The Conscious Bar - 75% Cacao Roasted Hazelnut (bar) - May 14, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

The Conscious Bar
75% Cacao - Roasted Hazelnut (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $81.90 for a 7-bar variety pack
Purchased from: online order

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

Today's 75% Cacao Roasted Hazelnut (bar) was distributed by The Conscious Bar LLC (Miami, FL).

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate (roasted cacao, very faint fruit), and faint toasted nut and barely detectable roasted grain (popcorn). 

Texture: smooth dark chocolate with softly crunchy nuts (hazelnut bits). (No date particles detected; dates were fully integrated with chocolate; thank you!)

Flavor notes included: smooth, dark chocolate, permeated with a dark roast cacao and nut flavor and occasional fleeting flickers of fruit (dark, ripe, berry jam and date). 

The slight roastiness made this dark bar seem a little "darker" than its other Conscious Bar 75% cacao chocolate siblings (which tasted more like 68%-70% cacao chocolate. (Other factors that can make different chocolates taste "darker" include cacao origin(s), cacao variety(ies), and cacao bean roasting profiles; and these were not listed on the label.) All the bars were relatively smooth and well-executed. 

I enjoyed this balanced and gluten-free chocolate, made with a short list of Organic ingredients. And the flavors meshed well together. 

When both fruit and nut ingredients have been skillfully integrated into a dark chocolate, the end result can be particularly satisfying. Rather than popping out and competing with each other, a harmonious blend of these three ingredients can seem to (pleasingly) amplify naturally occurring notes found in cacao.  Thank you to the makers for their skillful integration of dates and chocolate in all their bars I've tasted so far.

Ingredients: Organic Cacao Beans, Organic Hazelnuts, Organic Dates, Organic Cacao Butter

Allergen-related information: Contains hazelnuts. "Made In A Facility That Handles Milk, Eggs, Peanuts, And Tree Nuts."