Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Puchero - 55% Ecuador Finca Garyth (bar) - June 30, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Puchero 
55% Ecuador Finca Garyth (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order 

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's Puchero* 55% Ecuador Finca Garyth (bar) was made from bean-to-bar in Valladolid, Spain. 

This relatively sweet (55%), dark chocolate had a subtle, yet complex, shifting aroma notes that included: balanced faint, fleeting green (ranging from sour grass/oxalis/sorrel to a very brief green latex), dark chocolate (light fudge brownie, cake), faint fleeting light leather and licorice, and caramel cashew cookie notes.

The bar had a smooth melt and texture with a very faint green fruit stringency toward the end.

The chocolate had a relatively mild taste, but with a fair amount of enjoyable complexity. Flavor notes included: chocolate (cake, fudge brownie), sweet, slightly tart fruit (golden raisin, green plum, light kumquat), very faint spice (licorice), chocolate malt, and nut (cashew, jaguar cacao seed) and faint green (sour grass/oxalis/sorrel).

The maker's tasting notes read: "This mild chocolate with nutty notes is made with (100% Arriba Nacional) cacao grown by the Cedeno Aguilar family in northwest Ecuador."

Ingredients: "Cacao (55% minimum), sugar, cocoa butter."

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of nuts, milk and gluten."

*Puchero focuses on roasting and making high-quality, specialty coffees and chocolates from select origins, in Valladolid, a city in the autonomous community of Castile-Leon, in northwest Spain. (The Puchero brand is part of/produced by Tostarix, S.L.)


Tuesday, June 29, 2021

D. Barbero - Dark Milk (Ecuador cacao) 45% bar - June 29, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

D. Barbero 
Dark Milk (Ecuador cacao) 45% bar
Good +
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 227.2 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Mollie Stone's Markets, Sausalito, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's Dark Milk chocolate with Ecuador cacao 45% bar was from D. Barbero / Barbero Davide S.r.l. (Asti, Italy).

This smooth, sweet milk chocolate bar had notes of caramel, toffee, chocolate cake, cookie, and cinnamon sugar sprinkled buttered toast with hot cocoa with vanilla.

Ingredients: "Sugar, cocoa butter, Ecuador cocoa poste 20%, whole dried milk, cocoa paste, emulsifier: soya lecithin, natural vanilla flavour. Minimum cocoa 45%."

Allergen-related information: "Gluten free" and contained milk and soy (soy lecithin).

 

Monday, June 28, 2021

Askinosie Chocolate - Dark Chocolate + Red Raspberry (American Spoon) - June 28, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Askinosie Chocolate
Dark Chocolate + Red Raspberry (American Spoon)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Askinosie.com, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's Dark Chocolate + Red Raspberry CollaBARation bar from Askinosie Chocolate (Springfield, MO). It was a collaboration between Askinosie Chocolate and award-winning fruit preserve and condiment maker, American Spoon Foods (Petoskey, MI). 

Aroma notes in this chocolate included: authentic, ripe, sweet-tart red raspberries, chocolate/cocoa, and nutty (peanut butter) notes.

The melt and texture were smooth and uniform (with no raspberry seeds/seedy grit).

This well-executed bar was a successful fusion of 54% cacao dark chocolate (with balanced, faint earth flavor) and fresh-tasting, sweet red raspberry jam. 

This authentic-tasting confection was a bit sweet for me. However, it would be lovely as a dessert plate or ganache ingredient; and it will please those with a sweet tooth who love high-end, bright and flavorful chocolates.

The cacao used to make this dark bar was from the Del Tambo area in the central highlands of Ecuador.

Maker's tasting notes included the following: "...delicately sweet and fruity--like biting into a juicy chocolate-covered raspberry."

Ingredients: Del Tambo, Ecuador cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, cocoa butter ("made in our own facility with Del Tambo beans"), Organic Turbinado sugar, organic raspberries. 

Allergen-related information: "Processed in a facility that also processes milk, peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat."

 

Sunday, June 27, 2021

Askinosie Chocolate - San Jose Del Tambo, Ecuador 70% Dark Chocolate + Cocoa Nibs (bar) - June 27, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Askinosie Chocolate
San Jose Del Tambo, Ecuador 70% Dark Chocolate + Cocoa Nibs (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 240 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Askinosie.com, online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's San Jose Del Tambo, Ecuador 70% Dark Chocolate + Cocoa Nibs (bar) was from Askinosie Chocolate (Springfield, MO).

Askinosie founder and CEO, Shawn Askinosie, continues to make great chocolate. Faces of cacao farmers are displayed on the company's brown paper outer wrappers. A simple, effective way to show understanding and respect for cacao origins.

I've never had an Askinosie bar I didn't like; and I've been featuring their chocolates since 2007 here on Chocolate Banquet.

Fortunately for us, after spending 20 years as a criminal defense attorney, Mr. Askinosie turned to chocolate making. 

The aroma of today's bar evoked: concentrated, sweet fermented, dried fruit (fig, date), light spice, sweet green shading into rich dark chocolate (fudge brownie, drinking chocolate/hot chocolate) notes.

The flavor notes included a sweet cola nut/drink, faint brown sugar, rich, concentrated dark chocolate (brownie, roasted cacao nibs), light woody nut (hazelnut, pecan), and a beautiful, fleeting floral note from this cacao/nibs.

Speaking of nibs...The back of this bar was jam-packed with high-quality, crunchy cacao nibs. Only a few precious crunchy cacao seed (bean) pieces rattled onto the dinner plate I'd put underneath to catch any strays. Most of the nibs were well anchored. 

The complex cacao flavors these nibs contributed was wonderful; there were no off flavors or funky bits.* And, best of all, they added extra cacao flavor depth without any sugar, giving the chocolate a "darker" flavor/feel than most 70% cacao chocolate bars. 

The cacao used to make this bar was grown in the San Jose Del Tambo region, in Bolivar province in the highlands of central Ecuador. (Ecuador is divided into 24 provinces.)

Ingredients: "Del Tambo Ecuador cocoa beans (Arriba Nacional), Organic cane sugar, roasted cocoa nibs, cocoa butter (made in our factory with Del Tambo beans)."

Allergen-related information: "Processed in a facility that also processes milk, peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat." 

*The overall quality of cacao nibs has improved over the last few decades. A decade ago, it was not unusual to find a few nibs that were either rock hard, stale, over- or under-roasted, or a bit funky or moldy in some craft chocolate offerings. Better bean/nib sorting and quality control, higher expectations, greater experience, and availability of good bean sources seem to have solved most of these issues.

Askinosie Chocolate - The Zeke Bar - 76% Chinchipe Ecuador (bar) - June 26, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Askinosie Chocolate
The Zeke Bar - 76% Chinchipe, Ecuador Dark Chocolate (bar) 
Good ++ 
Weight: 2 oz. (56.6 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 340 calories in 2/3 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Askinosie.com, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's "The Zeke Bar" 76% Chinchipe, Ecuador dark chocolate (bar) was from Askinosie Chocolate (Springfield, MO).

