Arete Chocolate - Expeller Pressed Cocoa Powder - Aug. 18, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Arete Chocolate

Expeller Pressed Cocoa Powder

Good +

Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 8.8 oz. (250 g.) in total package

Calories: 65 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. serving

Cost: $ Missing information  

Purchased from: Arete or The Chocolate Garage*

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Rice Theme Week.

Today's homemade chocolate and rice (cake) dessert employed Expeller Pressed Cocoa Powder from Arete Chocolate as a topping and ingredient.

An ultra-dark (82% cacao) chocolate covered rice cake** that I made. It was topped with a large scoop of green tea ice cream and garnished with a healthy dose of Arete Chocolate Cocoa Powder and chopped almonds.

The Arete Chocolate cocoa powder classed up this dessert considerably. I'm hoping they might resume making and selling chocolate one day. (They closed shop in 2020.)

Ingredients: Expeller pressed cocoa solids

 

Allergen-related information: (None listed/found on package.) 

*The Chocolate Garage Retail space in Palo Alto, CA, is no longer open.

**Notes: I used a commercially available (Lundberg Family Farms) rice cake as a form to be chocolate covered. Melting a bar of chocolate on a round rice cake for a single-serving dessert can be done in the microwave; but it is very easy to burn the rice cake if you start with room temperature/cooler chocolate. 

It's best to warm the chocolate up on a microwave-safe plate first (so that it's soft, but not completely melted) and then transfer it (with the help of a spatula if needed) and place on top of the rice cake--and finish the melting over the rice cake for a bit longer--spreading the melted chocolate over an uncovered edge if needed). You can then transfer this to a clean dessert plate if you want a nice clean edge.

The end product is an easy-to-make, attractive perch for ice cream or a fruit dessert.

 

Arete - Colombia Tumaco 56% dark milk chocolate - Sept. 8, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Arete Fine Chocolate

Colombia Tumaco 56% Dark Milk Chocolate (bar)

Good +++

Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar

Calories: 178 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar 

Cost: $ missing information

Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Colombia Theme Week.

Today's Colombia Tumaco 56% Dark Milk Chocolate (bar) was made by David and Leslie Senk of Arete Fine Chocolate.

 

Arete closed their doors of their factory/shop in Tennessee in March 2020. I am hoping they might re-open one day and/or at least return to chocolate making in the future. The couple (formerly located in California) have earned a well-deserved reputation for great chocolate  

I have been hanging on to this Arete (full disclosure, now-expired) Colombia Tumaco bar for a special occasion like this week (Colombia Theme Week and my birthday week).

This was a delicious dark milk chocolate bar, from the luxurious melt and smooth, creamy texture to the complex and subtle flavors.

It had very subtle and balanced flavor notes that included faint fruit (muffled apricot, plum jams), green herb (very light licorice infused green tea), very light earth, chocolate gingerbread molasses, freshly baked sourdough bread with butter and peach jam.

Was it still good? Yes, it was! Well executed and well-tempered chocolate like this tends to hold up (if stored properly in a cool, dark place). Thank you Arete!

Ingredients: Cocoa beans (Colombia, Tumaco), organic whole milk powder, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter.

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts, dairy, wheat, soy due to the use of shared equipment."

Arete Fine Chocolate - Bolivia Beniano 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Aug. 28, 2020

Chocolate of the Day 

Arete Fine Chocolate
Bolivia Beniano 70% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 173 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: Arete Fine Chocolate

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Bolivia Theme Week.

Today's Bolivia Beniano 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) was made by David Senk and Leslie Senk at Arete Fine Chocolate (formerly located in Milpitas, CA, and now in Spencer, TN). 

Beniano cacao (formerly also referred to as Amazonian Forastero) has been called the Nacional/national cacao of Bolivia, and is often associated with wild cacao with fine flavors. It is a bit more resistant (than delicate heritage varieties) to diseases like "Witches Broom" but still yields complex fine, nuanced flavors, making it desirable for small batch, artisan chocolate makers who can highlight and feature these qualities.

