sweet persimmon, raspberry) notes.

The flavor had some of the same fruit notes mentioned above, in addition to true dark chocolate flavor (rich, dark chocolate cake and frosting), and a fleeting hint of cream (there was no dairy in this chocolate) and very light green.

The chocolate had a relatively mild acidity, a nicely balanced bittersweet taste, and a light finish.

Ingredients: Organic cacao, organic cane sugar, cocoa butter.

Cru Chocolate - Dominican Republic (El Cibao) 72% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Oct. 24, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Cru Chocolate
Dominican Republic, El Cibao, 72% Dark Chocolate (bar)

Good ++

Weight: 1.55 oz. (43 g.) in 1 bar

Calories: 233 (estimate) calories in 1 bar

Cost: $7.99 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Farm Fresh to You (CSA box), add-on item

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Dominican Republic and Haiti Theme Week.

Today's Dominican Republic, El Cibao, 72% Dark Chocolate (bar) was handcrafted by Cru Chocolate (Roseville, CA).

This 72% cacao chocolate had a creamy melt, and a pleasing dark chocolate with subtle nuts with malt, light fleeting warm spice and herb (caraway), balanced, concentrated fruit notes--and a light, well-balanced bitterness toward the end.

The cacao beans, grown in the El Cibao region in northern Dominican Republic, were fermented by Oko Caribe (a fermentery and cacao processing firm that works with farmers in the Dominican Republic).

Ingredients: Cacao beans, organic unrefined cane sugar

Svenska Kakaobolaget - The Swedish Cacao Company - Dom. Rep. 70% (bar) - Oct. 22, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Svenska Kakaobolaget
(The Swedish Cacao Company)
Dom. Rep. Oko Caribe, 2017 Harvest 70% (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 274 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Dominican Republic and Haiti Theme Weeks.

Today's Dom. Rep. Oko Caribe, 2017 Harvest 70% (bar), produced in Sweden in a late 1800s brick school house in a small town (Osterlen), by Svenska Kakaobolaget (The Swedish Cacao Company). 

Today's bar had fermented cacao (very faint acetic/lactic acid), bright green and dark chocolate frosting aroma and flavor notes, and a slight astringency in the finish. 

Ingredients: Cacao, cane sugar

Tabal Chocolate - Dominican 100% (bar) - Oct. 22, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Tabal Chocolate
Dominican 100% (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate, Dominican Republic and Haiti Theme Weeks.

Today's Dominican 100% (bar) was made by Tabal Chocolate (Wauwatosa, WI). Tabal was founded by Dan Bieser in 2012, with a focus on crafting organically grown cacao into responsibly sourced, vegan chocolate without soy or gluten. 

The aroma for this 100% bar had deep, dark chocolate forest notes with a fleeting hint of green (green fruit, green banana). 

The melt was rich and relatively smooth, almost creamy. (Tabal chocolate is stone-ground for three days in small batches.)

It was refreshing to enjoy the essence of chocolate flavor (just one ingredient*), without any sugar today. 

The finish had a relatively mild bitterness and astringency and slight waxy bean flavor note.

*Ingredients: Organic cacao

Armstrong Chocolate Company - Dominican Republic 70% (bar) - Oct. 21, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Armstrong Chocolate Company
Dominican Republic 70% (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.05 oz. (28 g.) / 2.1 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA 

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate, Dominican Republic and Haiti Theme Week.

Today's Dominican Republic 70% (bar) was from Armstrong Chocolate Company (Chico, CA). 

Armstrong founder and chief chocolate maker, Matthew Armstrong, made this bar with cacao beans from Oko Caribe* (a fermentery founded by two cacao professionals, Gualberto Torrejon and Adriano Rodriguez in 2006, in the Dominican Republic). 

The bar had a dark chocolate with light spice and concentrated fruit aroma, smooth melt and texture, true chocolate flavor with bright fruit (cherry, raspberry), one very fleeting light earth note, and a subtle, balanced bittersweet finish.

Ingredients: organic cacao, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter

Crow & Moss - Dominican Republic Zorzal 70% Chocolate (bar) - Oct. 20, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Crow and Moss 
Dominican Republic Zorzal 70% Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.235 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.75 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate, Dominican Republic and Haiti Theme Week.

Today's Dominican Republic Zorzal 70% Chocolate (bar) was made from bean to bar by Crow and Moss (Petoskey, MI).

The rich chocolate aroma had an inviting complex aroma with notes of fruit (ripe red fruit, cherries, raisin, dried plum), toffee brittle, a hint of maple spice and fleeting, very faint fresh green (grass). 

The well-tempered chocolate broke with a hearty snap and flavors were similar to those mentioned above in the aroma, only with more chocolate (cocoa, brownie), and a very faint, balanced, fermented milk/cream note.

The maker's tasting notes read as follows: "cherry, caramel, spice"

Ingredients: Dominican Reserve Zorzal cacao beans, organic cane sugar

Nuance Chocolate - Dominican Republic 70% Pure Dark (bar) - Oct. 19, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Nuance Chocolate
Dominican Republic 70% Pure Dark (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .97 oz. (27.5 g.) / 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 146 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar (plus shipping)
Purchased from: Nuance Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Dominican Republic Theme Week.

Today's Dominican Republic 70% Pure Dark (bar) was made by Nuance Chocolate (Fort Collins, CO).

This 70% cacao chocolate had a slightly earthy and true dark chocolate (chocolate cake) aroma and flavor with a subtle lingering dark chocolate finish.

The GMO-free cacao beans (harvested in 2015) used to make this bar were obtained from Rizek Cacao, a grower, processor, exporter (and more recently chocolate maker) operating in the Dominican Republic since 1905.

Ingredients: cacao, cane sugar, cocoa butter