Rozsavolgyi Csokolade - Beer vs. Cocoa Malt & Hops in Dark Chocolate (bar) - Feb. 8, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Rozsavolgyi Csokolade 
Beer vs. Cocoa Malt & Hops in Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 212 calories in approximately 1/2 bar
Cost: $16.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: DeLaurenti, online order

Welcome to Day #11 of Unique Chocolates Week, including this high-end, novelty specialty chocolate made with beer candy, malt and hops. 

Today's Beer vs. Cocoa Malt & Hops in Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Rozsavolgyi Csokolade Kft (Budapest, Hungary).

Aroma notes included: unsweetened, very slightly bitter, malty chocolate biscuit (cookie)

This bar had a fun, crunchy + creamy texture. The chocolate had a crunchy element (from tiny pieces of malty beer candy I'm assuming); but it quickly resolved into smooth, creamy dark chocolate.

Flavor notes for this creative flavor collaboration included relatively rich/bold dark chocolate with a slight bitterness (likely due to the hops); and one or two bites had some bitter and earthiness. 

The individual cacao and beer elements were artfully blended. No small feat, given the flavor forces at work here were tugging playfully at each other. Ultimately, the combination worked; and no one flavor dominated the other too much.

Disclosure: I enjoy slightly bitter flavors, especially when they're well-balanced with just a pinch of sugar and/or salt. That includes some bitter cacao and nibs, but also flavor inclusions like hops or some citrus fruits/rinds in blends.

Maker's description: "Who will win the fight? The hops add all their bitterness and frantic aromas, the malt its caramel flavor. But will this be enough for the beer to win? Who knows? We made candy from the beer, which made the hops-flavored, fruity-fermented dark chocolate even more exciting."

Ingredients: dark chocolate (Cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, cocoa cont. min. 73%), beer candy (beer, organic cane sugar, chestnut honey, organic cocoa butter, malt), hops

Allergen-related information: "Produced in a factory that also handles nuts, sesame seed and milk powder."

 

Mission Chocolate - French Toast 58% dark chocolate with sugar, cinnamon (bar) - Feb. 7, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Mission Chocolate
"French Toast" 58% dark chocolate with sugar crystals and cinnamon (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 145 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Unique Chocolates Week, including chocolates with unique flavor inclusions...like the sweet potato in today's bar.

Today's "French Toast" 58% dark chocolate with sugar crystals and cinnamon (bar) was from Mission Chocolate (Sao Paolo, Brazil). 

Aroma notes included: subtle, smooth dark chocolate, and very faint warm spice.

Texture: wonderfully thin bar that broke with a quiet snap. Tiny, crunchy sugar crystals shone brightly on one side. The chocolate was smooth, and relatively creamy. The sweet potato was totally incorporated and, judging from the mouthfeel, contributed to the sense of almost milk-like smoothness.

Flavor notes included: dark milk chocolate (there was no milk) with tiny sweet bursts of sugar, and almost undetectable traces of warm spice (cinnamon).

I liked the thinness of this bar, the well-executed sugar crystals, and the skillfully incorporated sweet potato (powder). It was very tasty. I would definitely try more sweet potato chocolate from this maker. 

Ingredients: Cacao mass, organic sugar, sweet potato powder, cocoa powder, cinnamon.

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of lactose, peanut, coconut, tree nuts due to shared equipment."