Aroma: dark chocolate (fudge brownie), roasted coffee and faint green (orchid) notes.

The melt and texture were thick and smooth.

The flavor notes were very similar to the aroma and included dark chocolate (fudge brownie), and light roasted coffee and green notes. Well-executed, hearty, satisfying dark chocolate flavor. 

The smooth boldness was almost surprising for the cocoa variety listed (Criollo)--that is often thought to be limited to shy and delicate flavors.

"The Zeke Bar" origins

Askinosie founder and CEO, Shawn Askinosie, explained the bar's origin this way: "We partnered with Zeke Emanuel, chocolate aficionado and healthcare policy expert (and guest chocolate maker), to create this dynamic limited edition criollo chocolate bar." (The cocoa farmer was a 70-year old woman named Leonor.)

Askinosie founder and CEO, Shawn Askinosie, has been doing business with farmers in countries of origin (including Ecuador) for many years. Images of these cacao farmers on packaging and mentions of farmer(s) by name have been the rule, not the exception.

The cacao used to make this bar was grown in southeastern Ecuador.

Ingredients: Chinchipe (Ecuador) cocoa beans (Criollo), cocoa butter (made in our factory with single origin cocoa beans), Organic cane sugar, Organic Sucanat cane sugar.

Allergen-related information: "Processed in a facility that also processes milk, peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat." 


 

Saturday, June 26, 2021

Askinosie Chocolate - Super Dark Blend Tanzania + Ecuador 88% (bar) - June 24, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Askinosie Chocolate
Super Dark Blend - Tanzania + Ecuador 88% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 2 oz. (56.6 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 333 calories in 2/3 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Askinosie.com, online order

Bienvenidos (welcome) to the first day of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's Super Dark Blend Tanzania + Ecuador 88% dark chocolate (bar) was made by Askinosie Chocolate (Springfield, MO).

The aroma of this 88% marriage of two bold cacaos had true chocolate (faintly savory, fudge brownie), light spice (molasses, star anise, cinnamon), light, fleeting well-balanced green, and faint leather and vanilla-tobacco notes--flavors that were all present throughout the tasting experience as well, along with deep, fudge-y, satisfying dark chocolate flavor.

This flavorful ultra-dark bar might make a good pairing with a whiskey, or the basis for brassy brownies with cocoa nibs. 

Askinosie founder and CEO, Shawn Askinosie, featured the farmers in Tanzania and Ecuador (on the bar's packaging) and expressed gratitude to them for making this blend possible.

Ingredients: Mababu, Tanzania cocoa beans (Trinitario); Del Tambo, Ecuador cocoa beans (Arriba Nacional); Organic Sucanat cane sugar; cocoa butter (made in the Askinosie factory with Mababu beans); Organic vanilla bean.

Allergen-related information: "Processed in a facility that also processes milk, peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat."


Honduran treats - Spiced banana licuado; Chocolate rice pudding; Mayan Coffee & Cacao cheese

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Homemade Honduran Chocolate items 

Spiced Chocolate Banana Licuado
with Honduran chocolate
Good + 

Chocolate and Cinnamon Rice Pudding
with Honduran chocolate
Good +

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Honduras Theme Week.

For the last day of this Central American theme week, I made Honduran rice pudding and spiced banana licuado (chilled banana smoothie with cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg) paired with Honduran chocolate. Combined with a slice of Mayan coffee and cacao cheese and sliced fruit, this was my idea of a proper dessert meal.

Mayan Coffee and Cocoa Fontal Cheese
The wedge of Go Board Mayan Coffee and Cocoa Fontal Cheese from the Schuman Cheese (Fairfield, NJ) had a faint spicy, mocha kick. And this cheese provided a great savory complement to the sweet, homemade sweet items above.

Ingredients: Fontal cheese (pasteurized cow's milk, cheese cultures, sea salt, enzymes), spices, cocoa, coffee, natural flavors, sweet potato, caramel color. 

Allergen-related information: "Contains milk...Manufactured in a facility that also processes tree nuts and shares equipment with an egg ingredient."




Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Enna Chocolate - Wampusirpi Honduras, 100% Dark Chocolate (bar) - June 23, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Enna Chocolate 
La Mosquitia, Wampusirpi, Honduras 100% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar (+ summer shipping)
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Honduras Theme Week. 

Today's La Mosquitia, Wampusirpi 100% Dark Chocolate (bar) was made by Enna Chocolate (Exeter, NH). Founder, and chocolate maker, Enna Grazier, makes small-batch, bean-to-bar chocolate using ethically-sourced cacao.

This ultra-dark bar had a deep, dark and complex aroma with earth, leather, forest, and faint concentrated fruit (dried peach, fig), sweet green and vegetable (kiwi and cucumber), spice (licorice and cinnamon) and roasted coffee notes.

The melt and mouthfeel of this bar were smooth and creamy.

The aroma notes were pleasant and complex. However, my palette quickly registered the deep, dense, uniform, relative bitterness of a 100% cacao bar. There was no sugar to conjure up bright or sweet fruit notes. Nor were there any "off" notes in this single ingredient (roasted cacao) bar. 

With just a single ingredient, there is no safety net; nothing else to hide behind. I'm always impressed with really good 100% cacao bars. It speaks to a long chain of high-quality decisions that can be traced back to the very beginning, from the genetics of the cacao tree and the care of the farmer, and later through the labor of love and many steps of chocolate making. 

The well-executed and balanced flavor notes experienced in this single origin bar included deep, dense forest with almost savory, smooth earth (fresh mineral water, clay); true dark chocolate (fudge brownie with ground cocoa nibs without the sugar), and faint concentrated fruit and coffee. 

These notes gradually diminished into a smooth, polished dark finish.

The cacao used to make this bar was from La Mosquitia, Wampusirpi, in northeastern Honduras, and is part of the "Mosquito Coast" (at the Western edge of the Caribbean Sea that extends SE into Nicaragua--in the Honduran department of Gracias a Dios. ("Thanks to God" indeed.) 

This is a great area for tropical rainforests, marshes, wildlife and cacao. The Mosquito Coast in the Western Caribbean Sea is a relatively wild area, it's been likened to mini-Amazon.

Ingredients: Roasted cacao

Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility that processes tree nuts, peanuts, and milk."

Cru Chocolate - Honduras 72% Dark Chocolate bar - June 22, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Cru Chocolate
Honduras 72% Dark Chocolate (bar) 
Good ++
Weight: 1.55 oz. (43 g.) in total bar
Calories: 242 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $7.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Farm Fresh to You CSA box delivery service (add-on item)

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Honduras Theme Week.

Today's Honduras 72% Dark Chocolate (bar) was made by Cru Chocolate (Roseville, CA).

This Honduras chocolate had an aroma with a pleasing, smooth dark chocolate aroma with a warm sugar note.

