Chocolate of the Day
Intrigue Chocolate
Lavender, Coffee, Long Pepper 64% Dark (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35.5) / 2.5 (71 g.) in total bar
Calories: 194 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar + shipping
Purchased from: Intrigue Chocolate, online order
Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and the Mint Family Theme Week--featuring several days of chocolates flavored with different members of the very large mint family: peppermint, yerba buena, basil, rosemary, lavender and more.
Today's Lavender, Coffee, Long Pepper 64% Dark (bar) was from Intrigue Chocolate Co. (Seattle, WA), a small-batch maker offering bars and confections--most with at least one local, Pacific Northwest flavor inclusion.
Origin story: The cacao ("mostly Trinitario and Amelonado") used to make this chocolate was from Uganda, Rwenzururu, Semuliki Forest. And the lavender was from B&B Family Lavender Farm (Sequim, WA).
Aroma notes included: dark chocolate, slightly woodsy, distinctive floral (lavender) with light menthol (mint), sweet green, and very faint and harmonious savory (pepper). I could not smell the coffee, but I think it added a richness and a grounded quality, and somehow tied together these 4+ flavors in an unexpectedly successful way.
Texture: smooth, well-tempered dark chocolate with both a very slight crunchiness (likely coffee), and a relatively creamy texture and melt.
Flavor notes included: dark chocolate (chocolate-y, dark ganache), with a blend of authentic lavender, faint fruit (blueberry), and very faint savory (pepper) and barely detectable (in most bites) coffee.
This 64% cacao bar was sweet without being overly so--allowing one to really appreciate a skillfully executed blend of complex, bold flavors--that could've been pulled in many directions; but instead the finished blend was almost smoother and greater than the sum of its parts.
Makers tasting notes: "Medium-roast coffee draws together the perfume of the lavender and the musky bite of the long pepper."
Ingredients: "Chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin [emulsifier], natural vanilla flavoring), lavender, coffee, long pepper"
Allergen-related information: "Processed in a facility with milk, soy and nuts."
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