Cachet Costa Rica 71% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Oct. 12, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Cachet 

Costa Rica 71% Dark Chocolate (bar)

(Manufactured by Kim's Chocolate)

Good + - Good ++

Weight: 1.17 oz. (33.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar

Calories: 200 calories (per label) in 1/3 bar

Cost: $1.99 for 1 bar

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

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Central America Week, featuring chocolates made with cacao grown in Belize, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

This Costa Rica 71% Dark Chocolate (bar) was manufactured in Belgium by Kim's Chocolate (Tienen, Belgium).

The aroma had smooth, dark chocolate and balanced light bitter and sweet notes.

The flavor was also even and smooth with relatively gentle dark chocolate; light, diffuse mixed fruit (syrup) with very faint maple vanilla; and subtle roasted nut butter notes.

Ingredients: Chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa powder, natural vanilla flavor. (80% Rainforest Alliance Certified Cocoa). (Dark chocolate cocoa solids minimum 71%)

Allergen related information: "May contain tree nuts, milk, eggs, wheat and soy."

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.

Whole Foods - Costa Rica 71% dark bar - April 25, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Whole Foods
Costa Rica 71% Cacao Dark Chocolate bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .875 oz. (25 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 153 calories in 1/4 bar (2 squares)
Cost: $ lost information
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Central America Theme Week.

This Costa Rica 71% dark chocolate bar was made with cacao beans from Costa Rica that were Rainforest Alliance Certified, and carried the "Whole Trade Guarantee" seal from Whole Foods Market (Austin, TX).

Kim's Chocolates, a large chocolate maker in Belgium, likely made today's bar, as well as yesterday's Hageland* Costa Rica 71% dark chocolate bar. The bars were the same size and molded shape.

Large companies are very good at creating consistent flavor from many small batches of cacao beans, that may vary from season to season. Smaller chocolate makers learn to do this too, but have a bit more freedom to experiment with flavors that (like wine) vary from year to year. And there may even be a bit of the notion: "If you can't fix it, feature it," occasionally. And some customers might appreciate more fruit, or more floral aroma, or other flavor characteristics in a given year, as long as a bar is well balanced.

Today's bar was likely produced under very similar conditions, with similar Rainforest Alliance Certified cacao beans, as yesterday's bar. It had some of the same dark, almost smoky flavor, but it was slightly sweeter and smoother, and less nutty than the Hageland bar.

I also used some previously squirreled away Britt Licor de Cafe (coffee liqueur) from Costa Rica and this chocolate to make a small treat. Que bueno.

*Hageland (a region in Belgium) is a brand that was originally developed by Kim's Chocolates for large chain stores (Walmart) -- likely, at least in part, to help introduce single origin chocolate to a broader audience, at an affordable price point.

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). 

ChocolateBet: September 27, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bite
Kim's Chocolates
Cachet - Blackberry and Ginger (bar)
OK+ - Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g) bite / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) total bar
Calories: 75 calories (estimate)
Cost: $4.29 total bar
Purchased from: Draeger's in San Mateo, CA

Ginger mixed with blackberries and dark chocolate. It sounded good. But, somehow the blackberry granules and ginger granules used to flavor this dark Cachet bar from Kim's Chocolates didn't quite mesh for me. The chocolate bar base was smooth and even. I might have preferred this dark chocolate melted over fresh berries and fresh ginger gelato. So many ways to enjoy chocolate.

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

ChocolateBet: June 24, 2011

Chocolate of the Day: 

1/2 bar
Cachet - Made by Kim's Chocolates N.V.
Almonds & Honey Milk Chocolate bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) total bar
Calories: 289 calories (estim.)
Cost: $2.99
Purchased from: Crossroads Market, in Palo Alto, CA

Today I was hoping to find additional Mediterranean flavors for Day #3 of Chocolate and Gluten Free Cookie Theme Week. Almonds, milk and honey have been enjoyed together in different combinations for many centuries. More recently, say in the last 150 - 200 years, chocolate has been thrown into the mix. Sadly, honey has been less available, and has been replaced by sugar or corn syrup in many cases, but I set about finding a bar with these flavors.


The Cachet Almonds and Honey Milk Chocolate bar fit the bill, and was just the right thickness -- thick enough to accommodate crunchy almonds bits and "honey pieces" and thin enough to quickly access milk chocolate and flavors in the mouth as the bar warmed up and was being eaten.

The Cachet bar is perfectly fine for eating by itself, but I also used part of this bar to make an easy chocolate-dipped, gluten free amaretti. (For a more elaborate ganache-filled version from La Biscotteria, see yesterday's post - dated June 23, 2011.)  So, I melted two squares of this bar in a small ceramic dish, and voila - a tiny dish of instant fondue -- into which I dipped Musso's gluten free Italian Crunchy Almond Cookies. Moments later, almonds drizzled with some Seggiano raw sunflower honey got the Cachet chocolate fondue treatment as well.

This bar made for a nice, smooth fondue; but, you may lose some of the crunchiness in the small honey bits when this chocolate bar is broken up and melted into a sweet dipping sauce.

ChocolateBet: January 28, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1/4 bar
Cachet
Lemon and Pepper bar
Very Good
Weight: .437 oz. (25 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) total bar
Calories: 145 calories in 2 squares
Cost: $4.29 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Draegers, in San Mateo, CA

Today was the last day (Day #7) of Chocolate and Lemon Theme Week. The Cachet Lemon and Pepper bar contained a dark chocolate (57% cocoa solids) base that was flavored with just the right amount of lemon and black pepper zing, and was made by Kim's Chocolates in Belgium. According to information printed on the packaging, the bar was also "made with 100% renewable energy," with "20% coming from our own solar panels."