Chocolate of the Day
Mashpi Chocolate
Chocolate Bar with Lupine Milk
Good ++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Choiba Agroforestry Products, online order
Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.
Today's Chocolate Bar with Lupine Milk was made by Mashpi Chocolate (Quito, Ecuador); and imported and distributed by Andean Ecocrafts, LLC (Reno, NV).
The cacao variety used to make this bar was "Cacao Nacional Fino de Aroma." (There was no cacao percentage listed.)
Many lupine varieties may have originated in the Mediterranean; but lupine also has a long history in the Andes of South America. The Lupinus mutabilis (aka Andean Lupin(e) or Tarwi) in this bar has been cultivated and processed to be edible--with the end product being a flour and/or milky beverage. Domestication by pre-Incan inhabitants has been traced back 2,600 years.
Domesticated and/or Sweet lupine milk contains, as the name implies, fewer bitter (and potentially toxic) plant alkaloids.* A cream-colored lupine "milk" is made by crushing/blending lupine plants' seeds (that look like small, flattened circular light beige beans)--that often have been soaked in salty water to reduce bitterness as part of the process.
Aroma and flavor notes for this chocolate included: pleasantly smooth dark chocolate with very subtle diffuse fruit, slightly floral and brown sugar notes -- softened by a light, plant "milk" taste similar to a very slightly floral (and less granular) rice milk.
Texture: pleasantly smooth dark chocolate with only one very tiny, dark lupine/lupine seed particle (that could have been a cacao nib).
I enjoyed the opportunity to try this unique and special bar. It had an intriguing, gently complex flavor.
I appreciated: the short list of authentic and quality ingredients; as well as the company's commitment to sourcing cacao from farmers who practice regenerative agriculture.
Ingredients: "Cacao mass, pulverized lupine, raw sugar cane, cacao butter"
Allergen-related information: (None listed on the package that I could see.)
*Personal note: Stick with commercially produced "sweet" lupine flour and seeds ("beans"). Please do not try to eat wild/any foraged lupine flower seeds--that may be higher in bitter and potentially toxic alkaloids. Also, lupines are legumes; and there may be a chance of a sensitivity if you have an allergy to other legumes (like peanuts). As with trying any new food if you have allergies, research product ingredients and safe sources, then try a small quantity first and wait before eating more.
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