Fresco Chocolate - Lamas Andean Amazon, Peru 100% (bar) - Dec. 5, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Fresco Chocolate
Lamas Andean Amazon, Peru 100% (bar)
Good - Good +
Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 127.5 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Lamas Andean Amazon, Peru 100% (bar) was made by Fresco Chocolate (Lynden, WA). (It was labeled: Recipe 283, Batch 21-465.)

Fresco offers different recipe and batch-labeled (single origin) chocolate bars (made with different roast and conche levels), allowing buyers to better appreciate different flavor nuances that result from different choices, and to conduct their own side-by-side chocolate tastings (and comparisons) at home or with friends.

I paired this 100% ultra-dark bar with its 74% sibling (featured yesterday), made with the same Lamas Andean Amazon cacao. The cacao was from the Lamas Province in the San Martin Region of northern Peru, and home to Oro Verde, a co-operative of over 700 small farmers producing certified organic cacao.

This 100%er had a subtle ultra-dark chocolate aroma with faint, fleeting well-done toasted bread and very faint tropical fruit notes.

As with yesterday's 74% cacao version of this single origin bar, the medium conche resulted in smooth, even texture.

Flavor notes included: ultra-dark chocolate with bitter (slightly fruit-herbal tannic astringency) and charcoal notes

For those already on the fence about dark chocolate, I wouldn't call this easily approachable. But, I still enjoyed trying it, if for no other reason than I could more easily taste the effects that added sugar has on taste.

For example, it became clear that the faint, diffuse fruit (dark berry) note in yesterday's Fresco 74% cacao version of this Peru bar was likely at least enhanced (if not inferred) due to added sugar.

The dark roast choice for this single ingredient chocolate also seemed more obvious--even "severe"--in this 100% version, with no sugar to cushion the blow. Assuming the roast times were the same for the 74% and 100% bars, added sugar made the 74%er dark roast cacao more "friendly." (It would be like adding sugar and a (non-intuitive twist of lemon peel) to mellow a dark roast espresso.)

Thank you to the maker for providing us with these educational options. Nothing can take the place of a side-by-side tasting to learn more about what you like.

Maker's notes on cacao origin: "This Andean Amazon region produces fine flavor cacao with deep herbal notes that can include tannins reminiscent of green banana."

Ingredients: Organic cocoa beans

Allergen-related information: "Free from: gluten, dairy, nuts, soy"

Fresco Chocolate - Lamas Andean Amazon, Peru 74% (bar) - Dec. 4, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Fresco Chocolate
Lamas Andean Amazon, Peru 74% (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) /1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 136.5 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Lamas Andean Amazon, Peru 74% (bar) (Recipe 282, Batch 21-451) was from Fresco Chocolate (Lynden, WA). Fresco was founded in 2010 by computer scientist, Rob Anderson.

Anderson crafts Fresco's bean-to-bar chocolate (bars) so that different versions of the same origin bars can be tasted side by side, to better appreciate differences between roast, conche and other choices--e.g. between a light, medium or dark roast (of cacao beans) or a short, medium or long conche--during the chocolate making process. Today's single origin Peru bar was made with a dark roast, and a medium conche.* 

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate (dark ganache), earth, and diffuse sweet fruit (ripe, dark berry).

Texture: Smooth with a very slight astringency in the finish.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate (bold dark ganache with a very faint roasted note), diffuse sweet fruit (dark, ripe berry), earth, and very faint, fleeting warm spice (barely detectable ginger). 

This 74% dark chocolate had a lingering dark chocolate finish, with a very slight astringency.

Tomorrow I'll be tasting a Fresco Chocolate 100% cacao dark Peru bar--also made with (dark roast, medium conche) Lamas Andean Amazon (Peru) cacao. 

Ingredients: Organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter

Allergen-related information: "Free from dairy, gluten, nuts, soy"

*Conching is a process done with equipment that mixes and agitates cacao, reducing particle size and blending cacao solids with cacao butter. Choices for this process (duration, speed, machine type, etc.) help create an optimal result for smooth mouthfeel while still retaining desired flavor(s). (Some more volatile flavor elements may attenuate during the cacao grinding and conching process if it continues for a long time.)

