Saturday, July 4, 2015

Sirene Chocolate - Lachua, Guatemala duo - Maple Sugar - July 2, 2015

Chocolate of the Day:

Sirene Chocolate
Lachua, Guatemala 73% cacao bar duo pack
1.) Lachua with cane sugar
2.) Lachua with maple sugar
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total package of 2 bars
Calories: 159 calories (estimate) in 1/2 of each of the two bars
Cost: $12.00 for 1 package of two bars
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Today was bonus Day #9 for Chocolate and Botanicals Theme Week.

Most bars and chocolates I write about on this site contain botanicals of some sort. And you could argue that cacao/cocoa is a plant-based flavoring agent all by itself.

Artisan bean-to-bar chocolate bars (like today's bars) are often crafted with just two ingredients: cacao beans and sugar.

Such was the case with today's pair of bars in one package, from Sirene Artisan Chocolate Makers (Victoria, British Columbia, Canada). The sugars used in chocolate (from plants, canes, trees) can also impart botanical flavor.

This package of single origin Lachua, Guatemala dark chocolate contained two slightly different bars that could be sampled and compared. This side-by-side tasting approach is very helpful when trying to figure out what you may like best (or least). The only difference between the two was that the first bar (wrapped in silver foil) was sweetened with cane sugar; and the second bar (wrapped in gold foil) was sweetened with maple sugar.

There was a fairly bold, but balanced fruit acidity to both bars. The maple sugar, from maple trees in the Quebec Appalachian mountains in Canada, added another, very pleasant, but subtle flavor dimension, without shifting or masking the underlying cacao flavor profile.

This 2-bar offering was created for The Chocolate Garage (Palo Alto, CA). Owner, Sunita de Tourreil, grew up outside of Montreal, and the result of her collaboration with Sirene is a natural and delicious pairing.

A Bit of History
For an interesting look at the history of maple sugar in the U.S., see this article "Thomas Jefferson and the Maple Sugar Scheme" on history.org.






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