Friday, March 20, 2020

MIA Chocolate - 100% Cocoa Madagascar Dark bar - Mar. 20, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

MIA Chocolate
100% Cocoa Madagascar Dark (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.325 oz. (37.5 g.) / 2.65 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 230 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $6.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com (online order)

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

Today's 100% Cocoa Madagascar Dark bar was from MIA Chocolate (and made by a contract manufacturer in Madagascar).

This one-ingredient (cocoa mass) bar had an intriguing, balanced green and savory aroma. The melt was even and smooth. with a relatively creamy, thick (almost nut butter-like) mouthfeel. The flavor included a slightly tart and astringent green (think not quite fully ripe banana with a hint of red currant), true chocolate and savory/salty notes, that mellowed into nice bold but quite smooth 100% cacao taste with a very slight astringency and a fleeting buckwheat pancake note in the finish. For a 100% cacao dark chocolate, this was quite smooth, offering balanced complexity without being too bitter.

Like any ultra-dark bar (with no sugar), I enjoyed re-tasting this bar. It continued to evolve over the course of the day, mostly with the same flavor and aroma notes mentioned above. Chocolate flavor will vary depending on time of day, temperature, proximity to a meal/food/beverage choice, a taster's body/mouth chemistry, and other mysterious factors.

The brand name, MIA, stands for Made In Africa, and the organization is a London (UK) based social enterprise that sources Criollo, Amelonado and Trinitario varieties of cacao* from farmers located in the Sambirano Valley of Madagascar. (These farmers also perform some value-added steps in cacao processing following harvesting (such as fermentation and drying), that benefit the local economy.) MIA also is involved with tree planting efforts in Madagascar.

*These three cacao varieties were wiped out by diseases in other cacao-growing countries in Africa and were largely replaced by the more robust Forastero cacao variety. The fact that these three varieties survive(d) in Madagascar has given this island nation an advantage when it comes to fine flavored cacao with complex and delicate flavor characteristics.




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