Mirzam Chocolate Makers - Madagascar 72% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Oct. 31, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Mirzam Chocolate Makers
Madagascar 72% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.236 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 186 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Missing information

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Africa Theme Week, and Happy Halloween to all who celebrate this holiday.

Instead of pumpkins, witches and ghosts, this year we visited colorful orange and black butterflies and birds at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco. (The museum also included cacao in their rainforest habitat exhibit).

Cacao often enables one to enjoy virtual travel. So true, even more with today's chocolate.

Today's Madagascar 72% Dark Chocolate (bar) was made from bean to bar by Mirzam Chocolate Makers / Kakaw Manufacturing (in Dubai, U.A.E.). Mirzam's line of chocolate (bars) and flavor inclusions are inspired by ancient Arab seafaring trade routes that resulted in the exchange of an impressive array of goods, foods, spices and currencies from many different ports and origins.

This beautifully designed Mirzam African single origin bar was great for dark chocolate lovers who wanted to aim high, and forgo chocolate tricks or inferior treats. This three-ingredient* chocolate was crafted using Criollo and Amelonado** varieties/strains of cacao grown in Madagascar.

The bar had lovely notes of rich chocolate mousse, light fruit (faint tangerine to light red berry) and brown sugar, with no off taste. It had a fairly clean finish with a barely detectable hint of green tea astringency toward the end.

Mirzam (maker's) tasting notes: caramel, chocolate, citrus, smokey; low in bitterness.

*Ingredients: cocoa beans, unrefined cane sugar, cocoa butter. This chocolate was described as gluten free and vegan-friendly.

**Amelonado is a widely planted type of cacao in West Africa. Theobroma cacao varieties originated in the Americas and were brought to (and planted in) Africa approximately 200 years ago. However, cacao may have been sampled by certain residents before then. 

At least some Dutch and other European citizens and church members/clergy traveling or living in Africa would likely have known about cacao or drinking chocolate many years before then. 

Christopher Columbus is said to have brought back cacao beans to Europe after his fourth voyage (by 1504). Spanish explorer Hernan Cortes, brought more cacao beans back a few decades later. 

However, it took a very long time for demand for drinking chocolate/cacao to pick up. E.g., there is evidence that it wasn't until 1606 when cacao was formally introduced in Italy; and more people began to drink chocolate across Europe by the mid 1600s, around the same time that coffee and tea became more popular. 

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Chapon Chocolatier - Tanzanie Kamili small bar - Oct. 30, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chapon Chocolatier
Tanzanie Kamili (small bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .176 oz. (5 g.) / 6.35 oz. (180 g.) in total package of 36 small bars
Calories: 27.7 calories in 1 small bar
Cost: $N/A - part of larger collection of 36 bars ($45.00 set)
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Tanzanie Kamili* miniature chocolate bar was part of a larger collection of small, individually-wrapped single origin bars from Chapon Chocolatier (Chelles, France).

This beautifully designed and packaged set contained 36 bars (3 each from 12 different origins).

This Tanzanie (Tanzania) bar had bright (mango, red fruit) fruit, true chocolate, and roasted aroma and flavor notes. The melt and texture were smooth. One should savor this little bar (try not eat it in one bite) to fully appreciate it.

*Kokoa Kamili means "exactly" in Swahili. The "Kamili" in the Tanzanie Kamili title of today's chocolate is Kokoa Kamili, a privately-owned fermentary and organization in the Morogoro region of Tanzania that works with hundreds of cocoa producers/farmers. 

By helping farmers and enabling improved fermentation quality and training, Kokoa Kamili has helped raise awareness about East African cacao from Tanzanie (Tanzania) with chocolate makers globally, and has led to many wonderful single origin Tanzania chocolate (bars) from different makers (and subsequently chocolatiers) as a result.

