Chamisa Chocolate - Cardamom Coffee bar - Jan. 26, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Chamisa Chocolate
Cardamom Coffee bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (30 g.) / 2 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chamisa Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and ABCD Theme Week. If you're just tuning in, you may be wondering, what does this alphabetic nonsense all about? This week, I'm featuring chocolates with flavor inclusions that start with the letters A, B, C and/or D.

Today's Cardamom Coffee 65% dark chocolate bar was from organic, micro-batch chocolate maker Amanda Hatherly at Chamisa Chocolate (Santa Fe, NM).  

The cardamom* used to infuse this chocolate was allowed to be the star flavor, with coffee and dark chocolate playing important supporting roles. Great choice. 

Who ever said "three's a crowd," never experienced these three flavors making magic together. Each of these bold flavors can hold their own and are amiable companions. Anything but boring, and deeply satisfying.

The skillful flavor blend in this well-tempered, organic and vegan bar allowed me to fully appreciate and savor cardamom's deep complexity. The aroma and flavor had subtle herby, minty, caraway, anise, bubble gum, fragrant black pepper, very light sweet, smoked mustard, and other notes) during the tasting experience. And the blend of cardamom and the coffee helped to create a long, pleasing, flavorful finish.

We can thank culinary pioneers and spice traders in Arab countries, centuries ago, for being the first to blend coffee with cardamom. This flavor duo was adopted by neighboring countries; and, more recently, it can be found in chocolate bars and confections/desserts in the U.S. 

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic sugar, organic cacao butter, organic coffee, organic cardamom.

*Cardamom has it's origins in Asia. Black (also known as brown) cardamom is from Bhutan, Nepal, and India. Green cardamom has its origins further south, in the lush forests of India and across parts of Malaysia.

While not specified in the ingredients list, I'm assuming the cardamom in this bar was predominantly black/brown cardamom (vs. green cardamom); but it could have been a mix of both. 

I have seen people using black cardamom and green cardamom with their coffee (and chocolate). And some people do use a mix of both types. Green cardamom has more upbeat notes: bubble gum/tropical spice and green vanilla/nutmeg; whereas black cardamom is a bit less zingy, but subtley complex, and sometimes almost smoky.

Chamisa Chocolate - Strawberry Basil bar - Jan. 25, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Chamisa Chocolate
Strawberry Basil bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (30 g.) / 2 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chamisa Chocolate, online order

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

Today's Strawberry Basil bar was created by Amanda Hatherly at Chamisa Chocolate (Santa Fe, NM).

Amanda's organic, rich, dark sweet chocolate (65% cacao) bar sparkled with bright, fresh summer flavors: tart-sweet strawberry and authentic fresh basil. (I also caught a barely detectable whiff of very faint roasted coffee in the initial aroma.) The finish was light and lingering with sweet chocolate, red berry and subtle herbal (basil) notes.

This chocolate was the perfect antidote for a blustery, cold day in January.

The scent of basil did create a bit of a brain surprise when I took the first bite of chocolate. My palette/brain was anticipating a savory Mediterranean dish with tomato sauce and cheese, or a savory basil fruit salad...since this herb is rarely used in sweet dishes. A pity really. 

Basil is a member of the mint family. And while it's possible to use sweet* basil to make basil chocolate chip ice cream, lemon and basil sorbet, or sweet basil tea--most of us are so used to peppermint (and more occasionally spearmint) being wedded to sweet items that basil blended with sugar and chocolate may take some getting used to. (Peppermint also has a stronger mint (menthol) punch per bunch, making it a potentially less expensive flavoring in large scale production.)

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic sugar, organic cacao butter, organic strawberries, organic basil.

*There are many types of basil, including Thai, Lemon, Greek and Cinnamon--each with their own flavor nuances--but the most common variety found in U.S. grocery stores is "sweet" basil (Ocimum basilicum) or cultivars of this common basil, such as Genovese basil (Ocimum basilicum 'Genovese'). 

Chamisa Chocolate - Oat Milk Maca Breakfast Bar - Jan. 24, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Chamisa Chocolate
Oat Milk and Maca Breakfast Bar
Good ++
Weight: 2 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 310 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $N/A for 1 bar
Purchased from: N/A - sample from Chamisa Chocolate - thank you

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

Today's Oat Milk and Maca Breakfast Bar was crafted by Amanda Hatherly at Chamisa Chocolate (Santa Fe, NM), a micro-batch chocolate maker.

I sometimes eat oatmeal for breakfast; but, today's Chamisa prototype Breakfast Bar was a delicious, elevated chocolate + oat a.m. entree. (For the broad-minded, this bar would also be perfectly enjoyable as a lunch/picnic/hike or dinner dessert.)

