Chocolate of the Day
Moka Origins
Cherry - Dark Chocolate Tanzania 72% Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) / 2.4 oz. (68 g.) in total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order
Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Week.
Today's Cherry - Dark Chocolate Tanzania 72% Cacao (bar) was from Moka Origins (Honesdale, PA).
Moka Origins began its operations (Moka Farm) in Cameroon (the 4th largest cacao producer, in West Africa) in 2015. The founders gained experience working with cacao farmers, setting up a training center to encourage sustainable farming practices, and planting thousands of cacao trees.
The "Trinitario, Neo-Nacional" cacao used to make the chocolate was grown in Tanzania, produced by Kokoa Kamili*, and obtained from sourcing partner Meridian Cacao.
Aroma notes included: subtle, bittersweet dark chocolate; dried tart-sweet red fruit (dark, sweet cherries, fleeting fig,); and faint spice and tart-green (oxalis, wood sorrel, citrus).
Texture: smooth dark chocolate with plump, chewy dried cherries.
Flavor notes included: dark chocolate with a balanced bitterness; faint woodsy-earth; very faint brown sugar; and authentic dark, sweet, concentrated, complex, and authentic cherry flavors that lasted into the finish.
The blend of bold 72% dark chocolate and dried cherries made for a flavorful match.
Maker's tasting notes: cherry, raspberry, citrus
Ingredients: Organic cocoa beans, organic dried cherries (organic cherries, organic cane sugar, organic sunflower oil), organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter
Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility that handles milk, eggs, wheat, soy, almonds, and other tree nuts."
*Kokoa Kamili is located in the Mbingu Village in the Kilombero Valley (Morogoro Region) in Tanzania. This centrally located fermentation facility buys wet (freshly harvested) cacao beans at a premium price (the "highest price paid in Tanzania") from "more than 4,000 smallholder farmers in this region." Kokoa Kamili also offers training on how to "increase quality and yield rates" and distributes cacao seedlings to farmers.
