Sunday, February 28, 2021

Pump Street Chocolate - Jamaica 75% Bachelor's Hall Estate (bar) - March 2, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Pump Street Chocolate 
Jamaica 75% Bachelor's Hall Estate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .706 oz. (20 g.) in 1 small bar
Calories: 97.6 calories in 1 small bar
Cost: $4.00 for 1 small bar + shipping
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Jamaica 75% Bachelor's Hall Estate (bar) was from Pump Street Chocolate--bakers and chocolate makers based in Suffolk, England.

Single origin chocolate bars have become more available in smaller sizes in the past few years. This conveniently sized (single serving) package is great for sampling/small group tastings. It was also well-sealed, allowing the chocolate's flavors to stay well preserved. And I could tuck this small bar into my pack for a solo hike without worrying about possible meltage issues. (Buy a larger size if you want to share with others.)

The aroma included rich dark chocolate and very faint, well-balanced umami/smoke, licorice, and green notes. 

The flavor had true dark chocolate (cake, brownie) flavor with faint fermented cream, concentrated fruit (cherry and honey fruitcake), and very faint earth notes.

Personal notes: Good choice on Pump Street's part to go with a darker percentage (75% vs. 70% cacao) for this cacao/chocolate. It helped showcase the cacao's abundance of natural flavor(s) and balanced the sugar/sweetness. Flavors were nicely balanced/managed. Can't wait to try the 90% version tomorrow.

Pump Street Chocolate's tasting notes read as follows: "Initially rich, a satisfying melt releases hints of sweet, juicy berries before rounding into a distinctive honeyed rum finish. Serendipitous for a Jamaican bar"..."Chocolate made in Suffolk with beans sourced from a single farm."

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, cane sugar, organic cocoa butter. 

Armstrong - Jamaica 70% (bar) - Feb. 28, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Armstrong Chocolate
Jamaica 70% (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.05 oz. (29.7 g.) / 2.1 oz. (59.4 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 167 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA 

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

Today's Jamaica 70% (bar) was made by Armstrong Chocolate (Chico, CA). Matthew Armstrong produced this bar, and other micro-batch, bean-to-bar, single origin bars as well as chocolates with flavor inclusions.*

This bar was made using cacao grown at Bachelors Hall Estate in Jamaica. The cacao beans used in this bar, and most of the other Jamaica single origin bars featured this week, came from the same estate/farm (and the same farmer)--located in St. Thomas Parish in eastern Jamaica. Armstrong describes the bar's origins this way:

"The beans are ethically sourced from Desmond Jadusingh and his 300 acre cacao estate in Jamaica. With exceptional post-harvest management, Desmond's cacao has gained high praise within the fine chocolate community. These exclusive beans are carefully roasted, refined and tempered for your enjoyment."

There are other examples of sought-after farmers/farms like this in the craft chocolate world. It's nice when makers give them public credit. Makers need great beans to make great chocolates. 

The resulting 70% cacao Armstrong bar offered true chocolate (fudge brownie) and bright, red fruit (red cherry, sweet red banana, lightly fermented cacao fruit/pulp**) aroma and flavor notes. The same balanced, chocolate brownie batter + tart-sweet fruit flavor lingered a bit into the finish.

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

*Unfortunately, it appears that Armstrong paused or ceased production last year (2020). We hope that he decides to return to chocolate-making in the future.

**Cacao fruit (or more accurately pulp) surrounds a core of large cacao seeds (aka the cacao beans) in cacao fruit (pods). Once pods are harvested and split open, the ivory-colored fruit pulp starts to ferment very quickly, making it tough to transport. And so (unless flash frozen on-site) few people will get to taste this lovely fruit with tangy citrus, floral and fruit candy notes. 

I've tasted cacao pulp that was a dead ringer for watermelon Jolly Rancher candy, while other cacao fruit pulp had decidedly milder citrus (tangerine), lighter mango-melon, and/or citrus-floral notes. Flavors vary with cacao variety and origin.

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