Chocolate of the Day
Kessho Craft Chocolate
Salted Plum Dark Chocolate 59% Cacao Semuliki Forest, Uganda (bar)
Weight: 1.05 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar*
Calories: 163 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA
Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Uganda Theme Week.
Today's Salted Plum Dark Chocolate 59% Cacao Semuliki Forest Uganda (bar) was from Kessho, LLC (Austin, TX).
The company was founded in 2019 by Mark Huetsch (who spent 14 years in China) and Liang Wang (who was raised in Beijing and studied pastry in Japan). The name Kessho (a Japanese word meaning crystal) "pays tribute to the crystalline structure of chocolate."
Kessho offers a variety of chocolate items--many of which, like today's Salted Plum chocolate, reflect Asian-inspired flavor inclusions and pairings. The name Kessho (a Japanese word meaning crystal) "pays tribute to the crystalline structure of chocolate."
Aroma and notes for this Salted Plum Dark Chocolate 59% Cacao bar--made with cacao (hybrid of Trinitario and Forastero) grown in the Semuliki Forest area of Uganda--included: dark chocolate with faint tart citrus-green (oxalis) and tangy stone fruit (plum).
Texture: smooth, thick, creamy, fudge-y texture with a luxe melt.
Flavor notes included: dark chocolate (fudge, ganache); faint loamy earth and very faint sour yogurt (there was no milk in this chocolate); and citrus leaves**.
The salt level seemed very low in the first bite; happily there was a bit more salt and sweet tangy plum fruit in subsequent bites. (Salted plums (umeboshi) are known for tangy, sour, salty and citric flavor(s).)
I liked trying this flavor combination and how the flavors fluxed just a bit through the tasting experience. This bar would be great in a chocolate and salt themed tasting flight. Even just a little salt really helped ground and balance the tangy/sour and citrus flavors.
Maker's flavor profile notes: "Cinnamon, fig, oolong" (tea leaves)
Ingredients: Whole cacao beans, sugar, cocoa butter, plum powder, salt
Allergen-related information: Made in a facility that also processes milk, tree nuts, wheat, sesame and eggs
*If calories aren't listed on a bar, I will sometimes weigh chocolates to help estimate the number of calories (kcals). When I weighed this unwrapped bar on my scale, it was 69 grams (vs. 60 grams on the label). Definitely not a problem to have more chocolate than advertised. I'll also check my scale.
**I associated the citrus leaf-like flavor in this salted plum chocolate with the fresh infusion teas (tisanes) I make from Meyer Lemon leaves and other citrus leaves from my yard.
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