This Breakfast Bar had a rich, oaty aroma, from oat milk and a sprinkling (and incorporation) of whole oat pieces, and layers of flavor from whole raisins, pumpkin seeds and pieces of almond. It was sweet without being overly so (thank you!). 

Maca* root (powder) provided light sweetness, along with faint earthy and nutty notes.

Ingredients: cocoa beans, cocoa butter, oat milk, organic sugar, raisins, maca, pumpkin seeds, almonds. (Guess: Maybe a tiny dash of cinnamon?)

*Maca (Lepidium meyenii) root resembles a large, tuberous radish; and it has become a popular health food and flavor inclusion in recent years. Usually found in powdered form, this edible plant's origins are in the highlands of Peru/South America. It has been harvested there by native Peruvians for millennia, and used as a medicinal plant. (Maca has also been called "Peruvian ginseng.") 

Maca aroma and flavor observations range from butterscotch, caramel and malt to earthy and nutty.

Chamisa Chocolate - Santa Fe Biscochito dark bar, Matcha white chocolate bar - Dec. 22, 2019

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Chamisa Chocolate
Santa Fe Biscochito dark bar
Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: N/A - sample bar
Purchased from: N/A - from Chamisa Chocolate

Welcome to Day #1 of Holiday Tea and Spirits Theme Week.

Today's bars were from Chamisa Chocolate (Santa Fe, NM). Thank you to Amanda for sharing your wonderful "experimental" holiday cookie and tea chocolate bars.

A traditional biscochito is a butter cookie with spices (e.g. star anise) that you might find in the Southwestern U.S. These cookies are, I'm told, the state cookie of the State of New Mexico. Today's dark bar contained a gluten-free blend of almond flour and spices that was a great tribute to this Santa Fe favorite.

I also appreciated being able to sample an "experimental" Green Tea Matcha white chocolate bar with crisped rice.

This complex bar had both warming and cooling elements, with green tea, and a faint hint of mint/(menthol?) notes. The rice added a light crunch that complemented the smooth white chocolate base—that was not too sweet (thank you!).

Again, thank you to Amanda for sharing these chocolates. They brightened up our winter holiday season.

*Chamisa Chocolate offers a variety of vegan and gluten free chocolate bars, including many with flavor inclusions and a few single origin bars.

Chamisa Chocolate - Flower Petal and Sea Salt 65% Belize bar - Sept. 9, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chamisa Chocolate
Flower Petal and Sea Salt 65% Belize bar
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (30 g.) / 2 oz. (60 g.) (per label) for total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chamisa Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #10, the last day, of Chamisa Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Flower Petal and Sea Salt 65% Belize dark bar was made by Chamisa Chocolate (Santa Fe, NM).

This sweet dark chocolate bar had fairly light, upbeat, fruit and floral notes. The texture was smooth with a thick and creamy melt and mouthfeel. The sea salt helped balance out the sweetness. The cacao was from Belize.

While it was difficult to pick out any individual flower flavor, the colored petals (flecks of blue cornflower, golden marigolds, rose and orange blossom) on the back of the bar were an attractive visual element.

Chamisa Chocolate - Maruya Miso 71% Honduras bar - Sept. 8, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chamisa Chocolate
Maruya Miso 71% Honduras dark bar
Good +++
Weight: 1 oz. (30 g.) / 2 oz. (60 g.) (per label) for total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chamisa Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #9 of Chamisa Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Maruya Miso 71% Honduras dark bar was from Chamisa Chocolate (Santa Fe, NM).

This umami* bar had subtle and balanced aroma notes of chocolate, fermented sweet grapes, and multi-layered and savory soy**. In fact this bar (made with Honduras cacao) contained a small amount of Maruya Miso.

The bar had a smooth texture and melt, and a flavor not unlike a nice dark milk** chocolate with salt, only salt/sodium with a more depth and mellow flavor.

If you're a fan of chocolate with savory flavors, please do try this bar.

*Umami is a Japanese term coined to describe another dimension of flavor, akin to what some call savory. We often talk about our taste buds being able to detect sweet, sour, salty and bitter flavors. Umami would be closest to salt, but it goes beyond that. (Think mushrooms, cheeses, meats, bacon, soy, etc. ) Umami is often correlated with the presence of glutamates, including (but certainly not limited to) monosodium glutamate.

**There was no milk in this bar. The ingredients list read: "Organic cacao beans, organic sugar, organic cacao butter, Maruya Miso (contains soy)." Maruya Miso is based an an early fermented food that originated in China and Japan, thought to date back to the sixth century A.D.

Chamisa Chocolate - Zanzibar 61% dark blend bar - Sept. 7, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chamisa Chocolate
Zanzibar 61% dark bar with coconut and ginger
Good +++
Weight: 1 oz. (30 g.) / 2 oz. (60 g.) (per label) for total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chamisa Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chamisa Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Zanzibar 61% dark blend bar with coconut and ginger was made by Chamisa Chocolate (Santa Fe, NM).

