Chocolate of the Day
Chocolove
Chili Mole in Strong Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.6 oz. (45 g.) / 3.2 oz. (90 g.) in total bar
Calories: 220 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $3.49 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's, Palo Alto, CA
Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Mexico Theme Week.
Today's Chili Mole in Strong Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa (bar) was from Chocolove (Boulder, CO).
Mole sauces from Mexico and Central America are typically made with ground chilies and may contain ground nuts, cacao, bread or crackers, corn, tomatoes or tomatillos, onion and other spices, and sometimes a touch of sugar or fruit. The chilies are a must; but other ingredients can vary widely.
Today's Chili Mole bar was inspired by mole sauce(s) and it contained ancho and chipotle chilies, cacao, vanilla and cinnamon. Other ingredients in this thoughtfully executed chocolate included: coffee, pistachio nuts and dried apricots.*
Aroma notes for this dark chocolate bar included: dark chocolate, spices: cinnamon, (slightly smokey/roasted) chili, coffee and very faint vanilla; and faint/diffuse fruit and nut.
The smooth dark chocolate yielded rich, sweet flavor notes. The chilis added flavor depth and were relatively mild (more flavor than heat). The vanilla and cinnamon gave the chocolate a natural sweet, upbeat (fresh baked goods) flavor. The coffee and chocolate** grounded this blend. And the ground nut flecks and tiny apricot bits provided mellow nut and subtle tart-sweet fruit notes, respectively.
I enjoyed the choice of flavors in this 70% bar to create a mole sauce like taste. I also liked that this dark chocolate bar was not too sweet (thank you). A very light touch of sea salt, chilies, coffee and dark chocolate helped balance the sweetness.
Ingredients: "Dark Chocolate (Cocoa Liquor, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin or Sunflower Lecithin, Vanilla), Pistachios, Dried Apricots (Apricots, Rice Flour), Coffee, Ancho Chilies, Sea Salt, Cinnamon, Chipotle Chilies."
Allergen-related information: "Contains Pistachios, Soy. Made in a Facility That Also Processes Milk, Eggs, Peanuts and Other Tree Nuts."
*Pistachios and apricots originally hail from Central Asia. And coffee had its start in East Africa. However, our food cultures have become very creatively enmeshed.
** Chocolove describes this bar as "Strong Dark Chocolate" 70% Cocoa (Belgian chocolate). But don't let the used of the word"Strong" scare you off. It was quite smooth.
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