Fresco maker's note on medium conching level chosen for this bar read: "Heat, motion, aeration and time produce chocolate's final flavor; this is conching. Adjusting these variables can produce dramatically different flavors..." The medium conche level provides a "balance between aggressive and subdued, mellow."

Fresco - O'Payo Profundo Nicaragua 70% Recipe 272 - Dark Roast, Long Conche (bar) - Oct. 6, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Fresco Artisan Chocolate

O'Payo Profundo Nicaragua 70% Recipe 272 - Dark Roast, Long Conche (bar)

Good ++ - Good +++

Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar

Calories: 136.5 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: Part of a $57 chocolate tasting (that included 5 different bars)

Purchased from: Fresco Artisan Chocolate/Chocolopolis.com

Welcome to Day #5 of Fresco Chocolate Tasting Series (of five different bars), and Day #3 of Chocolate and Central America Theme Week.

Today's O'Payo* Profundo Nicaragua 70% Recipe 272 - Dark Roast, Long Conche (bar) was made by Fresco Artisan Chocolate (Lynden, WA).

The aroma notes of this bar included subtle, balanced bitter, roasted notes with a very faint, fleeting green floral. Any "bitterness" receded quickly--and was cushioned by light, diffuse fruit sweetness, and very faint tart green (oxalis).

The melt and mouthfeel were very satisfying: fudge-y, creamy smooth, almost nut buttery. (This was true for all three Fresco Nicaragua 70% bars in this series.)

Flavor notes included a tart-sweet creaminess, intertwined with flavorful true chocolate (fudge brownie, dark chocolate torte) with accelerating red fruit, jam (strawberry soda with clean mineral water then strawberry milkshake). 

This well-executed, flavorful bar was bright, well-balanced and smooth without being boring or over-roasted. Not every dark roast bar lands in the Goldilocks zone--where flavors are optimally developed without tipping over into the over-roasted zone, where they tend to disappear. For this kind of success you need high-quality cacao, careful fermentation and a skilled and thoughtful chocolate maker.

Fresco's chief chocolate maker, Rob Anderson, described his dark roast profile this way: "...flavor peaks and valleys softened to a melodic harmony."

Maker's general tasting notes for this O'Payo Profundo Nicaragua cacao: "...naturally occurring notes of spice, floral and nuts...incredibly flavorful..." 

Ingredients: Organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, cocoa butter. organic cocoa butter. ??

Allergen-related information: "Free from gluten, dairy, nuts, soy"

*O'Payo Profundo Nicaragua cacao  is "an organic fine cocoa variety (grown in) the Waslala municipality, within the Basawas Natural Reserve in the northern mountains of Nicaragua." (Fresco maker, Rob Anderson, also mentioned: "O'Payo is a farmer's name.") 

"Profundo" may refer the the relatively long fermentation time for this cacao. (Anderson also worked with producer Ingemann Fine Cocoa in Nicaragua to obtain these single origin cacao beans.)

 

Fresco - O'Payo Profundo Nicaragua 70% Recipe 271 - Medium Roast, Medium Conche (bar) - Oct. 5, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Fresco Artisan Chocolate

O'Payo Profundo Nicaragua 70% Recipe 271 - Medium Roast, Medium Conche (bar)

Good ++ - Good +++

Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar

Calories: 136.5 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: Part of a $57 chocolate tasting (that included 5 different bars)

Purchased from: Fresco Artisan Chocolate/Chocolopolis.com

Welcome to Day #4 of Fresco Chocolate Tasting Series (of five different bars), and Day #2 of Chocolate and Central America Theme Week.

Today's O'Payo* Profundo Nicaragua 70% Recipe 271 - Medium Roast, Medium Conche (bar) was made by Fresco Artisan Chocolate (Lynden, WA). 

This (Recipe 271) bar the second of three O'Payo Nicaragua 70% bars--each with different roast and conche profiles--featured this week. (All three were initially sampled, side-by-side, in a recent online Chocolopolis.com + Fresco chocolate tasting, 3 days ago.)

