Chocolate of the Day
Mashpi Chocolate
Chocolate Bar with Brunei Cherry 65% Cacao
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Choiba Agroforestry Products, online order
Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.
Today's Chocolate Bar with Brunei Cherry 65% Cacao (bar) was made by Mashpi Chocolate (Quito, Ecuador); and imported and distributed by Andean Ecocrafts, LLC (Reno, NV).
The cacao variety used to make this bar was "Cacao Nacional Fino de Aroma."
This bar contained Brunei cherries (Garcinia forbesii in this bar). These grow on tropical evergreen trees in South America. They have a cherry-like flavor and frequently go through a light fermentation process.*
Aroma and flavor notes for this 65% cacao chocolate included: rich, slightly fermented fruit (cherry, light cherry wine) and dark, smooth (chocolate-y) chocolate.
Texture: smooth dark chocolate with a festive field of softly chewy, tiny rosy-colored bits of brunei cherries on the back side of this bar.
I enjoyed the blend of smooth, relatively sweet 65% dark chocolate and the authentic bits of tart cherry-like fruit that livened the entire bar.
I appreciated: the short list of authentic and powerful ingredients; as well as the company's focus on regenerative agriculture.
Ingredients: "Cacao mass, raw sugar cane, cacao butter, brunei cherry"
Allergen-related information: (None listed on the package that I could see.)
*Brunei cherries are related to mangosteen fruits originally from Southeast Asia--that are now cultivated in Central America; although there are members of the Garcinia genus that are native to the Americas.)
