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.

 

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