Chocolate Naive - "Molecules" - Bioactive 75% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Sept. 2, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolate Naive 
"Molecules" - Bioactive 75% Chocolate (bar) 
Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 85.36 calories in 1/4 bar 
Cost: Missing information (Currently available at Bar & Cocoa for $15 USD)
Purchased from: Missing information

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Lithuania Theme Week, and Day #1 of Dark Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's "Molecules" (tm) Bioactive 75% Dark Chocolate (bar) was created by chocolatier Domantus Uzpalis and team at Chocolate Naive (Vilnius, Lithuania). 

Aroma notes include: chocolate (dark milk* chocolate ganache) faint tart fruit (fruit vinegar), faint minerality, very faint (barely detectable) spice (black/white peppercorn).

Flavor notes included: smooth, relatively mild (for 75%) dark chocolate and an uptick in sweetness that had a slight menthol/cool edge (erythritol).** I am not a huge fan of erythritol, but I understand the desire to find a sugar substitute. Thankfully, this chocolate was not overly sweetened with this sugar replacement.**

In fairness to Chocolate Naive, this bar was expired by the time I tasted it. There were no off flavors. But, freshly made chocolate yields the most vibrant, authentic taste experience, with subtle aroma and texture qualities most intact.

Speaking of technical characteristics...It was interesting that research into naturally occurring active components of cacao--and how to best preserve certain cacao components--inspired this Chocolate Naive "Molecules" (tm) chocolate.

I would love to hear more on this subject. Cacao contains chemicals/compounds that are stimulants (theobromine and small amounts of caffeine), polyphenolic antioxidants (flavonoids), as well as "feel good" chemicals (e.g. anandamide), and satisfying mineral content (magnesium, iron, copper, zinc, etc.). Preserving, even optimizing, beneficial compounds would interest those trying to maximize good health.

Ingredients: "Molecules (TM) cacao, erytriol*, pure cacao butter*, zinc.  (*organic)"

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of milk, barley or nuts."

*Note: these are my tasting notes/observations. There are no milk ingredients listed for this chocolate; although it does say it may contain traces of milk.

** Artificial/synthetic sweeteners like Erythritol can cause an upset stomach in some people. It also alters the taste of chocolate(s).

Taitau - No Sugar Added 46% Milk Chocolate (bar) - Sept. 1, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Taitau (Tai Tau)
No Sugar Added 46% Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good 
Weight: .706 oz. (20 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 100 in 1 serving (3 squares)
Cost: $3.39 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Crossroads Specialty Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's No Sugar 46% Milk Chocolate (bar) from Taitau (Tai Tau) Exclusive Selection (Lietuva, Lithuania) was imported into the U.S. by B&I Overseas Trading Inc. (Van Nuys, CA).

This bar was made using "premium quality Granada cocoa beans." 

Aroma notes for this bar included: dark chocolate, subtle vanilla, very faint light spice (cinnamon), and even fainter spice-wood.  

The texture was uniformly smooth and creamy, almost buttery.

Flavor notes were similar to the aroma notes, and included: balanced, dark milk chocolate (cocoa, ganache), subtle vanilla, followed by a sizable uptick in erythritol (slight menthol sensation, overly sweet).

I'd hoped this might be a milk chocolate bar without any sweeteners, i.e. where only the natural sugars in the milk supply the sweetness. (I love the few chocolates that offer this experience.) This chocolate may be a welcome offering for those who can't have sugar; but the taste of erythritol (alternative sweetener) was too strong for me to enjoy.

Ingredients: "Cocoa butter, sweetener - erythritol, skimmed milk powder, cocoa mass, emulsifier - rapeseed (canola) lecithin, flavouring vanillin. Contains naturally occurring sugars. Contains at least 46% of cocoa solids, and 22% of dry milk solids."

Allergen-related information: "Contains milk." "This product may contain traces of hazelnuts and wheat gluten." "Excessive consumption may cause laxative effects."

Taitau - 82% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Aug. 31, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Taitau (Tai Tau)
82% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 240 calories in 2 servings (6 squares) of bar
Cost: $3.39 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Crossroads Specialty Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's 82% Dark Chocolate (bar) from Taitau (Tai Tau) Exclusive Selection (Lietuva, Lithuania) was imported into the U.S. by B&I Overseas Trading Inc. (Van Nuys, CA).