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Chapon Chocolatier - Madagascar Millot (small bar) - Oct. 29, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chapon Chocolatier
Madagascar Millot
Good +++
Weight: .176 oz. (5 g.) in 1 small piece/bar/ 6.35 oz. (180 g.) in total collection of 36 bars
Calories: 27.7 calories in 1 small piece/bar
Cost: $45.00 for 1 set of 36 small bars
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Madagascar Millot* chocolate was from Chapon Chocolatier (Chelles, France).

Bravo Chapon. This was a beautifully packaged collection of single origin chocolates. An array of tiny individually-wrapped bars were displayed like a deck of exquisitely small collectible chocolate playing cards, or an exotic, miniature chocolate tarot deck.

Each bar's label was a work of art—a miniature version of a full-sized Chapon origin bar. This collection would make a dream-come-true gift for art and chocolate lovers.

A menu inside conveyed which flavors might be expected from each bar in the collection

Today's Madagascar Millot chocolate had a tasty, outsized aroma and flavor. The first whiff transmitted an exotic sweet scent of molasses, maca, maple syrup and coconut palm sugar notes all blended seamlessly together and inhabiting a rich, complex dark chocolate.

The relatively bright and bold chocolate flavor blossomed into a rich citrus/red fruit/plum bouquet.

This was a very nice, satisfying petite Madagascar Millot* bar.

*Millot Plantation(s) in Ambanja, Madagascar, was established in 1904 and produces cacao, spices and essential oils. Millot is a leading producer of organic cacao in Madagascar as well. (According to online sources, French chocolate maker Valrhona has had a partnership with Millot Plantation for 20 years.)

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Latitude Trade Company - 70% Dark Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Semuliki Forest 2017 Harvest (bar) - Oct. 28, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Latitude Trade Company
70% Dark Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Semuliki Forest 2017 Harvest (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .795 oz. (22.5 g.) / 1.59 oz. (45 g.) in total bar
Calories: 120 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's 70% Dark Bean-to-Bar Chocolate Semuliki Forest 2017 Harvest (bar) was from Latitude Trade Company (Bundibugyo and Kasese, Uganda) and was made, from bean to bar, in Uganda, using just two ingredients: cocoa beans and sugar.

Latitude Trade Co. is a self-described "...agricultural development and sourcing company active in the cocoa value chain in Uganda." They are helping to bridge "the gap between rural farmers in East Africa and consumers throughout the world." Their goals include more economic development in country and putting Uganda on the map for great cacao.*

And speaking of latitude, cacao only grows approximately twenty degrees above and below the Equator—an invisible band around the middle of our planet. The world's most delicious ingredients used to make award-winning chocolate are found only in this zone in Africa, South America, Asia and certain Pacific island nations. The Equator runs through Uganda, in the south above Lake Victoria, offering strong geographic potential for fine cacao.

This simply packaged, single origin dark chocolate had a rich aroma with sweet chocolate, slight green vegetation/forest and light spice and fruit notes, with a bit of faint earth.

The bar had a smooth, even texture and taste with well-rounded, complex yet friendly, upbeat chocolate flavor and a pleasing finish with no off notes.

The cacao, harvested in 2017 (and is the custom in chocolate making is often allowed to rest a bit before making it into bars) came from Semuliki, a forested preserve area near a large lake (Lake Albert), near the DRC border, in western Uganda.*

*The Republic of Uganda (about the size of the U.S. State of Oregon, but more heavily populated) is located in East-Central Africa, north of Tanzania—another country that has become known for its cacao; west of Kenya; and east of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). 

Many in Uganda earn less than one U.S. dollar a day, so adding value in country that leads to economic development/prosperity for local farmers and workers is important.

Agricultural crops (about 25 percent of GDP) in Uganda include tea, coffee, tobacco and cotton. And in regions where tea and coffee are grown...you can generally find or grow cacao.

Ghana and Ivory Coast are currently the top cacao producing countries in Africa. These two West African nations together supply half the world's cacao. If you include neighboring countries, Nigeria and Cameroon, this 50% number jumps to 70%. Millions of people enjoy chocolate made with cacao grown in Africa.