Today's exotic-sounding Zanzibar chocolate bar had a cocoa and coconut aroma, and a creamy texture—thanks to added cocoa butter and coconut milk.

Coconut palm sugar (as well as flecks of ginger and pieces of coconut adorning the back of this bar) gave this chocolate a subtle, sweet, tropical island flavor. The cacao used to make this bar was an organic blend (multiple origins).

As with the other bars this week from this company, the bar had an appealing, restrained sweetness.

Chamisa Chocolate - a date with chocolate 71% Honduras bar - Sept. 5, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chamisa Chocolate
a date with chocolate 71% Honduras bar
Good +++
Weight: 1 oz. (30 g.) / 2 oz. (60 g.) (per label) for total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chamisa Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chamisa Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's "a date with chocolate" 71% Honduras bar was crafted by Chamisa Chocolate (Santa Fe, NM).

This bar was thick and creamy and had light earth (mushroom), cacao and nutty flavor notes.

The incorporation of the dates (as the sole sweetener) was perfect. The dates offered sweetness without being overly sweet (which is often the result when dates are added to a chocolate items).

Chamisa Chocolate - tree of gold (mulberries) 71% Honduras bar - Sept. 4, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chamisa Chocolate
tree of gold (mulberries) 71% Honduras bar
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (30 g.) / 2 oz. (60 g.) (per label) for total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chamisa Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #5 of Chamisa Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's tree of gold (mulberries) 71% Honduras bar was crafted by Chamisa Chocolate (Santa Fe, NM).

This bar had a chocolate, light fruit and sweet vegetable (tomato) aroma notes. The melt and mouthfeel was thick and creamy, with a fleeting very soft (not unpleasant) graininess (from dried fruit/berries is my guess).

The chocolate had smooth, dried, dark berry flavor notes mellowed by the dark smooth, almost nutty Honduras cacao. The absence of sugar in this lovely, 3-ingredient, mulberry*-sweetened bar was palpable, and delightful.

I would enjoy eating this unique (mulberry-sweetened + no added sugar) bar any day of the week.

Ingredients: "Organic cacao beans, organic dehydrated mulberries, organic cacao butter"

*Mulberries are wonderful. They're occasionally available at a local farmers market here in the Bay Area. And they sell out very quickly. Red mulberries are native to the Eastern U.S. And black and white mulberry trees came from Asia (China) to the U.S. as early as the 1600s. The latter were imported in part for sericulture or silk production. (Silk worms are fed almost exclusively white mulberry leaves.)

Note: The illustration used on the packaging was from a painting, The Mulberry Tree, by Vincent Van Gogh

Chamisa Chocolate - oat milk chai spice 61% bar - Sept. 3, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chamisa Chocolate
oat milk chai spice 61% cacao bar
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (30 g.) / 2 oz. (60 g.) (per label) for total bar
Calories: 152 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chamisa Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chamisa Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's oat milk chai spice 61% cacao bar from Chamisa Chocolate (Santa Fe, NM) was made with cacao grown in Tumaco, Colombia.

I enjoyed the flavors in this bar very much. Fond childhood memories about making ginger molasses cookies with my mother and sipping chai tea surely created a positive bias when tasting today's chocolate with warming chai spices.

However, I was also intrigued with the maker's comments (see her note below) about the sweetness of this (and another) bar featured this week due to dairy milk alternatives that were included.* (Maker, Amanda Hatherly, shares our taste preference for less sugar sweetness in dark chocolate.)

Amanda wrote: "...even though the 61% (bars) seem a lot sweeter, they...have the same sugar content as the darker 71% bars...as that extra 10% is the coconut or oat "milk." They taste a lot sweeter...because of that."

*Yes, there was sugar in today's bar, but it was further down the list than one might expect. Ingredients: "Organic: cacao beans, GF oats, tiger nuts, cacao butter, sugar, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, cloves, black pepper, Himalayan pink salt."

Chamisa Chocolate - Bochasweet 71% bar - Sept. 2, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chamisa Chocolate
Bochasweet 71% bar
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.4 g.) (estimate) in total bar
Calories: N/A - no information
Cost: $N/A - sample bar (from Chamisa)
Sent from: Chamisa Chocolate, part of an online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Chamisa Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Bochasweet 71% bar from Chamisa Chocolate (Santa Fe, NM). Founder, Amanda Hatherly, has never been a fan of sweet dark chocolate. She has explored various sugar alternatives, including dates, freeze-dried fruit, and Bochasweet.*

Thank you to Amanda at Chamisa Chocolate for sharing this special bar.