This bar was made using "premium quality Granada, Ghanian and Arriba cocoa beans." 

Aroma notes for this bar included: dark chocolate (rich cocoa, ganache); sweet green/botanical (sugar cane/brown sugar/maple, sweet tart lemon herb - oxalis); caramel macchiato; and very faint (barely detectable) dried fruit.  

Flavor notes were similar to the aroma notes, and included: bold, balanced, deep, dark cacao (Forastero cacao from Ghana); sweet green botanicals, including green floral, light marshmallow (perhaps from Arriba Nacional cacao and a hint of vanillin); caramel; coffee; and very faint, fleeting (and very diffuse) stone fruit and red berry jam (perhaps from Trinitario-related varieties of cacao in Grenada).

The makers have done a great job at balancing and blending cacao varieties from three different cacao growing regions of the world in their chocolate bars. I felt I could almost taste each contribution and cacao variety in their bars featured this week that varied from 46% - 99% cacao content. My favorites were the 72% and 82% cacao chocolates; but it was educational and fun to taste all of them within days of each other. 

The information provided on the packaging was much appreciated and the tasting experiences were much enjoyed. 

Ingredients: "Cocoa mass (made from premium quality Grenada, Ghanian and Arriba cocoa beans), sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier - rape (canola) lecithin, flavoring vanillin."

Allergen-related information: "This product may contain traces of peanuts, hazelnuts, gluten and milk."

Taitau - 52% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Aug. 30, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Taitau (Tai Tau)
52% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good +
Weight: .706 oz. (20 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 110 calories in 1 serving of bar
Cost: $3.39 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Crossroads Specialty Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's 52% Dark Chocolate (bar) from Taitau (Tai Tau) Exclusive Selection (Lietuva, Lithuania) was imported into the U.S. by B&I Overseas Trading Inc. (Van Nuys, CA).

This bar was "made from premium quality Ghanian cocoa beans." Ghana, in recent years, has been the number two exporter of cocoa beans in the world (right behind Ivory Coast). The top three export markets (in 2020-2021) for Ghana cacaco were: 1.) Netherlands, 2.) Malaysia, and 3.) United States. 

Most of the world's chocolate from Northern Europe (and the Western world) is made using West African cacao--and most cacao trees are Forastero (variety). Forastero cacao beans typically have a deep, dense, chocolate-y flavor.

Aroma notes for today's (Ghana) bar included: sweet dark chocolate; faint, warm nutty spice; subtle caramel macchiato (light coffee).  

The texture was uniformly smooth, with a creamy melt.

Flavor notes were similar to the aroma notes, and included: rich, very sweet dark chocolate. Sugar was the number one ingredient, and it dominated the tasting experience. This 52% chocolate was too sweet for me; but otherwise it had a pleasing aroma, well-executed texture and rich, underlying chocolate-y flavor.

Ingredients: "Sugar, cocoa mass (made from premium quality Ghanian cocoa beans), cocoa butter,  emulsifier - rape (canola) lecithin." 

Allergen-related information: "This product may contain traces of peanuts, hazelnuts, gluten and milk." 

 

Taitau - 62% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Aug. 29, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Taitau (Tai Tau)
62% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 220 calories in 2 servings (6 pieces) of bar
Cost: $3.39 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Crossroads Specialty Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Lithuania Theme Week.

Today's 62% Dark Chocolate (bar) from Taitau (Tai Tau) Exclusive Selection (Lietuva, Lithuania*) was imported into the U.S. by B&I Overseas Trading Inc. (Van Nuys, CA).

The company offers a variety of chocolate bars and confections. The packaging for their line of bars includes cacao origin information. This 65% chocolate bar was "made from premium quality Arriba, Ghana and Grenada cocoa beans." Each square of the bar was adorned with an embossed image of a sea-inspired creature: sea shell, sea star, or sea horse.* 

Aroma notes for this bar included: sweet dark chocolate, diffuse, bright fruit (red berry), sweet coffee, faint vanilla marshmallow, and very faint sweet green floral and caramel/butterscotch. The texture was uniform and smooth.