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Dandelion Chocolate - 70% Gola Rainforest Sierra Leone (bar) - Oct. 27, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Dandelion Chocolate
70% Gola Rainforest Sierra Leone (2017 Harvest) (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Dandelion Chocolate, Manufactory and Cafe, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Africa Theme Week.

It's difficult to "do" an African theme week justice.* But we'll try. Africa is comprised of 54 countries. And this large continent produces, collectively, more than half of the cocoa beans on the planet.*

Today's 70% Gola Rainforest, Sierra Leone (2017 Harvest) (bar) was made by Dandelion Chocolate (San Francisco, CA), and purchased at the company's relatively new cafe and manufactory location in San Francisco.

This bar, carefully wrapped in gold and silver foil and elegant paper, had a pleasurable, sweet chocolate aroma with a faint, fleeting trace of green and vegetable latex.

The flavor was pleasant true chocolate flavor, eliciting memories of a rich chocolate mousse, topped with a slice of mild fruit (apple, light nectarine, pear), and a hint of spice. The finish was light and clean with low astringency.

The maker's tasting notes for this bar read: "flavors of molten chocolate cake, toffee and cinnamon."

*Chocolate Banquet has featured Madagascar and Tanzania Theme Weeks in the past.

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Divine - Organic Dark Chocolate Blueberry Popped Quinoa 85% Sao Tome (bar) - Oct. 26, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Divine Chocolate
Organic Rich Dark Chocolate with Blueberry and Popped Quinoa - 85% Cocoa Sao Tome (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 226.6 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.75 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Easy Foods Company, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Blueberry Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Africa Theme Week.

Today's Organic Rich Dark Chocolate with Blueberry and Popped Quinoa (bar) was from Divine Chocolate (London, UK), and was made using 85% organic cacao from Sao Tome.*

Divine Chocolate, founded in the U.K. in October 1998, is an international company based in the U.K. and the U.S., and is 44%** owned by the Kuapa Kokoo farmers' co-operative in Ghana. The company is a Certified B Corp (that stresses not only revenue and profits, but also aspects of business that can benefit communities, workers and the environment).

This Divine Chocolate ultra-dark bar had deep, dark (forest) chocolate aroma with hint of sharp (citrus/bittersweet) and earth notes.

The texture evoked cacao blended with thick creamy cacao butter (first tasting on a cold morning) that was embedded with crunchy popped quinoa. The chocolate tasted surprisingly mild and smooth, with muted earth and balanced bitterness. The bar was refreshingly un-sweet (thank you!).

The blueberry fruit (also on the subtle earthy side as fruits go) played a minor role. It was more evident toward the finish, and in the few bites that emitted a tiny tangy fruity burst of dark berry flavor.

Today's bar bore the following information/seals on the label: FairTrade, USDA Organic, Non GMO Project Verified, Vegan.

*Sao Tome is part of the island nation of Sao Tome e Principe, off the West Coast of Central Africa on the Equator. Sao Tome is a forested, tropical volcanic island with a long cacao growing history.

** This bar was a product of Germany and was Distributed by Divine Chocolate Inc in the U.S.  Source for co-op ownership percentage was a May 2019 Divine Chocolate press release.

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General Mills - Chocolate Cheerios + Blueberry Cheerios - Oct. 25, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

General Mills
Chocolate Cheerios
Good
Weight: 3/4 cup (27 g.) in 1 serving / 11.25 oz. (318 g.) in total box
Calories: 100 calories in 1 serving + other cereals, nuts, blueberries
Cost: $3.00 for 1 box of Chocolate Cheerios
Purchased from: Safeway, Menlo Park, CA

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

Today's Chocolate Cheerios were from General Mills (Minneapolis, MN).

Cheerios, the classic whole grain oat "o"-shaped cereal is available in other flavors, including Honey Nut, Apple Cinnamon, Chocolate and Blueberry. Today we're featuring the latter two.

Today's bowl of Chocolate Cheerios was sampled with a small handful of Blueberry Cheerios, and some frozen blueberries. The cereal was crunchy and sweet and fairly substantial/satisfying.