The subtle aroma notes of this bar included (in order of appearance) very faint balanced savory (lightly smoked sea salt); green (green tea, light seed and mild nut); very light, faint (diffuse) fruit; and faint tart-green notes.

The melt and mouthfeel for this (and, happily, almost all Fresco) chocolate were very satisfying: fudge-y, creamy smooth, almost buttery.

Flavor notes included (in order of appearance): bright, warm, tart-sweetness (tart sweet, uniform blend of peach, nectarine, ripe persimmon, kiwi), cream, intertwined with a strong through current of true dark chocolate (flavorful fudge brownie, dark chocolate torte with a tiny pinch of warm spice and coffee) and with fleeting very faint tart-green.

Maker's general tasting notes for this cacao: "...naturally occurring notes of spice, floral and nuts...incredibly flavorful..."

Ingredients: Organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, cocoa butter. organic cocoa butter

Allergen-related information: "Free from gluten, dairy, nuts, soy"

*O'Payo Profundo Nicaragua cacao  is "an organic fine cocoa variety (grown in) the Waslala municipality, within the Basawas Natural Reserve in the northern mountains of Nicaragua." (Fresco maker, Rob Anderson, also mentioned: "O'Payo is a farmer's name.") 

"Profundo" may refer the the relatively long fermentation time for this cacao. (Anderson also worked with producer Ingemann Fine Cocoa in Nicaragua to obtain these single origin cacao beans.)

 

Fresco - O'Payo Profundo Nicaragua 70% Recipe 270 - Light Roast, Subtle Conche - Oct. 4, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Fresco Artisan Chocolate

O'Payo Profundo Nicaragua 70% Recipe 270 - Light Roast, Subtle Conche (bar)

Good ++ - Good +++

Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar

Calories: 136.5 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: Part of a $57 chocolate tasting (that included 5 different bars)

Purchased from: Fresco Artisan Chocolate/Chocolopolis.com

Welcome to Day #3 of Fresco Chocolate Tasting Series (of five different bars), and Day #1 of Chocolate and Central America Theme Week.

Today's O'Payo* Profundo Nicaragua 70% Recipe 270 - Light Roast, Subtle Conche (bar) was made by Fresco Artisan Chocolate (Lynden, WA).

The subtle aroma notes of this bar included (in order of appearance) very faint balanced savory/smoke; very light, roasted wood with very faint tannin; and faint tart-green notes.

The melt and mouthfeel were very satisfying: fudge-y, creamy smooth, almost buttery.

Flavor notes included a tart-sweet creaminess, intertwined with true chocolate (fudge brownie, dark chocolate torte) with very faint tart-green.

Maker's general tasting notes for O'Payo Profundo Nicaragua cacao: "...naturally occurring notes of spice, floral and nuts...incredibly flavorful..."

Ingredients: Organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, cocoa butter. organic cocoa butter.

Allergen-related information: "Free from gluten, dairy, nuts, soy"

*Regarding the cacao source, O'Payo Profundo (Nicaragua), "O'Payo" is a farmer's name. "Profundo" may refer the the relatively long fermentation time for this cacao. (Fresco also worked with producer Ingemann Fine Cocoa in Nicaragua to obtain these Nicaraguan cacao beans.)

Fresco - Madagascar 70% Recipe 290 Medium Roast, Medium Conche (bar) - Oct. 2, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Fresco Artisan Chocolate

Madagascar 70% Recipe 290 Medium Roast, Medium Conche (bar)

Good  ++ -  Good +++

Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar

Calories: 136.5 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: (Part of a $57 chocolate tasting for 5 different bars)

Purchased from: Fresco Artisan Chocolate/Chocolopolis tasting, online order

Welcome to Day #2 in a series of five different single origin bars obtained as part of a New Origin Fresco Chocolate Tasting. (Thank you to Rob and Amy at Fresco Chocolate and Lauren Adler at Chocolopolis.com for the great remote tasting experience.)