The dark chocolate was well-tempered with a smooth melt and texture.

It also had smooth, uniform dark chocolate flavor with a naturally sweet, very light molasses, and diffuse fruit (red berry, citrus) tangy sweetness.

The cacao used to make this bar was sourced from Fundacion Hondurena de Investigacion Agricola (FHIA) in La Masica in northern Honduras. (Honduras is divided into 18 departments. La Masica is a town/municipality in the department of Atlantida, inland (south of) the Caribbean/Atlantic coast.)

The maker's description read as follows: "As the Scarlet Macaw (pictured on packaging) reveals its multicolor and iridescent plumage, so does this bar take flight voicing bright citrus crescendos that gracefully land into a forest of nuanced coffee notes."

Ingredients: cacao beans, unrefined organic cane sugar

Allergen-related information: "Soy, gluten and dairy free"

Tuesday, June 22, 2021

Crow and Moss - Earl Grey Tea Honduras Wampusirpi 67% cacao (bar) - June 21, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Crow and Moss
Earl Grey Honduras Wampusirpi 67% cacao (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 300 calories (per label) in 1 bar
Cost: $9.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Honduras Theme Week.

Today's Earl Grey Tea Honduras Wampusirpi* 67% cacao (bar) was from Crow and Moss  (Petoskey, MI).

When I leaned into this bar to assess the aroma, I expected to be greeted by the scent of Earl Grey tea (flavored with bergamot**). Instead, I was treated to a well-balanced, chocolate fudge brownie aroma with borderline savory, light earth and leather notes. I was able to tap into the soul of the underlying chocolate just via aroma; and it was good.

The bar had a satisfying even, smooth, fudgy melt, texture and flavor.

The flavor also embodied the fudge brownie base and undulated, evolved (with a soft currant of green (lemon balm, oxalis), and eventually resolved to include the familiar Earl Grey Tea flavored with bergamot as part of a lovely finish.

The (67% cacao) sweetness level was, surprisingly for a sub-70% bar, just about right as the dark chocolate was robust enough to prevent the bar from seeming too sweet, and to balance a light citrus cookie note.

Congratulations to the maker for this well-executed pairing of bold, but smooth, dark chocolate with a floral, citrus (bergamot) uplift/finish.

Crow and Moss (makers) tasting notes: "Get your afternoon tea fix on with this perfect fusion of fudgy, decadent Honduran Wampusirpi chocolate infused with the citrusy, floral notes of fresh Bergamot and the crisp, malty flavor of Earl Grey tea."

Ingredients: Honduran Wampusirpi cacao, organic cane sugar, organic earl grey tea

Allergen-related information: trace dairy, trace peanuts, trace tree nuts, soy free, gluten free, vegan.

*Notes on Wampusirpi cacao on the Bar and Cocoa site:
"Wampusirpi is a municipality of just under 6,000 residents, in the northeastern Honduran department of Gracias a Dios. Many parts of the region are only accessible by boat via the Patuca River, which connects the villages. The whole area is largely dependent upon agriculture, but eschews the conventional use of pesticides in favor of more traditional approaches; it's often called "organic without the certification."

**Bergamot (Citrus bergamia) is an aromatic citrus fruit (that can look a bit like a yellow-ish orange) with tart, sweet and floral notes that is used to flavor Earl Grey and Lady Grey teas, sweets (Turkish delight) and desserts. (It is also used as a perfume component and sold as an essential oil.) The citrus tree was originally from southeast Asia and is grown in the Mediterranean (particularly the Calabria area of southern Italy).

Sunday, June 20, 2021

Duffy's - Honduras Mayan Red Milk Chocolate 61% (bar) - June 20, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Duffy's Fine Chocolate
Honduras Mayan Red Milk Chocolate 61% (bar)
(Red Star Chocolate Ltd)
Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.11 oz. (60 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 175.8 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Honduras Theme Week.

Today's Honduras Mayan Red Milk Chocolate 61% (bar) was from Duffy's Fine Chocolate (Lincolnshire, UK). 

The company specializes in single origin, artisan chocolate bars; and the cacao used to craft this bar was purchased directly from Xoco (Honduras) that offers fine flavored, single varietal cacaos from Central America.

The aroma of today's dark milk bar had diffuse, sweet fruit (currants, red berries), faint tart green herb (lemon verbena, wood sorrels, oxalis), and sweet (caramel) dark milk chocolate notes.

This chocolate had a smooth melt and texture with a subtle astringency.

Flavor notes included: subtle true chocolate (very low in bitterness), fruit (red berries and currants in cream) and light, almost green and earthy, caramel notes.

Duffy's (maker's) tasting notes: "A smoothly balanced strong milk chocolate with hints of sweet currants and blueberries and a dark treacle aftertaste."

Bar and Cocoa notes: "Fine and rare Directly Traded cocoa beans from a single source in Honduras are carefully roasted then stone-ground for three days to develop and mature all the fine flavors that are in the beans..."

Ingredients: "Criollo cocoa beans, organic sugar, cocoa butter, milk powder."

Allergen-related information: Contains dairy (milk powder). Peanut free, soy(a) free, tree nut free, gluten-free.



 

Duffy's - Honduras Indio Rojo 72% (bar) - June 19, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Duffy's
(Red Star Chocolate Ltd)
Honduras Indio Rojo (Mayan Red) 72% (bar)|
Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.11 oz. (60 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 180 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Honduras Theme Week.

Today's Duffy's Fine Chocolate Mayan Red (Indio Rojo) 72% bar (made in Lincolnshire, UK) was from Red Star Chocolate Ltd (Cleethorpes, England).

This chocolate had a subtle, yet very complex aroma and flavor and was made with Xoco* (Criollo variety) cacao grown in Honduras.

The aroma notes alone included: aloe, cucumber, cream, avocado and very faint dried fruit (guava, light golden raisin, currant), very faint tart green herb, followed by Boston brown bread (steam-baked with molasses, corn meal, raisins), creamy polenta, and light, fresh, mineral water notes.

The chocolate had a relatively creamy, smooth melt and uniform texture, and a subtle true chocolate flavor, with diffuse, naturally sweet, fruit, very faint tart green herb (lemon balm, oxalis), and very faint vegetable (aloe, cucumber, potato) notes. 

The finish was quite mild with a faint, gentle fruit/floral tea astringency.

Duffy's tasting notes: "Strong, complex, quality dark chocolate with currants, tangy orange and a raisin and coffee aftertaste."

Bar and Cocoa notes: "The maker rarely gets these beans in stock -- only 25 kg some years -- and always looking for more. A complex chocolate that almost crosses the line towards savory."

Ingredients: Criollo cocoa beans, organic sugar, organic cocoa butter and sunflower lecithin.

Allergen-related information: "Soya free, gluten free. Vegan-friendly."

*Early on (in 2011), Duffy's started to work with Xoco Gourmet (based in Honduras). 