While it's fun to try new flavors, I think I might prefer plain Cheerios better, for their (or at least what I remember was their) lower sugar content and flavor.

I grew up on cereals; however, I could not tolerate gluten. And when I stopped eating all gluten-containing foods, my health and quality of life improved a great deal.

Looking back, I marvel at childhood breakfasts* containing sugar-dosed breakfast cereals, toast and pastries. At least most of the cereals were (and continue to be) fortified with vitamins and minerals; and milk helped provide some protein.

That said, I am still grateful that I might occasionally enjoy some gluten-free cereals on the market.

*Today, I generally drink a glass or two of water, eat a daily dose of (usually dark) chocolate, vegetables, fresh fruit, and a piece of cheese (or other protein) in the morning. And I make my own nut and trail mixes with unsweetened cacao nibs and/or no added sugar. Times change, and will continue to do so.

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Chequessett Chocolate - Blueberry Ginger Origin Dominican Republic 72% Dark bar - Oct. 24, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chequessett Chocolate
(Cape Cod Craft Chocolate)
Blueberry Ginger Origin Dominican Republic 72% Dark bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: approx. 1.125 oz. (31.8 g.) / approx. 2.25 oz. (63.6 g.) in total bar
Calories: 169 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Blueberry Ginger Origin Dominican Republic 72% Dark (bar) was from Chequessett Chocolate: Cape Cod Craft Chocolate (North Truro, MA).

As their name and tagline suggest, Chequessett Chocolate makes small batch craft chocolate on Cape Cod. The company was co-founded by Katherine Reed, Josiah Mayo and Kristen Reed and has focused on fine flavored cacao from different origins and high-quality flavor inclusions.

Today's bar, with slivers of golden, candied ginger and small dried, wild Maine blueberries was made with direct trade cacao.

The chocolate had a relatively creamy smooth texture and melt and the ginger was a pleasing match to the chocolate and the diminutive, authentic-tasting wild blueberries.

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Tabal Chocolate - Blueberry Rooibos Tea 70% bar - Oct. 23, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Tabal Chocolate
Blueberry Rooibos Tea 70% bar
Good +
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 225 (estimate) calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Source: Rishi Tea website

Today's Blueberry Rooibos Tea 70% (bar) was from Tabal Chocolate (Wauwatosa, WI). Tabal's chocolate maker(s) infuse organic teas* and superfoods into their craft, stone-ground, small batch chocolate bars and other offerings.

Today's blueberry dark bar was suffused with Blueberry Rooibos (tea), an organic, caffeine-free herbal blend from Rishi Tea (Milwaukee, WI).

This chocolate had a sweet berry and light herbal aroma and blueberry flavor. The tea made for an enjoyable, uplifting, natural-tasting fruity blend experience.

The chocolate was made using sustainably sourced (direct trade) cacao grown in the Santander region of Colombia (South America). It was difficult to pick out flavor notes (fruit, green, nut?) the cacao was contributing, as the chocolate was redolent with tea. However, the pairing seemed quite complementary and well-balanced.

The finish lingered in a pleasant way with a tiny throat tickle (mild astringency).

Tabal's Blueberry Rooibos chocolate bar was gluten free, vegan and soy free (as are their other bars we've tried.)

*Other tea-infused Tabal Chocolate bar flavors include/or have included in the past: Peppermint Rooibos, Vanilla Bean Black Tea, Chai Masala and Teahouse Matcha.

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Goodio Craft Chocolate - Wild Blueberry 61% bar - Oct. 22, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Goodio Craft Chocolate

Wild Blueberry 61% bar

Good ++

Weight: 1.7 oz. (48 g.) in total bar

Calories: 270 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $9.00 (estimate) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Goodio Craft Chocolate, online order

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

Today's Wild Blueberry 61% bar was made by Goodio Craft Chocolate (Helsinki, Finland).

This raw, organic and vegan bar (made with stone ground cacao) had a coconut aroma and flavor and creamy smooth melt and texture. 

