Tuesday, November 3, 2020

Christopher Elbow - Haiti 72% Dark (bar) - Nov. 3, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Christopher Elbow
Haiti 72% Dark (bar) 
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1/2 bar (per label)
Cost: $9.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Christopher Elbow Craft Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #16 of Chocolate, Dominican Republic and Haiti Theme Weeks.

Today's Haiti 72% Dark (bar) was from Christopher Elbow Craft Chocolate (Kansas City, MO).

This chocolate had balanced fresh green tea (bamboo, lemongrass), goji berries and faint apple aroma and flavor notes, and was relatively "sweet" (not too bitter) for a 72% cacao bar.

Today's bar had similar aroma and flavor notes to yesterday's (Ranger Chocolate, 75% cacao Haiti Nord) bar. Cacao for both came from the same geographic region in Haiti. (Both seemed to benefit from boosting the cacao percent from 70% to a bit higher (and, by definition, reducing the sugar %), given the relatively well-mannered, sweet flavor of this cacao.)

The cacao used to make this Christopher Elbow bar was from Products Des Iles SA (PISA), in the Nord Department in northern Haiti (2017 Harvest). PISA works with cacao farmers and has helped improve cacao fermentation and overall cacao quality in Haiti, which in turn allows us to enjoy better craft, single origin chocolate(s) in the long-run (and, one hopes, enables farmers to be rewarded for higher-quality cacao). Organizations like PISA in cacao-growing countries have accomplished much in recent decades.

Maker's tasting notes read as follows: "...notes of dried fruit and roasted nuts."

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar, cocoa butter

Ranger Chocolate Company - 75% Haiti Nord (bar) - Nov. 2, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Ranger Chocolate Company
75% Haiti Nord (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.125 oz. (32 g.) / 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in total bar
Calories: 169 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Ranger Chocolate, online order 

Welcome to Day #15 of Chocolate, Dominican Republic and Haiti Theme Weeks. 

Today's 75% Haiti Nord dark chocolate bar was crafted by Ranger Chocolate (Portland, OR). 

This well-balanced and even dark bar was made with cacao grown in northern Haiti. It had a gentle, light roast profile with herbal notes (green bamboo forest, lemongrass, green apple), very faint malt and buttery, warm spiced fruit (pear); relatively low bitterness and acidity; and a very slight astringency in the finish (fleeting back of the throat tickle that disappeared when the chocolate and my throat warmed up). 

The maker's tasting notes read as follows: "butterscotch, cream and a hint of apple."* 

If I'd been tasting this in a blind tasting, I might have guessed the cacao origin to be somewhere in the Americas, but would likely not have guessed Haiti. As commented before, there seems to be improvements in cacao beans coming from Hispaniola (Haiti, D.R.) in recent years. 

This trend likely speaks to improvements in farming techniques, fermentation and an increase in the number of thoughtful chocolate makers continuing to cultivate good relationships with suppliers "in country" where cacao is grown. Vive la difference.

*Ingredients: organic cacao, organic cane sugar 

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