Wednesday, June 3, 2020

Bisou Chocolate - Silk Verapaz (Guatemala) 78% (bar) - June 3, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Bisou Chocolate
Silk Verapaz (Guatemala) 78% (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $6.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bisou, online order

Welcome to Day #13 of Chocolate and Maya Empire Theme Week.

Today's Silk Verapaz (Vera Paz) (Guatemala) 78% (bar) was made by Bisou Chocolate (Oakland, CA). 

Bisou has been making single origin bars and chocolate truffles in Oakland for several years. The company's current offerings are made from cacao beans grown in Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua.

This four-ingredient dark chocolate bar was smooth in aroma, flavor and texture. It had hot chocolate, true chocolate, tart fresh fruit (mild nectarine, berry) and very faint earth and natural vanilla notes with a pleasant lingering dark chocolate finish.

Ingredients: cocoa beans, organic whole cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic vanilla

Crow & Moss Chocolate - Honduras Wampusirpi 70% bar - June 2, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Crow and Moss Chocolate
Honduras Wampusirpi 70% bar
Good +++
Weight: 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 300 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $8.75 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Welcome to Day #12 of Chocolate and Maya Empire Theme Week.

Today's Honduras Wampusirpi 70% bar was made from bean-to-bar by Crow and Moss (Petoskey, MI). The Spanish word "Honduras," translated into English means "depths." 

This two-ingredient chocolate (cacao beans, organic cane sugar) had flavor depth, and evoked a romantic sense of place,* tempered with respect. The cacao used was grown in a relatively remote area of Honduras, and while likely carefully sourced, I'm guessing these beans (like almost all new cacao batches) required a few test roasts/batches at Crow and Moss.

The resulting bar was rich and satisfying. The maker's tasting notes read as follows: honey, banana, toasted walnut. 

The chocolate had a mild green jungle nut/seed aroma (found in some "white" Theobroma cacao relatives) and faint green banana with very subtle earth, smoked almond and light leather notes. 

Yes, to my delight, this chocolate was borderline savory, without any salt or potentially intrusive, actual umami** flavor inclusions. I loved that these flavors were showcased in a balanced and elegant way.

The flavor profile was similar to the aroma, with sweet, dark chocolate with toasted walnut banana bread notes. And the finish was pleasing. It lingered with a trace of honey, and very tiny sparklets of balanced not-quite-fruit (subdued, dark dried cherry/banana/coffee fruit) tartness and green tea.

*Cacao bean flavors are often associated with cacao variety, fermentation choices and even soil and other local characteristics. Honduras exports coffee, bananas, tropical fruit and sugar cane--primarily crops brought to the new world by Spanish colonizers centuries ago. Prior to their arrival, the Maya and other indigenous peoples cultivated beans, squash, maize, cacao and other native fruit trees. Wampusirpi is a small town in remote northeastern Honduras, in the department of Gracias a Dios (Thanks to God), where cacao might be one of the few cash crops. Fortunately, many bean-to-bar makers are experimenting with beans from this area, largely from native Trinitario cacao varieties. 

**Umami flavors are most commonly those found in savory, high-glutamate (glutamic acid/amino acid) foods such as cheeses, certain meats (think bacon, smoked meats), dried tomatoes, mushrooms, seaweed, fermented soy and other foods. Admission: I like savory flavors very much.

Nuance Chocolate - Honduras Wampusirpi 2016 70% (bar) - June 1, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Nuance Chocolate
Honduras Wampusirpi 2016 70% (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 291 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Nuance Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Maya Empire Theme Week.

Today's Honduras Wampusirpi 2016 70% (bar) was from Nuance Chocolate (Fort Collins, CO).

This three-ingredient* chocolate had a sweet dark chocolate aroma with earthy/"dirt" notes. The bar was smooth with a few tiny bits of cacao bean. The flavor was sweet and earthy, with faint deep, dried fermented fruit, faint green/latex notes. 

Maker's tasting notes from Nuance read as follows:

Trinitario cacao from the remote Wampusirpi region of Honduras, which is only accessible by a two-day canoe trip. A luxuriously-smooth chocolate, with notes of graham crackers, oatmeal cookies, sage and soft leather. Virtually no acidity or bitterness.

*Ingredients: cacao, cane sugar, cocoa butter

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