Xoxo is an organization that has worked to help preserve rare, fine flavor cacao trees (e.g. via grafting programs) and performs centralized fermentation for cacao farms/farmers in Central America (Honduras, Guatemala, Belize and Nicaragua). Farmers are paid "a premium for their quality." And Zoco markets this high-end cacao to artisan chocolate makers.

Duffy's has continued to buy Honduran cacao directly from Xoco, and works to highlight the variety of subtle, complex flavors inherent in these (Criollo) "Indio Rojo" beans when making batches of their bars. 



Friday, June 18, 2021

Sweet Street - Gluten Free Manifesto Honduran Chocolate Brownie - June 18, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Sweet Street 
Gluten Free Manifesto Honduran Chocolate Brownie
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in 1 brownie
Calories: 350 calories in 1 brownie
Cost: $3.81 (estimate) for 1 brownie (with sales tax)
Purchased from: Rubio's Grill, Sunnyvale, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate Brownie Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Honduras Theme Week.

Today's Gluten Free Manifesto Honduran Chocolate Brownie was made by Sweet Street Desserts (Reading, PA), and available at Rubio's Restaurants, Inc. (San Diego, CA).

This rich dark, gluten-free chocolate brownie was made with authentic-tasting dark chocolate (yes, alkalized, but it also had some faint earthy bold flavor left) and had a pleasing soft, velvety dark texture (especially when fresh). It was cohesive without being too firm, with a very thin layer of cooked, light flaky brownie on top.

The brownie I purchased from Rubio's was freshly defrosted and was quite good cold.

Ingredients: "Sugar, unsweetened chocolate (processed with alkali), cocoa butter, milk, milk fat, sunflower lecithin, vanilla, vanilla extract), cage free eggs, butter, cocoa (processed with alkali, brown rice (rice flour, rice bran), safflower oil, tapioca flour, rice syrup, arrowroot flour, buckwheat flour, water, whole milk powder, cream, baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, corn starch, monocalcium phosphate), guar gum, natural Madagascar vanilla, stabilizer blend (xanthan gum, sodium alginate, guar gum), glucose, KD.

Allergen-related information: "Contains egg, milk, soy." Made with non-GMO ingredients; gluten free.

Thursday, June 17, 2021

Godiva - Bittersweet Chocolate Premium Baking Chips (brownies) - June 17, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Godiva 
Bittersweet Chocolate Premium Baking Chips 69% Cacao
Good +
Weight: 2.12 oz. (60 g.) / 10 oz. (283 g.) in total package
Calories: 280 calories in 4 servings (4 TB)  
Cost: missing information
Purchased from: missing information 

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate Brownie Theme Week.

Today's Bittersweet Chocolate Premium Baking Chips were from Godiva (Belgium).*

I used these 69% cacao Godiva bittersweet chocolate chips to make a last batch of homemade brownies this brownie-themed week (with butter, egg, molasses, a small amount of gluten-free flour, ginger, cinnamon and toasted almonds). 

I was glad to see these higher-percentage (69 percent) cacao Godiva chocolate chips. They had a uniform, smooth dark flavor. And, for my taste, there was enough sugar in this chocolate for the chocolate chips to serve as the primary sweetener. (I also added a teaspoon or two of molasses.)

This particular recipe yielded a dark fudge, soft cookie-like texture that made them easier to transport and share than softer, gooey-er style brownies. The recipe could easily be adapted to achieve more of the latter qualities (more chocolate chips, less gluten-free flour, use of a deeper glass pan and possibly slightly shorter cooking time).

I enjoyed the very subtle molasses and warm spice flavor and aroma note(s) of this particular recipe. However, it's hard to beat the classic, plain chocolate brownie studded with dark chocolate chips.

Ingredients: Godiva Bittersweet Chocolate Chips: Chocolate (processed with alkali), sugar, cocoa powder, soy lecithin (emulsifier).

Allergen-related information: "Contains soy. May contain milk."

*Distributed by International Gourmet Specialties LLC (Pittsburgh, PA).

Wednesday, June 16, 2021

Nestle - Chocolate (Ghana) chip brownies - June 16, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Nestle
Nestle Toll House Artisan Collection Premium Baking Chips
(Made with Single Origin Chocolate from Ghana)
Good +
Weight: 2 oz. (56.6 g.) / 12 oz. (340 g.) in total package
Calories: 400 calories in 1 large, prepared brownie (210 calories in 3 TB of chips)
Cost: missing information
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate Brownie Theme Week.

Today's homemade chocolate brownie offering was based on premium baking chocolate chips distributed by Nestle USA, Inc. (Arlington, VA).

Nestle's origins stretch back to 1866 in Switzerland; and the company began to produce chocolate morsels (chips) in 1939. Prior to that (and for many years after/since then), chocolate chunks for baking were created by chopping or shaving off smaller chocolate pieces from blocks of dark baking chocolate.

When did brownies* first originate? One can't be sure, but recipes started to pop up in cookbooks in the late 1800s. In any case, brownies in some form have been with us for well over 130 years.

Today's Nestle chocolate chips made a flavorful brownie; and they also could be enjoyed a la carte. I used them to make a small batch of fudgey, gluten-free brownies.

The brownies paid homage to Nestle and brownie traditions. However, these single origin (Ghana) chocolate chips--an addition to Nestle's "Artisan Collection" premium baking chocolate family--added a present day twist. The chips had robust, naturally sweet, slightly earthy, roasted dark chocolate notes that gave the resulting brownies bolder cacao flavor than the cocoa powder used to evoke the chocolate color and taste in most brownies. (This cocoa powder is often alkalized, a process that makes cocoa milder and less acidic/bitter.)

I did not add any sugar to this brownie recipe, as these 48% cacao chocolate chips supplied enough inherent sweetness for my taste. I added some mild "fruit" and nut flavor by blending a little bit of banana flour and almond flour into the egg, (dairy) butter and crunchy almond butter batter used to make these. 

Chocolate maker's tasting notes: "chestnut, caramel, honey."

Ingredients: "Cane sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, vanilla extract, soy lecithin."

Allergen-related information: "Contains soy."

*Brownie origins
While rarely discussed in the 21st century, in the 1900s a "brownie" was a type of imaginary elf who performed helpful deeds while people slept at night. This elf may have been the inspiration for young Girl Scouts who were called Brownies. Going further back in time, the first reference to "brownie" as a chocolate dessert (that I could find) was from the 1890s, and it referred to a rich chocolate molasses cake made in a mold.

The Safe + Fair Food Company - Double Chocolate Brownie Mix - June 15, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

The Safe + Fair Food Company
Double Chocolate Brownie Mix
Good +
Weight: dry mix equal to 2 brownies / 20.6 oz. (584 g.) in total package
Calories: 520 calories in 2 brownies (prepared mix)
Cost: missing information
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate Brownie Theme Week.

Today's Double Chocolate Brownie Mix was manufactured for The Safe + Fair Food Company (Chicago, IL).

