Ranger Chocolate - 75% Vietnam Ben Tre (bar) - Oct. 10, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Ranger Chocolate

75% Vietnam Ben Tre (bar)
Good ++

Weight: 1.25 oz. (32 g.) in 1 bar

Calories: 194 calories for 1 bar

Cost: $6.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Ranger Chocolate, online order

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

Today's 75% Vietnam Ben Tre (bar) was from Ranger Chocolate (Batch #13) (Portland, OR).

Aroma and flavor notes included: pleasant, smooth, naturally sweet chocolate with very faint warm spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, root beer, molasses); dried fruits (fig, date); and barely-there vanilla notes.

Texture: This relatively thick bar broke with a well-tempered snap; the smooth, dark chocolate had a relatively creamy texture and melt.

Note: Apologies to the maker. I enjoyed this well-executed bar after the likely expiration date. While it still tasted fine to me, I may have missed out on some notes/qualities that were beyond their best. 

Maker's tasting notes: "dried fig, nutmeg, molasses"

"Two ingredients: organic cacao, organic cane sugar"

Allergen-related information: (labeled as Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free)

Ranger Chocolate Co. - Salitral Morropan Peru Dark Chocolate Bar 75% - Aug. 17, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Ranger Chocolate Co.
Salitral Morropon Peru Dark Chocolate Bar 75% 
Good ++
Weight: 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in total bar
Calories: 348 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $16.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Ranger Chocolate, online order

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

Today's Salitral Morropon Peru Dark Chocolate Bar 75% (Batch #4), from Ranger Chocolate Co. (Portland, OR), was made from Salitral Criollo cacao beans from Peru.

This bar was made with cacao from the Morropon Province in the Piura Region of northwestern Peru.

Aroma and flavor notes included: subtle dark chocolate, fruit (red raspberry), very faint cream, stone fruit (peach) and earth/tobacco. 

The subtle, creamy cacao and fruit notes became even more luscious when tasting (vs. just smelling this chocolate). The finish was clean and relatively long--with extremely faint oolong tea, clean mineral/tea notes.

Texture: Smooth, creamy, and well-tempered.

I enjoyed the gently complex and creamy taste and texture. I also appreciated the thoughtfully sourced Peruvian cacao; short list of (just two) ingredients; and continuing to consider fair trade: "Always Fair Trade -- or better"

Maker's Tasting Notes: "peanut, graham cracker, raspberry" ..."During our visit to Peru, farmers...shared numerous varieties of cacao...Salitral, a Criollo varietal, was a clear standout for its bold fruit flavors."

Ingredients: "organic cacao, organic sugar"

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that uses gluten, egg, milk, tree nut and sesame ingredients"

 

Ranger Chocolate - Piura Northern Peru Dark Chocolate Bar 74% - Aug. 16, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Ranger Chocolate Co.
Piura Northern Peru Dark Chocolate Bar 74%
Good ++ 
Weight: 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in total bar
Calories: 349 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $16.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Ranger Chocolate, online order

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

Today's Piura Northern Peru Dark Chocolate Bar 74% (Batch #7)--from Ranger Chocolate Co. (Portland, OR)--was made using cacao beans grown in the Alto Piura Valley of the Piura Region in northwest Peru.

Piura cacaos include prized heritage Criollos/Criollo variety blends.

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate with fruit (red fruit, berry), very subtle earth.

Texture: creamy, smooth, velvety. 

Flavor notes (right after being unwrapped) included: dark chocolate with fruit (red berry, citrus); damp soil; medium fruity acidity; a medium bitterness level (for a Criollo cacao); and fleeting very faint smoke, oolong tea and cookie toward the finish.

I enjoyed the relatively bold and complex flavor profile and the very smooth texture. And I appreciated: the short list of two, organic ingredients, and the company's commitment to thoughtful sourcing ("Always Fair Trade -- or better."). 

Maker's Tasting Notes: "cacao pulp, wine, tobacco, black cherry"

Maker story: "This rare white Criollo cacao produces a well balanced chocolate with a smooth finish."

