Qantu - IPA Style 60% Hops Infused Dark Milk Chocolate (bar) - Aug. 29, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Qantu
IPA Style 60% Hops Infused Dark Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 144 calories in 1/2 bar 
Cost: $16.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Dispensary, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Beer & Hops Week.

Today's IPA Style 60% Hops Infused Dark Milk Chocolate (bar) was from Qantu Cacao et Chocolat Inc. (Montreal, Canada).

The cacao beans used to make this bar were from Morropon, Piura, Peru. The IPA-style hop taste was supplied by Avant-Garde (artisan brewers in Montreal).

Aroma and flavor notes included: chocolate (smooth, flavorful, with creamy caramel) and authentic, slightly bitter IPA-style, hop-py beer (that mellowed a bit within minutes after the inner wrapper was opened). (Full disclosure: I love chocolate and I love hops, so I was very happy to taste this bar.)

Texture: creamy, smooth dark milk chocolate 

I enjoyed the rich, hop-py taste; the well-executed and complementary cacao and beer flavors; and the satisfying and authentic complexity (sweet cream, caramel, fruit, rich cacao and slightly bitter brew)--all achieved with very a short list of ingredients.

Maker's tasting notes: "Caramel, orange, mangue (mango)"..."...evokes the pleasure of an IPA-style beer infused with the fruity aromas of Sabbro hops."

Ingredients: "cacao beans, cane sugar, whole milk powder, cocoa butter"

Allergen-related information: "Contains Milk. May contain traces of nuts."

Cuna de Piedra - 73% Mexican Cacao from Comalcalco, Tabasco with La Lupulosa beer (bar) - Aug. 28, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Cuna de Piedra
73% Mexican Cacao from Comalcalco, Tabasco with La Lupulosa beer* (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: $ Missing information
Purchased from: Village Market, SF Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate, Beer & Hops Week.

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

The cacao beans used to create this chocolate were from Comalcalco, Tabasco, in southeastern Mexico. And the beer in this bar was from Cerveceria Insurgente (founded in Tijuana, Mexico in 2010).

Aroma and flavor notes for this cacao + brew collaboration bar included: chocolate, lightly roasted malt, complex hops/beer (stout)--and barely detectable, fleeting floral notes. All these flavors carried over into a pleasing finish.

Texture: This well-tempered bar broke with a snap; and had a smooth, even texture.

Balanced, delicious complexity. One of the best beer bar blends I've tasted so far. The chocolate and the beer aromas and flavors harmonized very nicely.

Ingredients: "Cacao beans, Cane sugar, Beer."

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured on equipment that processes wheat, milk, soy, peanuts, tree nuts and eggs. Non-alcoholic product."

*La Lupulosa beer is a West Coast IPA-style beer from a pioneering artisanal beer making duo (that began in a back yard) in northern Mexico, not far from the U.S. border. It's known for its complex and tasty hop notes.