Amano Artisan Chocolate - Japanese Sea Salt & Cocoa Nibs Milk Chocolate (bar) - July 1, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Amano Artisan Chocolate
Japanese Sea Salt & Cocoa Nibs Milk Chocolate (bar) 
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 207 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order 

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Venezuela Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Salt Theme Week.

Today's Japanese Sea Salt and Cocoa Nibs Milk Chocolate (bar) was handcrafted by Amano Chocolate Company (Orem, UT).

Amano chief chocolate maker, Art Pollard, consulted with salt expert and author, Mark Bitterman, at Bitterman Salt Co. (Portland, OR) when creating today's chocolate. The resulting choice was a nuanced and tasty Japanese Sea Salt.

Aroma notes included: dark milk chocolate (chocolate malt), and faint salt, savory (umami).

This bar had thick, creamy chocolate-y texture interspersed with tiny bits of crunchy cocoa nibs. (The milk chocolate was made with cacao from Ocumare, Venezuela; and the cocoa nibs were from Ecuador.)

Flavor notes included a somewhat addictive rich, creamy "malted" dark milk chocolate. Imagine an old fashion malt with 2 scoops of dark chocolate and half a scoop of vanilla, blended together, with a small shake of sea salt. 

The sea salt contributed an authentic, very faint umami note (and even fainter nori--that complemented and helped balance the sweetness). The finish was pleasant dark milk chocolate and very faint caramel and vanilla bean, with a fleeting whisper of earth (buckwheat pancake). (Very faint fruit and "clean" nut/mineral notes showed up in a re-tasting.) 

I enjoyed the balanced, very subtle complexity in this fine sea salt and chocolate blend.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, pure cane sugar, whole milk, cocoa butter, whole vanilla beans, Japanese sea salt.

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

Valrhona - Araguani Pur Venezuela 100% Cacao (bar) - June 30, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Valrhona
Araguani Pur Venezuela 100% Cacao (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 211.7 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Venezuela Theme Week.

Today's Araguani Pur Venezuela 100% Cacao (bar) was from Valrhona (Tain l'Hermitage, France).

Aroma notes for this ultra-dark bar included: an aromatic, attractive dark chocolate with a small bouquet of subtle fruits (including sweet berries), nut (almond butter) and barely detectable spice (aromatic, floral ground pepper, warm spices), sweet green, and very faint, freshly sawed wood.

The texture was thick and buttery smooth.

The strong 100% cacao chocolate had a balanced bitterness (porter, ale) throughout. It also had mellow faint wood and almond butter notes; faint acidic dried fruit notes, followed by a very faint refreshing, clean mineral water taste in the finish.

If you're not put off by bitter, deep flavors (or the 100% absence of added sugar), then this pure Venezuelan cacao would be a good ultra-dark bar to try, by itself or as part of a 100%er flight. The aroma was rich and pleasing, the texture was buttery smooth, and while it did stray into unsweetened baking chocolate territory*, the taste of this un-sugared chocolate wasn't too far off the rails. 

Note: what you eat (before or during this tasting) may also make a difference in what you're tasting with this bar more than others. Eating lightly toasted fresh bread with grated melted cheese; roasted savory almonds; baked, stuffed potatoes; or a cheese plate may create interesting pairings. (Think of foods you might pair with a bitter ale.)

Maker's Tasting Notes: "Chocolatey (chocolatee) woody (boisees), full-bodied (corsees)

Ingredients: Cocoa beans from Venezuela. "Milk (Made in a facility that uses milk)."

Allergen-related information: Made in a facility that uses milk. This product may contain: gluten, nuts, soya.

*For chocolate lovers who, as children, opened a bar of baking chocolate found in a kitchen cupboard, and expected a sweet treat--and were shocked to find otherwise--you'll know what I mean here.