Saturday, September 12, 2020

Fossa Chocolate - Duck Shit Dacong oolong tea bar - Sept. 12, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Fossa Chocolate
Duck Shit Dacong oolong tea bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 272 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $15.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA 

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Tea Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate Surprise Theme Week. 

Today's Duck Shit Dacong oolong tea bar was a collaboration between Fossa Chocolate (Singapore) and tea lifestyle company, Pekoe and Imp (Singapore). 

Yes, you did read that correctly. Duck Shit tea. Surprise. 

But, sometimes you have to take a few risks in life, and get beyond first impressions. Was there really duck "content" in this bar? Was this a milk chocolate? (It was not identified as such, but it did contain milk powder). There was no mention of the cacao percentage...But, why quibble with all these questions, when it's more about the taste, right?

Behind the surprising name

What's the story behind the surprising "Duck Shit" name? The following is the explanation on the bar's packaging: "Ya Shi Xiang (Duck Shit) is an oolong tea cultivated in the Phoenix Mountains of Guangdong Province. The story goes that the farmer, in an attempt to hide the secret to his delicious tea, gave it an unpleasant name and it stuck."

How did it taste?

This chocolate tasting experience started with a fragrant, slightly floral, faintly fruity oolong tea with faint green (tea) note and subtle chocolate aroma.

The melt was smooth; tannic acid from the tea added a light astringency about mid-way and into the finish. 

It may have been my imagination (we have very bad air quality in California this week from fires which is affecting the senses), but I experienced a very fleeting, faint note of water (lake/lagoon) flavor (mineral + water plant/moss funk) at the tail end of the finish. It was not bad, just different. 

Regrettably, I was so focused on the interesting tea flavors that I missed any subtleties of the cacao. (The addition of milk powder may have also mellowed some tea and cacao flavors in this bar.) The tea was quite balanced, but dominated the nuance zone when it came to flavor notes. The two complemented each other and made for a rich and complex flavor ride--my favorite mode of culinary transportation.

Maker's notes: "...flavours of longan (aka dragon eye fruit, related to lychee and rambutan fruits) and malt along with floral and mineral finish enhanced by the Malaysia origin wine-barrel fermented cacao used in this chocolate."

Ingredients: Cacao, cane sugar, cocoa powder, milk powder, tea leaves

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