Ingredients: organic cacao, organic sugar

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that uses gluten, egg, milk and tree nut ingredients."

 

Ranger Chocolate - Piura Blond Chocolate 60% Cacao (bar) - Aug. 15, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Ranger Chocolate Co.
Piura Blond Chocolate 60% Cacao (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 2.15 oz. (61 g.) in total bar
Calories: 310 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $18.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Ranger Chocolate, online order

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

Today's Piura Blond Chocolate 60% Cacao (bar), from Ranger Chocolate Co. (Portland, OR), was made using cacao beans from northern Peru. 

Piura is a coastal department and region in northwestern Peru. The gentler, more subtle Piura cacaos can be similar to prized heritage Criollo/Criollo blends. I loved the opportunity to try this chocolate on the blond side.*

Aroma notes included: very faint coconut milk chocolate, vanilla and caramel/brown sugar notes. 

This chocolate smelled less acidic and bitter, and more like a sweet confection.

Texture: creamy smooth. (You'd be forgiven if you thought this might be a milk chocolate in a blind blond tasting, due to its buttery mouthfeel.)

Flavor notes included: velvety, warm cocoa, with vanilla, coconut, caramel and barely detectable honeyed chamomile. There was a tiny amount of sea salt added (that I couldn't taste), but it likely helped balance the inherent and layered sweetness of this bar.

I appreciated this incredibly smooth-textured, less acidic and virtually bitter-free chocolate. The lower percent (60% cacao) content made this delicate cacao-based chocolate taste like a very high-end confection with the added brown sugar, vanilla and coconut. 

Ingredients: organic cacao, brown sugar (sugar, molasses), coconut, vanilla bean, sea salt.

Allergen-related information: "Contains: tree nut (coconut)"

*Blond(e) cacao or chocolate can refer to a caramelized light or white chocolate (with milk), or chocolate made with white-colored beans, making this adjective slightly confusing. Light-colored beans, especially Criollo beans in South American Amazon Basin countries, when cut open, can be white-ish, or pink-ish vs. a darker, purplish variegated hue found in bolder Forastero varieties.

Ranger Chocolate - Dark Chocolate (70%) Candied Ginger pieces - Apr. 21, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Ranger Chocolate

Dark Chocolate (70%) Candied Ginger (pieces) 
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.9 oz. (55 g.) / 3.8 oz. (110 g.) in total bar
Calories: 250 calories (estimate) in 1/2 package
Cost: $13.50 in total package
Purchased from: Ranger Chocolate, online order

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

Today's package of Dark Chocolate (70%) Candied Ginger (pieces/strips) was from Ranger Chocolate (Portland, OR).

Aroma notes included: authentic ginger (warm spice) and dark chocolate (rich, warm drinking chocolate).

Texture: the ginger had just the right amount of chewiness (not too soft/gelatinous and not too tough); and the dark chocolate was smooth with a nice melt.

Flavor notes for these attractive, sugar-bejeweled confections included: prominent warm and authentic, spicy ginger (that wasn't too spicy) and dark chocolate (that coated only about 1/4 of the ginger pieces--along the long edge of each strip). 

I liked the ginger and dark chocolate flavors. My only quibble was: I wanted to taste more of the chocolate. The focus was on the candied ginger. And it was tasty, authentic, sweet ginger. But, I would have loved tasting more of the 70% dark chocolate. 

Ingredients: "candied ginger (ginger, sugar, sulfur dioxide), chocolate (organic cacao, organic sugar, cacao butter)"

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that uses gluten, milk, egg, tree nuts & sesame ingredients"

Ranger Chocolate Co. - Mexico Soconusco Dark Chocolate Bar 70% - Feb. 28, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Ranger Chocolate Co.
Mexico Soconusco Dark Chocolate Bar 70%
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in total bar
Calories: 349 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Mexico Theme Week. It's always a pleasure to return to the Americas, where cacao originated. 

