Sunday, February 21, 2021

Domori - Dark Chocolate Ginger (bar) - Feb. 21, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Domori
Dark Chocolate Ginger (bar)
Good - Good +
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) in total bar
Calories: 137.8 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and EFGHI Theme Week, where flavor inclusions and cacao origins that start with the letters E, F, G, H and/or I are being featured.

Today's Dark Chocolate Ginger (bar) was from Domori (None, Italy).* 

This vegan and gluten-free bar had a smooth dark chocolate aroma, and a dark, deep chocolate flavor with slight bitter and earthy notes. It tasted slightly darker and more bitter (less sweet) than many other 70% craft dark chocolate bars, in part because the underlying cacao seemed to be more robust (Forastero variety cacao blend perhaps?) and low in bright fruit notes. 

The ginger (powder) was uniformly infused into the 70% dark chocolate, and added an authentic (unsweetened), ginger warmth and spiciness. For those used to candied ginger confections, this bar will taste less sparkly and slightly more bright-bitter (imagine ginger in savory dishes) and intense, especially in combination with the very robust and earthy dark chocolate.**

Please do savor this smaller, snack-size dark bar slowly. "Snacks to go" are often full of sugar and salt. Thankfully, this chocolate is not. Take one bite and set the bar down for a moment. And repeat this process as you go. This is important for slow bloomers and delightfully layered, complex bars. You'll miss half the fun if you eat these chocolates too quickly.

With today's bar I experienced (and enjoyed) a growing, natural sweetness and mellowing of the flavors, as the cocoa butter coated my tongue and the bitter earthy notes diminished and a faint nuttiness crept in. This bar may grow on you more than you might think.

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, cane sugar, ginger powder (1%).

*Since 2006, Domori has been part of Gruppo Illy, a company known for their coffee--and, it seems from tasting the results, a business with an understanding of what it takes to grow, ferment, roast and transform a seed/bean into a final high-quality product.

**Full disclosure: I like dark chocolates that are less sweet, and bold, deep, dark flavors as long as they are balanced. I appreciate interesting, complex flavor rides. For those who have a sweet tooth and prefer milk chocolates, you may prefer a tamer chocolate with more sugar.

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