Kessho Craft Chocolate
Porcini Dark Milk 60% Cacao Semuliki Forest, Uganda (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 177 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Porcini Dark Milk 60% Cacao Semuliki Forest, Uganda (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 177 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Kessho, online order
Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate & Mushrooms Theme Week. And Happy 250th birthday to those celebrating Independence Day in the U.S.A.
Today's Porcini Dark Milk 60% Cacao Semuliki Forest, Uganda (bar) was from Kessho Craft Chocolate (distributed by Kessho, LLC (Austin, TX)).
The cacao used to make this bar was grown in the Semuliki Forest region of Uganda.
Aroma and flavor notes included: smooth, rich dark chocolate; umami (gently savory, mushroom); subtle caramel; and very faint (barely detectable) fruit and nuts. It was a smooth and attractively interesting flavor ride, with a slight mushroom flavor at the end of a long relatively sweet finish.
Most of the mushroom/fungi flavor inclusions in this week's chocolates have been what are often considered "medicinal" or "adaptogenic" species. There are well over 10,000 species of mushrooms, and only a small subset of these are edible. The subset of these that taste good is even smaller.*
However, happily, today's Porcini mushroom flavor came with more delicious culinary associations, and not just, "eat it and it will be good for you" implied messaging.
Texture: smooth, relatively creamy, dark milk chocolate (with no detectable mushroom powder ("grit")). (The mushroom powder was well incorporated into the chocolate.)
I enjoyed the blend of dark milk chocolate with balanced umami notes, and authentic (and not overwhelming) mushroom flavor; the use of single origin cacao; and the short list of ingredients.
Maker's Tasting Notes: Earthiness, umami, blue cheese
Ingredients: "Whole cacao beans, sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, porcini mushroom powder"
Allergen-related information: "Contains milk. Made in a facility that also processes tree nuts, wheat, sesame and eggs"
*I've found this to be true for plants as well. About 10% of all plants are technically edible, and only 10% of that number actually taste good. Do your research on any plants (or certainly any mushrooms) you taste in the wild. As the cautionary advisory/saying goes in the mushroom foraging circles: "Every mushroom is edible, at least once..."