Today's Mexico Soconusco 70% Dark Chocolate Bar was from Ranger Chocolate Co. (Portland, OR). The Soconosco region is "the birthplace of cacao in Mexico, where they've been growing this crop for 4,000 years..."

Aroma and flavor notes included: dark chocolate (rich drinking chocolate); fruit (mango, wine grape juice/white raisin); diffuse warm spice; very faint botanicals (faint peppercorn); and very faint, fleeting, warm apple cider in the finish.

Texture: well-tempered and executed bar with smooth and satisfying texture.

I liked everything about this well-executed chocolate. I enjoyed the balanced, deliciously hearty yet smooth, cacao aroma and flavor complexity...the fruit, spice and other subtle flavors in this bar. I also appreciated the texture and the sourcing of the short list of ingredients.

Maker's Tasting Notes: "juicy mango, grapefruit, white grape, juniper"

Ingredients: "organic cacao, organic sugar"

Allergen-related information: "Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Nut Free"

 

 

Ranger Chocolate - Adventure Series - Caribbean Chocolate Bar - July 14, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Ranger Chocolate 
Adventure Series - Caribbean Chocolate Bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.25 oz. (32 g.) in total bar
Calories: 193.7 calories (estimate) in 1? bar
Cost: $13.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Caputo's, online order 

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

Today's Caribbean Chocolate Bar from Ranger Chocolate (Portland, OR)--part of the company's Adventure Series of bars--was a collaboration with Kann (Restaurant in Portland, OR). Together they've created a blend Haitian and Pacific Northwest flavors.

Aroma notes included: chocolate, coconut milk, faint vegetable (pepper) and very faint spice, diffuse tropical fruit (mango), and vanilla.

Flavor notes for this smooth and creamy, sweet and subtly spicy, bar included: (coconut) milk chocolate and mango, with very faint spices (warm vanilla, barely detectable ginger, hot pepper), and salted rice.* 

The jalapeno heat was subtle (very slight throat burn -- that didn't show until the finish). And I liked that the authentic island flavors were well balanced and complementary. 

This adventure bar made me want to hunt for Caribbean restaurants (few and far between) in my area. I appreciated the virtual travel today's spicy chocolate made possible.

Ingredients: "organic cacao, organic sugar, mango, coconut, sea salt, vanilla bean, ginger, habanero"

Allergen-related information: "Contains: tree nuts (coconut)"..."Manufactured in a facility that uses gluten, egg, milk, tree nuts and sesame ingredients"

*There was salt, but no rice. in this bar. As with all write-ups on Chocolate Banquet, aroma and flavor notes I cite are perceptions, and don't always correspond to the actual ingredients. (For example, you can taste berries when you're sipping a glass of red wine; but that doesn't mean the wine contains berries. The same goes for chocolate with complex flavors.)

Ranger Chocolate Co. - Dark Chocolate Cherries 70% - Nov. 22, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Ranger Chocolate Co.  
Dark Chocolate Cherries 70% 
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .95 oz. (27 g.) / 6 oz. (170 g.) in total package
Calories: 170 calories in 1 serving (4 cherries)
Cost: $10.00 for 1 package
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Dark Chocolate Cherries were from Ranger Chocolate Co. (Portland, OR).

The whole Bing cherries at the center of these confections were from Hood River, Oregon, played a starring role.

Aroma notes included: rich, flavorful dark chocolate (with very faint fermentation and fruity notes); very faint molasses/brown sugar; and dried fruit (cherry, plum).

The texture was very pleasing to bite into. Creamy dark chocolate gently collapsed into a soft, chewy (whole) cherry center.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate (fudge brownie), very faint, fleeting stone fruit (cherry) and fermentation notes (after the package was first opened); and cherries with sweet, authentic fruit flavor that had its own gentle, undulating arc.

The high-quality ingredients were complementary and delicious. The cherries were not too chewy or hard. Quite the opposite. The 70% dark chocolate helped modulate the sugar in the (sweetened) cherries.

