Tuesday, September 6, 2016

Creo Chocolate - 73% Ecuador Cacao bar - Sept. 6, 2016


Chocolate of the Day: 

Creo Chocolate
Purely Dark 73% Ecuador Cacao
Good +
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 263 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Creo Chocolate, Portland, OR

Welcome to Day #2 of Ecuadorian Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Purely Dark 73% Ecuador Cacao bar from Creo Chocolate (Portland, OR) was a Good Food Awards Finalist for 2016.

As I approach my 10-year Chocolate Banquet anniversary (Sept. 11), it was wonderful to return to bean-to-bar chocolate this week.

This Ecuador craft chocolate bar had a dark ebony hue and subtle, chocolate brownie aroma. The bar had a predominantly smooth melt, with the exception of one very small area with slight granularity.

At first, it tasted like a conventional, relatively sweet, uniform dark chocolate bar. But then other flavors unfolded. Very slight nuttiness, and fleeting floral and tropical fruit notes. There was a very slight ammonia funkiness in a small part of one bite. (This was the the area of very slight granularity mentioned above.) But other than that it was a wonderfully complex and interesting ride, that ended with a clean chocolatey finish.

The bar was made with Heirloom Arriba Nacional Cacao beans. Inside the packaging were some photos of Ecuador farmers (and beans drying), and a bit more of the bar's origin story.

Creo Chocolate is a family business. I had the pleasure of meeting the Straub family when I was in Portland earlier this year. They really do love being able to make a difference in people's lives and to share the resulting chocolate with others. (They also had some very nice filled chocolates/truffles in their Portland shop.)







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