Karu
Pure Cacao 100% Cacao Dark Chocolate Single Region Tumaco Colombia (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .53 oz. (15 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 70 calories in 1 square of bar (1/4 bar)
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Xocolatl Garden, Carmel, CA
Pure Cacao 100% Cacao Dark Chocolate Single Region Tumaco Colombia (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .53 oz. (15 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 70 calories in 1 square of bar (1/4 bar)
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Xocolatl Garden, Carmel, CA
Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Colombia Theme Week.
Today's Karu Pure Cacao 100% Cacao Dark Chocolate Single Region Tumaco Colombia (bar) was made in Bogota, Colombia and distributed in the USA and Canada by Tropicalia LLC.
The maker behind Karu is Maria Leja Villarreal, who created her company in Dubai. She specializes in Colombian cacao chocolates.
Aroma notes included: dark chocolate, with faint, slightly fruity/tangy chili peppers (chipotle) and bell pepper.
Texture: relatively smooth with a slight astringency, but relatively creamy melt and mouthfeel
Flavor notes included: bitter then sour then a fainter, creamier bitter + sour and slight chili pepper/savory (mole sauce) that flowed into a balanced, very long, and ultimately clean (and not that bitter) finish.
I enjoyed the faint, slightly savory chili/bell pepper/mole notes--and could see melting a square of this chocolate into a barbeque or savory chili sauce or marinade.
When a maker crafts a bar with 100% cacao, there is no sugar or milk or other ingredients to hide behind. So I always respect this choice that allows us to taste the pure original flavor of cacao. No two origins will taste exactly the same.
Early on in my chocolate journey I tasted some 100% bars with some "off" flavors that might have been covered up if the bar had been 50% sugar. There were no earthy/moldy botanical or other funky notes in this chocolate.
This single-ingredient bar is not for everyone, and you won't be tempted to eat too much. (I felt happy and satisfied with one square.) But I enjoyed the ride, and kept thinking of possible dishes with this chocolate (vegetable, chili beans, chicken) as well as savory-sweet items (chipotle brownies or spiced chocolate ice cream).
I would include this in a 100%er tasting flight to compare with others single ingredient, single origin cacao bars.
Ingredients: Cacao
Allergen-related information: Produced in facilities processing milk and nuts
