Chocolate of the Day
Goodnow Farms Chocolate
Dark Chocolate Herbaceous Green Sichuan Pepper Peru 70% Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .97 oz. (27.5 g.) / 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 165 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $18.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Goodnow Farms Chocolate, online order
Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Spices Theme Week; and Day #1 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.
Today's Dark Chocolate Herbaceous Green Sichuan Pepper Peru 70% Cacao (bar) was made by Goodnow Farms Chocolate (Sudbury, MA), in collaboration with 50Hertz Tingly Foods.
Aroma notes included: chocolate and uplifting, complex and aromatic spice (aromatic herbal green, very bright citrus-y pepper/spice, mint/menthol, and very faint floral). While it's easy to attribute most of these notes to the green sichuan pepper, the Peruvian cacao used to make this bar also had herbal and flower notes, that may have amplified the overall aroma.
Texture: satisfying smooth, buttery texture, with some bright astringency in the finish.
Flavor notes included: chocolate, and very flavorful spice (peppercorn) and tingling, bright citrus-menthol note(s) that lingered long into the finish. (I can still taste it minutes after tasting; like I just brushed my teeth with a chocolate citrus-pepper and orange mint toothpaste.)
I enjoyed this boldly herbal bar. The green pepper was low on heat, but off the charts in terms of aroma and flavor. (This also speaks to the pepper's quality and freshness.)
Not many spices (besides ginger and certain hot chili peppers) can stand up to, and even surpass, dark chocolate flavors.
Ingredients: Single Origin Cacao Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Single Origin Cocoa Butter, Dried Green Sichuan Pepper
Allergen-related information: "Soy Free, Vegan, Gluten Free"
*These small peppercorns are the berries from a tree that is a member of the citrus family. They have a unique tingling, almost temporary numbing quality (like drinking a carbonated drink).
Both cacao and this pepper are fairly rich in iron and other minerals, have been prized by nobles, and can work well in both sweet or savory dishes.
