Sunday, May 31, 2020

Nuance Chocolate - Guatemala Lachua 2015 70% (bar) - May 31, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Nuance Chocolate
Guatemala Lachua 2015 70% (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 300 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Nuance Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Maya Empire Theme Week.

Today's Guatemala Lachua 2015 70% (bar) was from Nuance Chocolate (Fort Collins, CO).

The bar was made using "Trinitario cacao from the Alta Verapaz mountains in Coban, Guatemala."*

Made only with cacao, cane sugar and cocoa butter, this three-ingredient chocolate still conjured up its own unique impression.

It had a relatively uniform sweet grape aroma and flavor with sweet fruit (red grapes, melon, very sweet tangerine, sweet tea) acidity, a fleeting faint nuttiness and relatively low bitterness. Re-tasting multiple times revealed slightly more flavor complexity; however, I kept thinking of sangria (sweet wine and fruit beverage).

A sweet lingering finish and a slight astringency tickled the back of the throat for a short while. After re-tasting a very subtle, fleeting herbal (caraway and coriander) note appeared in the finish as well. 

This 70% cacao bar (presumably with 30% percent sugar) tasted more like a 60% cacao offering (with 40% sugar)--serving as a good example of why 70% cacao (and 30% sugar) may be a fine blend for many artisan dark bars, but some cacao beans can do with less sugar. It would have been interesting to have a side-by-side tasting with a 75% or 77% cacao version (i.e. with only 25-23% sugar) using the same Guatemala cacao. It's hard to know which would have been judged "best"--a subjective term in any case. 

The Nuance chocolate maker's tasting notes read as follows:

"A complex chocolate with juicy layers of rum, wine, raisins, and papaya. Magical things happen right at the melting point. A slightly dry finish, with moderate acidity."

*Coban is also the name of the capital city of the Department of Alta Verapaz in central Guatemala in the Chama Mountains. It was founded about 1538 near Mayan ruins and was named for the Indian chieftain Cobaou. Agricultural exports have included: coffee, tea, cacao, vanilla, orchids, livestock, lumber/hardwoods.

Saturday, May 30, 2020

Chocolate Real - Ka'kow dark 99% Guatemalan Cacao (bar) - May 30, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolate Real
Ka'kow Homemade Chocolate dark (oscura) 99% Guatemalan Organic Cacao (bar)
Good +
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 138 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $N/A - gift from a friend
Purchased from: N/A - gift from a friend (thank you Dennis!)

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Maya Empire Theme Week.

Today's Ka'kow Homemade Chocolate dark (oscura) 99% Guatemalan Organic Cacao (bar) was from Chocolate Real (Sumpango Sacatepequez, Guatemala). Chocolate Real (which also translates into Royal Chocolate in English) started making chocolate in Guatemala in 2013.

This dark chocolate had a strong, pleasant, "sweet" hot chocolate aroma. A high percent of cocoa butter (50%) enabled a creamy smooth melt and texture. The flavor had strong true, bold dark chocolate flavor with balanced bitterness (and at 99% cacao total) with almost no sugar or bright fruit sweetness.

The true chocolate, and brownie flavor notes gave way to a finish with a  slightly minty/menthol note. Note the mint all but disappeared in subsequent tastings throughout the day and was replaced by a very faint spice (cinnamon) note.

Ingredients: "manteca de cacao (al menos 50%), licor de cacao, sabor a vanilla, sal"--loosely translated: cocoa butter (at least 50%), cocoa liquor, vanilla flavor, salt.




Friday, May 29, 2020

Michel Cluizel - Plantation Laguna Chocolat Lait 47% Guatemala (bar) - May 29, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Michel Cluizel
Plantation Laguna Chocolat Lait 47% Guatemala (bar)
Good +
Weight: 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 416 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $8.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Maya Empire Theme Week.

This Plantation Laguna Milk Chocolate 47% Guatemala bar was from Michel Cluizel (Damville, Normandy, France).

This chocolate had a creamy milk chocolate melt and mouthfeel, with earthy, faint dried fruit (muted fig, banana peels) and (a bit later, joined by) warm caramel aroma and flavor notes.

The maker's tasting notes read as follows: "A smooth and creamy texture, with sweet notes of cappuccino and hot chocolate, mixed with notes of hazelnuts and toasted bread, ending in a long finish of butterscotch and intense notes of cocoa."




Michel Cluizel - Plantation La Laguna Chocolat Noir 70% (bar) - May 28, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Michel Cluizel
Plantation La Laguna Chocolat Noir 70% (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Maya Empire Theme Week.

Today's Plantation La Laguna Chocolat Noir 70% (bar) was from Michel Cluizel (Damville, Normandy, France). Plantation La Laguna is located in the west central part of Guatemala.

This bar had a true chocolate aroma with faint fruit (raspberry) and a very faint green note.
The flavor had light roasted, caramel, fruit, light earth, fudge brownie, and very faint leather saddle notes. The texture was...smooth melt with booth creaminess and a few pieces of ultra-fine cacao grit.

Maker's tasting notes read as follows: "The succulent aromas of plums and roasted cocoa are followed by notes of buttered apples and licorice, ending in a long finish with bitter-sweet notes of mint and spice."

Ranger Chocolate - 80% Guatemala Polochic bar - May 27, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ranger Chocolate
80% Guatemala Polochic bar
Good+++ - Very Good
Weight: 2.5 oz. (70.75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 382 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $10.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Ranger Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Maya Empire Theme Week. 

Centuries ago Guatemala was at the heart of the Maya Empire, and more than half of the country's current population, including many cacao farmers, are Maya descendants. This week features several Guatemala single origin bars. 

Ranger Chocolate (Portland, OR) likely used cacao grown in the Polichic river valley to make today's 80% Polochic Guatemala bar. The Polichic River flows from west--from the Dept. of Alta Verapaz east to the Dept. of Izabel/Lago Izabel in central Guatemala.* 

This chocolate had a bright, sweet dried fruit aroma (peach-apricot, cherry, light red raspberry) with green and faint floral notes. The melt and mouthfeel were smooth and creamy. 

The bar provided very well balanced chocolate and fruit flavors. I tasted a very faint fleeting spiced fruit (spiced peach compote with a hint of cinnamon and molasses) note on the first bite, which faded when I re-tasted the rest of the bar 20 minutes later. 

Our chocolate radar picked up a barely detectable (perhaps self-conjured), almost nutty, buttery mushroom/loam note--enough for a chocolate and umami lover to dream they'd hit the flavor trifecta.**

This bar was pleasing to the end, with a clean, true chocolate finish (that included a flourish of chocolate brownie batter) in the first few bites 

*Not far (as least as the crow flies--over the jungle) from the Polochic River lie ruins of impressive Maya cities. Across the country one can see stone temples and alters, hieroglyphs and stelae. Historic Maya sites in Guatemala include Iximche, Quirigua, Yaxha, El Mirador and Tikal. One of the largest cities, Tikal (200 - 900 A.D.) was once home to upwards of 200,000 people. It's estimated that the Maya Empire across the Yucatan peninsula area might have had a population of 2 million people.

**A trifecta is a three-fold win or series of three positive events, or a bet where the better correctly picks the three top winners, e.g. win(1st), place (2nd) and show (3rd) in a horse race.



