Saturday, February 27, 2021

Letterpress Chocolate - Bachelor's Hall Jamaica 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Feb. 27, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Letterpress Chocolate LLC
Bachelor's Hall Jamaica 70% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 330 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information

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

This Bachelor's Hall Jamaica 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) was made by LetterPress Chocolate LLC (Los Angeles, CA). 

This 70% chocolate bar had a smooth dark chocolate (brownie) aroma, with an almost creamy melt and texture. It had uniform chocolate brownie flavor with tangy (mildly acidic) red fruit (pomegranate, red berry) notes.

The maker's tasting notes read as follows: "Starfruit, mocha, spice."

Ingredients: Cacao beans, organic unrefined cane sugar, organic cocoa butter

Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate - Jamaica Bachelor's Hall Limited Release 75% (bar) - Feb. 26, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate
Jamaica Bachelor's Hall Limited Release 75% (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.4 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 240 calories in 3/4 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from:  Dick Taylor, online order

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Jamaica Theme Week.

Today's Jamaica Bachelor's Hall Limited Release 75% (bar) was handcrafted by the makers at Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate in Eureka, California. The cacao used to make this bar was grown on an estate (farm) in eastern Jamaica.

This attractively-packaged, Limited Release (Batch No. 70072) dark chocolate bar started with a dark, complex aroma with balanced earthy and dark chocolate notes. After the inner, sealed packaging had been open for a minute, the earthiness receded and concentrated fruit (dried apricot, prune) and very faint spice notes came to the fore. A minute later, traces of green appeared. 

And after tasting the bar, and going back to just smelling the chocolate to revisit the lovely bouquet of aroma notes, a faint, freshly baked rye bread note appeared and disappeared. I gave this bar an A for Aroma.* 

The flavor in this well-executed,** two ingredient bar was more uniform than the aroma, with deep, dark and very satisfying with a slow, creamy melt. Think very high-end, ultra dark brownies with a small side of fresh, cold cream or whole milk. (There was no milk or dairy in this bar.) This deep chocolate flavor lingered into the finish.

The maker's tasting notes read as follows: "apricot, graham cracker, dates"

Ingredients: Cacao, organic cane sugar

*Smell is an essential part of taste; but we perceive the differences and/or separation between these two senses. In some chocolates, the aroma and flavor notes are almost one and the same. And in other cases, the aroma is different from what we can taste. These variations can be understood via many long and technical explanations; but sometimes it's best to just sit back and take the time to notice and enjoy the overall sensory experience and how it unfolds-- especially if you're on a voyage with a great chocolate maker at the helm. Today was one of those days.

**I use the words attractively packaged, well executed, and two-ingredient bar in almost every review I've written about Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate bars. Here are a few more words: Adam Dick and Dustin Taylor have been very consistently producing well crafted, very high-quality chocolate for years now, and we are very grateful.


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