Today's new Madagascar 70% (Batch 21-454) Medium Roast, Medium Conche* (bar) was made by Fresco Chocolate (Lynden, WA) . The beans used to make this bar were from the (Bertil) Akesson plantation in the Sambirano Valley of Madagascar--a region known for its flavorful cacao.

Aroma notes (in order of appearance) for this chocolate included faint green, floral, green stalks, a faint, flickering bitter dark chocolate note, bread and butter, cooked rice, diffuse faint fruit (peach, persimmon, lemon), brown sugar, and barely there tart green (oxalis). The texture and mouthfeel were very satisfying and buttery smooth.

Flavor notes included rich, sweet dark chocolate (dark chocolate torte), and, most significantly, a blooming of bright, tart fruit: a blend of sweet, round, white wine grape juice and golden raisin mixed with pink grapefruit and red berry. (Other fruit notes present in later re-tastings: cherry, orange, mango and ripe, sweet pineapple.) All these fruit notes presented a jump up from (contrast with) the relatively subdued aroma notes. 

Bright red berry and citrus notes are often associated with chocolate made with Madagascar cacao; but today's Fresco bar presented a festive yet sophisticated variation on this theme.

I enjoyed tasting this newly unveiled, rich, flavorful and well-executed dark chocolate bar from a company that recently celebrated receipt of their 50th International award for their chocolate.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter

Allergen-related information: "Free from: gluten, dairy, nuts, soy"

*Conching follows the initial cacao grinding process. Fresco describes conching as "heat, motion, aeration and time producing chocolate's final flavor." The maker notes: "adjusting these variables can produce dramatically different flavors."  (Thank you to Rob at Fresco for allowing us to experience this in your chocolate line-up, geared to edify even the most seasoned of chocolate palettes.) 

Fresco Chocolate - Chuao Venezuela 72% dark chocolate (bar) - Oct. 2, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Fresco Artisan Chocolate

Chuao Venezuela 72% Blended Roast, Subtle Conche dark chocolate (bar)

Good  ++ -  Good +++

Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar

Calories: 136.5 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: (Part of a $57 chocolate tasting for 5 different bars)

Purchased from: Fresco Artisan Chocolate/Chocolopolis tasting, online order

Welcome to Day #1 in a series of five different single origin bars obtained from a New Origin Fresco Chocolate Tasting. (Thank you to Rob and Amy at Fresco Chocolate and Lauren Adler at Chocolopolis.com for the great remote tasting experience.)

Today's new Chuao Venezuela 72% (Batch 21-437) Blended Roast, Subtle Conche* (bar) was made by Fresco Chocolate (Lynden, WA) . The cacao used was from the Empresa Campesina de Chuao (workers co-op) in the remote and storied village of Chuao in northern Venezuela. 

Subtle aroma notes (in order of appearance) for this chocolate included faint fruit, green (oxalis (sour grass, wood sorrel), succulent), warm spice, brown sugar and molasses. The texture and mouthfeel were satisfying and smooth.

The choice of blending more than one roast profile ("blended roast") seemed to expand the dynamic range/depth in the taste and gave it a bit more punch along with a barely there hint of roasted coffee and nut. Flavor notes included rich, sweet dark chocolate (dark chocolate pudding, chocolate torte), bread, cream, faint fruit and nut, and a sustained course of true dark chocolate (deep, dark chocolate torte). This dark chocolate had a balanced tart, sweet fruit acidity (red berry, cherry) that lingered into a chocolate-y finish. 

This was a rich, flavorful and well-executed dark chocolate from a company that recently celebrated receipt of their 50th International award for their chocolate.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter

Allergen-related information: "Free from: gluten, dairy, nuts, soy"

*Conching follows the initial cacao grinding process. Fresco describes conching as "heat, motion, aeration and time producing chocolate's final flavor." The maker notes: "adjusting these variables can produce dramatically different flavors."  (Yes, and thank you for allowing us to experience this in your chocolate line-up geared to educate even the most seasoned of chocolate palettes.)

