Monday, August 19, 2019

Chocolate Tree - Mezcal with Nibs bar - August 18, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolate Tree
Mezcal Nibs 70% Cocoa Dark bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 2.8  oz. (80 g.) in total package (2 bars in pkg.)
Calories: 196.4 calories in 1 bar (1/2 package) (per label)
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Mezcal Nibs 70% Cocoa Dark bar was made by Chocolate Tree (Dunbar, Scotland).

This relatively sweet 70% chocolate, made with criollo hybrid cacao Tabasqueno (Mexico) was studded with crunchy cacao nibs and had a boozy aroma and flavor from the mezcal (also from Mexico).*

The description for this bar on the Chocolate Tree packaging read as follows: "400 years ago, the Spanish conquistadors discovered a love for cacao in Mexico and they also taught distillation to the Aztecs. We have soaked the ancient criollo hybrid cacao of Tabasqueno in Mezcal, the agave spirit, to bring you a chocolate with deep rich notes of bloodlust, agave, and smoke."

*Ingredients: organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar, organic cacao butter, organic cocoa nibs, mezcal



Somerville Chocolate - Hops Dark Milk bar - Aug. 17, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Somerville Chocolate
Hops Dark Milk bar - Dark Milk infused with Beer Hops bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 188 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Hops Dark Milk bar - Dark Milk infused with Beer Hops bar was crafted by Somerville Chocolate (Somerville, MA).

This dark milk bar had citrus and hoppy earth notes with a slight bitterness in finish. That is, it tasted very much like beer hops. (The maker's description also suggested we might taste pineapple and evergreen notes from the hops.)

The 53 percent cacao (37% cacao nibs + 16% cocoa) chocolate was made with a blend of cacao origins, and infused with Mosaic beer hops.




Fossa Chocolate - Sake bar; Goma Goma - Sesame Bar; Askinosie Sake Nibs over green tea ice cream - Aug. 16, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Fossa Chocolate
38% White Sake bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .67 oz. (19 g.) / 1.34 oz. (38 g.) in total bar
Calories: 101 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $14.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Fossa Chocolate
PekoeAndImp Tea Chocolate Honey Orchid Dancong Hongcha bar
Good ++
Weight: .618 oz. (17.5 g.) / 1.23 oz. (35 g.) in total bar
Calories: 93 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $14.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Cloudforest and Fisk (Fisk Projects)
Goma Goma (Gray Chocolate Sesame) bar
Good
Weight: .61 oz. (12.4 g.) / 1.234 oz. (25 g.) in total bar
Calories: 91 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today was an Asian-themed day featuring two clever and rich flavored bars that contained cacao butter, but no cacao solids. And, we sampled a bowl of green tea ice cream topped with sake-soaked cacao nibs.

And, in the spirit of this theme week, we paired these bars with refreshing green teas, and a small Singapore Sling cocktail.

The Sake bar from Fossa Chocolate (Singapore) was sweet, creamy, ivory-colored white chocolate with small honey-colored chunks of sake and rice (sakekasu) with a faint umami twist.

The Goma Goma "Gray Chocolate" had the creamy texture and mouthfeel of cacao butter and milk, and an interesting subtle sweet, black sesame flavor. What was noteworthy was the absence of cocoa solids. The ground black sesame seed base looked almost like a conventional chocolate bar.

Last but not least, our favorite item today, that did contain cocoa solids, was a bowl of green tea jasmine ice cream topped with a generous serving of Askinosie roasted cocoa nibs (single origin, Tenende, Tanzania) that had been marinated in sake with a few grains of ginger and matcha. We'd rate this a Good ++ - Good +++.





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