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