Wednesday, May 27, 2020

Harper Macaw - 77% Monte Grande Guatemala (bar) - May 26, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Harper Macaw
77% Monte Grande Guatemala Single Origin Directly Traded (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 380 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $9.00 (estimate) in 1 bar
Purchased from: Harper Macaw, online order

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Maya Empire Theme Week. Guatemala was at the heart of Maya territory.

Today's 77% Monte Grande* Guatemala Single Origin Directly Traded (bar) was from Harper Macaw (a chocolate factory and cafe in Washington, D.C.).

This bar had a smooth texture and a rich chocolate and dried fruit (goji berry) aroma and flavor, a  fleeting hint of molasses aroma, and red berry and grape tart-sweetness.

The choice of a 77% cacao seemed a good one; a 70 percent cacao version might have been too sweet.

*The cacao was grown at the Monte Grande family farm in Coatepeque, Guatemala, in the Costa Sur (south coast) area. 







Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Guido Gobino - 70% Extra Bitter Chontalpa, Mexico chocolate - May 25, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Guido Gobino
70% Extra Bitter Chontalpa (Tabasco) Mexico chocolate
Good +
Weight: .194 oz. (5.5 g.) in 1 square
Calories: 30 calories (estimate) in 1 square
Cost: $0.89 for 1 square
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Buenos dias y bienvenidos a (Good day and welcome to) Day #4 of Chocolate and Maya Empire Theme Week. Or, in Mayan: Ba'ax ka wa'alik? (hello) and Alk'ara Xutula (welcome). 

Today's individually-wrapped fluted disc of 70% Extra Bitter Chontalpa, Mexico, chocolate was produced by Guido Gobino (Torino (Turin), Italy). 

The Chontalpa region (the name refers to the local Chontal Maya population) is located in Tabasco--a state in southeast Mexico on the coast (Gulf of Mexico), north of Belize and Guatemala.

This flavorful small chocolate had a true chocolate aroma and taste with fruit and green floral notes. A slight astringency developed early on and lingered. There were fleeting notes of tartness and a faint sparkle of light earth, followed by a true chocolate (brownie) note in the finish.

Centuries ago, first the Olmec and then the Maya would be harvesting and consuming cacao in Tabasco; and the history of Tabasco is rich with stories about cacao, conquest and the Maya people. 

Maya - Tabasco connections
Today the Mexican state of Tabasco exports cacao, coconuts, bananas (as well as petroleum/oil). If one traveled back a few thousand years ago...one might witness the growth of the Maya empire and how they cultivated and used cacao, even using cocoa beans as a form of currency.

At the height of the Maya empire (250 - 900 A.D.), Maya people occupied the Yucatan peninsula, in what is now Guatemala and Belize as well as parts of southern Mexico, western Honduras and El Salvador. But, by the 1400s, their centralized stone cities were abandoned; groups of Maya lived in the jungles and in more decentralized city states. By the early 1500s, conflict had started to build up between native peoples in southern Mexico and the Aztec people to the north.

Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez first arrived Mexico (in, you guessed it, Tabasco) in 1519, and, after hearing tales of gold and riches to the north (and likely exploiting native conflicts) he recruited thousands of native soldiers (including enemies of the Aztecs). And their combined forces marched north. Cortez conquered the Aztecs in 1521, and promptly claimed the land for Spain. 

The Maya people managed to stay independent until the 1600s, until they too came under Spanish rule. By the late 1500s, cacao was being shipped to Spain.* It was eventually brought to European colonies in West Africa and elsewhere for cultivation; and drinking chocolate and packaged/processed chocolate offerings would eventually catch on in Europe and spread around the globe...with some processed cocoa offerings coming back to the Americas and, starting in the mid-1800s, in the form of chocolate bars.

*Christopher Columbus, on hist fourth trans-Atlantic voyage to the Americas, in 1502, is said to have been the first European to encounter cacao beans in the new world, when his he and his crew apprehended a native canoe in the Bay of Honduras (south of Tabasco, Mexico, in an area in the Gulf of Mexico, east of Belize, Guatemala and Honduras). This small boat was carrying cacao beans (which the Europeans mistook for almonds). They observed that these "almonds" seemed to be highly valued by the natives.


Sunday, May 24, 2020

Crimson Dane Chocolate - 75% Cacao Maya Mountain Belize bar - May 24, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Crimson Dane Chocolate
75% Cacao Maya Mountain Belize bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.6 oz. (45 g.) / 3.2 oz. (90 g.) in total bar
Calories: 240 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ N/A - gift for a friend (Thank you Rick!)
Purchased from: N/A - gift from a friend (who bought at a farmers market in Palo Alto, CA)

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Maya Empire Theme Week.

Today's 75% Cacao Maya Mountain Belize bar was "handmade, poured and packaged" by Crimson Dane Chocolate (San Jose, CA), using cacao from Maya Mountain (Cacao/Co-op in the Toledo District of southern Belize).*

Crimson Dane, founded three years ago, has focused on creating single estate,* bean-to-bar, craft chocolate from multiple origins, including Belize.

This well-crafted single origin Belize chocolate had a pleasing, balanced, complex aroma with light green, herbal, sweet spice, light molasses, dried fruit, fleeting floral, very faint malt and chocolate cake notes. The light roast option (for the cacao beans) selected by the makers preserved delicate/volatile flavor elements that might have been lost with a longer roast time.

This relatively thick bar broke with a hard, very well-tempered snap. 

A smooth, somewhat creamy melt vied with a slight fruit/nut astringency (drying, fuzzy feel on the palette) for mouthfeel dominance. The tasting notes echoed the aroma notes like a returning yodel, symmetrically, and with a slight astringency and a clean finish. Note: the light astringency had almost disappeared upon re-tasting an hour, and two hours, later. (Flavors often evolve over the course of the day for various reasons, which is why I try to re-taste.)

*Crimson Dane Chocolate currently, as of this writing, offers single origin bars, with cacao grown in Honduras, Peru, Guatemala, Belize and Madagascar.






Saturday, May 23, 2020

Nuance Chocolate - Moho Valley Belize (2015) 70% bar - May 23, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Nuance Chocolate
Moho Valley Belize (2015) 70% bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 293 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Nuance Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Maya Empire Theme Week.

Today's Moho Valley Belize (2015) 70% cacao bar was made by Nuance Chocolate (Fort Collins, CO).

The bean-to-bar makers at Nuance chose a rare criollo/trinitario cacao grown near the Moho River that runs from eastern Guatemala to/through the Toledo District of southern Belize (eventually emptying out to the Caribbean Sea/Atlantic side of Central America). The river runs through what once was part of the Maya Empire. This area is rich in cacao history; and Maya people, farmers, still grow cacao here.

Today's attractive, thin, dark bar had a true chocolate (hot cocoa), nutty, and roasted aroma and flavor. If held up to light at just the right angle, one might see a flicker of reddish color.

The thinness* (which I like in bars) yielded ready access to texture and flavor, and contributed to the chocolate's relatively rapid (slightly creamy) melt.