Fresco Chocolate - Ghana 68% Recipe 261 - Dark Roast, Medium Conche - Oct. 1, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Fresco Artisan Chocolate

Ghana 68% Recipe 261 - Dark Roast, Medium Conche dark chocolate (bar)

Good ++ - Good +++

Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar

Calories: 136.5 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $9.00 (+ summer shipping) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Ghana Week.

Today'a Ghana 68% (Recipe 261) Dark Roast, Medium Conche (bar) was made by Fresco Chocolate (Lynden, WA).

Fresco lets us discover why roasting, conche and other choices in chocolate-making really matter, by crafting single origin bars with different roast and conche* profiles. 

Why is Fresco different? Chocolate makers almost always document choices they make with each origin and batch of cacao beans, creating recipes in the process. Fresco goes one step further and shares their recipe numbers on their labels, and will offer two or three similar bars, but with slightly different recipes.

Bottom line, Fresco's bars (and their backstories) are designed to be compared relative to each other. And there's no better way to learn what you really like than from side-by-side tastings.

Today, I'm tasting and comparing a second Fresco Ghana 68% dark bar--this one with a darker roast and slightly longer conche time. 

Both yesterday's and today's bar had a subtle aroma. Yesterday's 68% bar had a faint chocolate, faint fruit (lingonberry and persimmon (yesterday)) and fleeting very faint spice notes. And the melt and mouthfeel for all three Fresco Ghana bars this week were very pleasing with a smooth and relatively buttery texture.

Today's (dark roast) chocolate's balanced, faintly bitter aroma (not present in yesterday's light roast sibling) seemed to dissipate slightly over time; and it seemed overall slightly nuttier (roasted nuts and a faint, fleeting raspberry note; although it seemed less sweet (bright/jammy) than yesterday's bar with the lighter roast and subtle conche.*

Flavor notes for this single-ingredient bar included (in order of appearance): rich, sweet dark chocolate (hot cocoa), bread and butter, and sustained of true chocolate (fudge, dark chocolate torte and frosting). This dark chocolate had a mild fruit acidity (sweet, tart red berry (red raspberry) that lingered a bit into a chocolate-y, clean mineral finish. 

Not everyone will prefer the same Fresco Ghana 68% cacao bar over the other. Both were well executed. And I feel sure that precise care was taken to optimize each recipe and each resulting bar. As is the case for most chocolates, try re-tasting (both bars) a few minutes and/or hours later, and you may also experience a subtle shift in which bar (or aspects of each bar) you like.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter

Allergen-related information: "Free from: gluten, dairy, nuts, soy"

*Conching follows the initial grinding process. Fresco describes conching as "heat, motion, aeration and time producing chocolate's final flavor." And the maker explains: "adjusting these variables can produce dramatically different flavors."  

**Note: I could have placed the two Fresco Ghana 68% bar too close together. If so, there's a small possibility I got the two mixed up with regard to red fruit and nut notes. (Disclosure: I also had a dental health issue that could have influenced the ability to distinguish taste this week.) And, some chocolate flavor shape-shifting likely took place over the course of a day or two--something that has been known to happen either after chocolate has been opened/exposed to air, or over time (as the chocolate or my palette changes, e.g. if I eat or drink something. 

Fresco Chocolate - Ghana 68% Recipe 260 - Light Roast, Subtle Conche dark chocolate (bar) - Sept. 30, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Fresco Artisan Chocolate

Ghana 68% Recipe 260 - Light Roast, Subtle Conche dark chocolate (bar)

Good ++ - Good +++

Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar

Calories: 136.5 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $9.00 (+ summer shipping) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Ghana Week.

Today'a Ghana 68% (Recipe 260) Light Roast, Subtle Conche (bar) was made by Fresco Chocolate (Lynden, WA).

Fresco offers single origin bars with different roast (light to dark) and conche* (subtle to long) profiles that can be tasted side-by-side. There's no better way to learn what you really like, and to better understand what choices support your preferences.

This approach makes it easier for customers to create chocolate flights and tastings--for a group of friends, or just for one. (These bars are created using recipe numbers, that are also included on the labeling.)

