Hu Kitchen - Hazelnut Coffee Dark Chocolate (bar) - Sept. 6, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Hu Kitchen

Hazelnut Coffee Dark Chocolate (bar)

Good ++

Weight: 1.05 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar

Calories: 180 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $6.59 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Nuts Theme Week.

Today's Hazelnut Coffee Dark Chocolate (bar) was distributed by Hu Products LLC (Austin, TX). The company got its start with Hu Kitchen in New York City; and they now offer a variety of chocolates and snacks (gems, hunks, grain-free cookies, other) made with organic and paleo-friendly ingredients.

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate (dark ganache with tart green citrus (oxalis/oxalic acid)); nut cookie (hazelnut, coconut sugar and vanilla); and coffee (slightly tart fruit (berry, citrus) with a balanced acidity and the sharp (wake-up) fresh aroma that coffee provides.

This Organic, Fairtrade 70% cacao dark bar had a slightly stoneground texture with rich, relatively well-preserved cacao, coffee and nut flavors that included notes of fruit (berry, citrus), vanilla nut, and coffee, with fleeting faint earth.

The tiny bits of hazelnut contributed crunchy texture and diffuse nutty flavor. 

The only potential down-side for nut lovers, the sweet nuances of the hazelnut were a bit overwhelmed by its (bolder) fellow ingredients. But, if you like flavor layering--and want an organic, lightly infused hazelnut and vanilla coffee blended with smooth, 70% dark drinking chocolate--you may enjoy this relatively complex bar.

Ingredients: Organic cacao, organic unrefined coconut sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic hazelnuts, organic coffee, organic vanilla bean. (Fairtrade cocoa and cocoa butter and coffee: mass balance is used to match Fairtrade sourcing, total 65%.) Visit info.fairtrade.net/sourcing

Allergen-related information: Contains hazelnut and coconut. "May contain traces of almond and cashew. Allergen cleans made prior to production, but beware that product is produced using equipment that also processes tree nuts, soy, peanuts, milk and wheat."