Siamaya Chocolate - Coconut Milk Dark Chocolate (bar) - Nov. 12, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Siamaya Chocolate
Coconut Milk Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good + 
Weight: 1.32 oz. (37.5 g.) / 2.65 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 185 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Siamaya Chocolate Coconut Milk Dark Chocolate (bar) was hand-crafted in Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Aroma notes for this gluten free and vegan bar included: chocolate and pleasing, warm, toasted coconut.

Texture: smooth dark chocolate, creamy coconut milk chocolate, and integrated bits of coconut.

Flavor notes included naturally sweet dark chocolate (dark chocolate torte, dark ganache) and (tiny bits of) authentic coconut. This 65% dark coconut milk chocolate was slightly acidic, and was not overly sweet (thank you).

Ingredients: Cacao nibs, organic cane sugar, coconut, coconut milk, and cacao butter.

Allergen-related information: May contain traces of milk or nuts.

Pinwheel Craft Chocolate - 62% Coconut "Milk" Kokoa Kamili, Tanzania (bar) - Nov. 11, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Pinwheel Craft Chocolate
62% Coconut "Milk" - Kokoa Kamili, Tanzania (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.05 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 163 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Pinwheel Craft Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

Today's 62% Coconut "Milk" Kokoa Kamili, Tanzania (bar) was from Pinwheel Chocolate LLC (Eagle Mountain, UT). This bean-to-bar chocolate maker "started as a mother/daughter hobby..." Happily for us, this hobby morphed into a small business.

Aroma notes for this bar included: smooth dark chocolate; faint, butter-diffused, warm, woodsy spice; faint red berry; and very faint coconut milk/coconut milk chocolate.

This 62% chocolate had a smooth melt, and a creamy, almost silken mouthfeel and texture. The coconut was fully incorporated into the chocolate. (Not one small chewy coconut shred was detected.)

Flavor notes included: flavorful, sweet then bittersweet dark chocolate; red berry; and very faint authentic coconut. This chocolate had a very satisfying, ("single origin-y"* chocolate-y) finish.

I loved the well-balanced complexity (and harmony of flavors) in this bar, and the fact that it wasn't overly sweet. Most 62% cacao chocolates taste quite a bit sweeter. Unfortunately, that often means that sugar (or sugar and milk(s)) eclipse cacao flavor nuances that may be present. Today's coconut milk bar was neither too sugary, nor overly coconut-y; and it embraced the red berry and rich notes of the Tanzania cacao. It tasted like a naturally sweetened chocolate with much to share.

Maker's tasting notes ("What we taste"): "ripe red raspberries, coconut water, (sometimes cinnamon)" "This bar is also a chameleon -- after certain foods, it has the unmistakable flavor of sweet cinnamon."**

Ingredients: Cacao beans*, cane sugar*, cocoa butter*, coconut* (*Organic ingredients)

Allergen-related information: "Made on shared equipment that processes nuts and dairy."

*Single origin chocolates tend to have richer, more unadulterated flavors. And small batch single origin chocolate makers are more likely to want to preserve (and highlight) unique, multi-layered varietal flavors. A big thank you to these makers.

**I later re-tasted this bar with bourbon pecan ice cream and that muted spice note detected in the aroma came into greater focus; and sure enough it was cinnamon.