While almost all brownies share a dark brown hue and general chocolatey flavor, there are many variations, ranging from dense, gooey and/or velvety brownies to light, springy, cake like brownies (and brownie muffins/cupcakes), to firmer, crisper brownies (including brownie cookies). Happily, all of these types are represented this week.

Today's gluten-free, non-GMO and vegan double chocolate brownie with chocolate chips was lighter and cake-like (adding an extra egg to most brownie recipes will also create more cake-like texture). A bit of "ancient" grain (teff flour) was included in the gluten-free flour blend for good measure.

The "double" chocolate flavor (provided by alkalized cocoa and embedded chocolate chips) was satisfying. 

Ingredients: "Cane sugar, white rice flour, alkalized cocoa, semi-sweet chocolate chips (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin and vanilla extract), potato starch, brown rice flour, tapioca flour, teff flour, salt, baking powder (sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate, non-gmo corn starch, monocalcium phosphate, xanthan gum."

Allergy-related information: "Made in a facility free from the top 9 allergens...gluten free, non-GMO, vegan, kosher."


Monday, June 14, 2021

Lakanto - Sugar Free Brownie Mix Sweetened with Monkfruit - June 14, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Lakanto 
Sugar Free Brownie Mix Sweetened with Monkfruit
Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 9.7 oz. (275 g.) in total package
Calories: 275 calories (estimate) in 1 brownie
Cost: $4.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Brownie Theme Week.

Today's Lakanto Sugar Free Brownie Mix "Sweetened with Monkfruit" was distributed by Saraya USA, Inc. (Orem, UT).

These baked brownies had a smooth chocolatey flavor (dutched cocoa) and a relatively moist, rich, filling center, in part thanks to a generously amount of coconut oil. 

The monk fruit + erythritol blend* used to sweeten these brownies instead of sugar seemed to have a very slight "cool" (very faint, tingling, menthol-like) sensation. But, overall, there was no significant "off" taste to this sugar substitute. 

This relatively high-fiber, "keto-friendly," gluten-free and dairy-free brownie mix offered an interesting break from a processed cane/beet sugar rush, and will likely appeal to those who are trying to reduce sugar, gluten and/or dairy intake, and/or to those following a low-carbohydrate or keto diet.

Note: I sprinkled Venezuelan cacao nibs across the top of these brownies 2/3 way through the (20-24 minute) cooking time, to add extra cacao flavor, and crunchy texture. (Nibs can burn if you sprinkle them on at the beginning, i.e. before popping the brownies in the oven.)

Ingredients: Tapioca fiber, Non-GMO Lakanto Monkfruit Sweetener (erythritol and monk fruit extract), dutched cocoa, chick pea flour, sugarcane fiber, acacia gum, oat fiber, sea salt, baking powder, guar gum, Natural Flavors.

Allergen-related information: None stated. Note: instructions do call for added eggs and coconut oil.

*Lakanto's monk fruit is harvested in Asia. The description of monk fruit (Siraitia grosvenorii) on the back of today's packaging talks about how Buddhist monks called the Luohan discovered the round, purple-skinned fruit (native to southern China and Thailand) in the remote mountain highlands of Asia over a thousand years ago. (Thus the name monk fruit, or Luo Han Go.) This fruit was thought to raise chi (energy), and was also referred to as "The Immortals Fruit." 

Erythritol is a sweet-tasting sugar alcohol** used as a sugar substitute and food additive. While it is sometimes described as a naturally occurring substance, it is typically produced in a controlled setting using an electro-chemical process from corn sugar (with the help of enzymes and fermentation), or extracted from certain lichens or algae. It is used medicinally as a vasodilator.

While monk fruit is considered the key ingredient in Lakanko's sweetener blend, monk fruit has a very high, natural sweetness level (Lakanto describes it as 200-300 times sweeter than sugar), whereas Erythritol is "only about 70% as sweet as sugar." The company states: "Because of this, the combination of the two...is where magic happens in matching the flavor of sugar."

**Sugar alcohols are popular alternative sweeteners and include xylitol, sorbitol and maltitol.




Sunday, June 13, 2021

Trader Joe's - Brownie Crisp - June 13, 2021

Chocolate of the Week

Trader Joe's 
Brownie Crisp
Good +
Weight: 1.02 oz. (29 g.) / 5 oz. (142 g.) in total package
Calories: 120 calories in 1 serving (3 crisps)
Cost: $2.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, San Carlos, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Brownie Theme Week. 

Some of the chocolate brownie items featured this week will be homemade, with a few made with single origin chocolate. Others, like today's chocolate treat, will be purchased off-the-shelf from various retail locations.

Today's chocolate brownie-inspired "Brownie Crisp" offering was from Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA).

Each square smelled and tasted like the well-done top layer harvested from a baked chocolate brownie...but these were more uniformly thin and crunchy, like a brownie cookie -- exactly as advertised. 

You may not even notice that these crispy, chocolate chip/chunk adorned chocolate squares are also vegan and gluten free (made with a gluten-free flour blend, see Ingredients list below).

Ingredients: "Organic cane sugar, flour blend (oat, garbanzo, sorghum, tapioca and potato starch, fava), organic soymilk (water, soybeans, tricalcium phosphate, potassium citrate, carageenan, magnesium chloride, vitamin E, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin D2, vitamin B2, vitamin B12), cocoa, chocolate chips and chunks (unsweetened chocolate, dextrose, cocoa butter, soy lecithin), margarine (palm oil, mono- and diglycerides, sunflower lecithin, citric acid, beta carotene), leavening (calcium lactate, calcium carbonate, cream of tartar), cellulose gum, modified cellulose, natural flavors, baking soda, sea salt, xanthan gum."

Allergen-related information: Vegan, gluten free. Contains soy.

Saturday, June 12, 2021

Sweet Loren's - Fudgey Brownie Cookie Dough - June 12, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Sweet Loren's
Fudgey Brownie Cookie Dough
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 12 oz. (340 g.) in total package
Calories: 110 calories in 1 cookie 
Cost: $5.99 for 1 package of 12 cookies
Purchased from: Whole Foods Hillsdale, San Mateo, CA 

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate Brownie Theme Week. 

Today's package of gluten free Fudgey Brownie Cookie Dough was from Sweet Loren's, Inc. (New York City, NY).

This refrigerated package contained 12 pre-formed chocolate, chocolate chunk cookies.

These gluten-free, rich, dark, chocolatey cookies did not include eggs or dairy, which enabled the company to offer customers three ways to eat and enjoy these sweet, brownie-like cookies: 1.) rare (unbaked cookie dough), 2.) medium (soft) or well-done (crunchy). 

They were enjoyable in dough, soft or crunchy forms. And it was nice to have unbaked and sliding-scale, home-baked options.

The maker's description (likely of a soft-based version of their cookie) read: "A double chocolate cookie, oozing with the gooeyness of a brownie."

Ingredients: Cane sugar, gluten-free flour blend (oat, tapioca, potato starch), chocolate chunks (sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, vanilla, salt), palm oil*, filtered water, cocoa powder, molasses, sea salt, baking soda.