It was difficult to see or taste the wild blueberry/fruit in this bar, in part because the added berries were in powdered form and were thoroughly incorporated into the chocolate. (You'll find no chewy berries pressed into the back, or gritty fruit powders.)

The finished product had a pleasant chocolate flavor and lingering finish with a touch of dark berry. This bar was sweetened with organic coconut palm sugar* which contributed a bit of flavor without creating a sugar rush (thank you). 

The chocolate was satisfying without being too sweet—a nice surprise given that conventional 61% cacao chocolates often taste quite sweet.

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic coconut palm sugar, organic cacao butter, organic coconut flakes, organic blueberry powder

*Coconut palm sugar has been shown to score lower on the glycemic index than cane sugar.

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Marich Confectionery Co. - Dark Chocolate Blueberries - Oct. 21, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Marich Confectionery Co.
Dark Chocolate Blueberries
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total package
Calories: 290 calories in 1 package
Cost: $2.29 for 1 package
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Blueberries Theme Week.

Today's Dark Chocolate Blueberries, from Marich Confectionery Co. (Hollister, CA) were pan-coated* sweet white chocolate blueberry-colored rounds with a dark chocolate and blueberry center.

These "blueberries" were made with fair trade cocoa. And the dark chocolate was sweet and smooth in texture and flavor.

*Marich produces a line of "pancrafted chocolates," confectionery-coated round pieces with natural fruits, roasted nuts, caramel and a variety of other tasty choices.

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Moka Origins - Blueberry Brazil 72% Cacao bar - Oct. 20, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Moka Origins
Blueberry Brazil Cacao 72% bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) / 2.4 oz. (68 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Brazil Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Blueberry Theme Week.

Blueberries add a touch of rich, dark berry fruit and a light earthiness to chocolate. Some chocolates would seem more well-suited to this partnership than others. For example, cacaos with natural nutty, fudgey, berry or citrus flavor notes may complement this fruit nicely, or not. We'll see.

Today's Blueberry Brazil Cacao 72% bar was crafted by small batch bean-to-bar maker(s) from Moka Origins (Honesdale, PA) and was Certified USDA Organic and Non-GMO. The company also has roots in coffee, and grows crops on a plantation in Cameroon. Their connections with farmers, community and partners help enable good product and ethical sourcing. (Sadly their Cameroon bar was sold out this week, but they offer several other single origin bars.)

This thick, soft fudgey and relatively mild* dark chocolate (made with organic Brazilian cacao) had small bursts of moist, dark berry flavor from organic dried blueberries, and the pairing was sweet, rich and harmonious.

The fact that blueberries + chocolate offerings are numerous (it was easy to find several bars for this theme week) speaks to cacao's natural pairing with fruits and berries, as well as the reputed health properties and antioxidant content found in cacao and blueberries.**

*The blueberry fruit may have masked some of the other finer chocolate flavor nuances, but it seemed like good, high-quality, balanced dark chocolate.

ORAC Scores - Blueberries and Cacao

**Blueberries have been shown to contain high levels of antioxidants.

Polyphenols found in berries (and other whole fruits and vegetables) have been proven to be beneficial for human health in several studies. Polyphenols are antioxidants believed to reduce the oxidative stress that takes place naturally over time in humans and other animals. 

In the 1990s, certain fruits (and vegetables) started being evaluated on their ability to reduce oxygen free radicals (and by inference their damage) using the ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity) scale. 

Cultivated blueberries scored very high (prunes and raisins scored even higher) on this scale. Wild fruits have performed well, if not better. (Wild blueberries scored close to 9,000 according to one report). And these inky purple-blue berries have been the subject of many health studies in the past 20 years. Results reported have included, e.g., positive effects on memory, mobility and heart health in older individuals. 

No disrespect to blueberries, but reports of ORAC score for 100 grams (about 3.5 oz.) of cacao nibs went as high as 62,100; and the score for (processed) cocoa powder was 26,000 in the results I could find online. (Scores for cacao varied quite a bit, in part due to the degree of processing that had occurred.)

