Munk Pack - Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip protein cookie - Nov. 29, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Munk Pack Inc.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip protein cookie
Good +
Weight: 2.96 oz. (84 g.) in total cookie
Calories: 360 calories in 1 cookie
Cost: $2.99 for 1 cookie
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Cookies with Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's vegan, gluten free breakfast included this Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip soft-baked, protein (18 grams) cookie from Munk Pack Inc. (Greenwich, CT). The addition of peanut butter gave this cookie a delicious, sweet nutty flavor.

Munk Pack - Double Dark Chocolate Protein Cookie - Nov. 28, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Munk Pack
Double Dark Chocolate protein cookie
Good
Weight: 2.96 oz. (84 g.) in total cookie
Calories: 360 calories in 1 cookie
Cost: $2.99 for 1 cookie
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Cookies with Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Double Dark Chocolate soft-baked, protein cookie from Munk Pack Inc. (Greenwich, CT)

This satisfying, gluten free, vegan cookie with a soft chew had chocolate flavor through and through, and contained 18 g. of protein (brown rice and pea protein).

Green Girl Bakeshop - Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie ice box treats - Nov. 27, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Green Girl Bakeshop
Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie ice box treats
Good
Weight: 4.2 oz. (119 g.) in 1 ice box treat
Calories: 400 calories in 1 ice box treat
Cost: $5.99 for 1 ice box treat
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA


Welcome to Day #4 of Cookies with Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's frozen Chocolate Chocolate Chip ice cream and cookie treat was from Green Girl Bakeshop (San Leandro, CA).

A generous layer of chocolate, dairy-free (coconut milk) "ice cream" was sandwiched between two, gluten-free, soy-free chocolate chip cookies.

NuGo - Double Chocolate protein cookie - Nov. 26, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

NuGo
Double Chocolate protein cookie
Good
Weight: 3.53 oz. (100 g.) in 1 large cookie
Calories: 380 calories in 1 large cookie
Cost: $2.99 for 1 large cookie
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Cookies with Chocolate Theme Week.

This large, baked cookie with embedded chocolate chips had a soft-baked pillowy chew.

The cookie had a slightly artificial aroma when the package was first opened, but it subsided after the first few bites. This non-GMO labeled protein cookie was certified vegan and gluten free, and it contained 16 grams of protein (largely from added pea protein).

Goodie Girl - Double Chocolate Chip Cookies - Nov. 25, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Goodie Girl Tribeca, LLC

Goodie Girl Cookies - Double Chocolate Chip

Good

Weight: 1 serving (4 cookies) / 6 oz. (170 g.) in total package

Calories: 130 calories in 1 serving (4 cookies)

Cost: $3.75 for 1 package

Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA  

Welcome to Day #2 of Cookies with Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Double Chocolate Chip Goodie Girl Cookies were from Goodie Girl Tribeca, LLC (Ridgefield, NJ). 

These small, ebony-colored chocolate, chocolate chip cookies had a soft crunch and a sweet, chocolatey flavor.  

Like all cookies featured on this site, these were gluten free. The texture may (or may not) be different, depending on the recipe, style of cookie and ingredients used. 

For example, some find rice flour cookies somewhat mealy and crumbly. However, when used in small quantities in, e.g. a florentine, or with crunchy oats and quinoa cookies, a touch of this flour (perhaps as part of a gluten-free flour blend) might work well.

Cafe-Tasse - Noir Menthe; Noir Earl Grey bars + Persimmon Chocolate Chip Cookies - Nov. 24, 2018

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Cafe-Tasse
Noir Menthe (Dark Mint) small bar
Good +
Weight: .31 oz. (9 g.) in total bar
Calories: 48 calories (estimate) in 1 small bar
Cost: $0.80 for 1 small bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere, online order

Cafe-Tasse 
Noir The Earl Grey (Dark Earl Grey Tea) small bar
Good ++
Weight: .31 oz. (9 g.) in total bar
Calories: 48 calories (estimate) in 1 small bar
Cost: $0.80 for 1 small bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere, online order

Welcome to Day #13 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week and Day #1 of Cookies with Chocolate Theme Week.

