Hageland - Sea Salt Dark Chocolate 54% bar - July 17, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Hageland
Sea Salt Dark Chocolate 54% bar
Good+
Weight: 2 squares (29 g.) / 10.5 oz. (300 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 2 squares (29 g.) of bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and (Sea) Salt Theme Week.

Today's Sea Salt Dark Chocolate 54% bar was from Hageland (Belgium). The large, thick bar would be practical for cooking, sharing, fondue, or even chocolate painting.*

The chocolate had an appealing dark chocolate aroma and flavor with a light touch of sea salt. The sugar and salt levels were relatively well-balanced for a 54% bar, i.e. the chocolate did not taste overly sweet.

*Painting with Chocolate
For those interested in dabbling with painting with melted chocolate, starting with a small piece of chocolate with salt is a good way to start. Watch for a YouTube video on this subject.

Hageland - 54% Cocoa Dark Chocolate with Almonds bar - Oct. 9, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Hageland

54% Cocoa Dark Chocolate with Almonds (bar)

Good+

Weight: 1.02 oz. (29 g.) / 10.5 oz. (300 g.) in total package

Calories: 150 calories in 2 pieces 

Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Almond Theme Week.

Today's rather gigantic Hageland 54% Cocoa Dark Chocolate with Almonds bar was made in Belgium and was distributed in the U.S. by Sco Laden, LLC (Hayward, CA).

This bar was made with a short list of ingredients (no added "stuff"). It was not clear where the chocolate came from, but at this (low) consumer price, I'm guessing Africa. The chocolate was smooth and had a darker chocolate taste (a bit less sugar too, thank you) than other bars with cacao percentages in the 50s. And it had a relatively smooth, even finish with a very slight fruit acidity.

This large (and thick) bar might be good for baking, desserts and fondue, or as chocolate chunks for s'mores at a campfire. The thickness prevented overly fast consumption. It is not a bad thing to savor your chocolate more slowly; but you really have to get your molars around each bite to take off a piece. So, this may not be to everyone's liking.

Hageland - Madagascar 32% Milk Chocolate bar - Feb. 18, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Hageland
Limited Selection
Madagascar 32% Milk Chocolate bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .858 oz. (25.08 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 152 calories in 2 squares of bar
Cost: $1.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Hageland (Belgium) single origin, milk chocolate bar was made with a blend of Criollo, Trinitario and Forastero cacao beans* from Madagascar—the fourth largest island in the world, located off the southeastern coast of Africa.

On the Hageland package was a silhouette of a baobab (Adansonia) tree**—found in Madagascar (Africa and Northern Australia).

The bar had a sweet, caramel fudge aroma, and a smooth, rich, slightly gummy melt. It did have a caramel taste and texture as well.

Tasting notes: honey and caramel -- "rounded off by subtle acid cocoa notes, vanilla and butter."

"Ingredients: sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, vanilla (nat. flavor). Milk chocolate: cocoa solids min. 32% -- milk solids min. 26%"

This bar was imported into the U.S. by: SCO Koladen, LLC (Hayward, CA).

Other interesting information on the packaging: "Made with 100% renewable energy, ca. 20% from our own solar panels." Go solar.

*It's possible that the same cacao fruit (pod) may contain more than one of these three varieties. In fact, there has been enough intermingling that it's often difficult to find 100% pure genetic strains that are related to geographic origins.

** Baobab fruit in powdered form is a pleasant sweet-tart inclusion in chocolate as well.

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Hageland - Peru 64 percent dark bar - May 14, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Hageland
(Made in Belgium by Kim's Chocolates)
Peru 64% dark chocolate bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .875 oz. (25 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 151 calories (estimate) in 1/4 bar
Cost: $1.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.

The Hageland Peru 64% dark chocolate bar was made in Belgium by Kim's Chocolates.

I agree with the tasting notes printed on the packaging: "An unmistakable hint of fruit, with a slightly bitter cocoa taste, creates a surprising first impression..."

There was some fruit/acid that gave this bar some oomph/interest, and a bitter flavor that, surprisingly, didn't linger too long or spoil the experience.

Hageland - Costa Rica 71% dark bar - April 24, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Hageland
(Kim's Chocolates)
Costa Rica 71% dark bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .875 oz. (25 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 159 calories in 1/4 bar
Cost: $1.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Central America Theme Week.

Kim's Chocolates is a large chocolate maker in Belgium that manufactures bars under different brand names in the U.S., including KC, Cachet, and Hageland (a brand originally developed for Walmart).

The Hageland Costa Rica 71% dark chocolate bar, was made in Belgium, with Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa, and imported into the U.S. and stores in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I bought this bar.

Evolving supply chain, sourcing

Ingredients and commodities are often shipped thousands of miles, as part of our food supply chain, before they arrive, wholly integrated and packaged on grocery shelves. I try to shop local where I can. However, most chocolate I buy has a back-story that started with growing cacao in the tropics, and involved shipping cacao beans to a manufacturer or maker elsewhere.

The good news is that even larger players like Kim's Chocolates are trying to make improvements to their supply chain and manufacturing process. (E.g., they're working to switch to a more sustainable sourcing model, and to power their plant in Belgium with solar and alternative energy sources. Twenty percent of their energy is coming from their own solar panels.)

Today's single region bar was made, as mentioned above, with Rainforest Alliance Certified cacao. What does that mean? It means that beans were sourced from Costa Rican farms that met certain criteria for production and farming methods and treatment of workers. "Cocoa workers and families have proper housing, education, access to medical care and safe working conditions."

So, what did the bar taste like?

The tasting notes on the back of the bar package contained this description: "This strong dark origin chocolate" (has an) "...exquisitely bitter cocoa taste," (with a) "tempting bouquet of smoke and wood."

I also thought this bar had a very "dark" earthy, heavily roasted, smoky (almost burnt) flavor, with a hint of nuttiness as well. Given its strong flavor it was still well balanced and enjoyable to eat. And, very reasonably priced.

Tomorrow I'll taste and feature a very similar Costa Rica 71% dark bar, also made by Kim's Chocolates, for Whole Foods Market (with a Whole Trade Guarantee symbol). The ingredients were just a tad different, but the tasting notes on the back look very similar (dark, smoky).