Bombus Natural Energy - Raw Energy Orange and Cocoa - Sept. 17, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Bombus Natural Energy
Orange and Cocoa Beans Raw Energy (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 183.8 calories in 1 bar (367.6 kcals per 100 g.)
Cost: $1.89 (estimate) USD for 1 bar 
Purchased from: Wicklow Gaol (shop), Wicklow, Ireland

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Ireland Week. 

Today's Orange and Cocoa Beans Raw Energy (bar) was from Bombus Natural Energy (Krnov, Moravskoslezky kraj, Czech Republic). The company offers a variety of health-oriented, gluten free bars created at lower temperatures (to preserve nutritional properties), and without extra sugar or preservatives.

This chocolate may have been from somewhere else in Europe, but it was bought during a stop at the Wicklow Gaol*, an historic spot in Wicklow, Ireland. 

Aroma notes for today's energy bar included: cocoa, orange and dried fruit (dates).

The texture was substantial, soft, "date-y" and chewy.

Flavor notes included: authentic cocoa/cacao, natural orange, dried fruit (date), and faint coconut.

Ingredients: Dates (67.5%), Coconut (15%), Cocoa (8%), Cocoa Beans (8%), Orange Concentrate (1.2%), Orange Oil (0.3%).

Allergen-related information: (Gluten Free and Lactose Free); "Possible allergens: nuts, sesame"

*Wicklow Gaol is an ancient Irish jail with a lot of interesting history--most of it sad (as you might have already guessed). 

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Jordi's Chocolate - Dark Chocolate Cacao Nibs 63% bar - Sept. 15, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Jordi's Chocolate
Tmava Cokolada Dark Chocolate (bar with nibs)
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 132 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ difficult to calculate - part of subscription box
Purchased from: Cocoa Runners (UK)

Welcome to Day #11 of Ecuador Theme Week, and Day #2 of Nibs Theme Week. But who's counting, right?

I was delighted to try a dark chocolate single origin bar from one of the first (this century at least) Czech Republic craft chocolate companies, Jordi's Chocolate (Hadrec Kralove, Czech Republic). The company opened a chocolate parlour in the summer of 2010, and expanded their operations with a chocolate manufacturing facility in 2012.

I was able to obtain this bar thanks to a subscription from Cocoa Runners (UK), an outfit similar to a wine club that searches the globe for craft chocolate bars. Their selection philosophy: "Many are tasted, few are chosen."

Back to today's dark chocolate bar...an Academy of Chocolate Bronze Award winner in 2015.

This 63% cocoa solids, two-ingredient bar (cocoa beans and sugar) bar was crafted from beans grown in Ecuador. The tasting notes printed on the bar's packaging read:

"Dark chocolate with cocoa nibs. Smooth tones of coffee and red fruit. The result is quiet and live chocolate at the same time."

The bar had a very pleasant chocolatey, almost woody aroma and flavor with slight fruit lilt. This chocolate was deceptively subtle; it was more complex than the first bite would indicate. (It reminded me of my first sip of Kona coffee - deceptively mild and very good.)

The bar held up well as I re-tasted the bar throughout the day. And the nibs added depth and texture and a pleasant crunch, with well-balanced flavor, helping to balance the sweetness nicely.

The inside packaging contained the story of the company and a brief description of two other bars (a white chocolate bar and a milk chocolate bar—also adorned with the image of a wild animal).

The meerkat peering out at us on the front of the package lives in South Africa. These engaging and curious animals, seem to be always scanning the horizon, on the alert for predators, and planning food forays into nearby areas. Sounds like certain chocolate hunters I know.