Flavor notes were similar to the aroma notes, and included: sweet dark chocolate (rich, sweet, dark chocolate ganache, chocolate torte); sweet green botanical (faintly smoky maple syrup, vanilla-floral); and caramel.

More sugar and a different cacao blend made this Tai Tau 62% chocolate sweeter, brighter, slightly fruitier and more floral/botanical than the Tai Tau 72% chocolate reviewed a few days ago. 

The 62% version had less Ghana (typically deep, dark Forastero cacao variety flavor) and more Grenada and Arriba (often chocolate-y with some fruit and floral notes--found in Trinitario and Nacional variety cacao(s))--yielded a different tasting experience.

I liked the bolder, smoky vanilla, slightly earthy 72% Tai Tau chocolate a little bit better; but both the 72% bar and it's sunnier 62% sibling would be good options for a chocolate tasting. (For those wanting something with less sugar and more robust flavor, the Tai Tau 90% and 99% options are worth trying as well.)

Ingredients: "Cocoa mass (made from premium quality Grenada, Ghanian and Arriba cocoa beans), sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier - rape (canola) lecithin.

Allergen-related information: "This product may contain traces of peanuts, hazelnuts, gluten and milk."

*Lithuania is a country about the size of the State of West Virginia in the U.S. During the 14th Century it was one of the largest countries in Europe. (Currently, it is larger than Belgium, Denmark or Latvia, but a fraction of what it once was.) How far is it from the ocean? It borders on the Baltic Sea.

 

Taitau - 99% Extra Dark Chocolate (bar) - Aug. 28, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Taitau (Tai Tau)
99% Extra Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++ 
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 120 calories in 1 serving (3 squares) of bar
Cost: $3.39 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Crossroads Specialty Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Lithuania Theme Week.

Today's 99% Extra Dark Chocolate (bar) from Taitau (Tai Tau) Exclusive Selection (Lietuva, Lithuania) was imported into the U.S. by B&I Overseas Trading Inc. (Van Nuys, CA).

The company produces single origin bars as well as other chocolate confections. This 99% cacao chocolate was made using "premium quality Ghana cocoa beans." And each square of the bar was adorned with a sea shell, sea star or sea horse.

Aroma notes for this bar included: bold, deep dark chocolate (Forastero cacao variety-like), and very faint vanilla.

The texture was thick, smooth and uniform.

Flavor notes were similar to the aroma notes: deep, dark chocolate with balanced bitterness (not as much as some 99% chocolates). It was what I would expect from an ultra-dark, almost unsweetened chocolate made with (medium-dark roast) Forastero cacao beans. It was bold, dense and smooth without any detectable lighter (fruit, floral) notes. 

If you enjoy sipping a small serving of espresso roast coffee with very little sugar, you may enjoy this chocolate. It is all about bold flavor. It is perhaps the opposite of a 32-oz. sweetened and flavored coffee drink with milk and whipped cream.

Chocolates this dark are relatively satisfying, i.e. I don't find myself wanting to eat more than a few squares. They satisfy my cacao craving, and serve as a reminder that sugar (or sugar + salt) are the ingredients behind those "more, more, more" impulses to eat more than one should.

Ingredients: "Cocoa mass (made from premium quality Ghanian and Grenada cocoa beans), cocoa butter, sugar, emulsifier - rape (canola) lecithin, flavoring vanillin."

Allergen-related information: "This product may contain traces of peanuts, hazelnuts, gluten and milk." 

 

Taitau - 90% Extra Dark Chocolate (bar) - Aug. 27, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Taitau (Tai Tau) 
90% Extra Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .706 oz. (20 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 120 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $3.39 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Crossroads Specialty Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Lithuania Theme Week.

Today's 90% Extra Dark Chocolate (bar) from Taitau (Tai Tau) Exclusive Selection (Lietuva, Lithuania) was imported into the U.S. by B&I Overseas Trading Inc. (Van Nuys, CA).

This chocolate was made using "premium quality Arriba and Ghana cocoa beans." And each square of the bar was adorned with an embossed shell, sea star or sea horse shape.

Aroma notes for this bar included: dark chocolate; vanillin; very faint (barely detectable) aromatic (vanilla-infused) tobacco, cappuccino and caramel; and faint sweet, almost floral green.

This ultra-dark chocolate had a thick, smooth texture, with a very faint astringency (sensation of dryness, slight graininess).

