Chocolate(s) of the Day
Eclat Chocolate
Zuta & Orange 54%/33% Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.1 oz. (30 g.) / 2.2 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 162 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Dispensary, online order
Embers Chocolate
Chocolate Covered Orange Single Origin 45% Milk Chocolate with Bay (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .53 oz. (15 g.) in 1 small bar
Calories: 71 calories in 1 small bar
Cost: $6.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Dispensary, online order
Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate & Mint Theme Week.
Today's two bars both contained milk chocolate, orange and herb flavors.
Zuta & Orange 54%/33% Cacao bar
Aroma and flavor notes for this blended bar from Eclat Chocolate (West Chester, PA) included: dark milk chocolate (smooth, chocolate-y, slightly roasted cacao with faint cream and nut); light citrus and exotic mint (that tasted like light spearmint, with very faint lemon balm and/or Douglas Fir tips).
Texture: creamy, smooth textured milk chocolate blended into smooth dark chocolate.
The slightly exotic zuta (Israeli mint) and the citrus (orange) ingredients were well integrated with the chocolate. I noticed the mint a little more in the aroma than the flavor.
I liked the idea of running two different cacao percent chocolates together in parallel strips in the same bar. The integration of the two cacao percentage levels together was a smooth one, and added a gentle, balanced complexity to the chocolate.
I also appreciated the choice (and subtlety) of the two flavor inclusions; although I found myself wanting to taste a little bit more of the unique zuta mint (Micromeria fruticosa).
Ingredients: Dark chocolate (min. cocoa mass 54%, sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin, natural vanilla), milk chocolate (min. cocoa powder 33%, sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, soya lecithin, natural vanilla), fresh zuta, orange.
Allergen-related information: Contains Milk. "Produced in a facility that handles peanuts, tree nuts, milk, wheat and soy."
Chocolate Orange Milk Chocolate 45% bar
This diminutive bar was made by Embers Chocolate (Scottsdale, AZ).
Aroma and flavor notes included: creamy, dark milk chocolate, citrus (orange), mint/menthol/laurel with a hint of lemon.
Texture: smooth, thick and creamy dark milk chocolate with chewy bites of candied orange pieces. Tiny green (bay leaf) micro-confetti added a light herbal flavor, but no detectable leaf texture/grit
This was a successful, thoughtful and well-executed blend of flavors. The bay leaf bits added gentle herbal (light laurel/bay flavor), i.e. Turkish Bay Laurel (Laurus nobilis)--not the much stronger California Bay variety (Umbelluria californica) that I'm used to sampling in the San Francisco Bay Area where I live.
I also appreciated the short list of ingredients and use of organic cacao and sugar.
Maker's tasting notes: "...bright citrus meets silky 45% milk chocolate, with a whisper of bay leaf that pulls out the sweetness and adds a savory, aromatic edge..."
Ingredients: Cacao Beans*, Cane Sugar*, Milk Powder, Candied Orange Peel (Sugar, Water, Malic Acid), Bay Leaf. (* = Organic Ingredient)
Allergen-related information: Contains Milk. Made using shared equipment that may contain traces of milk, eggs, tree nuts, peanuts, soy, and sesame.