This chocolate had a delicious, well-balanced complexity with chocolate, spice, faint green (green tea, sweet young green peas/shoots, or steamed celery hearts with sweet greens), cereal/malt and dried sweet fruit (plum/prune) notes. All this from just two ingredients.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans (Bolivia Beniano), organic cane sugar.

Arete - Coco Powder; Coconut Drinking Chocolate - Dec. 8, 2019

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Arete
Expeller Pressed Cocoa Powder
Good - Good +
Weight: 4 oz. (113 g.) (estimate) in 1/2 cup hot chocolate / 8.8 oz. (250 g.) in total package of ("dry") cocoa powder
Calories: 200 calories in 1 small cup serving
Cost: $ Missing information
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

To make a good hot chocolate or drinking chocolate, you need to start with high-quality ingredients, like rich, flavorful, authentic Expeller Pressed Cocoa Powder from Arete Artisan Fine Chocolate (Spencer, TN).

To this cocoa powder I added (dairy) milk, homemade coconut milk, coconut oil and spices and a hint of monkfruit (sweetener)—resulting in a very rich hot drinking chocolate which was cooked and stirred and then run through a sieve into a cup.

"Zombie" Chocolates, Sticky Wilson's Candy Shop, Palo Alto

Chocolates have been available in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than 150 years. It's always interesting to research ghosts of chocolates past in one's own neighborhood.


A century ago Wilson's Candy, initially located on the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto, CA, opened its downtown Palo Alto store. An article in the December 2017 issue of the Stanford Illustrated Review talked about the new candy shop on University Avenue. Wilson's chocolates were described as superior, "College Educated Chocolates."


This and related information surfaced when I attended a talk at a local Palo Alto Historical Association meeting this evening.

Chocolates served at this event re-created a recipe for "Zombie" chocolates—sold by "Sticky" Wilson at his Palo Alto Candy Shop—including a coconut flavor. The truffle-shaped rounds were soft and chocolatey and rolled in flaked coconut.

Thank you to Nicole (and mom Kristen) and grandparents for bringing these historic chocolates back to life, and for explaining how they were made. The Coconut Zombie chocolate I tasted was great!

Arete Fine Chocolate - India Anamalai 58% Dark Milk Chocolate bar - March 14, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Arete Fine Chocolate
India Anamalai 58% Dark Milk Chocolate (bar)
Very Good
Weight: .76 oz. (21.6 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 115 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $12.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Arete Fine Chocolate (online order)

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and India Theme Week.

Today's India Anamalai 58% Dark Milk Chocolate (bar) from Arete Fine Chocolate.

Today's four-ingredient bar contained India Anamalai cocoa beans, organic whole milk powder, organic cane sugar and organic cocoa butter. The bar broke with a well-tempered snap.

The aroma of this 58% dark milk chocolate bar was similar to the the 70% Arete India Anamalai dark bar sampled earlier this week, with pleasing chocolate and light spice notes.

However, the added milk resulted in deliciously complementary caramel/light butterscotch (aroma and flavor notes) and gave the chocolate an even creamier melt and texture.

I find well-crafted dark milk chocolate bars like this addicting. They start with high-quality dark chocolate and come from skilled makers. Makers David and Leslie also sent me a sample of their Peru milk chocolate bar with this order. (Thank you!). I'll probably be ordering both these bars again, soon.

Arete Fine Chocolate - India Jangareddygudem 70% Dark Chocolate bar - March 13, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Arete Fine Chocolate
India Jangareddygudem 70% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good +++
Weight: .766 oz. (33.3 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 115 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $16.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and India Theme Week.

Today's India Jangareddygudem 70% Organic Dark Chocolate (bar) was crafted by Arete Fine Chocolate.

This three-ingredient bar contained organic cacao, organic cane sugar and single origin Jangareddygudem cocoa butter.

The chocolate had an enjoyable, complex and subtle tasting profile with light green notes, light spice, and a trace young green coconut/coconut palm sugar. Very smooth and well executed.

Arete Fine Chocolate - India Idukki 70% bar - March 12, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Arete Fine Chocolate
India Idukki 70% Organic Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good +++
Weight: .766 oz. (21.6 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 115 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $14.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and India Theme Week.

