Chocolate of the Day
Ranger Chocolate
Adventure Series - Caribbean Chocolate Bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.25 oz. (32 g.) in total bar
Calories: 193.7 calories (estimate) in 1? bar
Cost: $13.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Caputo's, online order
Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Spices Theme Week.
Today's Caribbean Chocolate Bar from Ranger Chocolate (Portland, OR)--part of the company's Adventure Series of bars--was a collaboration with Kann (Restaurant in Portland, OR). Together they've created a blend Haitian and Pacific Northwest flavors.
Aroma notes included: chocolate, coconut milk, faint vegetable (pepper) and very faint spice, diffuse tropical fruit (mango), and vanilla.
Flavor notes for this smooth and creamy, sweet and subtly spicy, bar included: (coconut) milk chocolate and mango, with very faint spices (warm vanilla, barely detectable ginger, hot pepper), and salted rice.*
The jalapeno heat was subtle (very slight throat burn -- that didn't show until the finish). And I liked that the authentic island flavors were well balanced and complementary.
This adventure bar made me want to hunt for Caribbean restaurants (few and far between) in my area. I appreciated the virtual travel today's spicy chocolate made possible.
Ingredients: "organic cacao, organic sugar, mango, coconut, sea salt, vanilla bean, ginger, habanero"
Allergen-related information: "Contains: tree nuts (coconut)"..."Manufactured in a facility that uses gluten, egg, milk, tree nuts and sesame ingredients"
*There was salt, but no rice. in this bar. As with all write-ups on Chocolate Banquet, aroma and flavor notes I cite are perceptions, and don't always correspond to the actual ingredients. (For example, you can taste berries when you're sipping a glass of red wine; but that doesn't mean the wine contains berries. The same goes for chocolate with complex flavors.)