Ingredients: Dried fruit (cherry, sugar, citric acid, sunflower oil), chocolate (organic cacao, cacao butter, organic sugar), cacao powder

Allergen-related ingredients: "Manufactured in a facility that uses gluten, egg, milk, tree nuts" 

 

Ranger Chocolate - Thai Chocolate Bar - Nov. 18, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Ranger Chocolate
Thai Chocolate Bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.125 oz. (32 g.) / 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in total bar
Calories: 175 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Thai Chocolate Bar (Batch 13) was from Ranger Chocolate Co. (Portland, OR). This Thai-inspired blend of sweet and savory flavor inclusions was part of the company's Adventure Series chocolate bar series. 

Aroma notes for this exotic bar included: chocolate, coconut milk, and very faint rice, diffuse fruit and warm spice.

The texture was creamy (coconut milk, cocoa butter) and crunchy (tiny bits of rice). The crispy-crunchy texture of the crushed rice was just right--not too firm and chewy, not too soft.

Flavor notes included: sweet coconut milk chocolate, rice (identified more by its texture than mild (almost salted buttery) flavor), and very faint warm spice (very mild galangal (aka Thai ginger)). The coconut milk muted stronger flavors (cacao, spices) that might have been present in this creamy homage to sweet and savory Thai cuisine. The flavors were well executed; and there weren't too many elements competing for attention, which made this chocolate taste more like Thai comfort food than a spicy, sizzling entree.

Maker's notes: "Our Adventure Series explores our desire to always try something new. This bar is influenced by our love for Thai cuisine--blending savory and sweet..."

Ingredients: "Organic cacao, coconut milk, organic sugar, cacao butter, rice, sea salt, galangal, white pepper"

Allergen-related information: "Contains: tree nuts (coconut)" "Manufactured in a facility that uses gluten, milk, egg...tree nuts ingredients" 

Ranger Chocolate Co. - Kablon Philippines Dark Chocolate 75% (bar) - Sept. 29, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Ranger Chocolate Co.

Kablon Philippines Dark Chocolate 75% (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in total bar
Calories: 349 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Philippines Theme Week, featuring several chocolate bars made from cacao grown in the Philippines.

Today's Kablon Philippines Dark Chocolate 75% (Batch 1) (bar) was distributed by Ranger Chocolate Co. (Portland, OR). Kablon Farms (Davao, Philippines)-- owned by the Pantua family--grows a mix of Criollo variety cacao and more modern cacao hybrids.

Aroma and flavor notes included: bold, balanced drinking chocolate with a very faint (and well balanced) bitterness; very diffuse sweet fruit(s); subtle spices (warm spices, star anise); and very faint molasses cookie. The texture was smooth. 

I appreciated the well-executed complexity in this flavorful dark chocolate.

Maker's Tasting Notes: "graham cracker, cinnamon, nutmeg, molasses, peanut butter"

Ingredients: Organic cacao, organic sugar 

Allergen-related information: Manufactured in a facility that uses gluten, egg, milk, and tree nut ingredients. ("Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Nut Free")

Ranger Chocolate - Oregon Sea Salt Chocolate Bar - July 10, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Ranger Chocolate Company
Oregon Sea Salt Chocolate Bar
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 349 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Salt Theme Week. 

Today's Oregon Sea Salt Chocolate Bar (Batch 34) was from Ranger Chocolate Company (Portland, OR).

The bean-to-bar makers described this collaboration bar (and series of bars with salt) as follows: "Our sea salt adventure explores salt harvested from the Pacific Ocean. In Oregon, we teamed up with our neighbors at Jacobsen Salt Co.

"We paired their Pure Flake Finishing Salt with our beloved Salitral cacao beans from Peru. Sea salt is turned into the chocolate to add texture and retain its true flavor."

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate (chocolate-y, dark chocolate torte), diffuse red fruit (red grape, berry), and savory (barely detectable, salty, fermented fruit and red wine)).

