Chocolate(s) of the Day
To'ak Chocolate
1.) Rain Harvest 2018 Ecuadorian Dark Chocolate 74% Cacao (square) - Good ++
2.) Rain Harvest 2019 Ecuadorian Dark Chocolate 75% Cacao (square) - Good ++
3.) Rain Harvest 2021 (18 Hrs.) Ecuadorian Dark Chocolate 75.5% Cacao (square) - Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .318 oz. (9 g.) for 3 squares / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar/package
Calories: 63 calories in 3 squares
Cost: N/A - holiday gift from family
Purchased from: N/A - holiday gift from family (thank you Megan and Tony!)
Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.
Today's series of three "Rain Harvest" Ecuadorian Dark Chocolate small squares were from different cacao harvests (years). All three were made from tree-to-bar in Ecuador by To'ak Chocolate (Quito, Ecuador). The company specializes in high-end, Ecuadorian cacao-based chocolates.
The makers work with Ecuador's famed "Nacional" cacao variety, a popular cacao dating back to the 1800s.* (In the 1900s, disease adversely impacted cacao harvests for decades.**) Today's three chocolates presented a great opportunity for a side-by-side, tiny chocolate tasting flight.
Aroma and flavor notes for Rain Harvest 2018 (74%) attractively packaged bar included: relatively subtle dark chocolate, very faint molasses, fruit (peach jam and and very, very faint cake/soda cracker); and it was the earthiest of the three.
The 2019 Rain Harvest (75%) chocolate had similar notes but it also had some nuanced sweet green and mellow nut notes; the stone fruit note was a little less peach and a little more plum; there was a faint, fleeting soda cracker note; and a slight decrease in earth.
Lastly, the 2021 Rain Harvest (75.5%) was a tiny bit less sweet, and had more green (oxalis) and mellow, sweet nut, and slightly less fruit (more sweet green banana and less stone fruit). It also had a faint, clean mineral flavor that was nice/refreshing; and had "18 hours" (of what I assume was conching*** time). I'm not sure how this compared with the times selected for the first two chocolates.
The texture for all three was similar: well tempered, uniformly smooth, thick (in a cool room) and relatively creamy.
I really enjoyed tasting all three side-by-side. I felt like I could taste the maker's choices as they were making skilled and subtle adjustments with each batch.
I liked the third (2021 harvest) just a bit better. I tend to like green, floral and fruit flavors, and slightly less earth. I appreciated the complexity and coaxing out of natural cacao flavors; and that the restrained sugar levels that allowed the flavors to really shine. (Thank you!)
Ingredients: Organic Heirloom Cacao Beans, Organic Sugar
Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of milk, soy or nuts."
*In the maker's words: "As of 2009, pure Nacional cacao was believed to be extinct. Our journey led us to the secluded valley of Piedra de Plata, where we found some of the last surviving trees..."
** The disease in this case was Witches Broom, a plant gall disease (caused by fungus and other contributing causes) that disfigures plants. It also significantly affected cacao harvests in Brazil in the 1980s.
***It should be noted that conching time for cacao being made into chocolate may vary a lot, from a few hours to almost 90 hours. For a very fine-flavored cacao a long conch time might cause loss of volatile (e.g. floral) and prized flavors even though the texture might be very smooth and creamy with longer heating/processing times. On the other hand, a more acidic or less fine cacao may benefit from longer conch times (to lose less desirable flavors). There are often trade-offs to be made between taste and texture.
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