Thursday, September 17, 2015

El Ceibo - 75% Bolivia bar; Raaka Bolivia bar - Sept. 17, 2015

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

El Ceibo
Bolivia - 75% Organic Cocoa Beans bar
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.12 oz. (32 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 168 calories (estimate) for 2/5 bar
Cost: $9.00 (estimate) for 2/5 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Bolivia Theme Week -- and it's a two bar day.

I found this wonderful El Ceibo 75% cacao (Bolivia) bar in the back of my chocolate vault. The recommended "consume by" date had come and gone, but it was still a great bar.

The chocolate, made with beans from El Ceibo Cooperative in the Covendo Region of Alto Beni, Bolivia, was robust with balanced, complex flavors -- with hints of plum fruit, coffee, earth and olive -- and creamy smooth in texture.


Raaka Chocolate
Maple and Nibs bar
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50.94 g.) in total bar
Calories:  147 calories in 1 oz. (28.3 g.) of bar
Cost: $7.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bristol Farms, Westfield Centre, San Francisco, CA

Because I wasn't sure if I tried the El Ceibo bar (above) before or not, I decided to include a second bar made with Bolivian cacao.

This Maple and Nibs bar from Raaka Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY) was made with unroasted cacao beans. Using a lower temperature process preserves some flavors, and leaves other flavors (that would be brought out in the roasting process) undeveloped. If you fancy a raw foods diet, unroasted cacao may be of interest.

This bar had a lovely, very subtle maple and smoke aroma, and a flavor that blossomed about 5-10 seconds after taking a bite.

The content and images on this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.


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