Today's India Idukki 70% Organic Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Arete Fine Chocolate.

Some cacao beans call for a little added cocoa butter. However, most chocolate makers producing single origin, artisan dark bars don't go the extra step of adding single origin cocoa butter (from the same origin as the cacao beans) to their bars. David and Leslie Senk, the duo behind Arete Fine Chocolate, do this.

Today's three ingredient bar contained organic cacao, organic cane sugar and single origin organic Idukki cocoa butter

This bar had a pleasing chocolate flavor with light spice and very light molasses note and smooth, even texture.

Arete Fine Chocolate - India Anamalai 70% bar - March 11, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Arete Fine Chocolate
India Anamalai 70% bar
Good +++
Weight: .766 oz. (21.6 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 115 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $14.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and India Theme Week.

In the last decade, many more chocolates made with cacao grown in (and flavor inclusions from), India have become more widely available.

Some of the best India single origin bars I've tasted have been made by David and Leslie Senk at Arete Fine Chocolate. Today's India Anamalai 70% Dark Chocolate bar from Arete was purchased as the Senks were relocating their chocolate factory from Milpitas, CA, to Spencer Tennessee. (Bars from both their previous and new locations are featured this week.)

Today's well-tempered Anamalai 70% dark bar broke with a hard snap and revealed a pleasing chocolate aroma with a light spice note. The melt was even, and the texture was smooth almost creamy.

Layered dark chocolate flavors gently bloomed into balanced fruit and molasses notes. This two-ingredient bar was made with cacao beans (from Anamalai* in Southern India) and organic cane sugar.

*The Anamalai hills straddle the border between Tamil Nadu and Kerala in Southern India. The name translates into English as "Elephant Mountains;" and this hilly forested area includes a park, wildlife sanctuary—areas where you might find tigers, elephants, teak trees and waterfalls. There are also farms where cocoa, coconuts and nutmeg are grown.

Arete Fine Chocolate - Lam Dong 100% Dark Chocolate bar - Oct. 28, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Arete Fine Chocolate
Viet Nam Lam Dong 100% Dark Chocolate bar
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 172.5 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $17.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Vietnam Theme Week.

Today's Viet Nam Lam Dong 100% Dark Chocolate bar was thoughtfully crafted by Arete Fine Chocolate (Spencer, TN). This was one of the best 100% cacao bars I've tasted in awhile. (Sadly it is sold out, so it's not possible to order some for future tastings.)

The chocolate was made with just one ingredient: cacao beans that were grown in the Lam Dong province of Vietnam northeast of Ho Chi Minh City, in the southern part of the country.

It had a mild malt aroma and flavor note (faint dark pumpernickel bread, stout). The melt and texture was creamy and smooth.* The deep, dense, robust chocolate flavor with a balanced touch of bitterness in the second half, grows on you and is very consistent (no off flavors). The finish lingers a bit, in a pleasant way.

Note: I wouldn't sample this with other sweet chocolate. It deserves to be enjoyed separately.

*If there was additional cacao butter added it wasn't clear. However, if it was, these makers have made it a point to press their own cacao butter (using the same beans they're using for the cocoa solids in a bar), which is more work than it sounds like.

Arete Fine Chocolate - 100% Guatemala Lachua Microlot Dark Chocolate bar - May 4, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Arete Fine Chocolate

100% Guatemala Lachua Microlot Dark Chocolate bar

Good +++

Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar

Calories: 184 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar

Cost: $11.00 (estimate) for 1 bar

Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA 

Welcome to Day #3 of 100% Cacao Theme Week.

Today's 100% Guatemala Lachua Microlot Dark Chocolate bar from Arete Fine Chocolate* was one of the most approachable 100% bars you'll find.

The bar had a pleasant aroma with dried fruit and faint molasses notes and a creamy melt and texture. The ultra dark chocolate flavor was smooth with very light and well balanced bitter notes and aftertaste with a flicker of high-end green tea.

*Arete Fine Chocolate owners David and Leslie Senk, are moving their company from Milpitas, CA to Tennessee and will re-open mid-2018 in their new location, with a freshly minted chocolate for sale, at that time.