This attractively complex dark chocolate and Oregon salt blend had a smooth, thick creamy texture (at 68 degrees F./20 degrees C.) and melt, smooth, very slightly fruity (berry, red grape) dark chocolate (smooth, rich drinking chocolate) flavor with tiny upticks of sea salt (and, interestingly, black pepper in some bites).

Ingredients: Organic cacao, organic sugar, cacao butter, sea salt

Allergen-related information: (None listed on label. Check inside.)

Ranger Chocolate - Alaska Sea Salt Chocolate Bar - July 4, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Ranger Chocolate Company
Alaska Sea Salt Chocolate Bar
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 349 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Salt Theme Week. And Happy 4th of July (Independence Day) to all those from the U.S. The salt sparkles in this week's chocolates have helped celebrate summer.

Today's Alaska Sea Salt Chocolate Bar (Batch 8) was from Ranger Chocolate Company (Portland, OR).

The bean-to-bar makers described this collaboration bar (and series of bars with salt) as follows: "Our sea salt adventure explores salt harvested from the Pacific Ocean. For Alaska, we teamed up with our friends at Bitterman Salt Co." (Portland, OR).

"We paired the pristine Alaska Pure Flake Sea Salt with Ranger's Makers blend of cacao. Sea salt is turned into the chocolate to add texture and retain its true flavor."

Aroma notes included: diffuse fruit (red grape), dark chocolate (dark chocolate torte), faint spice and very faint sweet floral green.

This dark chocolate and Alaska salt blend had a smooth, creamy texture and melt, and embedded tiny crunchy sparkles of sea salt.

Cacao flavor notes were similar to the aroma notes mentioned above, with a deeper dive into the dark chocolate--a flavorful, very balanced and chocolate-y "makers blend" with attractive and very balanced complexity.

Ingredients: Organic cacao, organic sugar, cacao butter, sea salt

Allergen-related information: (None listed on label. Check inside.)

Ranger Chocolate Co. - Oregon Wine Country Pinot Noir Chocolate Bar - June 11, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Ranger Chocolate Co.
Oregon Wine Country Pinot Noir Chocolate Bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.125 oz. (32 g.) / 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in total bar
Calories: 174 calories (estim.) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $16.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Cheese Theme Week. Wine and cheese pair well. (See below for a suggested cheese pairing with today's bar.)

The Oregon Wine Country Pinot Noir Chocolate Bar from Ranger Chocolate Co. (Portland, OR) was part of the company's Oregon Adventure Series.

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate (faint sweet green, light caramel spice) and balanced, bright fruit (purple grape).

This well-tempered bar broke with a snap and had the taste and feel of a thoughtfully made dark chocolate. (It took "500 hours to make this chocolate..." and it shows.) 

Tasting notes: deep, dark fudge-y chocolate; bright, tart-sweet red/purple wine grape fruit (with faint raisin and fig); and light spice and sweet floral green notes in the finish. There was a very faint, fleeting fruit astringency in the finish; but otherwise it was very smooth.

The dark chocolate was robust but smooth; and the pinot noir added fullness and fruit. The two tasted fully integrated and harmonized very nicely.

I enjoyed this chocolate with a small slice of manchego (Spanish sheep) cheese. I'd recommend this pairing.

Maker's description: "This bar infuses Adelsheim Vineyard's annual Pinot noir harvest directly into our chocolate making process--a wine and chocolate pairing like never before."

Ingredients: "organic cacao, organic sugar, cacao butter, Pinot noir grape, sea salt" 

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that uses gluten, egg, milk, tree nuts ingredients." ("Vegan, Gluten Free, Dairy Free, Soy Free, Nut Free")

Oregon Bark - Tom Bumble Smooth Peanut Butter Flake Candy with Chocolate - Apr. 12, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Oregon Bark 
Tom Bumble Smooth Peanut Butter Flake Candy with Chocolate 
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) in 1 small bar
Calories: 186 calories (estimate) in 1 small bar
Cost: $2.75 for 1 small bar
Purchased from: East West Bookstore, Mountain View, CA

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

Today's Tom Bumble Smooth Peanut Butter Flake Candy with Chocolate (small bar) was from Oregon Bark (Portland, OR), and was made with chocolate from Ranger Chocolate (Portland, OR).