These small bars were just the right size and thickness to enjoy the chocolate and the different flavor inclusions. Both had a comforting, smooth dark chocolate base and had well-balanced flavor notes.

The mint in the Dark Mint bar did not overpower the dark chocolate. It gradually crept in over the first two or three seconds after taking a bite, and there seemed to be micro up-ticks in peppermint candy flavor. Not completely homogenizing flavors allowed room for the palette to enjoy the separate flavors as well as the overall blend.

The second small, individually-wrapped, Dark bar was flavored with Earl Grey tea, and had lovely lilting, pleasing floral and happy citrus notes from this fragrant tea.

Persimmon chocolate chip cookies
These homemade persimmon cookies with milk chocolate chips and pecans were quite good. Even better, these gluten-free cookies were made with very little sugar. No artificial sweeteners, no sugar substitutes, just a very small amount of maple syrup, and natural sweetness from the persimmons,  baked yam, banana flour and warming sweet spices. No sugar needed. Butter added rich flavor to these free-form, drop cookies.

Dick Taylor - Pepperming Drinking Chocolate - Nov. 23, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Dick Taylor 

Peppermint Drinking Chocolate 

Good +

Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 8 oz. (227 g.) in total package

Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 serving

Cost: $19.00 for 1 package

Purchased from: Dick Taylor, online order

Welcome to Day #12 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week.

This morning's Peppermint Drinking Chocolate was created by Adam Dick and Dustin Taylor, the multi-talented duo behind Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate (Eureka, CA ). 

This drinking chocolate was made with Dick Taylor 72% cacao Madagascar Sambirano chocolate. What makes that special? First using a high percentage, single origin cacao will likely give drinking chocolate a more distinguished and/or distinguishable flavor profile. 

Cacao grown in Madagascar typically has fruity, slight acidic (tart red berries, citrus) flavor notes. In addition to naturally occurring fruit notes, today's chocolate contained added (powdered)* organic apple, black currant and black carrot in the dry mix. 

The peppermint (supplied by peppermint candy bits and natural peppermint flavor) was relatively low key. The fruit and vegetable inclusions seemed to have mellowed both cacao and peppermint.

*In the past few years, Dick Taylor has offered select/special edition chocolate bars with freeze-dried, fruit inclusions. (The 2018 Valentines Day special Vanilla Raspberry bar with freeze-dried organic raspberry powder featured earlier this year was tasty, well balanced and colorful.)

TCHO - Peppermint Mocha bar - Nov. 22, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

TCHO
Peppermint Mocha - milk chocolate with espresso and peppermint bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $3.79 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week; and Happy Thanksgiving* to all in the U.S.!

Today's creatively-constructed Peppermint Mocha - milk chocolate with espresso and peppermint bar was from TCHO (Berkeley, CA). It allowed us to lean into the holidays, and feel thankful for local Bay Area chocolate makers, all in one delicious fell swoop.

The organic, 45% cacao chocolate was embedded with a bold but very nicely balanced blend of milk chocolate, espresso and peppermint oil and mint in the form of freeze-dried mint gelato (creative!).

*We felt thankful for freshly rain-washed air and blue skies, after being swallowed up by hazardous air and haze for the past few weeks due to California wildfires. Even chocolate couldn't brighten up the apocalyptic conditions. Hoping all who were displaced from their homes have found shelter. 

Falize - Mint Dark Chocolate bar - Nov. 21, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Falize (DIPA Carole Martin)

Mint Dark Chocolate bar

Good +

Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar

Calories: 165 calories in 3 squares of bar

Cost: $1.99 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week.

Today's Falize Mint Dark Chocolate bar was made in France (DIPA Carole Martin, Cedex, France) and was similar to other, smooth dark chocolate mint bars featured this week.