Arete - The Halston Block - Dark Milk Chocolate Piedmont Gianduia Bar - Feb. 7, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Arete Fine Chocolate

The Halston Block - Dark Milk Chocolate Piedmont Gianduia Bar

Good +++ - Very Good

Weight: 2.25 oz. (62.5 g.) / 4.5 oz. (125 g.) in total bar

Calories: 337 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar

Cost: $25.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Nuts Theme Week.

Today's "The Halston Block - Dark Milk Chocolate Piedmont Gianduia Bar" was crafted by Arete Fine Chocolate (Milpitas, CA*).

Was it worth paying $5.55 USD per ounce (20 cents per gram) for a high-end, well-crafted chocolate bar with Piedmont hazelnuts? Short answer: yes, it was.

The word "Arete" means excellence, and a striving for high ideals. David and Leslie Senk are making chocolate from scratch with exacting standards, and have won awards for their gianduia chocolate and single origin bars.

Today's relatively heavy, ingot-shaped bar was swaddled in a gold foil inner wrapper, and had a rich, dark chocolate aroma with dried fruit notes.

Best served sliced, each piece or bite, had a smooth dark milk coating and had a smooth dense interior with flecks of hazelnut.

This bar had a satisfying melt and a flavorful dark milk chocolate base, balanced with high-quality hazelnut flavor. 

*Arete Fine Chocolate is in the process of moving their chocolate making operation from California to Tennessee (end of April 2018). The Halston Block (building) bar name is related to the name of their new location. Their bars will continue to be available online and in special chocolate places like The Chocolate Garage in Palo Alto, CA.

** An ingot is a pure material, usually a valuable metal, cast into a bar or brick shape.

Arete - Ecuador Costa Esmeraldas 100% Dark bar - Nov. 7, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Arete Fine Chocolate
Ecuador Costa Esmeraldas 100% Cacao Dark Chocolate bar
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 172 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #17 of South American Chocolate Weeks.

We're winding up a virtual tour of Ecuador with another ebony-colored bar from Costa Esmeraldas. (Yesterday's bar was made with cacao from the same area.) Today's chocolate is a 100% Ecuador Dark Chocolate bar from Arete Fine Chocolate (Milpitas, CA).

This bar had a bittersweet aroma, with hints of dried fruit (goji berries), light molasses spice, and had a balanced, bitter dark chocolate flavor throughout the tasting experience. The texture was uniformly creamy and pleasing.

This was a one-ingredient bar: just cocoa beans from Costa Esmeraldas, Ecuador, and nothing else.

Chocolate makers and Arete company founders, David and Leslie Senk, often press their own single origin cocoa butter (for extra smoothness). However, adding cocoa butter from the same bean origin as the cocoa solids is not typical. Even though cocoa beans can contain half fat; the percentages will vary according to origin and climate. Extra fat may be needed for leaner beans that typically grow closer to the Equator.

Some makers will add cocoa butter obtained from another region, even though cocoa fat can add some flavor characteristics. Using beans from the same farm or region for both cocoa solids and fat gives the taster a more pure or concentrated single origin experience.

Arete - Brasil 64% Organic Dark Milk bar - Oct. 28, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Arete Fine Chocolate
Brasil - Fazenda Camboa 64% Organic Dark Milk Chocolate bar
Good +
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 173 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA


Welcome to Day #7 of South American Chocolate Theme Weeks.

Today's Brasil Dark Milk Chocolate bar from Arete Fine Chocolate (Milpitas, CA) was made with just three ingredients: organic cacao, organic cane sugar and organic whole milk powder.

The artful crafting of these three, high-quality ingredients resulted in a chocolate that maintained a clear tart sweet, fruity, dark chocolate complexity. At the same time the milk tamed the flavor profile enough to satisfy those who prefer a mellower chocolate.

The list of truly fine dark milk chocolate bars is short. One hopes Arete and other bean-to-bar chocolate makers will continue to offer single origin bars like this in the future.

The organic cacao for this bar was grown in Brazil, at Fazenda Camboa, a family-owned farm in Bahia, Brazil.

