Chocolate of the Day
Mashpi Chocolate
Chocolate Bar 80% Cacao
Good ++ - 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 #16 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.
Today's Chocolate Bar 80% Cacao (bar) was made by Mashpi Chocolate (Quito, Ecuador); and imported and distributed by Andean Ecocrafts, LLC (Reno, NV).
The Ecuadorian Nacional Cacao variety used to make this bar was "Cacao Nacional Fino de Aroma" grown in Ecuador.
Aroma and flavor notes for this 80% cacao chocolate included: rich, dark, (chocolate-y) chocolate with sweet green (botanical, almost floral), diffuse tropical fruit (cacao fruit pulp) and balanced, slightly woody/nutty, toasty cacao nibs. It had a pleasant, clean finish with a very faint, doubly dark chocolate cookie/brownie--made with brown sugar--taste.
Texture: smooth, chocolate-y texture.
Relatively low in bitterness and acidity, this dark chocolate was full of balanced cacao flavor(s) and gentle complexity.
I enjoyed tasting both yesterday's Mashpi 80% bar with unroasted cacao (which had more nuanced sweet green, maybe a little clay and less nutty/toasty notes) as well as today's 80% bar made with (roasted) cacao.
Today's bar had a flavor profile similar to Mashpi's dark chocolate bar with cacao nibs, but with a smoother texture. (The nibs were fully ground/incorporated in this version.) I found this Ecuadorian cacao (and this batch/lot) to be very friendly and tasty.
I appreciated the short list of (just two!) authentic and quality ingredients; as well as the company's thoughtful commitment to and practice of regenerative agriculture.
Ingredients: "Cacao mass, raw sugar cane"
Allergen-related information: (None listed on the package that I could see.)
*The vast majority of the world's chocolates are made with roasted cacao, so you'll rarely see the word "roasted" mentioned on the packaging or list of ingredients (because it's assumed the cacao was roasted). Happily a few makers include information on cacao roast profiles. (Usually said makers have experience roasting coffee, or have customers who appreciate these details).
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