Flavor notes were similar to the aroma notes (above), and included: balanced, bold cacao (Forastero cacao from Ghana), dark chocolate and vanillin; very faint, smooth aromatic wood, smoke and caramel; and very faint, fleeting sweet green and floral (Arriba cacao from Ecuador).

Ingredients: "Cocoa mass (made from premium quality Ghanian and Arriba cocoa beans), sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier - rape (canola) lecithin, flavoring vanillin."

Allergen-related information: "This product may contain traces of peanuts, hazelnuts, gluten and milk."

 

Taitau - 72% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Aug. 26, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Taitau (Tai Tau)
72% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 300 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $3.39 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Crossroads Specialty Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Lithuania Theme Week.

Today's 72% Dark Chocolate (bar) from the Taitau (Tai Tau) Exclusive Selection line (Lietuva, Lithuania) was imported into the U.S. by B&I Overseas Trading Inc. (Van Nuys, CA).

The company offers a variety of chocolate confections and bars--made with single origin (or blends of identified) single origin cacaos, e.g. "Ghana, Arriba, and/or Granada." This bar was made using "premium quality Ghana and Granada cocoa beans."

Aroma notes for this bar included: dark chocolate, vanilla, faint aromatic tobacco, roasted coffee, balanced earth, and subtle caramel.

The texture was uniformly fudge-y, smooth and rich.

Flavor notes were similar to the aroma notes, and included: bold, balanced, deep, dark cacao (Forastero cacao from Ghana), dark chocolate and vanillin, very faint, smooth aromatic tobacco, caramel, and very faint, fleeting stone fruit (peach jam -- perhaps a flicker of Trinitario variety cacao from Grenada).

Ingredients: "Cocoa mass (made from premium quality Ghanian and Grenada cocoa beans), sugar, emulsifier - rape (canola) lecithin, flavoring vanillin."

Allergen-related information: "This product may contain traces of peanuts, hazelnuts, gluten and milk."

Chocolate Naive - Durian Fruit Chocolate 61% (bar) - Mar. 9, 2023

 Chocolate of the Day

Chocolate Naive
Durian Fruit Chocolate 61% (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 158.48 calories in 1/2 bar 
Cost: $15.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order 

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

Today's Durian Fruit Chocolate 61% (bar) was made by Chocolate Naive (Vilnius, Lithuania).

The aroma aspects of this chocolate included: fruit (yellow-orange tropical fruits, very slightly earthy pineapple custard); chocolate; lemon-herb (oxalis); very faint nut (Brazil, hickory, pine); and faint wine grape and cheese fermentation notes.

This well-tempered bar broke with a snap and had a smooth, creamy, appealing texture and melt. It was a dark milk chocolate bar, but the fruit flavor was clear and bright, and seemed un-dulled by the judicious amount of grass-fed milk powder added.

Flavor notes included: mild, sweet yellow/orange tropical fruit (with very little of the fabled durian funk).* The fruit flavor carried on into the finish -- where there was one, very brief, mildly earthy cheese note.* 

This unique fruit infused chocolate was not too sweet and had nicely balanced tropical fruit flavor(s). The maker succeeded in capturing the sunnier side of this slightly tart-sweet fruit--a friendly mango-pineapple-cacao fruit rather than a scary monster (like the demon-style mask featured on the bar's packaging).

Ingredients: Specialty cacao*, cane sugar*, pure cacao butter*, grass-fed milk powder*, durian* (6%). *Wild or all natural farming

Allergen-related information: (Contains milk.) May contain traces of treenuts, peanuts and wheat

* I once bought durian ice cream, to go. I drove away intending to eat it at a nearby park. But, soon the odor inside the car was overwhelming. I had to pull over and discard this new treasure into an outdoor trash can.

What's the technical explanation for the smell?

Durian fruit produces ethanethiol--a chemical compound credited for causing "the smell." In large quantities this compound can be toxic. And as the fruit ripens, the level of ethionine (the ethyl analog to the amino acid methionine, and a precursor to ethanethiol) increases and so does the offending odor. 

The sometimes smelly (especially if overly ripe) durian fruit is banned in some public spaces in Malaysia and Singapore. However, if you're able to enjoy the mild (rather than the wild) side of this fruit, it's quite good.