This chocolate broke with a well-tempered* snap and had a pleasing aroma. The bar had the richness of dark chocolate (cacao percent was not listed) suffused with sweetness (sugar was the number one ingredient) and refreshing "natural mint flavor." It did contain some milk fat as well.**

*Well tempered refers to the process of heating and cooling chocolate in such a manner that in its final state it (the cocoa butter) possesses a stable crystalline structure (generally form V crystals) which produces chocolate with a longer shelf life as well as other desirable qualities. One of the characteristics of a well-tempered chocolate bar is that it breaks with a hard snap.

**Ingredients: sugar, unsweetened chocolate, anhydrous milk fat, cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin (emulsifier), natural mint flavor 0.4%, natural vanilla flavor. 

Dolfin - Dark Chocolate with Mint Leaves bar - Nov. 20, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Dolfin SA

Dark Chocolate with Mint Leaves bar 

Good - Good +

Weight: 1.235 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar

Calories: 190 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $4.95 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocosphere, online order

Goedemorgen and Bonjour. We're taking a virtual chocolate voyage to Europe this morning.


Belgian chocolate roots run deep
Chocolate fans in the U.S. can be forgiven for thinking that chocolate originated in Switzerland or Belgium.

Both countries played an important role in the rise of popularity of chocolate as we know it in the past century or two. Belgium's association with chocolate began almost four centuries ago, when the country was under Spanish occupation—after Spanish explorers brought cacao to Europe from the Americas, and were consuming chocolate in beverage form.

Eventually, chocolate dynasties and prestigious houses of chocolate arose, and many are still on the scene. Creamy chocolate pralines (bonbons) appeared in Belgium in the early 1900s and quickly spread elsewhere.

Dolfin Chocolate appeared on the scene years later, but honors Belgian chocolate manufacturing traditions.

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week. Today's Dark Chocolate with Mint Leaves bar hailed from Dolfin SA (Wauthier-Braine, Belgium).

This well-packaged, made-in-Belgium chocolate bar was well-tempered and broke with a hard snap. It had a slightly natural, slightly artificial aroma of mint and was a balanced, relatively sweet I'm guessing 60% cacao chocolate. (The cacao percent of this blended-origin bar was not disclosed on the label.)

Lindt and Sprungli - Lindt Excellence Intense Mint Dark bar - Nov. 19, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Lindt and Sprungli

Lindt Excellence - Intense Mint Dark bar

Good - Good +

Weight: .7 oz. (20 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar

Calories: 95 calories in 1/5 bar

Cost: $2.99 (estimate) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Stanford Theatre, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week.

Today's Lindt Excellence Intense Mint Dark bar made by Lindt and Sprungli (USA) Inc. (Stratham, NH). 

The bar broke with a snap, had a slow, smooth melt and dark chocolate base flavor—bolstered by a peppermint flavor and finish.

Zing - Dark Chocolate Mint Vitality bar - Nov. 18, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Zing Bars

Dark Chocolate Mint Vitality bar

Good + - Good++

Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in 1 bar

Calories: 210 calories in 1 bar

Cost: $2.99 for 1 bar 

Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA 

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week.

Today's Dark Chocolate Mint Vitality bar from Zing Bars (Seattle, WA) helped to power a walk around the Palo Alto, CA Baylands Nature Preserve—a city-owned strip of park with trails that offers a welcome dose of nature.

This slightly chewy, vegan, gluten free, and soy free "vitality" bar was relatively high in protein (10 g.) and it tasted relatively low in sugar. (Most Zing bars contain only 8-9 g. of sugars (thank you!)).

Humboldt Creamery - Organic Mint Chip Ice Cream - Nov. 17, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Humboldt Creamery*
Organic Mint Chip Ice Cream
Good +++
Weight: 1/2 cup (82 g.) / 1 Pint (473 mL) in total container
Calories: 220 calories in 1/2 cup serving
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week.

Today's Organic Mint Chip Ice Cream was from Humboldt Creamery* (Modesto, CA).

The base, mint ice cream tasted fresh and creamy and the mint flavoring was refreshing without being too strong (thank you).

The dark chocolate "fudge" pieces/chips were not overly hard or waxy (as they can sometimes taste in other frozen desserts). They had the mouthfeel and flavor of authentic dark chocolate.