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Chapon Chocolatier - Bresil dark chocolate bar - Oct. 19, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Chapon Chocolatier
Bresil Torrefaction Longue Conchage Court bar
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.3 oz. (37.5 g.) / 2.65 oz. (75 g.) total bar
Calories: 208 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $14.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Brazil Theme Week.

Today's Bresil dark chocolate bar was made in France by Chapon Chocolatier (Chelles, France).

This complex dark chocolate (no percentage listed) had light roasted coffee, lightly fermented fruit (raisin, bright dried cherry plum) and true dark chocolate, and very faint coconut* and molasses aroma and flavor notes.

The texture and melt were smooth and pleasing, and the finish was clean and light.

The choices made in creating this bar included Torrefaction Longue (a long drying and roasting time) and Conchage Court (shorter conching time). A shorter conching time can preserve more flavor(s).

*This chocolate contained no coconut. Ingredients: Brazil cocoa mass, cocoa butter, cane sugar, and fleur de sel Guerande (French sea salt).

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Luisa Abram - Chocolate Da Amazonia Brasileira Cacau Selvagem 81% - Rio Acara (Acara River) bar - Oct. 18, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Luisa Abram

Chocolate Da Amazonia Brasileira Cacau Selvagem 81% - Rio Acara (Acara River) bar

Good ++

Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in total package of 2 bars

Calories: 180 calories (per label) in 1 oz. (28 g.) piece (about 2/3 of 1 bar)

Cost: $10.00 (estimate) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Chocolate Da Amazonia Brasileira Cacau Selvagem 81% - Rio Acara (Acara River) was crafted by Luisa Abram (Sao Paulo, Brazil).

Following a series of single estate bars from Arcelia Gallardo at Mission Chocolate is another bar (package of two, individually-wrapped bars actually) made in Brazil (from wild harvested cacao) from intrepid cacao hunter and chocolate maker, Luisa Abram. 

Abram has chosen to focus on wild-grown cacao, usually found by rivers in the Amazon rainforest, on trees growing under canopy shade of larger trees, rather than cacao grown on large farms/plantations.

Abram created this bar with "81% cacao fairly traded from riverside communities who obtain their (cacao) fruits from native trees along the Rio Acara (Acara River), in the Brazilian Amazon Forest."

This unique, two-ingredient* bar had a vegetative, slightly woody and earthy green, and roasted coffee, aroma. It had a bold, yet smooth dark flavor, and a slightly astringent/grainy texture and finish. Re-tasting this complex chocolate a moment later yielded more layers: more bold chocolate flavor along with faint green coconut, earth, cream and citrus fruit notes.

*Ingredients: cocoa mass and organic cane sugar

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Mission Chocolate - Escuro 90% Fazenda Vale Potumuju bar - Oct. 17, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Mission Chocolate
Escuro 90% Fazenda Vale Potumuju bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 168 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Escuro 90% Fazenda Vale Potumuju bar was from Arcelia Gallardo, founder of Mission Chocolate (Sao Paolo, Brazil).

This three-ingredient,* ultra-dark chocolate was creamy and quite mild given its very high percentage of cacao solids. It had a very faint, pleasant, fleeting vegetable aroma note (cooked potato and greens), with light fruit and true chocolate flavor.

The melt, as mentioned was creamy and the texture was quite smooth throughout. This will likely be one of the least bitter 90%er that you'll ever sample. It was slightly bittersweet in the finish.

Both the 80% Fazenda Leolinda and today's 90% Fazenda Vale Potumuju bars from this maker were quite friendly, well balanced and enjoyable bars without a lot of sugar. (Thank you Arcelia!)

*Ingredients: Cacao, Organic sugar, cocoa butter

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Mission Chocolate - Escuro 80% Fazenda Leolinda bar - Oct. 16, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Mission Chocolate
Escuro 80% Fazenda Leolinda bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 163.5 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Escuro 80% Fazenda Leolinda bar was from Mission Chocolate (Sao Paolo, Brazil).