Arete - Tanzania Kokoa Kamili 70% Dark Chocolate bar - May 10, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Arete Fine Chocolate
Tanzania Kokoa Kamili 70% Dark Chocolate bar
Very Good
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 173 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Africa Theme Weeks. This week we're exploring Tanzania.

Today's Tanzania Kokoa Kamili 70% Dark Chocolate bar was carefully crafted by Arete Fine Chocolate (Milpitas, CA).

This was a very pleasing two-ingredient bar that tasted like plum and raisins—but not just any raisins. The wonderful kind that are embedded in the best Boston brown bread* one can make. It also tasted like great chocolate, i.e. had classic chocolate flavor with balanced rich flavor notes.

*Boston brown bread is a dark-colored, cake-like "bread" with molasses, corn meal and raisins that is steamed in a can. It was a childhood favorite. While there is no cocoa in the original recipe, it has a similar rich flavor and color.

Arete - Bolivia Wild Harvest 70% bar - April 23, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Arete Fine Chocolate
Bolivia Wild Harvest 70% Dark Chocolate bar
Good+++-Very Good
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 172.5 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Bolivia Theme Week.

Today's Bolivia 70 percent Dark Chocolate bar from Arete Fine Chocolate (Milpitas, CA) was crafted from wild harvest cacao.

This Arete Bolivia bar had true chocolate (brownie, chocolate malt) flavor, like other Bolivia cacao-based bars this week. However, the Arete two-ingredient bar (wild harvest Bolivia cocoa beans and organic cane sugar) had aroma and flavor with a bit more breadth and depth.

Don't get me wrong, many people will love (or prefer) the smoothness of 100 percent true chocolate flavor. However, for me, having a little extra mystery warm green in the aroma and concentrated dried fruit acidity and some mysterious baked good flavors (leaning toward raisin spice cake/hot cereal) made this bar more interesting.

There were no off notes, just intriguing and multi-dimensional ones. And that says something about the methods of the maker (thank you David Senk)—to be able tease out and develop the maximum potential of a particular batch of beans (on a remarkably consistent basis) without having anything go sideways.

Arete - OKO Caribe 70% Organic Dark Chocolate bar - Apr. 16, 2017

Chocolate of the Day:

Arete Fine Chocolate
OKO Caribe 70 percent Organic Dark Chocolate bar
Very Good
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 172 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and the Dominican Republic Theme Week.

Today's OKO Caribe 70 percent Organic Dark bar from Arete Fine Chocolate (Milpitas, CA) follows hot on the heels of yesterday's Arete bar from Finca Elvesia (another farm/plantation in the Dominican Republic), and that invited some side-by-side comparison tasting.

This dark chocolate had a pleasing green (green tea + green fruit) aroma laced with the promise of something sweet.

The well-tempered bar broke with hard snap and had an even melt. And it tasted like a deep, dark and well-rounded, satisfying fruit cake or Boston brown bread* with a new satisfying note in every bite: a uniform, dried fruit flavor (prunes, apricots with a touch of red fruit). The sweetness was almost that of brown sugar, very light molasses and root beer.

Both yesterday's and today's Arete bars made with DR cacao were very well executed two-ingredient bars, crafted from organic cocoa beans and organic cane sugar. They were similar, yet had some subtle differences.

Yesterday's bar may have had more raisin notes vs. other dried or "brown" fruit notes. They both had pleasant green notes. Yesterday's bar seemed to have a slightly more spice-forward aroma. Today's bar tasted a bit "darker." You can't go wrong with either one.

The OKO Caribe fermentary is located near the city of San Francisco de Macoris in N-NE Dominican Republic. The owners work with different farmers in the region to produce a high-quality product. (Finca Elvesia is also on the north side of the island.)

*Boston brown bread is a dense, dark brown "bread" steamed (usually in a can), that contains molasses, buttermilk, cornmeal, rye or wheat flour and raisins, that is as much a cake as it is a bread. I used to love eating thick, round slices of this bread with butter or cream cheese.

Arete - Dominican Republic Finca Elvesia 70% Organic bar - Apr. 15, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Arete Fine Chocolate
Dominican Republic - Finca Elvesia 70% Organic Dark Chocolate bar
Very Good
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 172 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and the Dominican Republic Theme Week.