This relatively sweet three-ingredient chocolate's complex flavor notes included wood, tart fruit (pink grapefruit) and fleeting nut (peanut, walnut) notes, and a roasted coffee-like acidity. About five seconds in, fruit acidity gave way to astringency--notably without the tannic** bitterness that often accompanies this drying sensation in one's mouth.

This astringency and a roasted coffee note lingered in the finish with a light throat tickle farewell.

Ingredients: cacao, cane sugar, cocoa butter

*Whisper thin tasting wafers melt like snowflakes on one's tongue offering a quick, relatively uniform hit of flavor, whereas thicker pieces offer a more gradual reveal, as different facets of the piece reach a melting point at different times. Try sampling both thin and thick versions of the same chocolate and see how/if it alters the tasting experience for you. 

Just paying attention will slow you down, and open up your senses. Taking a contemplative stroll through a neighborhood vs. an athletic sprint creates an opportunity to see/hear a bird in a tree and appreciate its colors, to notice a child's chalk drawing on a sidewalk, to smell oncoming rain. It's the same with chocolate. If you choose the slower path, imagine kayaking down the Moho River with a Maya guide who will point out to you a crocodile on the bank, a howler monkey in the trees (the source of the loud, low whooping calls in the treetops) and a rare bird flying overhead.

**Tannins (tannic acid), are water-soluble polyphenols, with astringent properties, produced by plants and trees, found in coffee, tea, wine, grapes, chocolate and many other fruits, nuts, food and spices we consume. In the wild, they help protect plants against bacteria and fungi infections, and may deter animal and insect predators.

Friday, May 22, 2020

Dick Taylor - Fleur de Sel (Sea Salt) Belize Chocolate Caramels - May 22, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Dick Taylor
Fleur de Sel (Sea Salt) Caramels - Belize
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 2 oz. (58 g.) / 4 oz. (116 g.) (per label) in total box of 8 pieces/caramels
Calories: 310 calories (estimate) in 4 pieces/caramels
Cost: $20.00 for 1 box of 8 pieces/caramels
Purchased from: Dick Taylor, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Caramel Theme Week and Day #1 of Chocolate and Maya Empire  Theme Week.

Today's Fleur de Sel Caramels coated in single origin 70% Belize Dark Chocolate were from Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate (Eureka, CA).

I braced myself for a mouthful of sugar spun into soft caramel. While that was coming, how refreshing it was to first enjoy the aroma and flavor of 70% Belize dark chocolate with small flecks of sea salt (from Bitterman's Salt Co. (Portland, OR)). Could I taste the nuances of Belize cacao? Yes. Do ingredients* matter? Yes, they do.

These chocolate covered confections had a lightly spicy rich dark chocolate aroma and flavor with a fleeting, faint fruit-floral note. A balanced and subtle bitterness in the chocolate complemented a sweet caramel filling. And sea salt helped balance out the cooked sugar content of the caramel, which yielded a buttery sweet clean finish. 

A word about Belize, Guatemala and the Maya
Today kicks off the first day of a Chocolate and Maya themed week. The Maya people once occupied present day Guatemala, Belize and corners of other countries (southern Mexico, western Honduras). Cacao was an integral part of their culture for centuries. While technically the Maya empire may have fizzled out in 900 A.D., that's only partly true.

Their descendants are still here. I met some Maya people, farmers and others, several years ago in Belize, when I also visited the modest Maya Mountain Cacao co-op and fermentation facility in the Toledo district (in southern) Belize. This operation, that was helping farmers and up-leveling cacao for export, had started to become popular with a handful of artisan, small-batch chocolate makers in the U.S. 

No surprise, partners Adam Dick and Dustin Taylor (who together are Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate and who put the craft in craft chocolate) were early to recognize this organization's strengths as well, and they describe their sourcing relationship in Belize here.

*Ingredients: Caramel (organic sugar, organic evaporated milk, organic rice syrup, heavy cream, organic butter, organic vanilla bean, salt); dark chocolate (organic cacao, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic sunflower lecithin).




Thursday, May 21, 2020

Butlers - Chocolate Caramel Crunch Bar - May 21, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Butlers Chocolates
Chocolate Caramel Crunch Bar
Good 
Weight: 2.65 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 340 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $2.75 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's Chocolate Caramel Crunch Bar was from Butlers Chocolates (North Dublin, Ireland).

This filled milk chocolate candy bar had a faint sea sal/savory nuttiness note in the aroma. I gently broke off the first segment. And a waterfall of liquid golden sugar burst forth as the milk chocolate shell broke apart. It made me wonder how this bar had survived the shipping and handling process.

The relatively creamy milk chocolate outer layer was overpowered almost immediately by the flowing caramel. As for the hazelnut, I did taste one small bit of hazelnut, but not until the very last bite.

I suggest sharing this bar with a friend. If you do, get a napkin or two first; and divide it on/over a plate, to protect clothing from caramel drips.

Good-bye Caramel Weeks
Most people assume I eat chocolate because I have a sweet tooth. However, if you know me, you know that while I'm a chocolate omnivore, I prefer 100% cacao bars (without any added sugar) over sugary treats. I like the flavors of dark chocolate and am saddened when they're overwhelmed by too much sugar. 

Dark chocolate also fits into my carbohydrate budget and still allows me to eat a few pieces of fresh fruit every day, which I also like. Alas, caramel is high in sugar....because it is sugar. And, after tomorrow, I will still feature an occasional dark chocolate caramel pieces; but this will be my last caramel and/or toffee Theme Week on Chocolate Banquet. It's been fun. 

Candy Math
The following candy math is what drove the point home for me about caramel and toffee.

Today's sweet flowing caramel milk (20%) chocolate (32%) bar contained 44 g. of Total Carb., and 40 g.* of Total Sugars--according to the label. (Note: suggested serving for this bar is 1/2 bar; I ate the whole bar.)

Bottom line: If this is correct, I consumed the equivalent of 9.75 teaspoons of sugar* in less than 10 minutes this morning. The same size (2.65 oz./75 g.) 75% dark chocolate bar** (without milk) contains approximately 18.55 g. of sugars, less than half the amount of sugar. 

*Forty grams of sugar(s) is about the same amount of sugar in one 12 fl. oz. (355 mL) can of Coca Cola (which contains closer to 39 g. of sugar to be precise), i.e. approximately 9.75 teaspoons of sugar in one can.

**For a look at how much sugar you might find in chocolate bars, see this page, with illustrations on Wm. Chocolate website.


Wednesday, May 20, 2020

The Oakland Chocolate Company - Strawberry Cardamom Caramel - May 20, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

The Oakland Chocolate Company
Strawberry Cardamom Caramel
Good +++
Weight: .4 oz. (11.3 g. ) (estimate) in 1 piece
Calories: 60 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $2.50 for 1 piece
Purchased from: The Oakland Chocolate Company (online)

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Caramel and Toffee Theme Week.

After eating more industrial versions of chocolate and sugar this week, I really appreciated today's flavorful Strawberry Cardamom Caramel from Nancy Nadel, who is the chief chocolate maker at The Oakland Chocolate Company (Oakland, CA).

Nadel was an early player in the artisan chocolate maker movement that lifted off around the turn of the century (2000). She was also one of the first women making chocolates from scratch in California, starting with cocoa beans rather than blocks of pre-made chocolate.