This bar had a relatively light aroma with true chocolate and a mild fruit acidity notes. The chocolate flavors in this Single Estate (Fazenda Leolinda, Atlantic Rainforest biome) bar differed slightly from the bars made with cacao grown at Fazenda Camboa (where cacao was grown/sourced for other Mission Chocolate bars featured this week).

One must trust in the maker's judgment when it comes to cacao batch/farm decisions for ultra-dark chocolate (80% and higher), as these choices are not made lightly. Cacaos that works very nicely with more sugar, don't always fare as nicely when sugar levels drop from 30% to 10%. (Some cacaos require added fat or cacao butter to smooth away rough edges or to muffle bitter notes.)

Chocolate maker Arcelia Gallardo's choice to go with this cacao for this 80 percent dark bar resulted in a balanced ultra-dark bar that chocolate lovers who normally stick to 70 percent bars will find approachable. The chocolate had a lingering, balanced finish with traces of even, balanced fruit acidity, a very faint roasted note, and a faint hint of astringency toward the end. (There were no bitter or off notes in this ultra-dark chocolate.)

Reno Chocolate Day Trip - Sugar Love Chocolates

And speaking of women chocolate makers and chocolatiers...

Thank you to Katie at Sugar Love Chocolates (Reno, NV) for her tasting assistance with today's Brazilian bar (and help with lunch and chocolate confection choices at Sugar Love).

This cafe and chocolate shop (discovered in the basement of the Old Post Office in downtown Reno, Nevada), was founded by chocolatier Krysta Bea Jackson, and offered a variety of filled chocolates that I sampled and enjoyed.

The European-style chocolates I purchased (including Raspberry Rose, Earl Grey, Cherry Black Pepper, Urfa Biber and Peruvian Golden Berry) were made using couverture chocolate imported from France and Colombia. The fillings were fresh, natural-tasting and delicious. I look forward to featuring some of these flavors (and bars) on Chocolate Banquet in the future.

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Mission Chocolate - Escuro 70 % Fazenda Camboa 2018 Harvest bar - Oct. 15, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Mission Chocolate
Escuro 70% Fazenda Camboa 2018 Harvest bar
Good +++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 162 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Escuro 70% Fazenda Camboa 2018 Harvest Dark Chocolate bar was from Arcelia Gallardo of Mission Chocolate (Sao Paolo, Brazil).

This offering had an appealing chocolate aroma and smooth melt and texture. The 70% cacao dark bar had true chocolate flavor, with soft, balanced touches of faintly fermented dairy milk*, clay/earth, and light sweet forest berry/forest floor.

The finish was pleasant and lingering with a very light astringency.

Making Chocolate "In Country"
Up until recent years, the opportunities for U.S. consumers to try chocolate made in the same country where the cacao had been grown were relatively few and far between. Chocolate making in the U.S. almost always involves transcontinental supply chains.

Arcelia Gallardo moved to Brazil from the U.S. and found herself much closer to cacao growing farms (such as the large organic farm, Fazenda Camboa in Bahia that she works extensively with now).  It must have been exciting to produce "fresher" chocolate in the same country where cacao was grown (i.e. making chocolate "in country").

Over time, she also experienced some of the challenges of making chocolate in a tropical environment (e.g. more frequent power outages), and learned the value of techniques such as resting/seasoning chocolate. (How ironic that initially some of her chocolate might have been "too" fresh because she was so close to the harvest source.)

In a (Well Tempered) podcast interview, Gallardo talked about learning the value of letting chocolate rest a bit first before making bars to enhance/create the optimum flavor profile. When she had made chocolate at/with Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco, the long transportation chain that existed between farms and their small factory facility had "built in" aging time, due to the longer supply chain.

*There was no dairy or milk in this bar that contained only three ingredients: organic cacao, organic sugar and cocoa butter.

Copyright 2019. Unauthorized use of the text and/or images from this site, www.ChocolateBanquet.com, is a copyright violation.

