Cuna de Piedra - 73% Mexican Cacao from Comalcalco with Ancient Spring Salt (bar) - July 9, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Cuna de Piedra
73% Mexican Cacao from Comalcalco, Tabasco with Ancient Spring Salt (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.05 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 100 calories in 1/2 bar (per label)
Cost: $10.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Caputo's, online order

Welcome to Day #15 of Chocolate & Mexico Theme Week; and Day #1 of Chocolate & Salt Theme Week.

Today's 73% Mexican Cacao from Comalcalco, Tabasco with Ancient Spring Salt (bar) was from Cuna de Piedra* (Monterrey, NL, Mexico).

The company pays "homage to Mexican Cacao." The cacao used to make this bar was from Comalcalco, Tabasco in southeastern Mexico. (Cacao harvest information: Dry Season Harvest 2023.)

Aroma notes for this chocolate included: attractive dark chocolate; subtle fruit (pear and barely detectable banana); and very faint sweet green herb.

Flavor notes included: smooth, appealing, rich dark chocolate (not too acidic natural cocoa, drinking chocolate) naturally sweet dark chocolate; gentle fruit; faint, sweet (almost floral) herb; and very faint nut.

I enjoyed the short-list of thoughtfully-sourced and high-quality ingredients; the subtle perfection in the use of salt (not too much, not too little); and the origin stories behind the cacao and the ancient spring salt. 

The company sourced the salt from Zapotitlan Salinas (Puebla, Mexico). This salt has been harvested from mines in the same area for more than two thousand years.

Ingredients: Cacao beans, Cane sugar, Mineral spring salt.

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that processes wheat, milk, soy, peanuts, tree nuts and eggs."

*The company name Cuna de Piedra translates to "cradle of stone." 

Monsoon Chocolate - Chiltepin 42% Milk Chocolate (bar) - July 8, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Monsoon Chocolate 
Chiltepin 42% Milk Chocolate, Supporting the Northern Jaguar Project (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 135 calories (estimate) for 1/2 bar
Cost: $14.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Caputo's, online order 

Welcome to Day #14 of Chocolate and Mexico Theme Week.

Today's 42% Milk Chocolate "Chiltepin--Supporting the Northern Jaguar Project*"--(bar) was hand-crafted in Arizona by Monsoon Chocolate, LLC (Tucson, AZ). This bar was part of the company's Desert Series. 

My hat is off to those who make chocolate in very hot places. Having visited southern Arizona, I'm also impressed by the wildlife that survive in desert corridors--like the jaguars that range from Mexico to Arizona. 

The chiltepin peppers and cacao in this bar represented these two areas of appreciation for me. These rare peppers grow where the jaguars still roam. Chocolate with a story.

Aroma notes for this 42% cacao bar included: dark chocolate and caramel with very faint, diffuse fruit.

Texture: This caramel-colored bar had a smooth milk chocolate texture.

Flavor notes included: sweet milk chocolate with faint tart-sweet fruit and pepper heat that packed a fiery punch. 

While the heat made it hard to detect subtler notes, it subsided into the finish with most bites with a polite and polished efficiency (similar to its 75% sibling featured yesterday). Some bites had more of a throat-grabbing flame than others; so you may want to enjoy this bar with a glass of water nearby.

I enjoyed this bar in smaller bites; and I was happy to support this maker and the Northern Jaguar Project.

Ingredients: Cocoa Beans, Unrefined Cane Sugar*, Cocoa Butter*, Milk Powder*, Chiltepin (*Certified Organic)

Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility that handles tree nuts, wheat, milk, eggs and peanuts. May not be suitable for people with allergies to these foods."

*"The Northern Jaguar Project (NJP) leads efforts to protect North America's northernmost jaguars in the Sierra Madre Occidental, where the chiltepin pepper also thrives. Known as the "mother of all chilies" and the only wild chili native to the US, the chiltepin is honored in the Slow Food Ark of Taste for its cultural and environmental significance. Sourcing chiltepin from NJP-protected areas allows us to support their crucial work."