Friday, October 16, 2020

Kaitxo - Nicaragua El Castillero, Rio San Juan 75% Trinitario blend (bar) - Oct. 16, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Kaitxo Specialty Chocolate
Nicaragua El Castillero, Rio San Juan 75% Trinitario blend (bar)  
Good ++
Weight: 1.235 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cacao, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Nicaragua Theme Week.

Today's Nicaragua El Castillero, Rio San Juan 75% Trinitario blend (bar) was made from bean to bar in Basque country, Spain, by the makers at Kaitxo Specialty Chocolate (Balmaseda, Spain). The company, founded in 2017, offers chocolate, coffee, and tastings.

This three-ingredient* chocolate (no lecithin, thank you!) was made using an "El Castillero" blend of Trinitario (variety) of cacao beans, from the San Juan Coop in northern Nicaragua. (Growers in this Rio San Juan area also produce coffee.)

The resulting dark bar had a pleasing complexity with true dark chocolate, slight umami and very faint green aroma notes. The flavors of this 75% cacao dark chocolate also included a faint earth note and a balanced, brown sugar and/or date-like sweetness.

The Kaitxo maker's tasting notes read as follows: melaza (molasses), manzana asada (roasted apple) y (and) datiles (dates).

*Ingredients: Cacao beans, sugar, cacao butter

Chocolate Momotombo - Tableta Temp. Fino de Leche y Tableta Chocolate Oscuro - Oct. 15, 2020

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Tableta Temp. Fine de Leche 
Chocolate Momotombo
Good ++
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 212 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Tableta Chocolate Oscuro
Chocolate Momotombo  
Good +++
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 212 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Bienvenido a (welcome to) Day #7 of Chocolate and Nicaragua Theme Week.

Today's two chocolate bars were made by Carlos Mann and team at Chocolate Momotombo (Managua, Nicaragua). Mann has worked with local growers in obtaining the best quality cacao and has immersed himself in local cacao traditions. 

I had the privilege to meet Carlos many years ago at a Chocolate Salon in San Francisco, and again in Nicaragua, where he was making great chocolates, and working to bring back chocolate making in this country with a long history of cacao cultivation and ceremonial cacao.

The Momotombo Dark Milk chocolate with cacao nibs had wonderful rich, deep chocolate flavor, with subtle earth, caramel and molasses notes. Smooth chocolate was accented by a generous helping of crunchy cacao nibs, helping to preserve the freshly roasted cacao flavors. 

The Momotombo Dark Chocolate 70% bar had a rich, deep chocolate flavor with a slight earthiness, roasted coffee and molasses notes. 

Both chocolate bars are well worth sampling and represent Nicaragua very well, if you can find them in the U.S. (The Chocolate Garage in Palo Alto, CA, now closed unfortunately, used to carry Momotombo chocolates.)

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