Nadel's tree to bonbon/bar chocolates, have been crafted using cacao grown in specific areas in one country--originally the Parish of St. Mary in Jamaica via the (now defunct) Jamaican Cocoa Industry Board for 13 years. Cacao beans are now from Bachelors Hall (Parish of St. Thomas) in Jamaica. (And she managed this business and its many moving parts for several years while serving on the Oakland City Council. Impressive.)

Over the years, her chocolates have included an array of flavor inclusions that have incorporated exotic blends and tropical fruits and spices, and today's piece was no exception.

Today's Strawberry Cardamom Caramel was a layering of fresh, authentic flavors. The result was a match made in heaven. Sweet, naturally fruit tart caramel with a very soft chew was surrounded by flavorful dark chocolate. A subtle hint of cardamom added an uplifting spice note. And a tiny piece of strawberry on top contributed a natural berry sparkle.

*Earlier Bay Area chocolate-making pioneers, such as Domingo Ghirardelli (Italy via South America) and Etienne Guittard (France) arrived in the San Francisco area in the 1800s, influenced by the Gold Rush. Ghirardelli Chocolate Company (now in San Leandro, CA) is part of Hershey Chocolate Company; and Guittard Chocolate Company is still family-owned as of this writing.


Dagoba - Milk bar + Chocolove Toffee Almonds bar + Dolfin Caramel bar - May 19, 2020

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Dagoba
"Milk" - Milk chocolate bar
Good 
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.83 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 220? (guess) calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate, Caramel and Toffee Theme Week.

Today we have three bars: a Milk Chocolate bar from Dagoba (Hershey) and a re-taste of a Toffee and Almonds small bar from Chocolove (Boulder, CO), and an even smaller Chocolat Au Lait Caramel bar made in Belgium by Dolfin S.A.

Often, milk chocolate bars will have a slight caramel taste to them, a result of the interaction between the added milk (powder) and sugar. This Dagoba bar did not. Although it did taste smooth and milky.

Caramel and toffee are both forms of cooked sugar(s) where the sugar molecules change state. Caramel, typically made with white sugar, is brought to 340 degrees F. (170 degrees C.). In the U.S. toffee can be made with brown or white sugar; and toffee is typically more well done (harder) than al dente (caramel) in the U.S. Both forms can complement chocolate nicely in the right proportions.

Unless one is armed with a candy thermometer, one can go from soft, flowing golden caramel to hard toffee-like, crunchy bits and pendants in minutes. (The degree of "caramel" flavor may vary depending on technique as well.) Almost any cooked sugar is a potentially interesting plaything, but you'll want to plan ahead if you're expecting company. Not everyone is a rabidly curious scientist--a pity really. And friends don't always appreciate being used as guinea pigs.

Whether you accidentally made caramel when you meant to create toffee or vice versa, a small bite of either homemade golden brown sweet treat can be delicious. Although, your teeth (after being sugar-jacketed) will may remind you a little goes a long way.

Every chocolate maker has their own way of incorporating cooked sugars into chocolate (covering, substrate, companion, getting wholly lost in each other, etc.)

Chocolove
Toffee and Almonds in Milk Chocolate small bar
Good +
Weight: 1.3 oz. (37 g.) in total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information

I re-tasted this small Toffee and Almonds in Milk Chocolate bar from Chocolove (Boulder, CO). This was probably my favorite of the three bars. For a 33% cocoa chocolate, this one seemed more flavorful than other comparable milk chocolates with caramel. Identifiable pieces of toffee and almonds make it a more interesting bar to taste by adding layered flavors and textures. Nuts tend to balance out sweetness.

Dolfin 
Chocolat au Lait Caramel (bar)
Good 
Weight: .35 oz. (10 g.) in 1 small bar
Calories: 53 calories (estimate) in 1 small bar
Cost: $N/A part of a bigger sale 
Purchased from: missing information

Last but not least was this thin milk chocolate caramel cutie from Dolfin (Belgium). It was the perfect size for a snack, or to accompany tea or coffee for dessert.

The company has done a nice job with flavors in bars over the years. Most flavor inclusions in their bars are balanced and subtle and fully incorporated into the chocolate creating a uniform smoothness. It was the same with this mini bar. The milk and caramel flavors were merged completely with the chocolat, giving it a smooth texture and flavor ride.

I would have loved to have tried a 40% - 50% cacao version of this one, with a little less sugar and milk, to see if I could taste un petit more of the chocolate flavor; but for this, there are other styles of chocolates ranging from small disks of chocolates adorned with fruit and nuts (mendiants*) to their chocolate descendants: artisan dark chocolate bars artfully sprinkled (or fully loaded) with a wide variety of ingredients on the back side.

*Mendiants (literally means beggars in English) are chocolate confections from France. Flat chocolate discs were adorned with nuts and pieces/slices of dried fruits (raisins, figs, etc.) that were said to represent the colors of monastic robes (from four mendicant or monastic orders) that were shades of brown and beige, grayish brown and a purplish (grape) color. Monks who took a vow of poverty may have depended on the charity of others, thus the name.

Since then chocolatiers in the U.S. and elsewhere have taken this mendiant format and added some brighter fruit colors, kiwi green, oranges, yellows, purples, reds, you name it, to brighten things up a bit, making this concept our own.


Vosges Haut Chocolat - 72% Dark Chocolate Black Salt Caramel Petites - May 18, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Vosges IP, LLC
72% Dark Chocolate Black Salt Caramel Petites
Good 
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 3.2 oz. (90 g.) in total package
Calories: 130 calories in 1 serving (3 pieces)
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate, Caramel and Toffee Theme Week.

Today's attractively-packaged 72% Dark Chocolate Black Salt Caramel Petites were from Vosges (Chicago, IL).

These individually-wrapped and gluten free chocolate squares were an adventure on the dark side of caramel. They were still fairly sweet, but the choice to use darker chocolate, black sea salt and a darker-hued flowing caramel made them more complex and interesting than most milk chocolate caramel squares on the market.







Sunday, May 17, 2020

Ghirardelli Chocolate Company - Intense Dark Salted Caramel Cascade (bar) - May 17, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ghirardelli Chocolate Company
Intense Dark Salted Caramel Cascade (bar)
Good +
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 120 calories in 1 serving of bar (2 squares)
Cost: $2.50 for 1 bar (2 bars for $5.00)
Purchased from: Walgreens, midtown Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Intense Dark Salted Caramel Cascade (bar) was from Ghirardelli Chocolate Company (San Leandro, CA).

Most mass market chocolates tend to be very sweet. Add caramel to the mix and one can't taste the chocolate that's covering a mass of sugary goo. Thankfully, this dark chocolate (I wouldn't use the term "intense," but it) was smooth. And the sweetness level was held in check by the inclusion of sea salt.

I liked the thinness of this filled chocolate bar. A layer of crunchy and slightly chewy sweet caramel bits was sandwiched between two ultra-thin layers of dark chocolate, making these balanced flavors rapidly accessible.

Ingredients: Sugar, unsweetened chocolate, glucose syrup (wheat), cocoa butter, milk fat, cream (milk), butter (cream, salt), nonfat dry milk, sea salt, natural flavor, soy lecithin, salt, vanilla extract. 
Note: there may be traces of wheat/gluten in this bar.

