Chocolate(s) of the Day: Ranger Chocolate Company
73% Tumbes
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: .25 oz. (7 g.) in 1 square
Calories: 37.5 calories (estimate) in 1 square
Cost: $2.00 for 1 mini bar (square)Purchased from: The Meadow (Mississippi location), Portland, OR
70% San Martin
Very Good
Weight: .25 oz. (7 g.) in 1 square
Calories: 37.5 calories (estimate) in 1 square
Cost: $2.00 for 1 mini bar (square)
Purchased from: The Meadow (Mississippi location), Portland, OR
80% Chulucanas
Very Good
Weight: .25 oz. (7 g.) in 1 square
Calories: 37.5 calories (estimate) in 1 square
Cost: $2.00 for 1 mini bar (square)
Purchased from: The Meadow (Mississippi location), Portland, OR
Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.
Today's two individually-wrapped, dark chocolates were crafted by Ranger Chocolate Company (Portland, OR) from Peruvian cacao.
It's always a treat to return to bean-to-bar chocolates with interesting and skillfully developed tasting arcs after theme weeks with less developed flavors.
The chocolate makers at Ranger are currently focusing on three single origin beans (from three different regions/farms) grown in Peru (Tumbes, San Martin and Chulucanas). I sampled three small, dark unadorned squares (of three different Peruvian origins) side-by-side. This is my idea of a three-square meal day.A Three Square Meal Sampler
73% Tumbes
The first 73% Tumbes mini bar (square) had a dark but upbeat, slightly floral aroma and a surprisingly sweet flavor with light/bright fruit woven throughout, a smooth, slow melt, and a pleasant lingering finish. Tumbes is located in the NW region of the coast of Peru.
Tasting notes from Ranger were as follows: 73% Peru (Tumbes) - tobacco, leather, coffee, honey, cherry, raisin.
70% San Martin
The second 70% San Martin mini bar had a slight five spice aroma, and a more complex, deeper, earthier tasting arc than the first square -- with a hint of apple juice/cider toward the end, and a finish that mellowed over the course of several seconds, with a clear strawberry note that popped up after more than 30 seconds.
Ranger Chocolate Tasting notes for this mini bar: 70% Peru (San Martin) - earthy cacao, strawberry, apricot, wine, chili pepper. San Martin is a region in the upper part of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest.
80% Chulucanas
The last of this tasting feast, was an 80% Chulucanas mini bar, with a ripe late summer fruit salad (peaches, raspberries, plums) and light spice aroma and almost buttery, creamy melt. It had a (not unexpectedly at 80%) darker flavor profile with very light leather and earth notes. But, in a blind taste test, this could pass for a lower percent bar, in part due to it's fruit (which migrated to tart, ripe peaches toward the end) and relative lack of bitterness. (I thought I might have caught the tiniest inkling of some salt, but that was likely my imagination.) The rest of the tasting experience was rich and even with occasional sparkles of tart fruit, but enjoyably full and satisfying overall, with a slight sweet-tart finish with a pleasant green, woodsy (light pine?) note about 20 seconds after the last bite.
Chulucanas is a small farming community in the Northern Piura region of Peru.
Ranger tasting notes for this bar: woodsy, tobacco, black walnut, raspberry.
The Magic of Slow Tasting
Moviegoers are sometimes rewarded, if they sit through the credits, with an ending sequence or scene. My advice, pay close attention to today's single origin chocolates—up to a full minute after you think you might have finished tasting them. You may get a tiny flavor bonus that kicks in.
Ranger has recently opened the Cup and Bar, a factory and tasting facility on the East side of Burnside Bridge in Portland. Sorry I just missed that the last time I was in Portland. I look forward to a visit there on my next trip, so I can savor more of their chocolates at the source.One can purchase an assortment package of these Mini Ranger Bars online. I was able to buy them individually, at The Meadow, a local (Portland) purveyor of salt and chocolate (shown at right).
No comments:
Post a Comment