Chocolate of the Day
MIA
Ghana Gold - Creamy Cashew Milk Chocolate 55% Cocoa (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 250 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $2.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA
Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Ghana Theme Week.
Today's MIA Ghana Gold - Creamy Cashew Milk Chocolate 55% Cocoa (bar) was a product of Ghana and distributed by Kuanza Ltd. (London, UK).
MIA produces chocolates (bars) made using cacao grown in Africa; and, more significantly, produces finished chocolate in two African countries (Madagascar and Ghana). Only a small percent of chocolate bars are made from bean to bar in Africa.
This chocolate was part of the company's "Ghana Gold" series of bars (announced in 2022) made with single origin Ghana cacao.*
This bar had creamy, smooth very finely ground nut butter texture. And aroma and flavor notes for this included: cocoa (ganache), sweet green (honeydew melon), faint floral, and nut cookie.
The cashew milk helped moderate the sweetness of this 55% cacao chocolate; and the finish was relatively mild.
Ingredients: Cocoa mass, cane sugar, cashews (12%), cocoa butter, emulsifier (sunflower lecithin), salt. Minimum cocoa solids: 55%.
Allergen-related information: (Contained cashews.) "May contain traces of tree nuts, peanuts and milk."
*MIA is a brand of Kuanza Ltd. MIA co-founders, Brett Beach and Sarah Lescrauwaet, lived in Africa for seven years. While Africa produces the bulk (approximately 70%) of the world's cacao, only 1% of finished chocolate is produced in Africa.
Brett and Sarah saw an opportunity to make finished chocolate "in country" where the farmers and producer communities can benefit from proceeds that normally flow out of Africa and into manufacturing centers in other nations.
