Pump Street Chocolate - "The Fermentation Project" Tulloch Estates, Jamaica 76% Limited Edition - June 25, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Pump Street Chocolate

"The Fermentation Project" Tulloch Estates, Jamaica Ltd. Ed. (bar)

Good ++ - Good +++

Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar

Calories: 197 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $10.50 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Limited Edition 76% "The Fermentation Project" bar--created using cacao beans from Tulloch Estates (farm) in Jamaica--was crafted by the bakers and chocolate makers at Pump Street Chocolate (Suffolk, UK).

This chocolate had a very attractive, complex botanical aroma, with notes that included: tea (iced green tea with maple syrup), very faint, light aromatic (pipe) tobacco, very faint fresh baked bread, very faint wood (and woody nut) notes, and naturally sweet plants, roots and fruits (maple, maca lucuma, sweet carrot/yam, vanilla bean, purple grapes/raisins, mangosteen).

The relatively thick bar had a hearty, smooth texture with a very slight fruit/tea/clean mineral astringency; but this "dryness" or granular/puckery mouthfeel (as you might encounter in pomegranates, persimmons and certain berries) did not interfere with the enjoyment of this unique and special chocolate. 

The 76% dark chocolate also had a trace of light, balanced dark bitterness (think chocolate stouts), which came to forefront more the second day after it had been opened, perhaps after some of the more volatile aroma bouquet notes mentioned earlier had faded.

What makes this chocolate unique? A "sourdough-style starter" was added to newly harvested cacao beans to "kick-start and equilibrate" the fermentation process. (Not surprisingly to hear that the Pump Street chocolate makers (who are bakers and bread makers as well) looked into this.) Given the interesting results, perhaps we'll see more special fermentation projects in the future.

I love botanical flavors and I thank the farmers, fermenters and makers for their attention to detail and for enabling, highlighting and preserving so many subtle chocolate flavors in this bar.  

Ingredients: "Cocoa beans, cane sugar and organic cocoa butter (minimum cocoa solids 76%)."

Allergen-related information: "We also handle dairy, gluten, nuts and seeds on the premises."

 

Pump Street Chocolate - Jamaica 75% Bachelor's Hall Estate (bar) - March 2, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Pump Street Chocolate 

Jamaica 75% Bachelor's Hall Estate (bar)

Good ++

Weight: .706 oz. (20 g.) in 1 small bar

Calories: 97.6 calories in 1 small bar

Cost: $4.00 for 1 small bar + shipping

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Jamaica 75% Bachelor's Hall Estate (bar) was from Pump Street Chocolate--bakers and chocolate makers based in Suffolk, England.

Single origin chocolate bars have become more available in smaller sizes in the past few years. This conveniently sized (single serving) package is great for sampling/small group tastings. It was also well-sealed, allowing the chocolate's flavors to stay well preserved. And I could tuck this small bar into my pack for a solo hike without worrying about possible meltage issues. (Buy a larger size if you want to share with others.)

The aroma included rich dark chocolate and very faint, well-balanced umami/smoke, licorice, and green notes. 

The flavor had true dark chocolate (cake, brownie) flavor with faint fermented cream, concentrated fruit (cherry and honey fruitcake), and very faint earth notes.

Personal notes: Good choice on Pump Street's part to go with a darker percentage (75% vs. 70% cacao) for this cacao/chocolate. It helped showcase the cacao's abundance of natural flavor(s) and balanced the sugar/sweetness. Flavors were nicely balanced/managed. Can't wait to try the 90% version tomorrow.

Pump Street Chocolate's tasting notes read as follows: "Initially rich, a satisfying melt releases hints of sweet, juicy berries before rounding into a distinctive honeyed rum finish. Serendipitous for a Jamaican bar"..."Chocolate made in Suffolk with beans sourced from a single farm."

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, cane sugar, organic cocoa butter. 

Pump Street Bakery - Madagascar 72% bar - Feb. 14, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Pump Street Bakery Chocolate
Madagascar 72% Ambanja 2014 bar
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.45 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 184 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Zombie Runner, Palo Alto, CA

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

We're landing on this large island nation just in time to celebrate a big chocolate holiday—Valentines Day.

Madagascar is located off the Eastern coast of Africa. Most of the cacao grown here comes from the Northwest part of the island, near the Sambirano Valley, part of (or near) the district and city of Ambanja.

Today's Madagascar 72% Ambanja 2014 bar was crafted, from bean-to-bar*, by makers at Pump Street Bakery (Orford, Suffolk, UK). They make baked goods, bread and chocolate.

