Fjak Chocolate - Hardanger Cider 70% Dark Chocolate Limited Edition (bar) - Nov. 8, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Fjak Chocolate AS
Hardanger Cider 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) Limited Edition
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.11 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 176 calories in 1/2 bar 
Cost: $19.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #20 of Chocolate and Fruits Theme Week. 

Today's Hardanger Cider 70% Dark Chocolate Limited Edition (bar) was handcrafted in small batches by Fjak Chocolate AS in Norway, using local apples that grow on the hillsides/valleys above the fjords.

Aroma notes included: a gently complex and pleasing blend of chocolate, fruit (apple) and warm roasted (nuts, spirits, wood). (There were no nut ingredients in this bar.) 

Flavor notes: Billed as "bold and boozy" this bar was rich, layered, subdued and elegant. Imagine the best of two spirits with authentic apple fruit essence: 1.) the crisp, tart-sweet apple freshness of a fermented hard apple cider and 2.) the rich, smooth wood barrel flavor notes of small-batch apple brandy...together, incorporated into a rich, smooth, single origin (Tanzania) cacao.

The chocolate (cacao), apple/fruit (and perhaps some wood that surrounded the fermenting apples) complemented each other very nicely. Bold flavors, artfully blended, to create a rich, smooth dark chocolate bar, with a tasty, lingering, bold finish. (The balanced apple acidity wasn't apparent until later for me.)

Texture: smooth texture with a light to medium fruit/yogurt/earth astringency in the finish.

I appreciated the authentic single origin flavors (local Norwegian apples, Tanzanian cacao); the balanced complexity in both aroma and flavor; and the short list of quality and certified organic ingredients.

Maker's Tasting Notes: "clean, crisp and aromatic"..."We infuse Tanzania cocoa nibs with cider, resulting in a bar with a fine balance between acidity and fruitiness."

Note: Today's Fjak cider bar was similar to a Fjak cider bar featured on Chocolate Banquet in June 2023. Small batch, single origin ingredients vary slightly from year-to-year and can cause tiny differences in flavors. You don't step into the same river twice. But, even though cacao harvest or apple cider batch may evolve slightly with different temperatures, terroir/orchard, or even fruit genetics...Chocolate Banquet is all about eating a new chocolate (and avoiding duplicates. 

So, see next post (a second apple-related dark chocolate bar featured today)--a Somerville Chocolate chocolate bar infused with applewood smoke. 

Ingredients: Cocoa Beans*, Cane Sugar*, Cocoa Butter*, Cider*, Dried apple*, Apple aroma* Min. 70% cocoa (*Organic)

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk. Processed in a facility that handles nuts, dairy and gluten