This artfully-balanced and well-tempered Dominican Republic 70 percent organic bar from Arete Fine Chocolate (Milpitas, CA) had a rich green* aroma (a combination of green wood, green fruit and light green floral) with some faint hints of spice, aromatic/floral black pepper and dried fruit thrown in.

With the first bite, the organic chocolate—made with cacao beans grown at Finca Elvesia (farm/plantation in the Dominican Republic)—bloomed into a rich chocolate tasting arc with dried fruit (raisin, apricot), fine smooth coffee, nutty, chocolate, and baked cherry pie flavor notes.

The fine finish continued at a very low level for a minute, with mild bittersweet notes. (I've been told that shorter, in-country** fermentation times can result in (a deliberate) slight bitterness.)

What a great ride. And all from just two ingredients: organic cocoa beans and organic cane sugar. Thank you to David and Leslie Senk for embarking on their journey to excellence.

*I'm working on better words to describe my perception of "green." There are a wide range of smells and tastes associated with edibles that fall under this category: green wood, green plants, green fruit (e.g. green bananas), green floral or at the far end of this spectrum, green forest (that may also include some jungle loam and earth elements). 

The green I'm picking up this week with chocolates made from DR cacao fall somewhere between green wood and green floral, with occasional hints of green fruit. However, I've found all these "green" elements to be well-balanced, delicate and well-balanced. It's a more subtle green than one might find, e.g., in some Ecuador bars.

** Fermentation is one of the first steps in chocolate-making. Almost all fermentation takes place "in-country", or in the country where the beans have been grown and harvested, and not where the final beans will be shipped for further steps (roasting, winnowing, conching, and ultimately tempering and molding, etc.).

Arete - Viet Nam Tien Giang 73% dark bar - Mar. 31, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Arete Fine Chocolate
Viet Nam Tien Giang 73 percent Dark Chocolate bar
Very Good
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 172.5 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $15.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Vietnam Theme Week.

Today's Viet Nam Tien Giang 73 percent Dark Chocolate bar was artfully made by David and Leslie Senk of Arete Fine Chocolate (Milpitas, CA), a small batch, bean-to-bar maker in the Silicon Valley area.

They named their company Arete, and the definition (excellence, virtue, striving to meet one's fullest potential, reaching for the stars) does seem to be a great fit. The chocolate offerings they have carefully crafted—including today's Vietnam (or Viet Nam) dark bar—are proof of that.

I could eat this bar on a regular basis very easily. The aroma was very pleasing with delicate, naturally sweet citrus, floral and fruit notes. The melt and texture were even and smooth.

The bar had a light green, forest* in spring flavor with mild dried fruit and faint raisin toast notes, with a clean finish.


Note: Arete recently began offering a Viet Nam Lam Dong 73 percent dark chocolate, single origin bar. I look forward to trying this bar in the future.

*It may have been my imagination, but the aroma reminded me of the lovely citrus, floral highlights in Juniper Ridge Douglas Fir tea. New growth, or tips, appear at the end of Douglas Fir branches in the spring and are quite tasty. You might be surprised by their delicate flavor. 

Arete - Peru Phantom 70%; Dark Milk 58% bars - Nov. 19, 2016

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Arete Fine Chocolate

Peru Phantom 70% chocolate bar
Very Good
Weight: .8 oz. (22.6 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 120 calories (estimate) in .8 oz. (22.6 g.) of bar
Cost: $ N/A - sample from Arete Chocolate
Purchased from: Arete Chocolate, Milpitas, CA

Peru Nacional 58% Dark Milk Chocolate bar
Very Good
Weight: .8 oz. (22.6 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 120 calories (estimate) in .8 oz. (22.6 g.) of bar
Cost: $ N/A - sample from Arete Chocolate
Purchased from: Arete Fine Chocolate, Milpitas, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.

Next week we'll be celebrating Thanksgiving in the U.S. I'm feeling thankful for sunny and cool weather this week, the good company of human and animal friends, and enough chocolates to last through the winter months.

...And, a few chocolate stories to share, such as the tale of the rediscovered Pure Nacional cacao in the Maranon Valley of Peru.

