Wednesday, September 8, 2021

Tosier Chocolatemaker - 70% Tumaco, Colombia (bar) - Sept. 8, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Tosier Chocolatemaker
Tumaco, Colombia 70% (cacao) (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 329.4 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $10.00 (+ summer shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Tumaco, Colombia 70% dark chocolate (bar) was from Tosier Chocolatemaker, a bean-to-bar, small batch maker located in Gipping Valley, Suffolk, UK.

The company makes vegan, microbatch, craft chocolate bars using "single origin cocoa."

Tumaco is on the west/Pacific coast side of Colombia. Crops grown in this area (many by subsistence farmers) include coconuts, plaintains, palm oil and cacao. The "indigenous variety" cacao used to make this bar was "intercropped (in a biodiverse setting) with timber, fruit trees, corn and beans."

Colombia also produces a large amount of coffee for export. Tosier also offers a stoneground 70% dark bar with single estate Colombian coffee.

Today's bar was similar to some other Colombia bars this week. It had a very subtle aroma with sweet dark chocolate, faint tart green (oxalis) and citrus notes and had a smooth texture with a slight astringency.

The flavor notes (in order of appearance) included tart green herb (wood sorrel, sour grass, oxalis), citrus (light, tart, acidic sweet lemon, green apple), refreshing green (light green tea with a very faint green floral) sweet molasses and toffee, fleeting earth, and barely there pleasant savory and coffee.

Tosier flavour and production notes read: "Caramel, nuts and molasses" and "light roast, 60 hours grinding in stone melanger with refiner."

Ingredients: "Cocoa beans, organic unrefined cane sugar, ethically sourced cocoa butter"

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of nuts." (Plant-based with no added gluten, dairy, additives or palm oil.)

Arete - Colombia Tumaco 56% dark milk chocolate - Sept. 8, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Arete Fine Chocolate
Colombia Tumaco 56% Dark Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 178 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar 
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information

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

Today's Colombia Tumaco 56% Dark Milk Chocolate (bar) was made by David and Leslie Senk of Arete Fine Chocolate.
 
Arete closed their doors of their factory/shop in Tennessee in March 2020. I am hoping they might re-open one day and/or at least return to chocolate making in the future. The couple (formerly located in California) have earned a well-deserved reputation for great chocolate  

I have been hanging on to this Arete (full disclosure, now-expired) Colombia Tumaco bar for a special occasion like this week (Colombia Theme Week and my birthday week).

This was a delicious dark milk chocolate bar, from the luxurious melt and smooth, creamy texture to the complex and subtle flavors.

It had very subtle and balanced flavor notes that included faint fruit (muffled apricot, plum jams), green herb (very light licorice infused green tea), very light earth, chocolate gingerbread molasses, freshly baked sourdough bread with butter and peach jam.

Was it still good? Yes, it was! Well executed and well-tempered chocolate like this tends to hold up (if stored properly in a cool, dark place). Thank you Arete!

Ingredients: Cocoa beans (Colombia, Tumaco), organic whole milk powder, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter.

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, wheat, soy due to the use of shared equipment."

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