Chocolate of the Day
Kasama Chocolate
65% Kape Espresso (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .97 oz. (27.5 g.) / 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 162.5 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Kasama Chocolate, online order
Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Coffee Theme Week.
Today's 65% Kape Espresso (bar) from Kasama Chocolate (Vancouver, BC, Canada) was made with Kape Philippine Coffee Beans.
The Tagalog (Filipino) word Kasama (togetherness, friendship, camaraderie, collaboration) aptly describes Kasama and its four founders. The company makes bean-to-bar chocolate and truffles using cacao from the Philippines and flavor inclusions from both the Philippines and the Pacific Northwest.
Aroma notes included: strong coffee (espresso), chocolate, faint dried fruit (date sugar), and even fainter green (botanical) syrup.
Texture: smooth, uniform, with very slight graininess/astringency.
Flavor notes included: dark chocolate with bold, balanced, dark roast espresso coffee. The dark chocolate was more apparent in the taste than in the aroma; but the espresso still ruled the roost.
I appreciated tasting this single origin bean-to-bar chocolate, where both cacao beans and coffee beans came from the Philippines.* The sweetness (provided by unrefined cane sugar) tasted natural and balanced the bold espresso flavor.
Maker's notes: "...synthesis of cacao & coffee beans yields notes of dates, roasted chestnuts, & Muscovado sugar."
Ingredients: Cacao Beans*, Unrefined Cane Sugar*, Cacao Butter*, Kape Philippine Coffee Beans (* Organic)
Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility that contains nuts."
*Maker's coffee origin description: The roasted coffee beans came from "Iona & Paolo at Kape Coffee. This semi-washed coffee is grown in the highlands of Bansalan, by award-winning coffee grower, Ate Marivic, part of a farmer owned co-operative in Davao del Sur."
