Tuesday, November 9, 2021

Wm. Chocolate - Classic Dark 70% Dominican Republic Single Origin (bar) - Nov. 9, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Wm. Chocolate LLC
Classic Dark - 70% Cacao Dominican Republic Single Origin (bar)
Good +++
Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 144 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Wm. Chocolate, online order 

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Hispaniola Theme Weeks, focusing this week on the Dominican Republic side of the island.

Today's Classic Dark 70% Cacao Dominican Republic Single Origin (bar) was produced by Wm. Chocolate LLC (Madison, WI). 

Aroma notes included (in order of appearance) brown sugar; a subtle, shifting blend of dried fruit (plum/prune/date/fig/banana); dark chocolate; very faint and fleeting vegetable (cooked potato); a faint green floral fruit riff (custard apple); and clear fudge brownie.

After a soft-spoken, short flurry of faint brown sugar, very faint herb-spice and delicate fruit notes, the chocolate flavors resolved into high-end fudge brownie, followed by occasional pop-up appearances from invisible tropical fruit(s); and high-end chocolate torte with a whisper of sea salt. And after I thought the flavor show was over, there were a few more very faint notes of delicious earth* and fruit. 

This was a well-balanced, masterfully executed bar with plenty of layered aroma and flavor notes.

Maker's notes/description: "...smooth dark chocolate sweetened with traditional whole cane sugar."

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic unrefined cane sugar, organic cacao butter

Allergen-related information: "No soy, dairy, grain, nuts, refined sugar, or animal products."  

*The phrase "earth notes" covers a lot of territory and can refer to harsher dirt notes, something more balanced and loamy (light mushroom), savory clay, clean mineral (think sidewalks after a rain), or even chalky notes. 

Occasionally you'll hear makers mention "forest floor" notes that might evoke a walk through a rainforest. 

In today's case, this earth note was one of the most pleasing, balanced earth chocolate notes I remember tasting. It was a light two-note chord with a soft, chocolatey, almost nutty, earthiness and a lighter, tropical fruit (almost lychee but not quite)--both arriving on the palette at the same time. 

I'm always grateful for mysterious and beautiful notes like this.

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