Domori - Chacao Organic Milk Chocolate 42% Cacao (bar) - Aug. 22, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Domori 
(Chacao line)
Cioccolato Al Latte Bio 
Organic Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 295.5 calories in 1 bar; 147.75 cals. in 1/2 bar
Cost: $6.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Welcome to Day #10 of Ghana and Ivory Coast Theme Week.

Today's Cioccolato Al Latte Bio (Organic Milk Chocolate) Ivory Coast bar was from Domori (None, Torino, Italy). 

This bean-to-bar, organic dark milk 42% bar was made from "Forastino" cacao, a complex and interesting variation on popular Forastero cacao beans, grown in Cote de Ivoire (Ivory Coast).

The dark milk chocolate had an aroma with slight green, followed by nut, caramel and warm spice and floral honey notes.

This bar's complex dark milk chocolate flavor included caramel and nut notes, and a lingering sweet finish. The sweetness was balanced by a muffled undercurrent of dark chocolate bitterness.

Ingredients: organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic milk powder, organic cocoa mass, emulsifier (soy lecithin).

Domori - Land Costa d'Avorio (Ivory Coast) organic 70% dark bittersweet (bar) - Aug. 19, 2020

 Chocolate of the Day

Domori S.p.A.
Land Costa d'Avorio (Ivory Coast) organic 70% dark bittersweet (bar)
Good 
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 132 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $4.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order 

Welcome to Day #7 of Ghana and Ivory Coast Theme Week.

Today's Land Costa d'Ivorio (Ivory Coast) organic 70% dark bittersweet (bar) was from Domori S.p.A. (None, Torino (Turin), Italy).

West African Cacao Power

Ivory Coast--the top cacao producing country in the world--supplies almost 1/3 of the world's cacao. Yes, one rarely sees "Ivory Coast" identified as the source of cacao on chocolate bar packaging. Not that often. I was happy to find three Ivory Coast bars this week.

It's easier to find chocolate made with cacao grown in Ghana (World's #2 cacao supplier). Together these two West African countries produce approximately half of the world's cacao. 

Today's organic, Ivory Coast 70 percent dark bittersweet bar had a rich dark chocolate with a trace of bitterness and a faint spice/molasses note. The melt and texture of this bar was smooth. 

The flavor was powerful with heavy roast (light singed toast*) notes with a medium, lingering acidity (acidic, concentrated/dried plums, citrus). A thinner bar made flavors more accessible.

Maker's tasting notes for this two-ingredient chocolate (70% cocoa mass, cane sugar) read as follows: "Cacao harvested in the area between the villages of Oulaidon and Lilebe" (in the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, aka Ivory Coast). "Dominant note of cocoa, accompanied by coconut, hazelnut, bread crust and spices."

*Note: Heavy fires burning in California this week have resulted in smoke wafting across five counties including where I live. These conditions can affect taste and smell. I try to consider ambient conditions when tasting, and today was one time where a "clean" tasting environment was not possible. The faint heavy roasted, burned or singed/charcoal notes I mentioned above could have been amplified by "real" smoke.

Ceimoi Chocolatier - Super Dark Ivory Coast 90% Cocoa (bar) - Mar. 11, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Ceimoi Chocolatier
Super Dark Ivory Coast 90% Cocoa (bar)
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 230 calories in 1 serving (4 squares of) bar
Cost: $1.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and West Africa Theme Week.

Today's "Super Dark Ivory Coast 90% Cocoa" (bar) was produced in France and distributed by Cemoi Inc. (Pittsburgh, PA). Cemoi is a large French chocolate manufacturer, founded in 1814, with an origin story that dates further back (to 1770) in Grenoble. Cemoi also has a small manufacturing presence in Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) -- the largest cocoa producing country in the world (along with Ghana) in West Africa.*

The aroma had roasted, nutty, spice cookie, light floral, dark chocolate and very faint earth and fruit notes. The bar had a smooth, slightly oily (think very smooth nut butter) melt and mouthfeel. The flavor was uniform, dark chocolate flavor, albeit more subtle and complex than most with flavor notes similar to the aroma.

Last, but not least, his 90% bar lacked the bitterness and/or astringency associated with many other ultra-high percentage chocolate bars; and it had a relatively mild chocolate nut butter finish.

The is the 90% bar is ideally suited for chocolate fans who

• Prefer tamer ultra-dark chocolate that won't grab you by the throat
• Want to avoid the sugar found in lower percentage, sweeter dark chocolates
• Are on a budget

Maker's tasting notes read as follows: "coffee + rose + very slightly bitter"

Ingredients: "Ivory Coast unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla natural flavouring."

*Four countries in West Africa produce approximately 70 percent of cocoa in the world used to make chocolate: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon.

Chocolate Bonnat - Cote d'Ivorie Chocolat Noir 75% Cocoa (bar) - Nov. 1, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolat Bonnat
Cote d'Ivorie - Chocolat Noir 75% Cocoa (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 242.42 calories in 40 g. of bar
Cost: $8.95 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com (online order)*

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Africa Theme Week.

Today's Cote d'Ivorie 75% Cocoa Dark Chocolate, gluten free bar, was from Chocolat Bonnat (Voiron, France).

Most of world's cacao used to make chocolate comes from Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivorie) and Ghana. And yet today's bar was/is one of the few (branded) single origin Ivory Coast chocolate bars to be found.

The smooth chocolate had true deep dark, uniform chocolate flavor with a hint of dairy/cream (there was no added dairy product in this bar) and very faint, fleeting green/coconut note. It had a creamy melt and texture** and was not too sweet (thank you).

*Note: This bar is currently sold out on Chocosphere.com

**Ingredients: cocoa beans, cocoa butter and sugar. Chocolat Bonnat bars are known for their creamy texture, achieved through technique and with added cocoa butter.

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Tony's Chocolonely - Dark Chocolate 51% Pecan Coconut bar - May 19, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Tony's Chocolonely
Dark Chocolate 51% Pecan Coconut bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 6 oz. (170 g.) in total bar
Calories: 220 calories in 1/4 bar
Cost: $4.89 for 1 bar
Purchased from: New Leaf Community Markets, Half Moon Bay, CA

Welcome to Day #16 of Chocolate and Africa Theme Weeks. We've been sampling chocolates made from cacao grown in several African nations this month. Our last stop this week is in West Africa.

"West Africa" is made up of 18 countries, most of which were former European colonies that gained independence in 1960.

Many years ago, the French and other Europeans brought cacao from the New World, and other crops, to grow in West Africa. And today, two countries, Ivory Coast and Ghana, together supply about half of the world's cacao. However, over the years there have been concerns about the use of slave labor in this region.

Today's Dark Chocolate 51% Pecan Coconut bar was produced by Tony's Chocolonely (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), and made in Belgium. The company's mission is targeted at increasing awareness about and helping to prevent slavery and human trafficking in Ivory Coast and Ghana. And, oh yes, to produce good-tasting chocolate.

It may be my imagination, but I believe this large bar actually tasted better, "happier," than other chocolates made from West African cacao. The bar had a bright, true chocolate flavor (brownies with pecans), and was quite good. The coconut was subtle and added an upbeat, sweet note.