Chocolate of the Day
Goodnow Farms Chocolate
Mexico Almendra Blanca 77% (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .97 oz. (27.5 g.) / 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bat
Calories: 165 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Caputos, online order
Bienvenidos (welcome) to Day #6 of Chocolate and Mexico Theme Week.
Today's Mexico Almendra Blanca 77% (bar) was from Goodnow Farms Chocolate (Sudbury, MA).
Like yesterday's bar, today's chocolate was made with lighter colored "white almond" cacao beans grown in Mexico.* These beans create a lighter hued finished dark chocolate (an almost auburn, medium brown). Both these bars were skillfully made, well-tempered and they broke with a hard snap (in a cool room).
The aroma notes for today's Goodnow Farms dark chocolate were relatively subtle. (Note: I also had a fairly serious cold when I tasted this bar.)
The flavor notes were stronger, and included a bold, balanced, almost peppery tartness: dark chocolate with bright, tangy sweet fruit (citrus, berry); subtle cream; faint (very slightly astringent) nut; subtle, diffuse, green botanical/forest; and a barely there (well balanced, subtle) bitterness toward the finish.
I enjoyed the opportunity to try a single origin dark chocolate Almendra Blanca bar like this with beautifully complex flavors.
I also continue to appreciate Goodnow Farms makers' short list of quality and organic ingredients; their thoughtful sourcing of cacao and local ingredients; and the fact they press their own single origin cacao butter (vs. buying large blocks of generic, deodorized cocoa butter) when added cocoa butter is desired.
Maker's Tasting Notes: "Creamy Citrus & Hazelnut"
Ingredients: "Single Origin Cacao Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Single Origin Cocoa Butter"
Allergen-related information: "May contain trace amounts of peanuts and tree nuts." ("Soy Free, Vegan, Gluten Free")
*The Almendra Blanca cacao beans used to make today's chocolate were grown and fermented on farmer Vicente Cacep's Jesus Maria farm outside Villahermosa (in the State of Tabasco), Mexico.