Fossa Chocolate - 53% Dark Milk Chrysanthemum Tea Chocolate (bar) - Jan. 10, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Fossa Chocolate

53% Dark Milk Chrysanthemum Tea Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 139 calories in 1/2 bar; (278 calories in 1 bar)
Cost: $15.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #16 of Chocolate, Tea, Herbs & Spices Theme Week; and Day #2 of Chocolate and the Philippines Theme Week. 

Today's 53% Dark Milk Chrysanthemum Tea Chocolate (bar) was from Fossa Chocolate Pte Ltd (Singapore). They used cacao from the Philippines to make this chocolate.

Aroma notes included: dark milk chocolate; very faint floral tea notes. 

Texture: very smooth, buttery texture with a soft caramel-like melt. (The chrysanthemum buds were fully incorporated into the chocolate.)

I loved the creamy texture, and I was happy to find that despite relatively high levels of sugar I could still taste and enjoy the relatively delicate, sweet floral notes of the chrysanthemum (light, clean, honey-ed, almost chamomile-like floral -- no detectable earthy notes with these flower buds).

I would love to taste this chocolate with a little less sugar (maybe a 60% cacao version?) to taste more of the lovely chrysanthemum tea and the cacao.* 

Thank you to the makers for the short list of high-quality ingredients and the gentle, balanced complexity in this bar. 

Maker's description: "Chrysanthemum is a symbol of longevity and rejuvenation. Brewed as a tea, it is believed to have cooling and cleansing properties...Prized chrysanthemum buds from Zhejiang, China, are blended with with fruity cacao from Rehoboth Estate (Philippines) in a 53% dark milk chocolate, bringing forth an elegant floral aroma and notes of honey with a sweet lingering finish..."

Ingredients: "Cacao, cane sugar, cacao butter, milk powder, chrysanthemum flower buds"

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk. "Produced in a facility that processes nuts & dairy." 

*General comment: Smooth, sweet chocolates may appeal to more buyers; and the price of cacao has gone way up in recent years; so dark chocolates are more expensive to make. I can appreciate the challenges some makers have in trying to satisfy a variety of customer tastes (especially dark and ultra-dark chocolate lovers) at a reasonable price point, and to be profitable.