Chocolate of the Day
Verse Chocolate
90% Mint Dark Chocolate Medallion
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .705 oz. (20 g.) / 4.23 oz. (120 g.) in total package of 12
Calories: 120 calories in 2 pieces
Cost: $11.69 for 1 package of 12 chocolates
Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA
Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and The Mint Family Theme Week.
Today's 90% Mint Dark Chocolate Mediallion(s) were distributed by Verse Chocolate LLC (Nixa, MO). The company also offers 12-serving boxes of individually-wrapped medallions in other flavors (e.g., plain, salted almond, coffee).
Aroma notes for these medallion-shaped mint dark chocolates included: strong mint (peppermint) that almost eclipsed the dark chocolate.
Texture and shape: relatively dark chocolate with tiny crunchy bits. The size (less than 5 cm across), was just right for a few bites; and slim medallion's slightly-curved shape enabled easy access to textures and flavors in one's mouth.
Flavor notes included: ultra-dark chocolate tempered with upticks of strong peppermint. There was a slight astringency toward the finish.
This blend of two very strong flavors--90% dark chocolate and peppermint oil--may be a bit overwhelming for some; but I appreciated that these 90% dark medallions were not overly sweet, and the acidity and bitterness in the chocolate was not excessive (for me at least).
Any more sugar might have bumped up the mint into the mint toothpaste zone for me. Disclaimer: you'll rarely hear me complain about lack of sugar as I enjoy darker chocolates and I don't want sugar to mask the underlying cacao flavors. For this reason (and if you want to reduce sugar/carbohydrate consumption) it's nice to have ultra-dark chocolate options like this.
Maker's notes: "With better cacao, we can use less sugar, giving you more of the inherent benefits within dark chocolate"
Ingredients: Cocoa beans*, cane sugar*, cocoa processed with Alkali*, cocoa butter*, peppermint oil*.
(* = Organic ingredient)
Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of tree nuts and sesame seeds." Certified Organic; U; gluten free.