Friday, February 5, 2021

Marou - Coconut Milk and 55% Ben Tre Single Origin Vietnam (bar) - Feb. 5, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat
(Marou Chocolate Makers)
Coconut Milk and 55% Ben Tre Single Origin Vietnamese Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 225 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order 

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

Today's Coconut Milk and 55% Ben Tre Single Origin Vietnamese Chocolate (bar) was created by Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat,* chocolate makers (based in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), Vietnam, and with a presence further north in Hanoi as well). This chocolate bar was imported into the U.S. by A Priori Specialty Food (Salt Lake City, UT).

Marou makes single province/region chocolate from cacao grown in southern Vietnam. The cacao in today's bar was grown in Ben Tre--a province known for coconut farming--where the great Mekong River delta has created rich soil for agriculture in general.

Like other dark milk chocolate and coconut milk bars featured this week, this one had a silken texture, with a slow, increasingly creamy melt. The only potential down side to this lovely coconut milk attribute is that (like dairy milk) and sugar, coconut milk can obscure cacao flavors. I generally have preferred slightly higher cacao percentage (60%+ cacao) coconut dark milk chocolates for this reason.

Thankfully, today's Vietnam 55% chocolate (made with Trinitario cacao) did have more detectable cacao flavor. Some balanced, acidic/fruit cacao flavor notes managed to shine through. It helped that cacao nibs were the first ingredient listed (see below for complete ingredients list).

Ingredients: cacao nibs, sugar, coconut powder, cacao powder. 

*Marou Chocolate Makers was co-founded in 2010 by Sam Maruta and Vincent Mourou, who had banking and advertising backgrounds (but, they're much more 3D than this), respectively. 

The company name "Marou" appears to be a melding of the two co-founders last names; and there is also a reference that points to its translation as meaning "gift of God." 

Well, either way, their chocolate bars that I've seen in the last ten years have been beautifully packaged and have offered a great tasting experience. Today's 55% dark milk coconut bar was swathed in an outer wrapper with a spring green and ivory background pattern, stamped shiny gold cacao pod, flower and cloud design elements. Suitable for framing.




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