*Humboldt Creamery was formed in the 1920s as a 152-farm dairy marketing co-op in northern California. It is now owned by Foster Farms Dairy (Modesto, CA).

Coolhaus - Dirty Mint Chip ice cream - Nov. 16, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Coolhaus
Dirty Mint Chip ice cream
Good - Good +
Weight: 1/2 cup (90 g.) / 1 Pint (473 mL) total container
Calories: 195 calories in 1/2 cup serving
Cost: $4.99 (sale) for 1 container
Purchased from: Safeway, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week.

This morning's gluten-free, Dirty Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream was constructed by the team at Coolhaus (Culver City, CA) using California milk, fresh mint leaves, cane and brown sugar, dark chocolate chips and other ice cream ingredients and vegetable gums.

The mint leaves gave this creamy, premium ice cream a very natural, slightly herbal mint flavor, that was not too overpowering (thank you!). And the miniature chocolate chips imparted tiny bursts of dark chocolate flavor.

Coolhaus itself was created by two women, Natasha and Freya, who founded the company in 2008.

Blue Bunny - Mint Chocolate Chunk Load'd Sundae - Nov. 15, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Blue Bunny
Load'd Sundaes - Mint Chocolate Chunk
Good
Weight: 4.25 fl. oz. (125.5 mL) / 8.5 fl. oz. (251 mL) in total sundae
Calories: 265 calories in 1/2 sundae
Cost: $3.00 for 1 sundae
Purchased from: Safeway, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week.

Sometimes chocolates most easily available for theme weeks are weighted in an odd direction. Just as last week's Ecuador cacao-themed week somehow ended up featuring mostly very high percentage cacao bars, this week's mint-themed week is conspicuously weighted in the direction of frozen chocolate and mint dessert items.

Truth be told, with a few exceptions, I'm hunting for quality vs. quantity in a chocolate. And, frozen treats and ice creams tend to be mass produced and loaded with sugar. However, they're also sometimes attached to childhood memories—the hidden icebergs of exceptions mentioned above, and which seem to justify occasional tumbles off the virtuous bean-to-bar bandwagon. (And I do have lots of good childhood memories associated with ice cream.)

Today's single-serving, Mint Chocolate Chunk sundae was part of a "Load'd Sundaes" line from Blue Bunny (manufactured by Wells Enterprises, Inc. (Le Mars, IA)).

"Load'd" with what you might ask? Definitely sugar (61 grams of sugars in 1 sundae). And, lots of toppings in soft mint ice cream, including swirls of fudge sauce, chocolate chunks, and tiny chocolatey fudge bunnies.* A few bites may satisfy the curious; and a few chocolate chunks, and chocolate-like bunnies, probably will not irreparably harm your health.

*Yes, we're still suckers for small chocolate animals, including certain chocsimiles (chocolate facsimiles of certain animals and items).

Gelato Fiasco - Mint Chocolate Chunk - Nov. 14, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Gelato Fiasco
Mint Chocolate Chunk gelato
Good - Good +
Weight: 1/2 cup (113 g.) / 1 Pint (452 g.) in total container
Calories: 220 calories in 1/2 cup serving
Cost: $2.99 for 1 container
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week.

Today's Mint Chocolate Chunk gelato was created by Gelato Fiasco (Brunswick, ME).

This morning's scoop of mint frozen goodness with tiny bursts of chocolate, evoked memories of slowly eating mint chocolate chip ice cream on a hot summer day under blue skies.

Good thing. This week in California our skies are being made thick and "overcast" by wildfire smoke. May all of you out there be blessed with clean air, sunshine and good friends to share chocolate and other good memories.

Alter Eco - Organic Dark Mint Truffles - Nov 13, 2018

Chocolate of the Day:

Alter Eco
Organic Dark Mint Truffles
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.27 oz. (36 g.) / 4.2 oz. (120 g.) in total package of 10 truffles
Calories: 240 calories in 3 pieces
Cost: $8.39 total package of 10 truffles
Purchased from: The Market, Palo Alto, CA

Good morning and welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week.

