Madecasse - Beyond Good Madagascar Single Origin Chocolate - Salted Almond 63% Cocoa (bar) - July 22, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Madecasse - Beyond Good
Madagascar Single Origin Chocolate 
Salted Almond 63% Cocoa (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 2.64 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $1.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Beyond Good Madagascar Single Origin Chocolate 65% Cocoa (bar) was produced in Madagascar and distributed by Madecasse LLC (Brooklyn, NY).

Aroma notes included salted nut (almond), dark chocolate and faint salted potato chip--that disappeared after the bar was opened for a few minutes.

Texture: Smooth dark chocolate was interspersed with crunchy bits of almonds.

The base dark chocolate was well-balanced, and not too sweet (thank you). This 63% dark bar tasted darker--more like a 72% dark chocolate. 

This Madagascar cacao-based bar had flavor notes that included: chocolate-y (chocolate syrup to dark chocolate brownie), and balanced acidic fruit (bright-tart citrus (tangerine), and dark tart berry (blueberry)) notes.

It had a restrained, balanced bitterness; that is, it was not too bitter, but it was bolder than many other 63% dark chocolates. The salted almonds added complementary mellow, savory flavor.

Maker's tasting notes: "Uniquely delicious notes of red fruits and nuts"

Ingredients: "*Cocoa beans, *Cane Sugar, *Almond Nibs, *Cocoa Butter, *Sunflower Lecithin (Emulsifier), Sea Salt." *Organic Ingredient

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of milk and other tree nuts."

 

Madecasse - Winter Spice bar - Dec. 20, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Madecasse
Winter Spice bar
Good +
Weight: .54 oz. (15.6 g.) / 2.64 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 89 calories (estimate based on labeling) in .54 oz. (15.6 g.) bar
Cost: $5.99 in 1 bar
Purchased from: Madecasse, online order

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Holiday Spice Theme Week; and I tried the Winter Spice bar from Madecasse (Brooklyn, NY; Ambanja, Antananarivo, Madagascar).

Made (in Africa)* with cacao beans from Madagascar, this 63% dark chocolate bar was infused with "warm spice notes and a gingerbread kick." Spices included ginger, cinnamon and nutmeg. The dominant flavor was spicy ginger (akin to candied ginger root) and faint spicy acidic fruit and earthy molasses notes in the dark chocolate -- making the bar taste slightly "darker" than 63% cacao.

Dessert

For dessert, I followed today's Madecasse bar with a pair of diminutive, gluten-free gingerbread men from Mi-del. These cookie men could be politely dunked into hot chocolate, or perched atop an ice cream sundae. In the future, after a long mountain hike outside in winter weather I imagine, I'll try dipping these gingerbread cookies, or hunks of freshly toasted gingerbread, into a high-end chocolate fondue. However, while today's Winter Spice bar was, thankfully, not too sweet, I've exceeded my sugar limit. Too many holiday treats this week. Right now, I want nothing more than a colorful holiday salad.

*Made in Madagascar by Shahin Cassam Chenai. (Chocolate is usually made in industrial countries with cooler climates. Most cacao trees are grown and cacao beans (from cacao fruit) are harvested in less industrialized nations closer to the equator.)

Madecasse - Milk Chocolate bar - Dec. 4, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Madecasse LLC
Milk Chocolate bar
Good
Weight: .44 oz. (12.5 g.) / .88 oz. (25 g.) in total bar
Calories: 66 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ (N/A - part of larger, previously recorded package)
Purchased from: (part of previous online order)

Bean-to-bar makers at Madecasse Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY; Ambanja, Antananarivo (Madagascar)) take pride in the fact that their cacao is grown on the island of Madagascar. More unique is the fact that their finished chocolate is also made in-country, in Madagascar.

Today's 44% cocoa, "silky smooth," milk chocolate bar had an "Intensity" rating of 1 out of a possible four. Intensity is a tricky rating criteria. I generally want a great chocolate to be intense enough to discern the full tasting arc, but not so strong as to be overwhelming. Whereas, a lesser chocolate is often fine if it's fairly mild. Objectionable flavors can be muted with the presence of cocoa butter, or sweeteners.

However, mild intensity works when certain notes are present that may be easily overwhelmed. Flavor Notes printed on the label for this bar stated: "a "dark" milk bar with clear notes of caramel. In this case, caramel notes paired well with a mellow milk chocolate. The texture was smooth, but slightly gummy -- a characteristic I sometimes experience when soy lecithin has been added to smooth out texture.

Overall, this bar was pleasant -- and a few squares paired well with a small dish of Three Twins (Petaluma, CA) Sea Salted Caramel ice cream.

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Caramel Theme Week.

Madecasse - Exotic Pepper bar - March 29, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Madecasse Chocolate
Exotic Pepper bar
Good +
Weight: .528 oz. (15 g.) / 2.64 oz. (75 g.) ttl bar
Calories: 77 calories (estimate) for 1/5 bar
Cost: $6.49 total bar
Purchased from: Farm Fresh Store, Ferry Bldg., SF, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Spicy Pepper Theme Week.

If you want to experience some of the more beautiful flavor notes from pepper -- without the hot spots or grit of most commercially available freshly ground peppercorns -- then I highly recommend trying this 70% cocoa Exotic Pepper bar, made with tsiperifery pepper (and pink and black pepper) from Madecasse Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY).

Madecasse is one of a handful of chocolate makers developing bean-to-bar offerings in Madagascar -- closer to where cacao beans are grown. Most chocolate bars are made in North America, Europe, Asia, or elsewhere -- closer to the brand origin vs. the cacao origin. The hope is that developing closer relationships with farmers and those involved in the initial processing of cacao in-country may result more local jobs and better chocolate.

Madecasse - Cinnamon and Sakay bar - March 26, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Madecasse
Cinnamon and Sakay bar
Good +
Weight: .435 oz. (12.5 g.) / 2.64 oz. (75 g.) total bar
Calories: 65 calories (estimate) in 1/6 bar
Cost: $7.00 (estimate)
Purchased from: Scream Sorbet, in Oakland, CA


Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Cinnamon Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Spicy Pepper Theme Week.

I was looking for a chocolate that might bridge these two theme weeks, and this Cinnamon and Sakay (bar) from Madecasse Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY), had a foot in both camps.

Made "in country" -- that is, from bean-to-bar in Madagascar --  this 63% cocoa bar base had a fairly robust flavor, with very subtle hints of cinnamon and a sakay pepper* finish. Madecasse founders took their Peace Corps volunteer experience in Madagascar and decided to make bars in the country where the beans were grown to help local people.

I found this bar at Scream Sorbet in Oakland, CA, a store with the best sorbet flavors I've yet tasted -- chocolate flavors included. Each flavor is carefully crafted and has the freshness of a sorbet with the rich satisfaction of an ice cream or gelato.

*The sakay pepper is found "in almost every home and restaurant on the island."