This bar had an appealing candy bar aroma (think high-end Butterfinger* bar).

A thin creamy layer of dark chocolate covered a thick, crunchy peanut candy interior that was sweet (almost honey-ed) and fine flaked.

The classic peanut and chocolate flavors were satisfying, and the smooth dark chocolate had a few more subtle flickers of authentic cacao flavor than you'd find in a retail candy bar.

Ingredients: Organic peanuts, organic cane sugar, salt, vanilla, organic bittersweet chocolate (organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar, organic cacao butter, organic vanilla beans). 

Allergen-related information: Contains peanuts. Made on equipment that also processes tree nuts.

*(The) Butterfinger is a popular chocolate-covered peanut butter candy bar in the U.S. It was created by Otto Schnering in the 1920s and was owned by Curtiss Candy Company (1923 - 1964), then became owned by Nabisco. After a few more ownership changes it joined the Nestle portfolio; and in 2018 was bought by Ferraro).

Ranger Chocolate Company - 75% Haiti Nord (bar) - Nov. 2, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Ranger Chocolate Company
75% Haiti Nord (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.125 oz. (32 g.) / 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in total bar
Calories: 169 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Ranger Chocolate, online order 

Welcome to Day #15 of Chocolate, Dominican Republic and Haiti Theme Weeks. 

Today's 75% Haiti Nord dark chocolate bar was crafted by Ranger Chocolate (Portland, OR). 

This well-balanced and even dark bar was made with cacao grown in northern Haiti. It had a gentle, light roast profile with herbal notes (green bamboo forest, lemongrass, green apple), very faint malt and buttery, warm spiced fruit (pear); relatively low bitterness and acidity; and a very slight astringency in the finish (fleeting back of the throat tickle that disappeared when the chocolate and my throat warmed up). 

The maker's tasting notes read as follows: "butterscotch, cream and a hint of apple."* 

If I'd been tasting this in a blind tasting, I might have guessed the cacao origin to be somewhere in the Americas, but would likely not have guessed Haiti. As commented before, there seems to be improvements in cacao beans coming from Hispaniola (Haiti, D.R.) in recent years. 

This trend likely speaks to improvements in farming techniques, fermentation and an increase in the number of thoughtful chocolate makers continuing to cultivate good relationships with suppliers "in country" where cacao is grown. Vive la difference.

*Ingredients: organic cacao, organic cane sugar 

Ranger Chocolate Company - Specialty Bar Cherry and Vanilla Sea Salt - June 27, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ranger Chocolate Company
Specialty Bar - Cherry and Vanilla Sea Salt
Good ++
Weight: .49 oz. (13.8 g.) (estimate) in total square
Calories: 72 calories (estimate) in 1 square
Cost: $3.00 for 1 square
Purchased from: Ranger Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Red Fruits Theme Week.

Today's Specialty Bar - Cherry, Vanilla Sea Salt (a small, individually-wrapped square) was made by Ranger Chocolate Company (Portland, OR) was topped with a dried Hood River cherry and vanilla sea salt.

The cherry had multi-layered, naturally sweet, fruity and tart, aroma, flavor and texture; it was the star here. A beautiful example of tasty condensed (dried) red fruit flavor, atop a piece of high-end chocolate. Ranger chocolate makers could have stopped there. But, they added a sprinkle of coarse, flavored sea salt crystals, that played very nicely with the chocolate and cherry.

Flavored sea salts are not unusual; and the flavors usually lean toward the savory or smoky side. Vanilla infused sea salt was interesting and unusual; it integrated a traditionally "sweet" flavor with salt.

I saw and tasted the crystals of sea salt. but I might have been missed the fact that the subtle vanilla was part of the sea salt and not part of the chocolate or cherry. All harmonized well.