The Discovery at Maranon River Canyon
The story goes as follows: After 90+ years, Pure Nacional Cacao with a high percentage* of white beans was re-discovered in 2007 by Dan Pearson and Brian Horsley (of Maranon Chocolate), in Northern Peru, in the remote Maranon River Canyon.

Once grown in Ecuador, but wiped out by disease, this strain/variety that was thought to be extinct in Ecuador by 1920.

The find was confirmed by genetic tests. Stimulated by discovery stories like this, no less than Anthony Bourdain, and other experts, have made trips up rivers and into the jungles of Central and South America to find hidden, prized Criollo (light-beaned) cacao.

Meanwhile, the presumed extinct variety, presumably, had been quietly harvested in Peru for generations by local farmers, without much ado, but perhaps without full outside recognition of the higher quality stock.

Since the discovery, Maranon Chocolate has been working directly with farmers to select and develop high-quality beans to bring them to market—to craft and bean-to-bar chocolate makers. And, these beans have produced some fine bars.

Arete Peru Maranon Canyon bars
Peru Nacional beans also caught the attention of David and Leslie Senk in the San Francisco Bay Area, who were starting a bean-to-bar chocolate company—Arete Fine Chocolate.

And, today I'm featuring two Peruvian cacao bars from Arete Fine Chocolate (Milpitas, CA): the Peru Phantom 70% Dark Chocolate bar and the Peru Nacional 58% Dark Milk Chocolate bar.

The Arete 70% Peru Phantom bar had a wonderful dark chocolate aroma with hints of light spice, fruit and cinnamon raisin toast. The bar's even, lovely fruit flavor was reminiscent of a fine wine, and contained some of the best elements of a subtle but flavorful Criollo cacao. The bar had a smooth melt and even texture. This was a finely-crafted bar with uniformly very high-quality chocolate and no off flavors.

The Arete 58% Dark Milk chocolate bar was milk chocolate even dark fans might love. It had a faint milk chocolate aroma, but at the first creamy bite it exploded with full rich milk chocolate, light fruit (ripe sweet berries and peaches) and heavy caramel flavors. This bar was very enjoyable down to the last lingering hint of caramel. Yum.

I first tasted this dark milk chocolate at The Chocolate Garage when Arete owners/founders David and Leslie Senk visited there one evening. I loved it then, and just as much several months later.

*Roughly 40% white beans. Due to the way that cacao is pollinated, a mix of different cacao beans (white and purple) can occur within a field, tree, or even within each cacao pod.

Arete - Costa Esmeraldas, Camino Verde Ecuador bars - Sept. 11, 2016

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Arete Fine Chocolate

Costa Esmeraldas 70% Dark Chocolate bar
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 173 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Camino Verde 75% Dark Chocolate bar
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 173 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $0 for 1 bar (sample)
Purchased from: N/A - Arete, Milpitas, CA

Welcome to the 10th Anniversary of Chocolate Banquet (Sept. 11, 2016) and Day #7 of Ecuador Chocolate Theme Week.

Today, I'm featuring two single origin dark bars carefully hand-crafted from Ecuadorian cacao by David and Leslie Senk at Arete Fine Chocolate (Milpitas, CA). I first tasted Arete chocolate (and gianduia spread) at The Chocolate Garage (Palo Alto, CA).

Arete (pronounced ah-reh-'tay) stands for excellence and a life journey toward reaching life's potential, and the Senks are committed to living up to their company's name as they make high-quality single origin bars.

Whereas yesterday's Arete Ecuador bar (made with beans from Hacienda Victoria) was very flavorful with rich, tart dried fruit (plums, raisins) flavors with a hint of nuttiness, today's two bars each had their own aromas and flavors.

Both these Ecuador bars were well made, well tempered and had a clean finish with no "off" flavors.

Camino Verde has been a well-known source for cacao beans grown in Ecudor. I've tasted several single origin bars made by different makers, all using cacao beans from this same area. However, the end results are slightly different. Harvests may vary slightly. Or chocolate makers may sort beans and nibs differently, choose different roast times, or conching times.