Atypic Chocolate - Caramel Brittle 72% Dark Chocolate Vanuatu bar - May 16, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Atypic Chocolate
Caramel Brittle 72% Dark Chocolate Vanuatu bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.235 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 161.35 calories (estimate based on label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.75 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate, Caramel and Toffee Theme Week.

Today's Caramel Brittle 72% Dark Chocolate Vanuatu bar was from Atypic Artiste Chocolatier/Atypic Chocolate (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia).

Atypic Chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolaterie, co-founded by Charles Lemai, that offers chocolate bars, confections and spreads. The company sources sustainably farmed cacao beans from "all over the South Pacific to carefully craft the finest single origin chocolates."

This attractively-packaged, ebony-colored Caramel Brittle bar was a piece of art--an avant-garde stained glass window--adorned with panes of caramel brittle on one side. A line art map of Melbourne was printed on one side of the inner wrapper. (I'm a sucker for map art and have enjoyed this tradition, e.g. SOMA Chocolate (Toronto) and various chocolate city maps over the years.)

The base chocolate, made from cacao grown in Vanuatu, had a dark chocolate (72%) aroma and a very slightly grainy texture--possibly from the organic cane sugar or the cacao being more coarsely ground. It had the dense dark flavor of a forastero cacao but with some mild fruit and other flavor notes (trinitario cacao?)* This chocolate was not too sweet (thank you!) which left room to enjoy the contrasting sweet brittle elements.

"Ingredients: cacao beans, organic cane sugar, cacao butter, sunflower lecithin, butter, salt flakes, bicarb soda."

"Vanuatu cacao may only make up one percent or less of the world's cacao supply; but cacao is well-suited to grow there, particularly in the warmer, northern provinces (closer to the Equator). Forastero and trinitario varieties are grown there. And cacao trees may be planted with crops like coconut palms, one of several varieties of bananas, and/or coffee. Like most developing countries where cacao is grown, cacao beans are fermented and dried "in country" where they're grown, but production--where these beans are transformed into chocolate--almost always takes place in fairly sophisticated, climate-controlled facilities in more developed countries.



Friday, May 15, 2020

Moka Origins - Organic Toffee Almond Dark Chocolate 72% Cacao (bar) - May 15, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Moka Origins
Toffee Almond Dark Chocolate 72% Cacao (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 2.4 oz. (68 g.) in total bar
Calories: 360 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $8.95 (+ shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Moka Origins, online order

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate, Caramel and Toffee Theme Week.

Today's Toffee Almond Dark Chocolate 72% Cacao (bar) was made by Moka Origins (Honesdale, PA).

Moka Origins was founded in 2015 with a focus on small batch chocolate and coffee. The founders, Ishan Tigunait and Jeff Abella, gained farm and community development experience in Cameroon. This initial project expanded to ethically sourced coffee and cacao partnerships in Uganda and elsewhere in cacao-producing countries, and chocolate making and coffee offerings in Pennsylvania.

Their organic Toffee Almond bar tasted fresh, and was a satisfying blend of smooth, almost creamy 72% cacao dark chocolate (Uganda cacao) with dark dense flavor and traces of balanced acidity and earth notes; authentic flecks of toffee--made with real unsalted butter and kosher salt; and pieces of roasted organic almonds.*

People don't believe me when I tell them I've been eating a different chocolate every day (usually grouped into theme weeks) for almost 14 years, and I don't really care for sugar. Once a year I generally run a theme week featuring chocolates that contain caramel and/or toffee. And most of them are too sweet for my taste; but I continue to search for favorites in this category.

Today's Moka Origins bar was perfect for those who don't want to feel overwhelmed by sugar. The toffee flecks in the dark chocolate offered sparkles of warm caramelized sugar, without hitting a wall of sweetness. The judicious flecks (combined with the specific chocolate) allowed one to actually taste the flavor nuances in the chocolate underneath, generally impossible with most chocolates with caramel fillings or toffee inclusions.

*Ingredients: Organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, organic toffee (organic cane sugar, organic unsalted butter, Kosher salt), organic cocoa butter, organic roasted almonds.






Thursday, May 14, 2020

Francois Pralus - Chuao - 10 degrees 29' N. 67 degrees 31' O. (bar) - May 14, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Francois Pralus
Chuao (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.476 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 292.5 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $13.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Missing information

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

Today's "Chuao" chocolate (bar) was made in France by Patisserie Chocolaterie Pralus s.a.s. (aka Francois Pralus). 

"Chuao" is a spare yet evocative one-word name for a bar. Chuao, located in northern Venezuela, is a remote village known for great cacao (and fishing). The word Chuao was accompanied by a precise set of geographic coordinates--10 degrees 29' N. 67 degrees 31' O. (West), that accentuated the importance of place. With cacao, wine and other exalted food and beverages, origin, place and terroir are reverently discussed. The rich volcanic soils, the climate and rainfall. These and other factors might contribute to great flavor, or may be characteristics that make a product more valuable.

The story printed on the packaging for this Chuao bar read (in part) as follows:

"West of Caracas,Venezuela, there is a mythical village. Accessible only by boat,* the village of Chuao is bordered North by dense tropical forests, in the South by the Caribbean Sea. For generations the cocoa grown in this region has been celebrated for its exceptional qualities. A unique terroir, an ancestral know-how, a traditional drying method makes this Criollo cocoa the most wanted worldwide..."

The Chocolate Behind the Story
OK, that's a great story; and I would like to visit this storied place one day.* But how was the chocolate?
This chocolate had an appealing, rich dark chocolate aroma with balanced molasses, tart mild dried fruit and faint fleeting green and almost smoked (maybe very faint roasted espresso) notes. The texture and melt were relatively smooth. There was a minuscule amount of astringency.

The balanced flavor profile was similar to the aroma notes. There was no harsh bitterness, in fact, there was very little bitterness at all. I enjoyed the sweet-tart, balanced dried fruit flavors (peaches, cherries). And there was enough dark chocolate complexity for an interesting flavor ride. A 70 percent version of this bar might have seemed too sweet. The choice of 75 percent cacao worked well. 

A subtle clean finish lingered politely. This chocolate was consistently (sorry to be repetitive) subtle yet flavorful and well-balanced all the way through. It was consistent in its complexity...a seeming contradiction, and a delicious truth.

Does thickness matter?

The thickness of certain chocolate bars can influence one's tasting experience and rating. A thicker bar can make it more difficult to access certain flavors, especially in a cold room/environment. I tried shaving off some shards and sampling those; and in fact the fruit flavors did seem a bit more readily accessible and identifiable. (A smaller, thinner piece also melts faster.) And with more subtle, complex bars I find my palette leaning in, wanting to more attention to subtleties. Try a thinner piece if you want to really "listen" to fine flavored cacao.

Ingredients: 75% cocoa, sugar, pure cocoa butter, GMO-free soya lecithin

*I would love to visit Chuao. It is accessible via boat but then you have to hike for another 5 km to get there, or take a wild ride in on a jeep/car/truck. There is also apparently a two and a half hour bus ride available from Caracas, Venezuela; but there are travel restrictions in place now (as of this writing in May 2020) due to Covid-19.


Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Domori - Cacao Criollo 75% Puertomar - May 13, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Domori
Cacao Criollo 75% Puertomar (square)
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: .166 oz. (4.7 g.) in 1 square
Calories: 25 calories (estimate) in 1 square
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: (part of a Chocosphere.com, online order)

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

Today's Cacao Criollo 75% Puertomar chocolate was made by Domori* (None, Turin, Italy), using Criollo cacao grown on a Domori plantation in Venezuela. Fortunately for us, Domori founder Gianluca Franzoni visited Venezuela in 1993 and worked with the Francheschi family (a prominent name in chocolate in Venezuela) to develop and preserve heritage Criollo cacao known for its complex, subtle and wonderful flavors.**

This tiny square of chocolate was packed with complex, subtle and exquisitely balanced flavor. The promise of Criollo cacao fulfilled. It had a sweet rich chocolate aroma and notes of coffee, light toffee-molasses, balanced slightly sweet-tart dried fruit. An appealing touch of bitterness and a light lingering blossom of a finish rounded out this tasting experience. I wanted this tasting experience to go on and on.

*Domori was founded in 1997 by Gianluca Franzoni, and was one of the first companies to focus on fine-flavored and Criollo cacao. In 2006, Domori became part of the Illy SpA Group (Trieste, Italy) that also produces high-end coffee, tea and champagne offerings.

** Criollo cacao represents a small percentage of chocolate sold today. This variety has a reputation for complex, but not overwhelming or bitter, heritage aroma and flavors (fruit, caramel, nuts, cream). However, because the fine-flavored Criollo trees also can be more fragile and prone to disease, approximately 90% of of the world's chocolate is made of the more robust, high-yield Forastero cacao variety (grown widely in West Africa, Brazil and elsewhere), that tends to have a darker, denser, bolder, less complex flavor.

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Amedei - Cru Dark Chocolate 70% Single Origin Venezuela (bar) - May 12, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Amedei srl
Cioccolato Fondente Extra 70% Mono Origine - Venezuela (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 300 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $7.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com (online order)

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

Today's Cioccolato Fondente Extra (Dark Chocolate) 70% Mono Origine (Single Origin) Venezuela bar was from Amedei srl (Pontedera, Pisa, Italy).

This Single Origin Venezuela bar had a very similar taste profile as the Amedei Chuao Venezuela and Porcelana Venezuela bars (featured earlier this week). The bar had a fleeting faint floral fruit aroma note and a fairly prominent sweet chocolate cereal/malt aroma and flavor note. It was low in bitterness and astringency and had a subtle sweetness to it throughout.

"Amedei's "Cru"* chocolates are a journey tracing the tracks of cocoa's oldest varieties, grown on individual plantations and crafted according to the customs of their lands of origin. This captures their wildest essences for a taste experience forging new frontiers. The mark of this spicy, richly aromatic chocolate's land of origin is clear, drawing you in and dazzling the senses with an intense flavour of walnut, almonds and cashews."

*Cru is a French term applied to wine, referring to a vineyard where fruit/grapes with superior flavor are grown, and often linked to terroir. Its use here can be extrapolated to mean cacao plantations that grow or produce high-quality cacao. And where at least soil, topography and climate help to support (and not detract from) the natural strengths of a fruit or seed variety used to make a fermented end product. Of course there are many factors involved in creating a great chocolate or wine. But, it is poetic, and not untrue, to focus on the origin story.

Ingredients: cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter.








Monday, May 11, 2020

Amedei - Porcelana Cioccolato Fondente Extra 70% (bar) - May 11, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Amedei srl
Porcelana Cioccolato Fondente Extra 70% (bar)
Good + 
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 280 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $17.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's Porcelana Cioccolato Fondente Extra 70% (bar) was from Amedei srl (Pontedera (Pisa), Italy).

This chocolate, made with Porcelana cacao, tasted a lot like (yesterday's) Amedei Chuao 70% bar from the same Italian maker. It also had a sweet, relatively delicate, chocolate flavor and a slight, unusual cereal and cereal box/chewing gum (chicle) note.

Yesterday I speculated that some of this flavor could have been from the packaging itself (or an external storage or shipping factor). I believe both bars were packaged, shipped and stored in a similar way, so it's possible.

I wish I'd saved a piece of yesterday's Chuao bar to do a side-by-side tasting with today's Porcelana sibling to see what the subtle differences might have been between the two.

Today's chocolate had a slight soft, tart fruit astringency, with a fleeting throat tickle. There were very mild sweet spiced canned fruit, light vanilla/floral and true delicate chocolate cookie notes. There was nothing objectionable in either bar. But, neither was there much that was particularly exciting.

Expectations run high for artisan chocolate bars that mention Chuao or Porcelana, that come with a high price tag ($17.50 USD for this bar). Amedei has cultivated relationships with plantations in Venezuela that are growing "genetically pure" criollo cacao, known for subtle and delicate flavors.

No offense to larger chocolate makers is intended. Support for farmers and growers of great cacao stock in Venezuela and elsewhere is very important. But if one is chasing legendary flavor, there are a few small batch Chuao and Porcelana bars out there that will blow the doors off this week's Amedei bars, for a fraction of the price.

For example, I'd recommend Wm. Chocolate's Porcelana bar, reviewed earlier this week, that had an incredibly sophisticated, almost magical tasting curve. (I am a sucker for a great flavor ride.)

For those who remember Rogue Chocolatier, small batch bean-to-bar maker Colin Gasko helped set the bar for me, and likely many others, years ago. I can still remember that Porcelana bar.


Sunday, May 10, 2020

Amedei - Chuao Cioccolato Fondente Extra 70% (bar) - May 10, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Amedei srl
Chuao Cioccolato Fondente Extra 70% (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 280 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $14.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's Chuao Cioccolato Fondente Extra 70% (bar) was from Amedei srl (Pontedera (Pisa), Italy) and imported into the U.S. by DeMedici Imports (Elizabeth, NJ).

This bar had sweet chocolate (pudding), light chewing gum (similar to chicle*)/light green nut or seed, cereal/malt and naturally tart, sweet fruit notes with a well-balanced fruit acidity.

*It's possible that this "chicle-like" flavor note could have come from the packaging for this bar or from an external source picked up during the shipping or storage process. While not objectionable, it was somewhat unique.

Chicle is a latex, rubber-like sap from a Manilkara chicle tree used in the making of natural chewing gum.** Trees in the Manilkara genus also include the sapodilla tree (Manilkara zapote). Both trees are native to Mexico and Central America. Manilkara tropical evergreen trees have been cultivated in forests for centuries, and are used for their dark red wood, brownish plum-like fruit and for their sap. (Sadly some species are now endangered due to over-use and land clearing.)

**While the natural chicle that the Maya people would have harvested from trees and chewed thousands of years ago is still used in gum manufacturing, it has largely been replaced in today's chewing gum(s) by butadiene styrene rubber, a synthetic vinyl (e.g., poly vinyl acetate) or polyethylene gum base. Polymer chemistry at work.




