Chocolate of the Day
Maui Ku'ia Estate Chocolate
1.) Dark Chocolate Maui Guava - 65% Cacao (Ecuador) (square) - Good ++
2.) Dark Chocolate Maui Guava - 65% Cacao (Ecuador) (bar) - Good ++
3.) Dark Milk Chocolate Maui Guava 60% Cacao (Ecuador) (square) - Good ++
Weight of 2 squares: .36 oz. (10 g.) for 2 squares / 8.5 oz. (240 g.) total 48-piece box
Weight of bar: .88 oz. (25 g.) in total bar
Calories: 196 calories (estimate) in 1 bar (140 calories) + 2 squares (56 calories (estimate))
Cost: $6.75 (sale) for 1 bar + cost of two squares in a larger $58.50 48-piece assortment box
Purchased from: Maui Ku'ia Estate Chocolate, online order
Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Hawaii Theme Week.
Today's Dark Chocolate Maui Guava 65% Cacao and Dark Milk Maui Guava (squares and bar) were manufactured by Maui Ku'ia Estate Chocolate Inc. (Lahaina, Maui, HI).
These chocolates were made in Hawaii using cacao grown in Ecuador* and Hawaiian guava essence.
Dark Chocolate Maui Guava 65% (square and bar)
Aroma and flavor notes for the Dark Chocolate Maui Guava 65% Cacao Square included: smooth dark chocolate and fruity, almost floral tropical fruit (red/pink guava and strawberry guava jam). The guava was an extracted fruit essence--completely incorporated into the chocolates (rather than pieces of identifiable guava fruit).
Interestingly, the smaller (individually-wrapped) dark guava 65% square had more guava flavor than the full-sized dark guava 65% bar version. The bar had more pure dark chocolate (less guava); and the smaller, individually-wrapped square had more guava fruit flavors.
Dark Milk Chocolate Maui Guava 60% (square)
Aroma and flavor notes included: dark milk chocolate, tropical fruit (guava, berries, and guavaberries) with balanced chocolate and tart-sweet fruit flavors (ranging from guava to guavaberry, pineapple and mild herb/spice (faint eucalyptus, warm black pepper, allspice).
Overall, I liked the 1.) authentic and relatively complex guava flavors in the squares best; 2.) smooth, balanced dark flavors that weren't boring or overly sweet. (The very slightly sweeter dark milk 60% version was a true dark milk.)
I usually don't care for "natural flavors," but today's guava flavors were an exception.
Ingredients: Cacao Beans, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Natural Flavors (The Dark Milk 60% square contained Milk.)
Allergen-related information: Contains milk, soy (lecithin). "Made in a facility that also processes nuts, dairy, soy.
*The cacao was grown on a family-owned cacao farm (Costa Esmeraldas) in a northwest coastal province in Ecuador.