The subtle aroma notes for today's 68% Ghana (light roast) bar included (in order of appearance) dark chocolate with subtle tangy, sweet acidic green and fruit (dried persimmon), very faint vegetable (potato bread), faint brown sugar and very faint warm spiced fruit (peaches and pears heated with cinnamon and other spices).

The texture was smooth and relatively buttery.

Flavor notes for this single-ingredient bar included: rich, "warm," sweet dark chocolate, bread and butter, and a sustained current of true chocolate (fudge, dark chocolate torte and frosting). This dark chocolate had a mild fruit acidity (sweet, tart red berry (lingonberry** jam with a hint of sweet persimmon) that lingered/sparkled a bit into the finish. The chocolate was very low in bitterness.

This bar had a relatively subtle aroma, but was filled with bright, full, sweet and true chocolate notes. The light roast and subtle conche likely helped to preserve or highlight some of these bright, light, sweet flavors.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter

Allergen-related information: "Free from: gluten, dairy, nuts, soy"

*Conching follows the initial grinding of cacao. Fresco describes conching as "heat, motion, aeration and time producing chocolate's final flavor." And "adjusting these variables can produce dramatically different flavors." 

**Lingonberries, also known as mountain cranberries and cowberries, are popular in Scandinavia and have a sweet, tart, red berry flavor. Lingonberry jam is generally just a bit mellower (naturally a bit sweeter and less acidic) than our cranberry jam/sauce.

Fresco Chocolate - Ghana 100% dark chocolate (bar) - Sept. 29, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Fresco Artisan Chocolate

Ghana 100% light roast, subtle conche dark chocolate (bar)

Good ++ - Good +++

Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar

Calories: 127.5 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $13.00 (+ summer shipping) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Ghana Week.

Today'a Ghana 100% (Recipe 235) Light Roast, Subtle Conche (bar) was made by Fresco Artisan Chocolate (Lynden, WA).

The company's single origin, bean-to-bar chocolate bars demonstrate precisely why and how choices made in chocolate making process matter. You can taste what different roasting and conching* choices/profiles taste like in finished form.

It's easy to assemble "flights" of Fresco bars (e.g. with the same cacao origin(s) but different roast and conche choices), and taste them side-by-side to compare the differences between light or dark roast, and subtle vs. long conching. (Today's bar is the first of three Fresco Ghana bars featured this week.)

The aroma notes for this 100% bar included (in order of appearance) dark chocolate with subtle tangy, sweet acidic green and fruit (dried persimmon), yeast bread and dark chocolate with a faint bitterness.

The melt and mouthfeel were buttery smooth.

Flavor notes for this single-ingredient bar were lovely, and included: beer (porter, stout), bread and butter, and rich, buttery (there's that word again), luscious fudge-y, dark chocolate with relatively mild acidity and relatively low bitterness** for an ultra-dark bar.

While I didn't have a comparable Fresco 100% Ghana bar with another roasting choice, I did really like this "light roast" choice with this particular cacao. A heavier roast might have resulted in the loss of some more delicate notes.

The taste of this wonderful 100% cacao bar was very satisfying; so make sure to savor it slowly.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans

Allergen-related information: "Free from: gluten, dairy, nuts, soy"

*Conching follows the initial grinding of cacao. Fresco describes conching as "heat, motion, aeration and time producing chocolate's final flavor." As with roasting (and most other steps in chocolate making), conching requires great attention to detail. And "adjusting these variables can produce dramatically different flavors."

**Bitterness is a result of several factors including the variety of cacao used (even the soil where the cacao was grown at times), fermentation, and roasting. Over-roasting cacao can lead to a bitter taste-- especially if more volatile fruity, nutty, green and floral notes that might have helped keep the flavor more balanced are "burned" off in the roasting process.

Fresco - Polochic Valley (Guatemala) Medium Roast 70% (bar) - Aug. 17, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Fresco Artisan Chocolate 
Polochic Valley Guatemala Medium Roast 70% (bar)
Good +

Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 136.5 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 + summer shipping for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order 

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Guatemala.