*Sustainably sourced, RSPO Certified. (The Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) was established in 2004 to promote sustainable palm oil.)

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a dedicated facility free of gluten, wheat, dairy, peanuts, and tree nuts. Made on shared equipment with products containing eggs and soy."

Friday, June 11, 2021

Madre Chocolate - Bahia, Brazil - Limited Edition Chocolate (bar) - June 11, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Madre Chocolate
Bahia, Brazil - Limited Edition 70% Chocolate (bar) 
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 195 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $15.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Chocolate and Brazil Theme Week(s). 

Today's Limited Edition Bahia, Brazil Chocolate (bar) was handcrafted from bean-to-bar on O'ahu, Hawai'i by Nat Bletter and team at Madre Chocolate (Honolulu, HI).

This 70% cacao chocolate had an aroma with seductive dark chocolate notes (rich hot cocoa with a light sprinkle of cinnamon on a cold day). 

The flavor was also blessed with "true" chocolate notes (fudge brownie, dark chocolate cake). This chocolate baked goods taste was enabled by a small quantity of vanilla that added a bit of floral spice. 

Other flavor notes: Very subtle green nut/seed (Jaguar cacao seed/bean); very faint and fleeting spice (very faint star anise + licorice) and tart green (lemon balm, sour grass/wood sorrel (yellow Oxalis stricta* stems and flowers)). Some of these same notes were detectable in other bars made with Brazilian cacao featured in the last two weeks.

Maker's notes: "Directly sourced from Bahia Cacao farm in the main cacao-producing state of Brazil (Bahia), this bar made with cacao from its true origin in South America has a beautiful, subtle nutty flavor that tastes how chocolate was meant to taste."

Note: This was a limited edition bar, and is not be currently available.

Ingredients: Cacao beans, organic sugar, organic cocoa butter, whole vanilla.

*Oxalis is an edible plant (some would argue weed) common in and native to North America, with clover-like green leaves and yellow flowers. This plant has a tart lemony flavor.

As the name oxalis implies, this is (one of many plants that is) rich in oxalic acid. It should be fine to sample (traditionally even considered medicinal) from/in an upsprayed area in small quantities, but should be consumed with care by those with kidney issues. 

Other plant-based foods high in oxalic acid include spinach, beets, and rhubarb, cacao, coffee, black tea, beans, dark beers. and berries and lemon balm (Melissa officinalis). The levels of oxalic acid in these plants (and chocolate) may also vary with growing and processing conditions.

Thursday, June 10, 2021

Mission Chocolate - Dark Goat Milk 56% (bar) - June 10, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Mission Chocolate 
Dark Goat Milk 56% (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 166.5 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.50 (+ summer shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order (late May order)

Welcome to Day #14 of Chocolate and Brazil Theme Week.

Today's Dark Goat Milk 56% (bar) was from Mission Chocolate by Arcelia Gallardo (Sao Paolo, Brazil).

This bar's complex and very subtle aroma had light notes of cocoa, aloe vera gel, orchid, cream; very faint green herb with implied citrus and astringency (lemon verbena, sour grass, lemon geranium lotion); and very faint, fleeting spice (star anise).
 
The flavor was smooth and sweet with balanced, mild flavors and botanical notes: including dark milk chocolate (rich cocoa), dairy cream, fresh-tasting mineral water, forest, and very faint tart green, mild floral, spice (star anise/five spice* blend) and a barely detectable lemon herb cookie note in the finish. 

This was a nuanced, high-class chocolate creme dessert in bar form.

The organic cacao used to make today's chocolate was from Fazenda Venturosa (2019 Harvest) in Bahia, Brazil. This farm/plantation is known for their Para Parazinho cacao (a Forastero cacao variety from Para with small yellow pods. Mission Chocolate founder/chocolate maker, Arcelia Gallardo, has been using this cacao to make this goat milk caramel-inspired bar as well as a 70% dark chocolate bar.

Ingredients: Organic cacao, organic sugar, goat milk powder, cocoa butter.

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of peanut, coconut, tree nuts, and wheat due to shared equipment."

*"Five spice" (aka "Chinese Five Spice") is a spice blend (often in ground or powdered form) that contains: star anise, fennel seeds, Szechuan peppercorns, cinnamon and cloves. Some blends may also contain tiny bits of orange peel and ginger. The overall flavor: star anise with a very light licorice and warm spice edge.

Christopher Elbow - Brazil 70% dark (bar) - June 9, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Christopher Elbow
Brazil 70% dark (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.13 oz. (32 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories (per label) in 1 serving (approximately 1/2 bar)
Cost: $9.95 for 1 bar (+shipping)
Purchased from: Christopher Elbow website, online order

Welcome to Day #13 of Chocolate and Brazil Theme Week.

Today's Brazil 70% dark (bar) was from Christopher Elbow Chocolates (Kansas City, MO). 

This bar had an almost vexingly subtle, layered chocolate aroma with faint dried fruit mix (light goji berry and very faint chardonnay wine grape raisin and freeze-dried banana pieces) floral (very faint cookie, vanilla orchid), and tea (fruit and floral (rose) oolong) notes, as well as a "fresh"/refreshing (mineral water) note that was hard to explain. (I had to smell this chocolate multiple times to pick all these aroma notes out.)

Flavor notes were also very subtle and included light chocolate/cacao; fresh mineral water, faint fruit floral (dried goji berry; freeze-dried banana, light lychee; subtle cacao fruit pulp); faint vanilla sandwich cookie; faint tea; faint light green nut/seed (jaguar cacao (aka pataxte, white cacao) or cacao bicolor seeds); and faint tart, sweet green (lemon verbena, sour grass). The texture was smooth with a very slight astringency.

The 2017 Harvest cacao used to make this single origin Brazil chocolate was from Fazenda Camboa in Bahia, Brazil. This cacao farm has been owned by the Cavalho family for almost 80 years.

The maker's tasting notes: "...chocolatey flavors, with notes of dried fruit and nuts."

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

Allergen-related information: May contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat and milk products.

 

Tuesday, June 8, 2021

Mission Chocolate - Two Rivers 70% (bar) - June 8, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Mission Chocolate 
Two Rivers 70% (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 162 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.50 (+ summer shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #12 of Chocolate and Brazil Theme Week.

Today's Two Rivers (bar) was the creation of Mission Chocolate by Arcelia Gallardo (Sao Paolo, Brazil).

This chocolate bar was a melding of two 70% cacao Brazilian origin chocolates fused together. Today's two-hue chocolate evoked the moment when two mighty rivers (one lighter and one darker in color) come together before the two colors combine into the Amazon River.* 

This was a very creative product idea that related to the cacao's Amazon origins. It also made me think about lighter and darker cacao beans--and, more metaphorically, the yin and yang of chocolate. Below is a review of both sides:

The lighter side had an aroma with faint savory, light leather, dark milk chocolate, faint tart green and ripe sweet red berry. Texture was thick and creamy. Taste: The first bite was tart sweet (lemon balm, sour grass), rich, dark milk chocolate with raspberry jam and peanut butter notes. Note: Although this half of the chocolate bar looked and tasted like a dark milk chocolate, there were just three ingredients listed on the packaging: cacao, organic sugar and cocoa butter for this fusion bar. No milk. 