Naive - Black Sauna Smoked Chocolate (bar) - Nov. 1, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolate Naive
Black Sauna Smoked Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .66 oz. (19 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 113.6 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $15.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Black Sauna Smoked Chocolate (bar) was created by Domantas Uzpalis at Chocolate Naive and produced by Mulate UAB (Vilnius, Lithuania).

Umami foods have been described as smokey, meaty and/or earthy. They tend to be savory, and may (or may not) contain salt. Today's unique 70% dark chocolate bar explores smoked cacao blended with a few specific botanicals (fir, charcoal, wormwood), associated with black sauna traditions in northern and northeastern Europe.

I braced myself for some smoke-monster aroma; but this was not the case. Aroma notes for this bar included: subtle pine, light sweet mint/menthol, and subtle, buttery and smooth dark chocolate.

The texture was smooth with nice melt and very slight granularity.

Flavor notes included: slight aromatic smoke note, mild diffuse fruit (red berry), and sweet green herbs and botanicals (including faint sweet pine). This bar did contain a small amount of sea salt, but I couldn't detect it. The very subtle smoke note was much closer to sweet herb than American savory BBQ or smoked salmon smoke. (Tomorrow I will feature Chocolate Naive's BBQ Spice dark chocolate bar.)

I paired this chocolate was a cup of hot dried sage tea (a pairing suggestion by the maker) + green tea. (Green tea is also considered umami.)

Maker's description: "Flavor notes: initial punch of strong and smoky flavor followed by sweet and aromatic pine notes. Biting bitterness of the wormwood at the finish." "Pairing suggestions: "We recommend to pair this bar with herbal tisanes (also known as herbal tea infusions). Try pairing with fermented fireweed tea or something more traditional, like sage, mint or chamomile tea."

Ingredients: Wild smoked cacao, wild cane sugar, wild pure cacao butter, wild Siberian fir (2%), wild activated birch charcoal, wild wormwood (1%), wild sea salt.

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of milk, wheat, treenuts or peanuts."

Chocolate Naive - Soursop Fruit Chocolate 67% (bar) - Dec. 7, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolate Naive
Soursop Fruit Chocolate 67% (bar) 
Good ++
Weight: 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 316.96 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $10.00 (+ summer shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #16 of Chocolate and Fruits Theme Weeks.

Today's Soursop Fruit Chocolate 67% (bar) was from Chocolate Naive (Vilnius, Lithuania).

Aroma notes for this bar included: rich, slightly earthy chocolate with diffuse fruit and very faint nut/buttery seed notes.

The chocolate had a smooth texture, with a slight fruit astringency (faint grainy, dryness).

The flavor had a lovely blooming quality upon the first bite. Notes included buttery chocolate and tart-sweet soursop fruit (complex, fluxing notes of plum; custard apple; ripe, sweet fuyu persimmon; very faint strawberry; very faint ripe, sweet pineapple; very faint, sweet kiwi)--and a fleeting faint, sweet parsnip/sweet potato note. 

What a fun, intricate and interesting fruit and chocolate ride--made possible by Chocolate Naive chocolate maker, Domantas Uzpalis, who skillfully showcased soursop*, and enabled us to experience this unique tasty fruit shape-shifter.

Ingredients: "Specialty cacao*, cane sugar*, pure cacao butter*, soursop* (7%). *Wild or all-natural farming"

Allergen-related information: May contain traces of treenuts, peanuts, wheat, milk.

*There are many varieties of soursop (also known as graviola (Brazilian Portuguese) and guanabana (Spanish)). Native to the tropical Americas, soursop (Annona muricata) is related to other "custard apple" fruits, and to fruits like the Brazilian pawpaw, the North American pawpaw, and the cherimoya. (Laxmanphal in India.) Sapote fruits are often included in this broader group. All of these are relatively rare in U.S. markets.

While I don't know exactly which variety of soursop was incorporated into this bar, I enjoyed reading the maker's description (below):

"Healthy doesn't have to mean boring, and this miracle fruit bar sure has its place for the picky chocolate aficionado who plans to live a long, unmiserable, and vigorous life. There are fruits, superfruits, and super mega fruits, but they all bite the dust compared to soursop. Behind the warty spines and thick leathery skin hides the succulent pulp, and oh boy is it delicious! Open your mouth and get ready to heal."