The chocolate was dark and creamy and not too sweet, and had a certain refreshing coolness about it. Like sitting in a cool forest. (Sugar tends to feel "hotter" on the palette.) Dried blueberries added concentrated, natural, moist, berry sweetness. And a sprinkling of chopped almonds added a soft accent crunch.

The bar's natural cocoa finish also had a lingering low level of sweetness I found hard to pinpoint (and likely from the Bochasweet). This sweetness was not unpleasant, unnatural, bitter or "off" in any way. Just a very mild sweet presence. There was a distinct calm feeling with this bar. No sugar rush.

*Bochasweet is a "zero calorie, zero glycemic" sugar substitute made of kabocha extract, that is available from Bochasweet LLC (Las Vegas, NV). Kabocha is a green, pumpkin-like winter squash from Japan.

Chamisa Chocolate - little fox: pistachio and cherry 71% (bar) - Aug. 31, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Chamisa Chocolate
little fox: pistachio and cherry 71% (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (60 g.) total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chamisa Chocolate, Santa Fe, NM

Welcome to Day #1 of Chamisa Chocolate Theme Week.

It's with much gratitude that I've been able to feature 4,600+ different chocolates over more than 12 years. Chocolate Banquet would not have been possible without 100+ chocolate makers and many 100s more small and large chocolatiers.

I have special respect for bean-to-bar, craft chocolate makers. Women chocolate makers make up a growing percent in this rather technical, dynamic field. And they tend to be fascinating multi-faceted (both halves of the brain) people.

As local San Francisco Bay Area chocolate maker, Nancy Nadel* once told me, "you have to be comfortable fixing broken machines along with making and selling the chocolate, and everything else that is part of running a small business."

Amanda Hatherly, Chamisa Chocolate

So, it is with much delight that I am dedicating this week to featuring a selection of bars from Amanda Hatherly, chief chocolate maker at Chamisa Chocolate (Santa Fe, New Mexico). Amanda** is very involved with energy and sustainability. And, as it turns out, she also makes great chocolate.

After a recent visit to New Mexico, Amanda's food of the gods bar made with 81% Honduras cacao (featured recently)—found at a local New Mexico shop (Cashmere + Chocolate)—got my attention.

Today's organic and vegan Chamisa Chocolate "little fox: pistachio and cherry" 71% (bar) was made with Oko Caribe (Dominican Republic) cacao. The (compostable) wrapper was adorned with a beautiful watercolor painting of a fox.

This dark bar had well balanced flavors, was not too sweet (thank you!), and an attractive smattering of light green pistachio nut and ruby colored cherry bits occupied the back of the bar. The dark chocolate was uniform and densely dark, and relatively low in fruit/acidic flavors, which gave the cherry a chance to sparkle.

*Nancy Nadel, owner and founder of The Oakland Chocolate Company (Oakland, CA), is trained as an engineer and an artist, and she has used cacao grown in St. Mary's Parish in Jamaica to make an impressive array of confections, bars and spreads for many years. (She also previously served on the Oakland City Council.)

**Amanda is the Director of a regional energy efficiency training center for the Department of Energy, and is also involved in water efficiency training. Her commitment to sustainability carries over into her chocolate making as well. (She uses organic cacao, compostable packaging, and Chamisa Chocolate is located in a solar-powered facility. Her bars are also vegan.)

Chamisa Chocolate - Food of the Gods dark chocolate bar - Aug. 5, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Chamisa Chocolate
Food of the Gods 81% Cacao dark chocolate bar
Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (60 g.) (per label) in total bar
Calories: 152 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate + Cashmere, Santa Fe, NM location


Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and New Mexico Theme Week.

Today's Food of the Gods 81% cacao Honduras bar was from Chamisa Chocolate, a company that markets small batch chocolate in a few select places, including the Santa Fe, NM, farmers market, and Chocolate + Cashmere retail locations in Santa Fe (and Taos).

The cacao for this high percentage bar came from a remote part of Honduras (Wampusirpi district), that takes about two days to reach by canoe. Chamisa tries to use organic ingredients whenever possible. And the cacao in this area of Honduras has not had a history of using chemicals, and is committed to organic practices, even if the cacao may not be certified organic.

According to info on Chamisa's website, "...These beans were sourced with care from the farmer and co-ops, premiums well above the market minimum were paid (nearly double in this case) and only the best beans were accepted."*

This three-ingredient bar had chocolate fudgey, creamy (almost nutty) balanced earthy ultra-dark flavor; and it was delicious. Truly deserving of the "food of the gods" botanical name (Theobroma cacao) reference.

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic sugar, organic cacao butter.

*The company also makes 71% Alto Beni, Wampasurpi Honduras, Polochic and Tumaco dark chocolate bars. 

(The image printed on the label was from the pre-Columbian Codex Zouche-Nuttall.)