The darker (ebony-colored) side to this bar broke with a snap; had smooth, dark chocolate texture and flavor; and had notes of faint spice, dark molasses and earth. It also had faint, fleeting notes of tart green-citrus sweetness and peanut butter in the second half of the tasting.

Like many other Brazil bars this week, both the lighter and darker sides of this bar possessed a significant level of natural sweetness, and could easily be mistaken for a 55% and 60-65%% cacao chocolates, respectively.

Ingredients: Cacao, organic sugar, cocoa butter

Allergen-related information: No gluten, soy or milk ingredients. "May contain traces of milk, peanut, coconut, tree nuts, and wheat due to shared equipment.")

*The famous and colorful "meeting of waters" east of Manaus, Brazil, happens when the darker Rio Negro (black water) joins the lighter, latte-colored Solimoes River. These two, different, liquid bands of color flow side by side for a few miles before the two colors blend together, due to their differences in temperature, density, speed and composition. (Waters can be darker if they've picked up plant tannins from slow travel through tree, forests or bogs; and waters can look lighter if they've rapidly run through areas with fine silt/clay/mud particles that have been stirred up.) 

Heinde and Verre - Single Origin Bold Brazil Dark 71% (bar) - June 7, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Heinde and Verre B.V.
Single Origin Bold Brazil Dark 71% (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) in 1 bar of 2 / 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total package of 2 bars
Calories: 200 calories in 1/2 package (1 of 2 bars)
Cost: $9.50 (estimate) (+ shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order (read their tasting notes) 

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Brazil Theme Week.

Today's Single Origin Bold Brazil Dark 71% (bar) was from Heinde and Verre B.V.* (Rotterdam, The Netherlands).

The company selects cacao beans from a single farmer/source. In Brazil, the company direct sources from "Coopoam Farmers Brazil Para Amazon Region." As the best chocolate makers do, Heinde and Verre chocolate makers work with each cacao origin to develop different roast profiles (often using more than one roast for a single batch of bars) to develop unique flavors.

The two, individually-wrapped bars contained in this package offered a convenient way to share with others, or to keep some chocolate fresh (unopened) for a later tasting. 

The chocolate had a thick, creamy melt and texture, and true chocolate (chocolate cake) with concentrated fruit (dried red/dark berry, date) aroma and flavor notes.

The source of the cacao used to make this bar: "Coopoam Farmers Brazil Para Amazon Region." Para is one of the top two cacao-growing states in Brazil. (The other is Bahia.) Located in northern Brazil where the Amazon flows toward the Atlantic Ocean, the area includes the mouth of the Amazon River as it flows toward the Atlantic Ocean. 

Maker's tasting notes: "This Brazilian cacao continuous (sic) to deliver a wide range of flavours. We achieved this by applying multiple roasting profiles on a single origin bean."

Ingredients: Cacao and cacao butter (71%), sugar, sunflower lecithin.

Allergen-related information: (None listed on packaging)

*Heinde and Verre means "near and far" in English. The name "pays homage to the Dutch tradition of sourcing the best ingredients worldwide and combining these with quality local produce."

 

Sunday, June 6, 2021

Akesson's - Brazil Fazenda Sempre Firme 75% Forastero Cocoa (bar) - June 6, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Akesson's
Brazil Fazenda Sempre Firme 75% Forastero Cocoa (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 172.5 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar (+ shipping)
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order 

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Brazil Theme Week. 

Today's Brazil Fazenda Sempre Firme 75% Forastero Cocoa bar (made in France) was from Akesson's (AO Global Sprl, Uccle, Belgium). 

Company founder Bertil Akesson not only specializes in single plantation chocolate, but also has direct cacao plantation experience in Brazil.*

Subtle aroma notes included: brown sugar, faint woodsy, very faint green (lemon balm/sour grass), and very faint warm spice.

Flavor notes: smooth (uniform) dark chocolate with naturally sweet (brown sugar), faint fleeting cream, wood and earth notes. 

Made with a variety of Forastero cacao, the resulting chocolate was less bold/bitter than many other Forastero chocolates. (The roast profile might have been adjusted as a result, leading to a "lighter" flavor.)

Maker's tasting notes: "The chocolate we developed from these beans is smooth, woody and earthy. It has also expressive notes that evoke autumn scents, tobacco and the local pitanga fruit."

Ingredients: Cocoa (min. 75%), cane sugar, pure cocoa butter.

Allergen-related information: May contain traces of nuts, almonds, soya, milk and gluten.

*In 2009, Akesson and a Brazilian partner purchased the historic Fazenda Sempre Firme in Bahia, Brazil. This plantation is located in the Mata Atlantica (the wild forest/rainforest area(s) in Eastern Brazil along the Atlantic coast). They are growing a Forastero variety of cacao called "parasinho."


Saturday, June 5, 2021

Luisa Abram - Rio Jurua 81% - Chocolate Brazilian Amazon Wild Cocoa (bar) - June 5, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Luisa Abram 
Rio Jurua 81% - Chocolate de Cacau Selvagem da Amazonia Brasileira (barra)
(Jurua River 81% - Chocolate from the Brazilian Amazon wild cocoa (bar))
Good +++
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 246 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 (+ shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order 

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Brazil Theme Week.

Today's Rio Jurua 81% Brazilian Amazon wild cocoa (bar) was made by Luisa Abram (San Paolo, Brazil). The company specializes in bean to bar chocolate made with wild cacao from the Amazon. 

The aroma of today's bar (similar to yesterday's Rio Jurua 70% version) was subtle and multi-dimensional. Aroma notes included shifting floral notes (faint rose and pineapple scented geranium blooms), naturally sweet, refreshing/fresh mineral water, other soft floral, fruit and sweet spice (mango, lychee, licorice), and very faint, fleeting roasted green vegetable/potato chip. These notes shifted gently with every re-tasting. 

To me this flowing quality accurately captured the flavors of fresh-picked and eaten cacao fruit (pulp) that surrounds the cacao seeds/beans--flavors with descriptions that vary a lot depending on origin and variety, and often include: citrus, floral, watermelon, pineapple, and many other fruits, while still maintaining its own uniqueness.

Do eat this chocolate slowly, so you can enjoy the scent and flavor treasures that are revealed with this origin. (The visual equivalent: edible flower + green tea balls that "bloom" when hot water is poured over them. Enjoy the experience.)