Several wonderful flavors were distilled down into a tiny block of real estate in today's square. The only trouble with this small size was that it was difficult to go back and re-taste this chocolate over a period of an hour or two (when flavors can shift and unfold).

Ranger Chocolate - 66% Cacao with Maple Sugar (bar) - June 24, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ranger Chocolate
66% Cacao with Maple Sugar (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.125 oz. (32 g.)/ 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in total bar
Calories: 169 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Ranger Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Bees and Trees Theme Week.

Today's 66% Cacao with Maple Sugar (bar) was from Ranger Chocolate (Portland, OR)--a company that has a tree graphic as part of their logo.

The company has paired sweet maple sugar crystals (made from maple tree sap) with a "bold, fruit forward Trinitario cacao." 

This thick, aromatic bar smelled great. It had a rich chocolate and authentic maple sugar aroma and flavor with faint molasses, spice and fruit notes.

The melt was long and smooth and became more creamy in texture as you could get your mouth around each relatively thick bite. Patience was rewarded. And the finish was clean, fading with a light trace of maple and faint spice. Given the potentially cloying flavor of maple sugar, this was relatively well balanced in terms of flavors and the Trinitario cacao fruitiness was able to shine through a bit, enhanced by the maple.

Maker's tasting notes read: "strawberry and maple syrup."

Tree sugars
Most chocolate bars and confections in the U.S. are flavored with cane sugar and perhaps beet sugar.

Honey from beehives in trees, tree fruit and blossoms, and and tree sap(s) also have been time-honored sweeteners. Maple sugar (from tree sap) and palm coconut sugar (made from the sap of flower buds) are two examples of the latter. It's been a treat to feature chocolates with some of these "tree" related sweeteners this week.

Ranger Chocolate - 80% Guatemala Polochic bar - May 27, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ranger Chocolate

80% Guatemala Polochic bar

Good+++ - Very Good

Weight: 2.5 oz. (70.75 g.) in total bar

Calories: 382 calories (estimate) in 1 bar

Cost: $10.50 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Ranger Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Maya Empire Theme Week. 

Centuries ago Guatemala was at the heart of the Maya Empire, and more than half of the country's current population, including many cacao farmers, are Maya descendants. This week features several Guatemala single origin bars. 

Ranger Chocolate (Portland, OR) likely used cacao grown in the Polichic river valley to make today's 80% Polochic Guatemala bar. The Polichic River flows from west--from the Dept. of Alta Verapaz east to the Dept. of Izabel/Lago Izabel in central Guatemala.* 

This chocolate had a bright, sweet dried fruit aroma (peach-apricot, cherry, light red raspberry) with green and faint floral notes. The melt and mouthfeel were smooth and creamy. 

The bar provided very well balanced chocolate and fruit flavors. I tasted a very faint fleeting spiced fruit (spiced peach compote with a hint of cinnamon and molasses) note on the first bite, which faded when I re-tasted the rest of the bar 20 minutes later. 

Our chocolate radar picked up a barely detectable (perhaps self-conjured), almost nutty, buttery mushroom/loam note--enough for a chocolate and umami lover to dream they'd hit the flavor trifecta.**

This bar was pleasing to the end, with a clean, true chocolate finish (that included a flourish of chocolate brownie batter) in the first few bites 

*Not far (as least as the crow flies--over the jungle) from the Polochic River lie ruins of impressive Maya cities. Across the country one can see stone temples and alters, hieroglyphs and stelae. Historic Maya sites in Guatemala include Iximche, Quirigua, Yaxha, El Mirador and Tikal. One of the largest cities, Tikal (200 - 900 A.D.) was once home to upwards of 200,000 people. It's estimated that the Maya Empire across the Yucatan peninsula area might have had a population of 2 million people.

**A trifecta is a three-fold win or series of three positive events, or a bet where the better correctly picks the three top winners, e.g. win(1st), place (2nd) and show (3rd) in a horse race.