Today's package of individually-wrapped, Swiss-made Dark Mint Truffles were distributed by Alter Eco in the U.S. (San Francisco, CA). These mint globes were composed of peppermint oil-flavored centers, covered with 58% Ecuadorian cacao.

Mint is a natural match with chocolate. However, a generous serving of mint, likely peppermint oil in most chocolates, can mask aroma and flavor nuances even in dark chocolate. So, if you're in the mood for chocolate, you might go for more dialed back mint.

That said, the dark chocolate in these truffles still tasted rich, smooth and satisfying. And the almost silken centers were crafted with milk, coconut oil, vanilla and were well balanced and not ultra sweet (thank you!).

Alter Eco mindfully constructs their chocolate offerings. For example, each Organic, Gluten Free mint and dark chocolate globe were enveloped in plant-based, Non GMO, compostable wrappers. And these truffles made with fair trade ingredients earned a carbon neutral product rating.

Ingredients: organic raw cane sugar, organic cacao butter, organic coconut oil ("sustainably farmed on India's Malabar coast"), organic cacao beans, organic whole milk, organic peppermint oil, organic vanilla beans 

Alter Eco - Deep Dark Crisp Mint Chocolate bar - Nov. 12, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Alter Eco

Deep Dark Crisp Mint Organic Chocolate bar 

Good+

Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar

Calories: 220 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $4.29 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA  

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week. 

Nothing like a little refreshing mint in the morning, or any time of the day. Today's Deep Dark Crisp Mint Organic Chocolate bar was distributed by Alter Eco in San Francisco, CA.

This Swiss-made, 60% cocoa chocolate was brimming with concentrated sweet dark chocolate and peppermint flavor, from beginning to end—with a smidge of fruit acidity from the cacao, and a trace of vanilla from Madagascar, shining through.

Today's dark mint bar was Certified Organic and Gluten Free, vegan, paleo-friendly, no emulsifiers, no soy and was made with Fair Trade Certified ingredients.

White Label Chocolate - Ecuador Costa Esmeraldas 100% bar - Nov. 11, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

White Label Chocolate
Ecuador Costa Esmeraldas 100% bar
Good
Weight: .57 oz. (16.25 g.) / 2.29 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 86 calories (estimate) in 1/4 bar
Cost: $16.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Mutari Chocolate House and Factory, Santa Cruz, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's White Label Chocolate Ecuador Costa Esmeraldas 100% Cacao bar was purchased at Mutari Chocolate House and Factory (Santa Cruz, CA).

This bar was more savory than sweet. It did have a fleeting fudge note, and relatively balanced bitterness all the way through that alternated with some sharper fruit acidity.

There were also very faint spice (cumin, caraway), buttermilk and salty notes in this chocolate. For those trying to get away from sweet flavors on the chocolate tasting wheel, this may be your bar.

This chocolate might be an interesting ingredient in (or shaved over) other (savory or sweet) items (mole sauce, brownies, salt caramel ice cream, pumpernickel bread and stout).

Fleeting Floral
I have many memories of 65% to 75% Ecuador bars with subtle floral and green notes. However, this week has been filled with ultra-high percentage bean-to-bar chocolate made from cacao grown in Ecuador. (Five of seven bars contained greater than 90% cocoa, including one 102% bar (with nibs)—a new high percentage record for an individual bar.) So, there was only a fleeting aroma or taste of floral or green notes this past week.

Floral notes are also some of the most delicate and volatile, and may disappear during a prolonged conching (grinding of beans into chocolate) process.

The differences in aroma and flavor notes of course are also the result of the farm (terroir), fermentation, roasting, and many decisions made when crafting chocolate from bean to bar.

Raphio Chocolate - 92% Chocolate Ecuador bar - Nov. 10, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Raphio Chocolate 

92% Chocolate Ecuador bar

Good + - Good ++

Weight: 1.1 oz. (31.5 g.) / 2.2 oz. (63 g.) in total bar

Calories: 184 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar

Cost: $9.95 for 1 bar

Purchased from: ZombieRunner, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's 92% Ecuador bar from Raphio Chocolate (Fresno, CA) had a rich chocolate aroma and a faint, very light molasses and spice note. This well-tempered bar broke with a hard snap and had a smooth creamy melt.

