Chocolate of the Day:
Pascati Artisan Chocolate
(Pascati Foods India LLP)
Rose Almond Dark - Organic Dark Chocolate 60% Cocoa (bar)
Weight: 2.65 oz. (75 g.) total bar
Calories: 396 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order
Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and India Theme Week.
Today's Rose Almond Dark - Organic Dark Chocolate 60% Cocoa (bar) was from Pascati Artisan Chocolate / Pascati Foods India LLP (Maharashtra, India)--India's first USDA organic and fair trade bean-to-bar chocolate company.*
I expected I might smell a more floral rose scent, but this organic dark chocolate had a very subtle "organic natural flavor" rose aroma and flavor.
The dark chocolate had a smooth, even dark taste and wasn't overly sweet (thank you). In fact, it tasted more like a 70% bar. Organic almond pieces added an occasional bit of satisfying crunchy nut texture and flavor.
This chocolate was made from bean to bar in India (Product of India) using cacao "sourced from select plantations." It was not clear if all of the cacao had been grown in India or not; however, Pascati has said before they use cacao from Kerala's Indukki and Malabar regions in southern India. It's exciting enough that more Indian-made chocolates have become more available, to more chocolate lovers around the globe.
Previously, when I asked friends from India about chocolate there they would frequently mention Cadbury chocolate candy/bars and other British and European brands, often adding that Indians had their own rich history of desserts and confections that didn't usually include chocolate.
Times have changed. This year I'm happy to again have seven "new" Indian chocolates to feature as part of a 2020 Chocolate and India Theme Week. This was not possible when I started Chocolate Banquet 13+ years ago in 2006.
*Pascati was founded in 2015 by Devansh Ashar (who had a background in the hospitality industry and trained as a chocolate maker at Ecole Chocolat). The company name comes from the Sanskrit phrase "pascat parivasya" that means a "sweet meal."
Ingredients: Organic cocoa beans, organic sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic almonds, organic rose flavour
Pascati Artisan Chocolate
(Pascati Foods India LLP)
Rose Almond Dark - Organic Dark Chocolate 60% Cocoa (bar)
Weight: 2.65 oz. (75 g.) total bar
Calories: 396 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order
Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and India Theme Week.
Today's Rose Almond Dark - Organic Dark Chocolate 60% Cocoa (bar) was from Pascati Artisan Chocolate / Pascati Foods India LLP (Maharashtra, India)--India's first USDA organic and fair trade bean-to-bar chocolate company.*
I expected I might smell a more floral rose scent, but this organic dark chocolate had a very subtle "organic natural flavor" rose aroma and flavor.
The dark chocolate had a smooth, even dark taste and wasn't overly sweet (thank you). In fact, it tasted more like a 70% bar. Organic almond pieces added an occasional bit of satisfying crunchy nut texture and flavor.
This chocolate was made from bean to bar in India (Product of India) using cacao "sourced from select plantations." It was not clear if all of the cacao had been grown in India or not; however, Pascati has said before they use cacao from Kerala's Indukki and Malabar regions in southern India. It's exciting enough that more Indian-made chocolates have become more available, to more chocolate lovers around the globe.
Previously, when I asked friends from India about chocolate there they would frequently mention Cadbury chocolate candy/bars and other British and European brands, often adding that Indians had their own rich history of desserts and confections that didn't usually include chocolate.
Times have changed. This year I'm happy to again have seven "new" Indian chocolates to feature as part of a 2020 Chocolate and India Theme Week. This was not possible when I started Chocolate Banquet 13+ years ago in 2006.
*Pascati was founded in 2015 by Devansh Ashar (who had a background in the hospitality industry and trained as a chocolate maker at Ecole Chocolat). The company name comes from the Sanskrit phrase "pascat parivasya" that means a "sweet meal."
Ingredients: Organic cocoa beans, organic sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic almonds, organic rose flavour