![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX94pqTb_5gNruSlPrkmpySYqJOUl8fhS6bQHhntL6pIlLu3hjqt9gVTAAo-KI611kp-FYwE1faf1dJ4WKHBgzqvOHP_apJ-P5voToz-jgjBAcv8PJKSAR0xHeDl2kBwoEAZMwJpULtaln/s200/VintagePlantations.90pDrkChocBarPkg..jpg)
Vintage Plantations
90 percent Dark Chocolate bar
Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 3.2 oz. (90 g.) in total bar
Calories: 159 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information
Valenza Chocolatier, Inc.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvewwWO4F5_ELwK674pEpon9JY9oaTRfUEoAMxG-Cq2k1XLjVeQCDKGCCsy2gLeXql6FWZB5vI5__E0TJ9hCaYmNVNBDwAEVNbMXqGMJrahkkULj7FPrWY7Baf77idNWP1NUHm36E042Lh/s200/Valenza.SesamoMilkVenezBar.Pkg.3.14.17.600.JPG.jpg)
Good +
Weight: 1.03 oz. (30 g.) / 3.1 oz. (90 g.) in total bar
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $N/A sample from Valenza (included in a larger order)
Purchased from: (part of a larger order from Valenza Chocolatier, Inc. (Costa Mesa, CA)
Welcome to Chocolate and STUVWXYZ Theme Week. Today we focus on two companies that start with the letter "v": Vintage Plantations and Valenza Chocolatier, Inc.
Both companies have founders with European ties/heritage, who are creative and passionate about origins and quality and who have an appreciation of single origin chocolate.
Both have offered chocolates made from Venezuelan beans (or chocolate), a venerable origin, vraiment, veramente (truly in French and Italian). And both offer a variety of chocolate bars as well as very enticing confections/truffles.
These two companies also exemplify two different approaches to making chocolates: that of a bean-to-bar chocolate maker (Vintage) and a chocolatier (Valenza).
Today's two bars also represented two points along the cocoa content spectrum: Vintage Plantations' 90 percent almost pure Dark Chocolate crafted from scratch, and Valenza Chocolatier's flavorful Sesamo light milk chocolate with sesame seeds. One's a bean-to-bar maker, and the other is a chocolatier who uses premium sourced chocolate. Each is making unique chocolates with well-balanced layers of flavor.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKFS1e5BNZiMUhXjceFy_PaItY30eHSI7ozc-Dm7G1kRrQTttoLTon_ne-yTTUDe_ft-h22FSoXxKeyIo-kbBaeMwOrj4tJHHfC5vw46wuAUuqrOYF35t-Lw99ohY0d-dfJL38qQYjaX7D/s200/VintagePlantations.90pBarPc.Close.3.14.17.600.JPG.jpg)
Now, let's taste some chocolate...
Vintage Plantations
The 90 percent Dark Chocolate bar from Vintage Plantations (Costa Mesa, CA) had a sweet cocoa, fruity (fig, goji berries, banana) aroma with very faint green notes. And the first taste was one I'd also associate with a bar with more sweetness (lower cocoa solids and more sugar).
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtX7dwvt8d-9Mw-eL9UkwYU4-DlQEqIAGLbamR4w9nm8F6SSvVjWhNYFQUpri8-Ah6tDURfU3DbbXvFxAnmn9fQuAOuyONMClOMucVEyvrMA6nO3Wg3KSFccDfashyphenhyphenlg7aGk2mhsns2Oz_/s200/VintagePlantations.90Drkbar.BkPkg.text.3.14.17.600.JPG.jpg)
I've had a Vintage Plantations 90 percent dark bar before back in 2010, made with a slightly different batch of beans. The previous bar was made with Ecuadorian cacao I believe. (There was no origin or plantation listed for this bar.) Vintage has worked with beans from different origins, including Ecuador, Venezuela and Peru.
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH3HvKl9UcREsvl7X763VLhpLCvuGzao3qqo7rp-HV5ptlJ4ONSsEF0keBftVOA3yN3Ulrm1coVkvtSrja7XB0k5djTJFK6nC_A0259A6XmAbGuP4niMe4LP2S8082r3q321uI9TIxHW_-/s200/ValenzaChocolatier.LogoOnBarPkgClose.3.14.17.600.JPG.jpg)
Valenza Chocolatier - Sesamo bar
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjc2OVZiz7ko13NzUhO5FcilqidAEuwllYfNK3Iiza0nfFD-hyJ8SYaNpNVxoNmb_vIRC1xzINYxzjaCC5T_k0ARxrjqDWBw1iJ0esw-dwsnVqSoBATKMEmD1ofdKy1YjjaiFAMc5-pReGd/s200/Valenza.SesamoBar.Bk.Pkg.Label.3.14.17.600.JPG.jpg)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-TIrIK8q6nxULyU3yEPM0wZxLmGiqIer0w9oprj3DkRIH4NGv5CW-OiZyIkJtf_Up4f-CiXt2c0vzRxh10lQYuJdGRRf_bXIt43BP1e98-mi5k4CkJkVn3W83xVSAZb96GerUooOTp_Ks/s200/ValenzaChocolatier.SesamoMilkBarBite.3.14.17.600.JPG.jpg)
And a touch of Sicilian sea salt tied everything together. It balanced the sweetness as well as the slight seed aftertaste from the sesame seeds in this bar.
*Don't leave this bar (or any chocolate bar) in direct sun. This bar softened very quickly. I offer as proof my fingerprints that I accidentally left on this bar, as I was holding it to take a photo.