Thursday, September 29, 2022

Marou Bar - Dark Chocolate 64% Tropical Fruits and Roasted Cashews - Sept. 29, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat
Marou Bar - Dark Chocolate 64% Tropical Fruits and Roasted Cashews 
Good ++
Weight: 1.2 oz. (35 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1 snack bar
Cost: $3.20 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Vietnam Theme Week. 

Today's Dark Chocolate 64% Tropical Fruits and Roasted Cashews Marou Bar was from Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam), and Imported by A Priori Specialty Food (Salt Lake City, UT) into the U.S. 

Founded in 2011, by Samuel Maruta and Vincent Mourou, team Marou (a name that blends the founders' surnames) sources cacao from several provinces in southern Vietnam.

Aroma notes for this "bite-sized adventure," single origin (Vietnam) chocolate bar included: complex, high-end dark chocolate and fruit (citrus, mango, other diffuse tropical fruit, berry and very faint fruity floral).

The textural blend of smooth, rich dark chocolate was interspersed with chewy, flavorful fruits and small chunks of crunchy nutty pieces was satisfying, as were the flavors.

While the well-sealed package looked like a fancy "snack bar" this was truly a high-end single origin craft chocolate bar (dark, smooth, with a faint, fleeting and balanced earth note) with flavor inclusions: roasted nuts (cashews) and dried fruits (mango, faint passion fruit and citrus (kumquat). The latter contributed bursts of tart sweet flavors that complemented the nuts and chocolate very nicely. 

This 64% cacao chocolate was not too sweet (thank you). The dried tropical fruits provided the touch of bright sweet orange sunshine, just as the orange and gold packaging colors suggested might be the case.

Ingredients: Cacao nibs, cane sugar, cashews, cacao butter, dried mango, dried passion fruit,  dried kumquat.

Allergen-related information: Contains cashews. "Manufactured in a facility that also processes milk, tree nuts, peanuts, eggs."



Zotter - Dark Choco with Coconut and Mango (bar) - Sept. 28, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Zotter
Dark Choco with Coconut and Mango (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 210 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Zotterusa.com

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Mango Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week. 

This Zotter Dark Choco with Coconut and Mango bar ("Sweetened only by Fruit") was made in Austria and distributed by Zotter Chocolates US LLC (Cape Coral, FL).

This uniquely-shaped ("Squaring the Circle") bar was both circle and square (one shape melded in with the other) and was adorned with circles and squares in a grid pattern, with a hole in the middle. 

The chocolate also had a unique, uniform thick, creamy smooth texture. More on that below.

The aroma and flavor notes for this bar were similar, and included: chocolate, various shades of nuanced and unsweetened coconut, faint coconut cookie, and subtle, green fruit (citrus, orange stone fruit).

In addition to the creative, geometric shape(s), I enjoyed two other unique aspects of today's chocolate: 1.) the texture, and 2.) the lack of cane (or other non-fruit) sugar. 

The thick, creamy texture went beyond the usual cocoa buttery (or cocoa butter and coconut milk) smoothness and was enhanced with coconut powder (see ingredients list below). This coconut powder blend contributed texture with thick and creamy heft; and richly nuanced--subtle not sweet--coconut taste. 

Many bars include (overly) sweetened coconut that can mask underlying flavors and textural possibilities. Thankfully this bar did not.

Coconut and mango (and the implied baked good sweetness of the added vanilla) added natural sweetness as well as flavor depth. Yes, added sugar can add brightness. But, I'll take nuanced, more "authentic" flavors any day.

Ingredients: Organic, fair trade cocoa mass; organic, fair trade toasted coconut (21%); organic dried mangos (10%); organic coconut powder 8% (organic coconut paste, organic coconut cream, organic coconut flour); organic vanilla bean powder, salt.

Allergen-related information: Contains coconut. "Manufactured on equipment that processes other tree nuts, peanuts, milk sesame and soy."


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