Sunday, October 17, 2021

Sibu/Sibo Chocolate - Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao Toasted Almonds Costa Rica (bar) - Oct. 17, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Sibu/Sibo Chocolate
Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao Toasted Almonds Costa Rica (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $6.50 (+ shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Welcome to Day #14 of Chocolate and Central America Week(s), featuring chocolates made using cacao grown in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

Today's Sibu/Sibo* Chocolate Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao Toasted Almonds (bar) was made in Costa Rica by Chocoindustria Cinco S.A. (Escazu in San Jose Province, Costa Rica). 

Happily, not only was the cacao used to make this chocolate grown in Costa Rica (in the Brunca region in southern Costa Rica), the chocolate bar was made (further north) in Costa Rica as well.** 

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate with diffuse concentrated/dried fruit, and roasted nut.

The texture had a smooth dark chocolate base accented with soft, cacao nib-like crunchy bits ( roasted almond pieces) with very faint earth, olive, roasted coffee, nut and malt that lingered lightly into a clean finish.

I loved the balanced dark and nut flavors; and, perhaps best of all (for my taste) this Costa Rica chocolate was refreshingly un-sweet for a 70% cacao chocolate bar. (Thank you!)

Maker's tasting notes: "Flavor profile: spice, with notes of dried fruit and a nutty finish."

Ingredients: Chocolate (cacao beans, cane sugar, cacao butter), almonds.

Allergen-related information: "Contains: almonds. May contain traces of soy, milk and cashews."

*The company name "Sibo" Chocolate (with an umlaut over the "o") seems to be used in the United States. Whereas "Sibu" may be in use in Costa Rica. An umlaut can be used over a vowel to denote a change in pronunciation.

** Chocolates made "in country" (in the same country where the cacao was grown) have gotten easier to find in the U.S. But, the vast majority of bars in stores are still manufactured in the northern hemisphere (North America or Europe). Why?

Traditionally, reasons for this have included: the need for sophisticated (more expensive) manufacturing facilities and reliable utility infrastructure (precise temperature and humidity control(s) are important in chocolate-making). 

Cooler temperatures in the northern (and southern) hemispheres help extend shelf life for chocolates. Cacao has grows plus or minus 20 degrees from the Equator. And most chocolate manufacturing seems to take place closer to 35 to 50 degrees from the Equator. 

Last, an inconvenient truth is that, wealthier chocolate consumers often live north (and south) of tropical, cacao-growing latitudes--markets closer to more sophisticated manufacturing facilities.

When cacao is/can be produced "in-country," more wealth tends to stay in the country of origin.


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