The illustration on this bar's packaging depicted a soursop fruit with a spiky green exterior, and a light-colored interior (fruit pulp) with relatively large, dark seeds.

Chocolate Naive - Cacao Pulp in Heirloom Dark Chocolate (bar) - Mar. 27, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolate Naive 
Cacao Pulp in Heirloom Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 183 calories (per label) in 1 bar
Cost: $ (missing information)
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and NOPQ Theme Week, featuring chocolate items with origins and flavor inclusions that start with the letters N, O, P and/or Q.

Today's Cacao Pulp in Heirloom Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Chocolate Naive and Produced by Mulate AEB (Zietelos, Lithuania). Chocolatier Domantas Uzpalis produces a line of thoughtfully created and skillfully executed chocolates, from bean-to-bar, in Eastern Lithuania.

This Cacao Pulp* bar had a polite, but complex, sweet cacao aroma with light fruit notes (strawberry milkshake, mango, cacao fruit pulp), and very faint, warm spice (gingerbread) and light green seed/nut (Theobroma bicolor/Jaguar cacao seeds) notes. About an hour after opening the sealed packaging (and tasting the first few bites), subtle caramel notes were also present.

The chocolate had a creamy, almost whipped rich chocolate mousse feel to it.

The flavor notes were consistent with the aroma notes listed above, with more direct, mildly acidic tropical fruit (cacao pulp/fruit, mango, was well as light pineapple, lychee, sweet red berry, ripe tangerine) flavors. This bar was crafted from prized "white" cacao beans known for their sophisticated, subtle fine flavor, and was very low in bitterness.

Chocolate Naive maker's tasting notes included: "champagne, citrus, lychee and mango," and the following description: "Slightly sweet with a little bit of fresh and bright champagne-like sourness, tingling the teeth and the back of the throat."

Ingredients: heirloom 70% chocolate (white cacao, organic cane sugar, organic cacao butter), dried cacao pulp. 

*Cacao pulp, also known as cacao fruit, baba, mucilage and cacao placenta, surrounds a core of almond-sized seeds (the cocoa beans used to make chocolate) at the center of the cacao pod/fruit. Whiteish in color, the pulp is sweet, slightly tart and fruity; and, depending on the cacao variety, the origin/terroir, and other factors, it might have citrus and floral notes. You may taste watermelon candy, mango, and/or a host of other tropical fruits. 

It is very tasty. Sadly, it's hard to find in the U.S. You may find it frozen. In Hawaii, look for the multi-colored cacao fruit/pods at roadside fruit stands and farmers markets.

Chocolate Naive - Peanut Butter Specialty Milk Chocolate 47% (bar) - Oct. 8, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolate Naive
(Producer/Gamintoja: Mulate UAB)
Peanut Butter Specialty Milk Chocolate 47% (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 2 oz. (57 g.) in 1 bar 
Calories: 414.6 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Grass Fed Milk Theme Week. 

Today's Chocolate Naive Peanut Butter Specialty Milk Chocolate 47% (bar) was created by chocolatier, Domantas Uzpalis, and produced by Mulate UAB (Vilnius, Lithuania).

This unique, guitar-shaped 47% cacao milk chocolate bar was velvety smooth and devilishly delicious. 

Twenty percent of the content was peanuts, that were ground for 4 days into creamy, whipped peanut butter, that was then so well incorporated you might miss the specific peanut flavor.  Further upping the creamy factor was the inclusion of grass-fed milk powder. 

Ingredients: cacao butter*, sugar*, specialty cacao*, peanuts* (20%), grass-fed milk powder*, sea salt*.

*"wild or all natural farming!"

Chocolate Naive - Jaguar Tree Cacao in Heirloom Chocolate and Cacao (bar) - Nov. 18, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Chocolate Naive
Jaguar Tree Cacao - in Heirloom Chocolate and Pimenton
Good ++
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 240 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $18.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #12 of Chocolate and Nibs Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Seeds Theme Week.

Cacao beans are actually seeds (semillas), which makes the transition from a Chocolate and Cacao Nibs (pieces of cacao seeds) Theme Week to a Chocolate and Seeds Theme Week easy.

