Chocolate of the Day
The Chocolate Therapist
Rx Extreme Therapy 72% Natural Dark Chocolate & Organic Cacao Nibs (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 340 calories in 1 bar
Cost: (part of a 3-bar package for $12 + shipping)
Purchased from: The Chocolate Therapist, online order
Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate, Beer & Hops Series--featuring chocolates with beer, beer yeast, hops as well as chocolates (like today's bar*) that are related to beer and chocolate pairings.
Many chocolate makers will list pairings with beers/ales and spirits on chocolate packaging. Others go a bit further.
Today's Rx Extreme Therapy 72% Natural Dark Chocolate & Organic Cacao Nibs (bar) was from Julie Nygard of The Chocolate Therapist (Littleton, CO). Julie has created chocolate collections for beer pairings and made presentations on this subject. For more, see her video: How to Pair Chocolate and Beer.
Aroma and flavor notes included: Bittersweet dark chocolate, smooth, roasted cocoa; faint and diffuse dark red fruit (dark cherry); very faint malt; and vanilla. The cacao nibs added their own slightly nutty, nibby roasted, mellow and balanced cacao with very faint and balanced savory (olive).
Texture: Smooth, almost velvety, dark chocolate punctuated with crunchy cacao nibs (pieces of cacao bean).
The cacao nibs felt light and crunchy and freshly roasted. They had complex and mellow flavor; and had a texture that was not too hard. They weren't bitter/funky (no off notes). The nibs on their own, and as part of the overall chocolate + nib blend, were both "just right"--in the Goldilocks zone.
I sampled this bittersweet dark bar with Sierra Nevada Hop Splash, and the two harmonized surprisingly well.
Ingredients: "Bittersweet Dark Chocolate (Unsweetened Chocolate, Sugar, Sunflower Lecithin, Vanilla), Cocoa Nibs."
Allergen-related information: "Produced on Equipment That Also Processes Milk Products, Tree Nuts, Peanuts and Soy and May Contain Traces of These Products."
