Cacao Sampaka - Chocolate Negro Pipa De Calabaza (bar) - Sept. 9, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Cacao Sampaka 
Chocolate Negro Pipa De Calabaza
(Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Seeds)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 2.65 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1 oz. serving
Cost: $8.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Caputo's, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Seeds* Theme Week. This week includes chocolates with seeds--as well as seeds that we call beans or nuts.

Today's Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Seeds (bar) from Cacao Sampaka S.L. (Barcelona, Spain), and was imported into the U.S. by Forever Cheese.

The attractive outer packaging was adorned with a close-up image of colorful tiles from Barcelona.

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate, sweet seeds and vanilla.

Flavor notes included: smooth dark chocolate and satisfying crunchy whole pumpkin seeds--with authentic, fresh and relatively mild seed flavor.

I appreciated that the 43% dark chocolate used to make this bar was balanced and not too sweet. It was smooth and dark; and it tasted more like a higher percentage 55%* dark chocolate. It wasn't too bland or sugary. 

I found myself wanting to add a tiny pinch of salt; as I often do with a la carte seeds and nuts. (But, I resisted.) I taste chocolates first without any additions or pairings, to honor the choices of chocolate makers, and to prevent adding something I'll regret or that may obfuscate flavors.

Ingredients: "Sugar, cocoa mass, pumpkin seeds (14.6%), cocoa butter, emulsifier (soya lecithin), natural vanilla flavor. Cocoa 43% minimum"

Allergen-related information: "Our products may contain traces of nuts, peanuts, lactose, milk and sesame."

*Percentages can serve as guidelines when buying chocolates. But, it's not my top metric when it comes to flavor and preference. If you taste a lineup of 70% dark chocolates from different makers and origins, and made with different cacao varieties, some will taste lighter, and others darker, than their advertised percentages.

Antidote - "Queen T" Anise Seeds + Tomato 70 Dark (bar) - Sept. 8, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Antidote
Queen T - Anise Seeds + Tomato 70 Dark (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Antidote Chocolate, online order 

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Seeds Theme Week.

Today's Antidote Queen T - Anise Seeds + Tomato 70 Dark (bar) was made in Ecuador. Antidote Creative Director, CEO, Ms. Red Thalhammer, is Austrian and is based in the U.S. 

Aroma notes for this bar included: dark chocolate, faint sweet fruit (tomato), and subtle spice (anise, star anise).

Texture: smooth dark chocolate texture with tiny anise seed bits.

Flavor notes included: smooth, rich dark chocolate with anise notes. (The pleasant albeit faint ripe sweet tomato note was more apparent in the aroma than the flavor.)

I always enjoy trying chocolates with umami-leaning, and botanical flavor inclusions. And today's chocolate provided a little of both.

Maker's description: "...brings...all the flavor--without all the sugar."..."In just one bite you'll encounter what we like to call "an experiential escape."

Ingredients: "cacao beans, cacao butter, milk powder, whole cane sugar, black sesame seeds, nori seaweed, sunflower lecithin."

Allergen-related information: Contains milk, sesame. "Made in a facility that handles soy and nuts." 

Scharffen Berger - Breaks - Oat Milk Chocolate with Coconut Sugar Salted Sunflower Seed Bark - Sept. 7, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Scharffen Berger 
Breaks - Oat Milk Chocolate with Coconut Sugar Salted Sunflower Seed Bark
Good +
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) / 4.5 oz. (128 g.) in total package
Calories: 294.5 calories (estimate) in 1 serving
Cost: Missing information
Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Seeds Theme Week.

Today's "Breaks" Oat Milk Chocolate with Coconut Sugar Salted Sunflower Seed Bark was created by Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker (Ashland, OR). 

This 43% cacao craft chocolate snack was part of the company's plant-based, oat milk chocolate ("Breaks") series.

Aroma notes included: sweet dark chocolate, oats, oat grass, maple toffee, oatmeal and seed vanilla cookie, and very faint nut. 

The relatively hearty dark chocolate bark pieces were satisfying with a pleasant soft crunchy, seedy texture.

This was a well-balanced treat. The 43% cacao bark was sweet (the coconut sugar gave it a nice toffee-like flavor) without being overly and unnaturally so. The sunflower seeds, salt, oats and vanilla mellowed the sweetness and chocolate flavor without eclipsing the latter. And, while the oat flavors were certainly present, they didn't make this bark taste like a cereal/granola bar.

I also appreciated the thoughtful and relatively short list of authentic ingredients (and the gluten free oats).

Ingredients: Cacao Beans, Oat Powder (Oat Flour), Coconut Sugar, Roasted Sunflower Seeds (Sunflower Kernels, Canola Oil, Salt), Cocoa Butter, Sunflower Lecithin, Sea Salt, Vanilla Bean. 

Allergen-related information: Contains Coconut. Processed in a Facility That Processes Tree Nuts and Dairy. (Plant Based; Vegan; Gluten Free Certified; Non GMO Project Verified; Kosher (no dairy ingredients; but dairy equipment (DE)).