Wm. Chocolate - Venezuela Porcelana 70% Dark bar - May 8, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Wm. Chocolate
Venezuela Porcelana 70% Dark bar
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 309 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $7.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's unique Venezuela Porcelana 70% Dark bar was from Wm. Chocolate (Madison, WI).

This chocolate had an intriguing complexity to it. Do stop and smell the chocolate, slowly. And leave a segment or two for re-tasting later, as different aroma and flavor notes will emerge with this bar.

At first, I thought I picked up an aroma with sweet, almost spicy and very faint green tea notes. Minutes later, there were darker chocolate notes. Next sniff (less than 30 seconds later) yielded a very light sweet tobacco floral smokey note.

This chocolate had a very memorable, sweet chocolate flavor with very light caramel, nut and diffuse menthol notes. The flavor arc then landed on true chocolate, very light fruit (melon); and the bar had a light chocolate lingering finish. (Note: several hours later, after some food, it had dried fruit notes.)

Chocolate maker, William Marx, described this bar as "mellow and elegant and shapeshifting"...with notes of "chocolate milk, coconut and cantaloupe." Marx also included information about the prized Porcelana cacao from northwestern Venezuela that was used to make this bar, as well as pairing suggestions.

Porcelana cacao beans have a light color and gentle, complex flavors. Marx notes that Porcelana "lacks genes for producing a pigment that gives most cacao a dark color and bitter flavor."

He further explains: "...Evolution favors the pigment: its bitterness encourages monkeys and other mammals to spit out the cacao seeds, thereby planting more cacao trees. We're still not entirely sure whether Porcelana cacao trees once had genetics for the dark pigment, then lost them, or simply never had them at all..."

Marx's suggested food/wine pairing to enjoy with this bar read as follows: "one of the few chocolates that can be paired well with white wines; IPAs; white spirits; mild, creamy cheese."

*Ingredients: cocoa beans, certified organic whole cane sugar (origin: Costa Rica), certified organic cocoa butter.

Saturday, May 9, 2020

Venchi - Venezuela Latte 47% Merida bar - May 8, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Venchi
Single Origin Venezuela Latte 47% Cocoa Merida bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 420 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $8.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's Single Origin Venezuela Latte 47% Cocoa (Merida) bar was from Venchi S.P.A. (Castelletto Italy).

This gluten free milk chocolate bar was made with chocolate liquor from Venezuela.* This smooth, flavorful milk chocolate had an aroma and taste with muted savory and light loamy mushroom-walnut notes with faint hint of vanilla and dried fruit.

Venchi ranked this chocolate as full-bodied, relatively intense (three out of five score) and aromatic (three out of four score) and as possessing flavor notes of milk cream, dried fruit/red fruits and nuts. While the first ingredient listed was sugar, the higher cacao percent and a relatively robust cacao saved this bar from being an overly sweet, flavorless milk chocolate confection.

The cacao came from Merida, located roughly (59 km) southeast of Lake Maracaibo in western Venezuela.

*Ingredients: sugar, chocolate liquor from Venezuela - 24% (total cocoa solids = 47%), cocoa butter, whole milk powder (milk solids = 19.5%), emulsifier: soy lecithin, ground vanilla pods. 


Hachez - Cocoa de Maracaibo (Venezuela) 55% Milk Chocolate (bar) - May 7, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Hachez
Cocoa de Maracaibo 55% Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) total bar
Calories: 311 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's Cocoa de Maracaibo 55% Superior Whole Milk Chocolate from Hachez* (Bremen, Germany) had an aroma with spice (cinnamon), milk chocolate, faint floral (vanilla) and muted fruit notes.

The bar had a thick, creamy melt (cocoa butter was the number one ingredient**)--tricking the palette into thinking about nut butter and triggering the thought that perhaps there was a nutty flavor note there. (Not really.)

This chocolate had a pleasant, uniform, high-percentage (55.5% cocoa solids) dark milk chocolate flavor. It was not too sweet (thank you). If one concentrated, one could pick up a faint fruit note; however it was largely numbed by the cocoa butter, milk and possibly emulsifier(s).

The finish was subtle but lingered a bit with soft notes of milk chocolate, fleeting faint earth and light vanilla.

*Hachez, named after Joseph Emile Hachez who founded the company in 1890, is the second largest German manufacturer of chocolate products (after Lindt).

**Ingredients: "cocoa butter, cocoa beans, sugar, whole milk powder (20%), cocoa powder, emulsifier, rapeseed lecithins, bourbon vanilla extract, bourbon vanilla pods."




Thursday, May 7, 2020

Chapon Chocolatier - Venezuela 70% Porcelana mini bar - May 6, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chapon Chocolatier
Venezuela 70% Porcelana mini bar
Good ++
Weight: .176 oz. (5 g.) / 6.35 oz. (180 g.) in total box of 36 mini bars
Calories: 27 calories (estimate) in 1 mini bar
Cost: $45.00 for 1 box of 36 mini bars
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Last week was Chocolate and Colombia Theme Week, and this week the focus shifted to neighboring country, Venezuela. Both South American countries have a cacao history that stretches back thousands of years.

In the 13+ years since Chocolate Banquet began, the fortunes of these two South American countries have evolved. Colombia is more fully recovered (from years of internal strife), and Venezuela has been suffering economically in recent years.

Fortunately, several international chocolate companies still offer single origin Venezuela bars (made with Venezuela-grown cacao), including today's Venezuela 70% Porcelana mini bar from Chapon Chocolatier (Paris/Chelles, France).

Today's mini bar was part of a larger Chapon single origin collection (that included two other Venezuela bars (featured yesterday) and one from Colombia (featured last week). Today's small 70% Porcelana bar was sweet and had a tart fruitiness and a faint earth note.

Porcelana is a rare and precious cacao. Cacao seeds/beans are lighter in color and flavor, and trees are grown/found in an area near/south of Lake Maracaibo (Sur del Lago) in Western Venezuela. The largest lake in South America, this estuary is more akin to a salty bay given its connection to the Caribbean Sea. Its famous lightning storms and oil drilling exploits create an exotic, dark mystique around this region. Always glad to see rare plants and trees surviving what seem to be tough conditions.




Chapon Chocolatier - Venezuela 100% and Chuao 70% mini bars - May 5, 2020

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Chapon Chocolatier
1.) Venezuela 100% Cacao small bar - Good +
2.) Venezuela 70% Chuao small bar - Good +++
Weight: .176 oz. (5 g.) x 2 / 6.35 oz. (180 g.) in total box of 36 mini bars
Calories:  calories in 2 mini bars
Cost: $45.00 for 1 box of 36 mini bars
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Bienvenidos (Welcome) to Day #1 of Chocolate and Venezuela Theme Week.

Today's Venezuela mini bars were part of a larger single origin collection of 12 different bars artfully assembled by Chapon Chocolatier (Paris, France). Of the twelve bars, three were from Venezuela, including the two being featured today.

Venezuela 100% Cacao
This small bar was redolent with bittersweet aroma, rich roasted coffee and cacao bean, and faint green and spice notes. It had a smooth melt and a rich dark flavor, with balanced bitter earth and a faint fig cookie note. The finish was mellow and pleasant.