The chocolate had a smooth, even ultra dark chocolate flavor with a slight nuttiness and a hint of muted red fruit and and mocha. 

How did today's 92% Ecuador bar stack up against yesterday's 102% Ecuador bar by the same maker? Both were quite smooth and well balanced for ultra dark bars with interesting flavor complexity and no off notes. These bars may have been crafted from the same shipment of cacao beans. (Both had the same maker's tasting notes printed on the packaging: "macadamia nuts, malt, berry.")

Yesterday's 102% two-ingredient (organic cacao beans, organic cacao butter) bar offered more bitter flavor and sharper red fruit/berry notes than is 92% sibling (which also contained a small quantity of organic cane sugar). And today's 92% bar lacked the tiny bursts of authentic cacao flavor from the light sprinkle of roasted cacao nibs that adorned the back side of yesterday's 102% bar. (In fact, the nibs are what allowed the maker to exceed the 100% mark.)

Raphio offers a range of Ecuador bars, each with a different percentage of cocoa solids. I'm always grateful to makers who offer guideposts for learning like this—the best way to appreciate and learn about which chocolate you might like best is via interesting side-by-side tasting experiences.

Raphio Chocolate - 102% Ecuador bar - Nov. 9, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Raphio Chocolate

102% Ecuador bar

Good+

Weight: 1.1 oz. (31.5 g.) / 2.2 oz. (63 g.) in total bar

Calories: 194 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar

Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

How dark can chocolate get? 100% cacao? Apparently not.

Today's 102%* Ecuador bar was from Raphio Chocolate (Fresno, CA). Raphio's chief chocolate maker, Elisia Otavi, was inspired by her family to make healthy chocolate ("not candy"), from scratch using only "organic and natural ingredients." The company's name, Raphio, is a distillation of Raphael and Rio, the names of her two sons. 

The 102% number may sound intense; however, this ultra dark bar was relatively smooth in aroma, texture and flavor, with malt, dark chocolate, nut and berry fruit aroma and flavor notes. It was a friendlier, more approachable 100% cacao chocolate than most other 100%ers.

"Macadamia nuts, malt, berry" were the flavor notes that the maker listed on the bar's packaging. This is one of those instances where what I was tasting matched up 100% with the maker's tasting notes.

*Is it possible to have a 102% cacao chocolate? Perhaps the sprinkle of cacao nibs on the back of this bar comprised that additional 2%.

Alter Eco - Deepest Dark Super Blackout 90% Cocoa bar - Nov. 8, 2018

Chocolate of the Day:

Alter Eco
Deepest Dark Super Blackout 90% Cocoa bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.325 oz. (37.5 g.) / 2.65 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 250 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.29 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

This ultra dark bar from Alter Eco (Europe and San Francisco, CA) had the kind of bold aroma that often promises deep chocolate and a relatively high degree of fruit acidity. That said, there was a very fleeting floral note that managed to peek through.

The texture was smooth, and the first bite was surprisingly sweet*, with true chocolate, nutty and acidic fruit flavor notes. However, this quickly simmered down to a more intense but balanced, bitter, acidic fruit sustained note toward, and into, the finish.

Alter Eco, a certified B Corporation, has specialized in a line of chocolate bars made with fair trade cacao (as well as coffee and quinoa) from the Americas (Bolivia, Ecuador, Peru, and other locations), and has also been involved with reforestation projects (PUR in Peru).

Today's Super Blackout bar is the even more intense and daring sibling of the company's 85% Blackout bar. This certified organic and gluten free (and Non GMO Verified) bar was made in Switzerland with cacao from Fortaleza Coop in Ecuador—and was distributed in the U.S. by Alter Eco in San Francisco, CA.

*This chocolate was surprisingly sweet for a 90% bar with only 3 grams of sugar for 1 (1/2 bar) serving.