We begin this week with today's Jaguar Tree Cacao in Heirloom Chocolate and Pimenton (paprika) bar from Chocolate Naive (Lithuania).

Chocolates featured on this site are made from cacao beans/seeds or cacao nibs, from the Theobroma cacao tree. However, there are other plant relatives in the Theobroma genus* that can be used to make chocolate.

The increasingly rare, wild Jaguar tree cacao (Theobroma bicolor) is known by many names (e.g., Pataxte, Mocambo, White Chocolate tree). Jaguar cacao fruit is rounder, more melon-like than a Theobroma cacao fruit pod; and the seeds are white.

The base chocolate for today's palette-shaped bar was sweet and slightly savory (smoked paprika, sea salt), and was topped with five large, white beans.

The bar had a rich flavor and smooth, almost creamy sweet texture. (At 240 calories for 1/2 bar, there must have been a fair amount of cacao butter content as well.)

The whole Jaguar Tree cacao beans were delightful. These ivory colored beans had a lovely smooth, soft crunch; and the beans/seeds broke into little white nib pieces. Jaguar beans lack some of the plant alkaloids (such as the small amount of caffeine present in conventional chocolate), resulting in less bitterness than is sometimes found in its conventional dark chocolate.

Note: This flavors in this bar were very interesting, well balanced and developed, but may not be for everyone. Tasting notes included: raw almond, firm avocado, fermented milk, toast, followed by a faint spiciness (paprika) and savory (sea salt). A folded paper insert included with this bar is full of interesting information (and tasting commentary).

*Members of the Theobroma genus include Theobroma cacao, Theobroma cupuacu, Theobroma bicolor, and more than a dozen other members that are all part of the Malvaceae (mallow) family. This same family also includes cotton, okra, hibiscus and rose mallow.

Mulate Organic Chocolates - Spices bar - Oct. 26, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Mulate Organic Chocolates
Spices Dark Chocolate bar
Good+++
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) (estimate) in total bar
Calories: 210 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA


Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate, Sugar and Spice Theme Week.


Today's "Spices" Dark Chocolate bar from Mulate Organic Chocolates was created by Chocolate Naive (a bean-to-bar maker in Lithuania).

The smooth, 65 percent cacao dark chocolate had well balanced and authentic cinnamon and vanilla aroma and flavor, and a hint of warmth from cayenne pepper—a perfect bar to enjoy on a cool fall day in the mountains.

Naive - Porcini Organic Dark-Milk Chocolate bar - Oct. 15, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolate Naive
Porcini - Organic Dark-Milk Chocolate bar
Good +++
Weight: .97 oz. (27.5 g.) / 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 146 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of And Now for Something Completely Different Theme Week.

Making bean-to-bar, small batch chocolate is challenging enough. However, for a creative and persistent few, experimenting with flavor inclusions in chocolate is the next step, after mastering the technical art of crafting chocolate from scratch (if that's possible).

Today I sampled another unique bar from Chocolate Naive (Rudamina, Lithuania)—a bar made with porcini mushrooms. The first sentence on the back of this package read: "Lithuanians love their mushrooms - that is a fact." Porcini mushrooms are highly valued by mushroom hunters. Each culture seems to have its own king of all mushrooms, and in Lithuania, it may well be the wild porcini.

Chocolate, can be successfully incorporated into both sweet and savory edibles, and vice versa—if properly executed. Happily, this bar was very well balanced and well made.

The Chocolate Naive milk bar was made with Tanzanian cacao and porcini mushrooms; and, as you might expect, the chocolate had an earthy mushroom/umami* aroma and flavor.

Freeze-dried porcini mushrooms were listed as an ingredient that was incorporated into today's bar. The chocolate was very smooth, with a creamy melt and mouthfeel; and I couldn't detect any bits of anything. (Perhaps milk or cream was infused with these mushrooms in advance. I don't know.)

The bar had a pleasant, lingering, tasty mushroom soup finish.

*Umami is a Japanese term that, roughly translated into English, means "pleasant savory flavor." Often called the fifth flavor, umami foods such as meats, vegetables, cheeses, mushrooms, seaweed, and ripe tomatoes. These foods typically contain higher amounts of glutamate, a way to measure umami.