More specifically, this bar represents Batch No. 5201—from the Pump Street chocolate makers. I mention this, because if you taste a bar you really like, a batch number helps you find the same bar again (if it's still available). Or, making notes on various batches can help you to request a bar with similar flavor characteristics.

I'd like to re-order this three-ingredient bar (cocoa beans, cane sugar, and cocoa butter). It was a great bar for Valentines Day, with or without hearts and flowers.

• My tasting notes: "Broke with a hard snap. Aroma and flavor: Green coconut and papaya, spice, shading into grapefruit (nicely balanced acidity) and deep but warm spice (cinnamon) finish. Interesting and enjoyable flavor arc. Not one "off" note in the bar."

• Pump Street notes: "A dark chocolate packed with flavour (sic) brought out of the fruity Madagascan beans. This chocolate has high notes of citrus mellowing intro tropical fruits and ending with balanced acidity."

*"Each bar is made from beans imported directly from farms or cooperatives in the country of origin. We then clean, roast in our bread ovens, grind and conch at our bakery in Orford, Suffolk."

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

Pump Street Bakery - 100% Ecuador bar - July 13, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Pump Street Bakery
Ecuador 100% - Guantupi 2013 Havest (bar)
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) for 1 oz. (28.3 g.) piece of bar
Cost: $13.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: ZombieRunner, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #9 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

One of the best ways to learn about chocolate is to sample a few 100% cacao dark chocolate bars. Experience chocolate without the sugar; this is cacao in its pure, dark state.

Today's Ecuador 100% - Guantupi 2013 Harvest (bar) (Batch #4712) was made from scratch by The Pump Street Bakery, a small family owned bakery and cafe in the U.K. They buy beans from the farmer, and after cleaning the beans, roast them in their bread oven(s), then grind beans and conch chocolate at their bakery location.

Yesterday, I tried Pump Street Bakery's Ecuador 75% - Guantupi 2014 Harvest (bar). The beans in today's 100% Guantupi 2013 bar came from the same plantation/farm in Ecuador as the beans used to make the 75% bar, but the harvests were one year apart. There are many potential variations between craft batches (e.g. roasting and conching times might have been slightly different), making this both vexing and delightful to consumers and makers alike. So even if the same beans were used, there may be variations possible between single region bars.*

The 100% bar had a faint aroma, and very uniformly dark bitter coffee flavor, whereas the 75% bar seemed to have more complex smell (slight fruit, even a tiny bit of spice?) and flavor. Could that really be just because of the sugar? It's hard to tell without a direct, side-by-side comparison (same batch -- one with sugar, and one without).

Both bars broke with a nice clean, hard snap (a sign of a good temper), and were quite smooth in texture. Both had uniform dark flavor -- with a somewhat bitter, dark roasted coffee flavor in both. Both had good, almost creamy (but not overly so) balanced texture.

Today's 100% bar was very well executed (no small feat) and interesting to taste, but was a bit too bitter for me.

*Additional Notes:

This would be a great 100% bar to add to a plate of other 100% bars for comparison taste testing. Also interesting, if possible, would be a side-by-side tasting with a bar made with cocoa beans from the same harvest (year, farm and batch #) and roasting and conch times, but with some added sugar, i.e. not 100% but same origin conditions.

Pump Street Bakery - Ecuador 75% bar - July 12, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Pump Street Bakery
Ecuador 75% - Guantupi 2014 Harvest (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. (28.3 g.) of bar
Cost: $13.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: ZombieRunner, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #8 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

The Pump Street Bakery (Orford, Suffolk, UK) is a blend of bakery and cafe, located in the village of Orford on Suffolk's Heritage coast; and creative things are happening at this family owned business.

It sounds like a great place to linger over coffee and cake, perhaps before taking a class or workshop to learn more about great food. And last, but not least, single origin, bean-to-bar chocolate is made in their bakery.

Today's Ecuador 75% bar had a pleasant, complex bittersweet cocoa aroma, and broke with a clean hard snap.

Both taste and texture were smooth and balanced in this three ingredient bar (cocoa beans, cane sugar and cocoa butter). Hints of dried fruit, marshmallow and slight floral flavor mingled with bittersweet vanilla tea or coffee notes. (There was no vanilla in this bar.)

This dark bar was crafted from Heirloom Cacao Preservation accredited cocoa beans (Guantupi 2014 Harvest) from Samuel von Rutte's Hacienda Limon farm on the Guantupi River (Guayas basin) in the Los Rios province of Ecuador. Pump Street imports their beans directly from Samuel "and carefully processes his great beans to produce a 75% smooth dark chocolate with notes of caramel and cream, finishing with roasted coffee and honey."