Cocanu - Nibs, Pop Rocks bar - Sept. 19, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Cocanu Chocolate
Moonwalk - Dark chocolate, cacao nibs, Pop Rocks(R) bar
Good +++
Weight: .4 oz. (12.5 g.) / .8 oz. (25 g.) in total bar
Calories: 60 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Meadow (Mississippi location), Portland, OR

Welcome to Day #6 of Nibs Theme Week.

Today's Moonwalk bar from Cocanu Chocolate (Portland, OR) was a dark chocolate bar with cacao nibs "dreaming of walking on the moon." A few days ago we had a gorgeous full, pumpkin-colored moonrise, that a friend and I observed from a hilltop in San Francisco, so this Moonwalk bar had special appeal.

Normally, nibs pep up a bar all by themselves. However, the Nacional nibs from Ecuador in this 65% dark bar received a subtle boost from some embedded Pop Rocks. The tiny edible bursts were not enough to break out of earth's orbit, but provided a bit of subtle concept fun.

The bar's dark chocolate base was crafted from Venezuelan Criollo cacao and had a complex, balanced and subtly sweet, almost smoky, earthy, fruity aroma and flavor. The chocolate had an even melt and relatively creamy texture. There was one tiny off note, perhaps from a nib.

The Pop Rocks yielded a few small sweet, crunchy bits, but may have lost some of these sizzle during the long flight to the moon.

The finish lingered in a pleasant way for about 20-30 seconds after the last bite. And now, thanks to this Moonwalk bar, I'm leaving for a chocolate-powered walk, here on Earth.

Cocanu - Holy Wood and Gardel bars - Sept. 5, 2016

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Cocanu Chocolate

Holy Wood
Dark chocolate and palo santo 70% bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .8 oz. (25 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 132 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $5.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Cacao at The Heathman, Portland, OR

Gardel
Dark chocolate, hazelnuts, fernet 72% bar
Good +
Weight: .8 oz. (25 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 132 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $5.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Meadow (original Mississippi location), Portland, OR

Welcome to the last day of Chocolate, Fruit and Botanicals Month, and the first day of Ecuadorian Cacao Theme Week.

Today's two relatively sweet dark bars hailed from Cocanu Chocolate (Portland, OR). I bought them at two different specialty retail shops in Portland (Cacao and The Meadow—both great sources for interesting, high-quality chocolates).

Cocanu's 70% cacao Holy Wood bar was made with Nacional cacao from Ecuador and infused with aromatic Palo Santo wood, also from Ecuador. The wood's flavor was so subtle, I failed to detect it. Could it be that this flavor is part of the terroir that I already associate with Ecuador? Another possibility: I dulled my palette with something I ate or drank earlier.

The company's 72% Gardel bar did have a subtle, pleasing overall hazelnut taste, with a few tiny crunchy nut bits embedded in it. The "fernet"—Fernet Branca (a botanical liqueur popular in Europe— was so subtle that, like the bar above, I missed it.

Both square bars (sealed with a fleur de lis wax stamp) were thick enough to provide a substantial bite, and thin enough to make flavors accessible, in other words just the right thickness for tasting in my opinion.