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.



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