Mission Chocolate - Laranja 70% Fazenda Camboa Dark Chocolate with Candied Orange Peel (bar) - Oct. 14, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Mission Chocolate
Laranja 70% Fazenda Camboa Dark Chocolate with Candied Orange Peel (bar)
Brazil Biomes Project - Atlantic Rainforest
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 147 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 (estimate) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Laranja 70% Fazenda Camboa dark chocolate bar was created by Arcelia Gallardo at Mission Chocolate (Sao Paolo, Brazil).

This well-crafted 70% cacao chocolate was made from cacao grown at Fazenda Camboa (Brazil's largest organic farm, in Bahia, Brazil).

The smooth, yet relatively complex dark chocolate had flavor notes of true chocolate, earth and dairy milk (there was no milk or dairy ingredients in this bar), and very faint spice (although this latter note could have been associated with the orange).*

Pieces of high-quality, candied orange peel with a soft chew complemented this chocolate very nicely. As with all the Mission Chocolate bars sampled this week, Gallardo** has done a wonderful job of highlighting the best of Brazilian flavors with her chocolate.

* Ingredients: Organic cacao, organic sugar, orange peel, cocoa butter
**Arecelia Gallardo grew up in California and spent time making chocolates in the San Francisco Bay Area before moving to Brazil.

Mission Chocolate - Cupuacu 70% Fazenda Camboa: Colheita 2018 (bar) - Oct. 13, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Mission Chocolate
Cupuacu 70% Fazenda Camboa: Colheita 2018 (bar)
Chocolate Escuro Com Pedacinhos de Doce Cupuacu
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 143 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Cupuacu 70% Fazenda Camboa: Colheita 2018 (bar) was from Mission Chocolate* (Sao Paolo, Brazil).

Mission Chocolate founder Arcelia Gallardo highlights flavors from Brazil in her bars.

Today's bar included pieces of cupuacu fruit (Theobroma grandiflorum) that grows in Brazilian rainforests and is a relative of cacao (Theobroma cacao). Cupuacu fruit has more sweet flesh surrounding its seeds (than the minimal white pulp found in cacao pods—which is wonderful nonetheless). And Gallardo's pairing of this delicious fruit with chocolate was magnificent.

The flavor in these small squares of dried cupuacu fruit seemed to shift from guava to bright pineapple to a cross between a mango and a papaya, to a fountain of liquid citrus (sweet tangerine) sunshine. Naturally when a fruit (or any inclusion) is this exciting, there is a danger or overshadowing the chocolate.**

Indeed, the chocolate seemed to shift a bit when combined with its botanical cousin. The base 70% chocolate (made with cacao (Colheita 2018) from Fazenda Camboa in Bahia, Brazil) seemed "lighter" than previous from Misson Chocolate 70% bars tasted this week. It did have a slight dairy milk/milk chocolate feel to it. It had a fleeting very light earth flavor and true chocolate note, and perhaps it was a tiny bit more nutty. However, this latter characteristic could have been an artifact of tasting it with the embedded cupuacu fruit pieces.

Gallardo's Brazil Biomes Project designation(s) on her chocolate bar labels invite consumers to appreciate the diverse environments and cacao growing regions that span a large country like Brazil (or even a large farm like Fazenda Camboa). She chooses ingredients from a specific biome area to highlight in a given bar. (Brazil has six biome areas, i.e. five others apart from the Amazon—probably the best known. Atlantic Rainforest would be another.)

*The company's name, Mission Chocolate, was inspired in part by founder Arcelia Gallardo's stay in the Bay Area when she was working with Dandelion Chocolate in the Mission district of San Francisco, before her move to Brazil.

**Mission Chocolate uses cacao grown in Brazil (from Fazenda Camboa in Bahia). This bar was made with only three ingredients: organic cacao, organic sugar, cupuacu (fruit).

Copyright 2019. Unauthorized use of the text and/or images from this site, www.ChocolateBanquet.com, is a copyright violation.