Thursday, January 12, 2023

Patricia's Chocolate - Spartan Bar - Michigan Cherries, Pistachio Nuts - Jan.12, 2023

Chocolate of the Day 

Patricia's Chocolate 
"Spartan Bar" 58% Cacao + Michigan Cherry, Blueberry; Pistachio Nut; Fleur de Sel
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) in total piece
Calories: 158 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $4.25 (estimate) for 1 piece
Purchased from: Patricia's Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Week.

Today's 58% cacao dark chocolate "Spartan Bar" with Michigan cherries and blueberries, pistachio nuts and Fleur de Sel (sea salt) was from Patricia's Chocolate (handmade in Grand Haven, MI). 

This Spartan Bar was one of three in a Michigan-shaped bar series (created in 2010) from this company--all in the shape of (lower, mitten-shaped) Michigan. This one was embellished with a small, hand-piped green heart candy (for the Michigan State University Spartans; green is their school color). 

The back of this chocolate was "embedded with Grand Traverse dried cherries and South Haven blueberries, pistachio nuts, and Fleur de Sel, from Brittany."

Aroma notes included: sweet dark chocolate, marshmallow and vanilla.

The texture was a blend of smooth (chocolate), chewy (cherries) and crunchy (nuts).

Flavors: smooth, almost creamy, sweet dark chocolate was interspersed with dried cherry, subtle blueberry, crunchy pistachio nuts, and tiny sparkles of sea salt. I enjoyed the mixture of flavors. The fleur de sel sea salt was a nice touch; it helped balance the sweetness.

The base chocolate had--from what I could pick out among the other flavors--upticks of vanilla and gentle earth, and very faint menthol notes.

This Michigan-shaped bar was a higher quality chocolate offering than most novelty chocolates. I also enjoyed the fact that the cherries in today's entry were linked to the origin/creation location. While California (where I live), Washington and Oregon are leaders in sweet cherry production, Michigan is the number one producer of tart cherries in the U.S.--and number four in sweet cherry production. Go Michigan and Patricia!

Ingredients: 58% Dark Non-GMO Couverture Chocolate (Certified Fair Trade cacao bean, cane sugar, cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin and vanilla bean), Michigan cherries, Michigan dried blueberry, pistachio nut, fleur de sel sea salt.

Allergen-related information: (Contained pistachio nuts.) No other information listed on small label for this novelty chocolate piece shaped like the State of Michigan.


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