Today's Polochic Valley (Guatemala) Medium Roast 70% (bar) was from Fresco Artisan Chocolate (Lynden, WA,). 

The company makes bean-to-bar, smaller batch chocolate with cacao carefully selected origins. The cacao used to make this bar was grown in the El Valle del Polochic (rio) (Polochic Valley), located in northeast Guatemala (SE side of the department* of Alta Verapaz). 

Every batch of cacao beans calls for tests and tweaks to obtain desired results. However, Fresco maker(s) often will carry this one step further, to make different chocolate bars with the same beans by varying how the beans are processed. And they typically share information such as various roast and conch choices made. 

For today's single origin Polochic Valley Guatemala bar (Batch 20-368), "Recipe 251" called for medium roast and long conch** times.

The Guatemalan cacao was slowly drum roasted for a "medium" length of time for a balanced, flavorful profile. And a long(er) conch time yielded "flavor peaks and valleys softened to a melodic harmony." 

The aroma of this bar included chocolate with tart (citrus/lemon), astringent green (oxalis, sorrel, sour grass); very faint, fleeting sweet, warm spice (lemon pepper cookie, ginger, vanilla); and barely there savory (salt; lemon herb caramel) notes.

How did it taste? The texture and melt were smooth. The perceived acidity was low to medium, the bitterness was relatively low, as was the astringency (despite the aroma that included oxalis and very faint cranberry lemon jam notes).

The flavor was more true chocolate (brownie cookie) than the aroma, as is often the case. The balanced chocolate also included versions of the aroma notes mentioned above. There was a wee bit of lemony herb oxalic acidity made sweet/tempered by the sugar. But, again the flavors were nicely balanced together, and the finish was relatively light, lingering and clean.

The maker's tasting notes included the following: "Our medium roast reveals notes of red fruit and caramel...Our long conche results in a mellow flavor with subtle earthy notes."

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter 

Allergen-related information: (None listed on packaging/label.) However, Fresco's website contained the following sentence: "Our chocolate is dairy free, soy free, nut free and gluten free."

*Guatemala is divided into 22 departments, which are roughly similar to states in the United States. Alta Verapaz is one of these departments. 

Farms in this area also grow sugar cane and oil palms. The country's largest agricultural exports have been coffee, sugar, bananas and beef. Despite the existence of many individual cacao farmers, Guatemalan cacao export volumes have been relatively low, less than 10% of the country's total.

**To conche, or conch, in chocolate making refers to the process of stirring/grinding/breaking down cocoa bean pieces into smooth chocolate. 

A conching machine is so named for its original spiral-shaped blade that resembled/resembles a "concha," the Spanish/Latin word for a type of sea shell and/or "conche," the French word for trough or shell. The machine uses motion/rotations and heat (friction) that results in the melding together of smaller and smaller particles of cocoa butter (fat portion of the bean) and cocoa solids. 

Longer conch times can result in smoother and more buttery chocolates. At the same time aeration is happening, which can result in the loss of certain flavors if the time is too long. So the time selected for this process needs to be carefully managed when making chocolate to arrive at the best possible compromise and the optimal texture and flavor profile for each batch of different cacao beans, each with slightly different characteristics.

Fresco - Limited Release Carupano Pintao Venezuela 72 percent bar - May 13, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Fresco Artisan Chocolate
Limited Release Carupano Pintao Venezuela 72% bar
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) (estimate) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $16.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

At the beginning of this theme week, we talked about the potentially short lives of craft chocolate bars based on annual harvests (similar to wine) at smaller plantations and possible fluctuating circumstances in source countries themselves. Bars made from a small batch or harvest that are here today may be unavailable tomorrow. Makers successfully obtain a small batch of great cacao beans, but after that quantity is used up, that may be it.

Today's Limited Release Carupano Pintao Venezuela 72 percent bar was from Fresco Artisan Chocolate (Lynden, WA). The cacao for this bar was lightly roasted and had a "subtle conch."

The chocolate had a pleasant chocolate aroma with dried fruit, browned butter, very light spice and very faint green notes. The flavor was chocolatey with dried fruit and some earthiness.