The (Chapon) maker's tasting notes read as follows: "Earthy, spicy."

Venezuela 70% Chuao
Chuao rhymes with wah-ow, or wow, as it should. Chuao is a famous cacao-growing area in the state of Aragua, Venezuela (in a mountainous coastal area about 42 miles (and a 2.5 hour bus ride north of Caracas). Chuao farms/plantations produce some amazing chocolate.

The Chuao 70% chocolate had faint sweet green tea and spice, chocolate cake, red berry, cherry, fig and more delicate tropical fruit notes. And that was just the aroma!

It had subtle, complex fruit (red berry, cherry, fig and delicate tropical fruit and light tangerine) flavor notes.

The (Chapon) maker's tasting notes were classified as follows: Fruity, Stimulating, Nutty, Earthy.

Packaging notes
Chocolate Banquet readers may have observed my love affair with Chapon Chocolatier packaging and graphics. The French term "carracks" on this Chapon "coffret" (box) eluded me at first. The word may come from a term for a merchant cargo ship centuries ago that were subsequently outfitted for adventures and possibly treasure gathering in/from new worlds. OK, I'm on board now. Today's decorated chocolate box was filled with gem-like chocolate cartridges, perfectly labeled, stowed and secured, from various parts of the globe.

It made me wonder what a hand-painted wooden ship-like version of this collection would look like. Fantasy complete.



Monday, May 4, 2020

Michel Cluizel - Plantation El Jardin 69% Colombie bar - May 4, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Michel Cluizel
Plantation El Jardin Chocolat Noir 69% Colombie (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 400.6 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $7.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's El Jardin Plantation 69% Dark Chocolate Colombie (Colombia) bar was from Michel Cluizel (Damville, Normany, France).

This bar was made from cacao grown in El Jardin Plantation in central Colombia and had a fairly creamy melt and texture with a balanced rich complexity of flavors that evolved from bite to bite.

The dark chocolate had a balanced, rich sweetness with faint roasted malt and fermented milk, fruit (cherry, red berry), light vanilla notes and occasional nutty, earth, black raspberry, tart peppery red berry, and umami (salt/leather) notes. And, as a last surprise, the finish in one bite had almost a mint cookie or very light menthol note to it. This chocolate was certainly not boring.

I'd advise eating (and re-tasting) this chocolate in small bites, very slowly, or you'll miss all these flavor notes. And to think this was only a four-ingredient bar.*

Almost all segments on a chocolate tasting wheel were represented. There were no "off," bitter or astringent flavors...just a lot going on in one bar.

Maker's notes: notes of red berries, honey, caramel

*Ingredients: cocoa, sugar, cocoa butter, Bourbon vanilla pod





Sunday, May 3, 2020

Gallette Chocolates - 45% Colombia dark chocolate bar - May 3, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Gallette Chocolates
Colombia 45% Cacao Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.51 oz. (43 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 260 calories in 1 serving (9 squares) of bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's Single Origin Colombia 45% Cacao Milk Chocolate (bar) was handcrafted by Gallette Chocolates (Sao Paulo, Brazil).

This milk chocolate bar had classic milk chocolate aroma and flavor with caramel and very faint sweet tobacco notes. 

Ingredients: cocoa mass, milk powder, sugar, cocoa butter and soy lecithin


Saturday, May 2, 2020

Gallette Chocolates - Tumaco 85% Cacao Dark Chocolate Colombia bar - May 2, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Gallette Chocolates
Tumaco 85% Cacao Dark Chocolate Colombia bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) / 3.53 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 314 calories (estimate - per package) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 (sale) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's Tumaco 85% Cacao Dark Chocolate Colombia bar was made by Gallette Chocolates (Sao Paolo, Brazil).

This bar had a surprisingly sweet and light aroma for an ultra-dark bar, with promises of a honey marshmallow chocolate pudding or chocolate brownie cake. Added cocoa butter and soy lecithin created a smooth texture. Chocolate brownie flavor lingered with a balanced cacao bittersweetness. The finish was mild as well for an ultra-dark chocolate (over 80 percent cacao).

Tumaco is along the southwest Colombia coastline (Pacific Ocean), not that far from Ecuador. In recent years, coffee and cacao growing has replaced some coca growing and illegal gold mining. Coffee and cocoa, often grown as shade crops in forested areas, are more compatible with forest and wildlife conservation. Fingers crossed that coffee and cacao farmers also will find these crops a financially sustainable way to make a living over time.

Ingredients: cocoa mass, milk powder, sugar, cocoa butter and soy lecithin




Friday, May 1, 2020

Sugar Love Chocolates - Colombian 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) - May 1, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Sugar Love Chocolates
Colombian 70% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) in total bar
Calories: 210 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Sugar Love Chocolates, Reno, NV

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Colombia Theme Week.

Today's Colombian 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Sugar Love Chocolates (Reno, NV). I was able to visit this cozy chocolate shop that carried an assortment of truffles/filled chocolates and bars. It was located in the basement level of a smartly renovated U.S. Post Office building (from the 1930s) along with a handful of other artisan shops in downtown Reno.

There was something very light and pleasant about this 70% dark chocolate, a hint of chocolate cream pie or chocolate cake. Even the texture had a whipped and fluffy dark chocolate mousse taste and texture. (That texture might have been in part due to the soy lecithin.)

Ingredients: cocoa bean (cocoa liquor and cocoa butter), cane sugar, soy lecithin

Original Beans - Arhuaco Businchari 82% Colombia bar - Apri. 30, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Original Beans
Arhuaco Businchari 82% Colombia bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 401.8 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $7.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's Arhuaco Businchari 82% Colombia bar from Original Beans (Amsterdam) was made in Switzerland, using "select tribal cacao."

Original Beans supports "replenishing biodiverse forests instead of destroying them." The notion of a regenerative society able to live sustainably is appealing. Their "One Bar: One Tree" program supports planting trees. (A code included on the package of each bar, when input, takes you to a website/page, where you can track where a tree is being planted that corresponds to your purchase.)

For those who don't like overly sweet dark chocolate, this is your lucky day. This attractively packaged bar had a faint earthy charcoal* and dark chocolate aroma, the taste of a 90+ percent cacao bar, and a uniform, balanced bitterness. The texture was smooth and the chocolate had a lingering but clean finish. No light fruity floral notes in this bar. And that may be fine. Sometimes extra dark flavor like this is satisfying and almost refreshing.

As with some bottles of bold or tannic red wine, sometimes opening and letting a product sit, or re-tasting over time, reveals more subtle flavors. Re-tasting this bar after an hour revealed a trace of green/floral note and it tasted less bitter (relatively sweeter) and more well rounded.

*Or this batch could have been exposed to a little bit of burning wood or charcoal smoke. It's impossible to tell. Either way, this bar was a good counterpoint to overly sweet chocolate, and if the purchase of this bar helps support the Arhuaco (aka Arawak) native people/farmers who are trying to protect the Sierra Nevada (national park) in Colombia, all the better.

Maker's notes: "Heights of sweet spice, liquorice and sesame rise gently in this ultra rare chocolate made according to ancient Arhuaco tribal traditions that are designed to maintain the world's natural hamony."

Ingredients: cacao mass, organic raw cane sugar 


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