Chocolate of The Day
Cacao Laboratory
Earth - Ceremonial Grade Cacao 100% Cacao with Moringa & Chipotle (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .35 oz. (10 g.) / 3.53 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 57 calories in 2 squares
Cost: $15.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Xocolatl Garden, Carmel, CA
Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate & Earth Theme Week, featuring several chocolates with ties to mountains, forests, plants and gardens.
Today's Earth - Ceremonial Grade Cacao 100% Cacao with Moringa & Chipotle (bar) was made by Cacao Laboratory Corp. (Kingston, NY).
Aroma notes included: slightly earthy dark chocolate; and--after first cutting open the inner wrapper--it had a pepper-like sharpness (that made me cough if I inhaled too deeply). Typically a sensation like this decreases if the chocolate airs out for about 10+ minutes after opening. (It did take the feisty edge off this bar.)
Flavor notes included a pleasant green/plant taste; fire-roasted, slightly early (mild) pepper; followed by a steep dive into 100% cacao bitter and deep-chocolate-y, dark chocolate. About an hour later, after something to eat, I wanted a second piece/square; and the second piece seemed mellower and even more enjoyable.
Texture: relatively smooth with a very slight, temporary, micron level graininess, and very faint lingering (and balanced) roasted/gently smoked pepper + cacao finish.
I appreciated Cacao Lab's short list of (three) organic ingredients, and the idea of achieving better balance in a world of different forces, with assistance from the four elements (earth, air, fire and water). Their Sacred Elements Blends (line of bars) "were created to help you harness the qualities of the four classical elements..."
Indeed, I did feel more grounded within about 10 minutes after sitting and eating today's chocolate. (The physical absence of a sugar buzz helped with that feeling.) Eating a 100% unsweetened chocolate is also a much slower, arguably more deliberate, experience than scarfing down the average, sugar-sweetened ("more-ish") chocolate.
Maker's Tasting Notes: "Rich leather, smoke"
Ingredients: Theobroma cacao*, moringa*, chipotle* (*organic)
Allergen-related information: Processed on equipment that also processes nuts
*Notes about the 3 ingredients:
Cacao: single origin cacao (sourced from Manabi, Ecuador)
Chipotle peppers (native to the Americas) are smoke-dried jalapeno peppers--a process that gives them a mellower, richer flavor.
Moringa is a nutritious, drought-resistant tree originally from northwestern India. While not native to the Americas, it is now widely grown in Brazil, Colombia, Peru, Ecuador and other countries.