Ranger Chocolate - Peru mini bars - Nov. 18, 2016

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Ranger Chocolate Company

73% Tumbes
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: .25 oz. (7 g.) in 1 square
Calories: 37.5 calories (estimate) in 1 square
Cost: $2.00 for 1 mini bar (square)
Purchased from: The Meadow (Mississippi location), Portland, OR

70% San Martin
Very Good
Weight: .25 oz. (7 g.) in 1 square
Calories: 37.5 calories (estimate) in 1 square
Cost: $2.00 for 1 mini bar (square)
Purchased from: The Meadow (Mississippi location), Portland, OR

80% Chulucanas
Very Good
Weight: .25 oz. (7 g.) in 1 square
Calories: 37.5 calories (estimate) in 1 square
Cost: $2.00 for 1 mini bar (square)
Purchased from: The Meadow (Mississippi location), Portland, OR

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

Today's two individually-wrapped, dark chocolates were crafted by Ranger Chocolate Company (Portland, OR) from Peruvian cacao.

It's always a treat to return to bean-to-bar chocolates with interesting and skillfully developed tasting arcs after theme weeks with less developed flavors.

The chocolate makers at Ranger are currently focusing on three single origin beans (from three different regions/farms) grown in Peru (Tumbes, San Martin and Chulucanas). I sampled three small, dark unadorned squares (of three different Peruvian origins) side-by-side. This is my idea of a three-square meal day.

A Three Square Meal Sampler

73% Tumbes
The first 73% Tumbes mini bar (square) had a dark but upbeat, slightly floral aroma and a surprisingly sweet flavor with light/bright fruit woven throughout, a smooth, slow melt, and a pleasant lingering finish. Tumbes is located in the NW region of the coast of Peru.

Tasting notes from Ranger were as follows: 73% Peru (Tumbes) - tobacco, leather, coffee, honey, cherry, raisin.

70% San Martin
The second 70% San Martin mini bar had a slight five spice aroma, and a more complex, deeper, earthier tasting arc than the first square -- with a hint of apple juice/cider toward the end, and a finish that mellowed over the course of several seconds, with a clear strawberry note that popped up after more than 30 seconds.

Ranger Chocolate Tasting notes for this mini bar: 70% Peru (San Martin) - earthy cacao, strawberry, apricot, wine, chili pepper. San Martin is a region in the upper part of the Peruvian Amazon rainforest.

80% Chulucanas
The last of this tasting feast, was an 80% Chulucanas mini bar, with a ripe late summer fruit salad (peaches, raspberries, plums) and light spice aroma and almost buttery, creamy melt. It had a (not unexpectedly at 80%) darker flavor profile with very light leather and earth notes. But, in a blind taste test, this could pass for a lower percent bar, in part due to it's fruit (which migrated to tart, ripe peaches toward the end)  and relative lack of bitterness. (I thought I might have caught the tiniest inkling of some salt, but that was likely my imagination.) The rest of the tasting experience was rich and even with occasional sparkles of tart fruit, but enjoyably full and satisfying overall, with a slight sweet-tart finish with a pleasant green, woodsy (light pine?) note about 20 seconds after the last bite.

Chulucanas is a small farming community in the Northern Piura region of Peru.

Ranger tasting notes for this bar: woodsy, tobacco, black walnut, raspberry.

The Magic of Slow Tasting
Moviegoers are sometimes rewarded, if they sit through the credits, with an ending sequence or scene. My advice, pay close attention to today's single origin chocolates—up to a full minute after you think you might have finished tasting them. You may get a tiny flavor bonus that kicks in.

Ranger has recently opened the Cup and Bar, a factory and tasting facility on the East side of Burnside Bridge in Portland. Sorry I just missed that the last time I was in Portland. I look forward to a visit there on my next trip, so I can savor more of their chocolates at the source.

One can purchase an assortment package of these Mini Ranger Bars online. I was able to buy them individually, at The Meadow, a local (Portland) purveyor of salt and chocolate (shown at right).