Friday, January 28, 2022

Ritter Sport - Cacao Selection - 81% Cacao Extra Intense Dark Chocolate (Ghana) (bar) - Jan. 27, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Ritter Sport
Cacao Selection 81% Cacao Extra Intense Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.16 oz. (32 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 8 pieces (32 g.) of bar
Cost: $2.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Ghana Theme Week. 

Today's Ritter Sport Cacao Selection 81% Cacao Extra Intense Dark Chocolate (bar) from Alfred Ritter GmbH and Co. KG (Waldenbuch, Germany) was made with cocoa beans from Ghana.

Like other square-shaped Ritter bars, this ultra-dark chocolate (introduced in 2020) was easily divided into tinier squares for eating or sharing with others.

Aroma notes for this chocolate included bold true chocolate (deep dark brownie) with balanced tannic* earth (faint wood bark tannin, peat bog) that I associate more with Forastero cacao.

The 81% dark chocolate had a smooth, uniform melt and texture, and uniform flavor.

This chocolate had a deep dark chocolate flavor--true chocolate (deep, dark brownie), very faint dark caramel, and a sustained tannic forest earth (wood, peat bog) note. 

Tannic acids in green plants and fruits can be acidic and astringent (e.g. red wines, black tea, unripe pomegranate or persimmon); however, this tannin note conjured up visions of deep, ancient woods/earth, with a very subtle aged black walnut note. 

This did not taste acidic. In fact, while related, tannins are not the same as tannic acid.* And while I was expecting (from the aroma) to run into acid or astringency (or bitterness) in the flavor, this didn't really happen. 

The "peat" flavor was more organic and less acidic. And it was also less smokey/carbon-y than, say, peat bog water and/or peat bog fire smoke associated with drying barley used to make Scotch Islay whiskey (ies); but it did invite this comparison, as I was fishing around for how to describe this chocolate.

Ingredients: Chocolate liquor (made from cocoa beans from Ghana), sugar, cocoa butter. 

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, soy and egg."

*Tannins are plant (polyphenolic) compounds found in roots, barks and leaves of plants and trees. (Cocoa beans contain tannins. More robust, bold Forastero varieties of cacao grown in West African countries like Ghana can contain higher amounts of tannins than some other, more "delicate" fine-flavored cacao varieties.)

Tannic acid is a specific form of tannin, that can be found in soils or compost where plants and trees have decomposed near water (swamps). Peat bogs tend to be acidic and high in tannins. Waters with tannic acid are often dark brown in color. 

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