This 81% cacao bar had a mild complexity and natural sweetness (the opposite of bold, earthy, roasted, bitter chocolates). Flavor notes included very subtle, complex cacao with mild fruit-floral (rose scented geranium flowers), light pineapple cream pudding, light caramelized brown sugar, and very faint vegetable (potato chip). 

I love floral aromas and flavors, and these frequently disappear with heat, longer roasting times and processing in general. So, I'd like to convey much gratitude to the maker for preserving these beautiful Amazon headwater origin notes for us to smell and taste in both Rio Jurua (70% and 81%) bars this week.

The maker's tasting notes: "Flowers in the form of chocolate. Sweetness rises to pitanga and lychee. Reminds crystallised fruits. It ends with perfumed caramel."

Ingredients: Cacao mass, organic cane sugar and cocoa butter.

Allergen-related information: Does not include gluten ingredients. Made in a facility that processes/May contain traces of milk, Brazil nuts and tree nuts.

Friday, June 4, 2021

Luisa Abram - Rio Jurua 70% Brazilian Amazon wild cocoa (bar) - June 4, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Luisa Abram 
Rio Jurua 70% - Chocolate de Cacau Selvagem da Amazonia Brasileira (barra)
(Jurua River 70% - Chocolate from the Brazilian Amazon wild cocoa (bar))
Good +++ 
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 213 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 (+ shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order 

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

Today's award-winning Rio Jurua 70% Brazilian Amazon wild cocoa (bar) was made by Luisa Abram (Sao Paulo, Brazil). The company specializes in bean to bar chocolate made with wild cacao from the Amazon. 

The cacao used to make today's bar came from far inland of the Atlantic coast, in western Brazil along the Rio (River) Jurua--a river (with origins in the mountains of eastern Peru) that runs north through the Brazilian states of Acra and Amazonas. 

The aroma of this wild cocoa chocolate was subtle yet complex with fruit (goji berry, Inca berry), tea (orange blossom, floral oolong tea), herb (lemon balm), faint spice (saffron), vegetable (roasted potato) notes.

The flavors in this fruity, floral smooth dark chocolate included orange blossom and floral, fruit and honey; and very faint, fleeting vegetable/potato chip and brown sugar notes in the finish. This single origin dark chocolate was relatively low in acidity and bitterness making it very approachable as well as flavorful.

The sweetness level itself was also complex. Natural floral and fruit notes (and the absence of bitterness) in the cacao and the organic sugar elevated the perceived sweetness to a pleasing level.

The maker's tasting notes read as follows: "Flowers in the form of chocolate. Sweetness rises to pitanga and lychee. Reminds (reminiscent of) crystallised fruits. It ends with perfumed caramel."

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, organic cane sugar and cocoa butter.

Allergen-related information: Does not include gluten ingredients. Made in a facility that processes/May contain traces of milk, Brazil nuts and tree nuts.

Luisa Abram - Dark Chocolate with Cupuacu (bar) - June 3, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Luisa Abram 
Chocolate Intenso Com Cupuacu (barra)
(Dark Chocolate with Cucuacu (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 220 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 (+ shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order 

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Brazil Theme Week.

Today's Chocolate Intenso Com Cupuacu (bar) was from Luisa Abram (Sao Paulo, Brazil). The company specializes in bean to bar chocolate made with wild cacao from the Amazon. 

The aroma notes emanating from this bar included: candied cupuacu* (similar to a blend of guava, passion fruit, papaya) and bold dark chocolate.

This relatively robust but smooth dark chocolate was smooth, with the tiny squares of candied cupuacu adding chewy, dried fruit texture and pops of interesting fruit flavor that at times harmonized with the chocolate and at times provided a dynamic contrast, that I came to like more over the re-tasting experience.

Flavor notes: The fairly intense, earthy dark chocolate had medium acidity with a touch of fruit. The cupuacu pieces contributed pops of complex sweet and sour candied fruit flavor -- that also had fleeting boozy, fermented, woodsy evergreen/pine and apricot and pineapple notes.

Ingredients: Cacao mass, cupuacu candy, organic cane sugar and cocoa butter.

Allergen-related information: Does not include gluten ingredients. Made in a facility that processes/May contain traces of milk, Brazil nuts and tree nuts.

*Cupuacu is a fruit (Theobroma grandiflorum) that shares some traits with cacao (Theobroma cacao). Both originated in South America and grow in Brazil and have pods that contain large seeds that are surrounded by pulpy light colored fruit. 

Cupuacu fruit is used in a variety of desserts.  The candied fruit is made from a white pulpy fruit inside of a pod...and is a member of the cacao family??

Thursday, June 3, 2021

Gallette Chocolates - 85% Cacao Brasil - Mata Atlantica (Rainforest) (bar) - June 2, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Gallette Chocolates
85% Cacao Brasil - Mata Atlantica (Rainforest) (bar)
Good ++ = Good +++
Weight: 1.51 oz. (43 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 240 calories in 1 serving (9 squares) of bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information 

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Brazil (Brasil) Theme Week. 

Today's 85% Cacao Dark Chocolate Mata Atlantica Rainforest Brasil (bar) was from Gallette Chocolates LTDA - EPP (Sao Paulo, Brazil).

Aroma notes included: dark, roasted cacao, faint leather, salt and earth; roasted nut butter.

The bar had a thick, creamy fudge texture and melt.

The chocolate flavor: rich, dark, roasted cacao with medium acidity, a fleeting hint of green, and not too sweet. (Thank you, I'm always looking for less sweet, ultra-dark bars to love.)

Ingredients: Cocoa, sugar and cocoa butter.

Allergen-related information: May contain traces of milk, soy, almond, Brazil nuts, cashew, macadamia nuts, coconut, walnuts, wheat and peanuts.
 

Tuesday, June 1, 2021

Gallette Chocolates - 65% Cacao Dark Chocolate Catongo Cacao Bahia Brazil - June 1, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Gallette Chocolates
65% Cacao Dark Chocolate Catongo Cacao Bahia Brazil (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.51 oz. (43 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 220 calories in 1 serving (9 squares) of bar
Cost: $8.35 for 1 bar (+ shipping)
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order 

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Brazil Theme Week. 

Today's 65% Cacao Dark Chocolate Catongo Cacao Bahia Brazil (bar) was from Gallette Chocolates LTDA - EPP (Sao Paulo, Brazil).

This chocolate had a subtle, sequentially complex chocolate aroma with faint earth, quickly moving to refreshing oolong tea, cocoa, tart-sweet, green herb (lemon balm, sour grass), and finally light wood notes.

The melt and texture were smooth and uniform.

Flavor notes for this relatively sweet 65% bar included chocolate cake, brownie, faint fruity oolong tea, and fleeting, very light earth.

The Catongo cacao (a light-colored mutation of Forastero cacao) used to create this bar was from the State of Bahia--the largest cocoa-producing state in Brazil.

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, sugar and cocoa butter. 

Allergen-related information: May contain traces of milk, soy, almond, Brazil nuts, cashew, macadamia nuts, coconut, walnuts, wheat and peanuts.
 

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