Karuna Chocolate - Date Sugar Dolcificante Ai Datteri Dark Chocolate 80% (bar) - June 15, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Karuna Chocolate 
Date Sugar Dolcificante Ai Datteri Dark Chocolate 80% (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 154 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $14.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Italy Theme Week.

Today's Date Sugar Dolcificante Ai Datteri Dark Chocolate 80% (bar) was from Karuna Chocolate (Velturno, Belzano/South Tyrol, in northern Italy).  

The cacao used to make this bold dark chocolate was from Oko Caribe in El Cibao Region, Duarte Province, in north central Dominican Republic.

Aroma notes included: bold dark chocolate and very faint dried fruit (date and very faint caramelized dried, green banana), and very faint brown sugar.

The chocolate had a creamy, thick melt and smooth texture.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate (deep, dark fudge, subtle earth, roasted cacao), faint dried fruit, and very faint sparkles of clean mineral water and barely there dark, bitter stout and dark roasted nuts. Instead of being sweetened with cane sugar, the maker(s) chose to use date powder, giving it a very faint date/brown sugar flavor. 

This made "without added sugar" ultra-dark bar had a balanced bitterness, and a relatively subtle fruit acidity.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans*, date powder*, cocoa butter*; Cocoa min. 80% (* certified organic)

Allergen-related information:  "It may contain traces of nuts."

Karuna Chocolate - Dominican Republic Dark Chocolate 80% (bar) - June 14, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Karuna Chocolate 
Dominican Republic Dark Chocolate 80% (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 157 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Italy Theme Week.

Today's Dominican Republic Dark Chocolate 80% (bar) was from Karuna Chocolate (Velturno, BZ/South Tyrol, in northern Italy).  

Aroma notes included: pleasing dark chocolate (dark rich cocoa), subtle dried fruit (plum) and faint brown sugar.

This 80% bar, made with cacao grown in the Dominican Republic, had a creamy smooth melt and texture.

Flavor notes included: deep, rich dark chocolate (cocoa, fudge brownie), balanced stone fruit (plum, nectarine) acidity, very light sweet green, brown sugar, and very faint ale/porter, soft earth and fleeting warm spice, nut, and clean mineral water.

I really enjoyed this satisfyingly complex ultra-dark chocolate. It had very balanced, mild bitterness, and a wonderfully nuanced bouquet of single origin cacao and raw sugar notes.

Ingredients: "Cocoa beans*, raw cane sugar*, cocoa butter* (Cocoa min. 80%) (*certified organic)"

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of nuts" 

Rimini - Hazelnut, Sicilian Pistachio & Italian Espresso Chocolates - June 13, 2023

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Rimini Chocolate
1.) Hazelnut - Good ++ - Good +++
2.) Sicilian Pistachio - Good ++ 
3.) Italian Espresso - Good ++ - Good +++

Weight: 3 pieces out of a total 25-piece box
Calories: (No information; this was a gift)
Cost: $ N/A - gift from family (Thank you Megan!)
Purchased from: N/A - Mother's Day gift

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

Today's Hazelnut, Sicilian Pistachio and Italian Espresso chocolates were from Rimini Chocolate (Colorado). 

After spending time in Rimini, Italy, owner and chocolatier Michael Schneider opened two Italian-inspired gelato and chocolate shops in Vail and Beaver Creek (CO) in the U.S.

These attractive, Italian-inspired, filled chocolates were skillfully executed blends of texture and taste. Flavor notes included rich, smooth dark/bittersweet chocolate and delicious soft, flowing caramel ganache flavored centers. 

The Hazelnut chocolate had almost impossibly silky smooth, sweet filling with authentic,  appealing hazalnut/gianduja flavor. The thin, attractively decorated dark chocolate shell had balanced boldness (very faint, fleeting earth) that helped balance the sweetness and natural nut flavor. The layered chocolate and hazelnut flavors were in perfect balance with each other.

Sicilian Pistachio very faint oxalis in aroma. Much like an excellent Italian pistachio gelato, the authentic pistachio flavor bloomed gradually after the first bite. And the texture of the filling was, like the Hazelnut, silky smooth.

 And the Italian Espresso was a faithful rendering of this most satisfying beverage.

Rimini describes their Italian Espresso filled chocolate this way: "...This...Tuscan pick-me-up presents rich caramel infused with fresh roasted Italian style espresso surrounded by dark chocolate." The texture, like almost all the chocolates in this collection was superb: silky smooth, almost whipped, yet very rich. 

This was a caramel, mocha cappuccino to remember. If I lived in Colorado, I would try out their gelato flavors as well. I'm sure they are good.

The centers were flavorful (and just a little bit salty like other ones?? or no). And the flavors were high-end, fresh and authentic.

They were well-executed, what you're more likely to see from a ?? trained chef/chocolatier. The couverture thicknesses were just right (not too thick). Everything was well-balanced--smooth yet flavorful. Not too sweet; and well balanced with salt. And their elegant, hand "painted" appearance made them well-suited for gifts.

Ingredients: (Received as a gift; outside packaging/information had been removed.)

Allergen-related information: (May have contained milk.) (No information.)