Salazon - Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt and Orange Zest bar - Aug. 9, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Salazon Chocolate Co.
72% Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt and Orange Zest bar
Good+ - Good ++
Weight: .687 oz. (19.5 g.) / 2.75 oz. (78 g.) in total bar
Calories: 103 calories in 1/4 bar
Cost: $4.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to Chocolate, Fruit and Botanicals Month.

Today's 72% Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt and Orange Zest bar was from Salazon Chocolate Co. (Eldersburg, MD).

Like other Salazon chocolate bars, the single origin chocolate was made from "fermented and sun-dried Hispaniola cacao beans" from the Dominican Republic, and the sea salt and other flavors were very well balanced and "clean" with no off flavors.

The Organic, Fair Trade chocolate bar had a generous and uniform confetti made of orange zest pressed into the back, and a relief type world map on the front.

Thank you to Laura for the tasting help.

Salazon Chocolate - 57% Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel bar - May 9, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Salazon Chocolate Co. LLC
57% Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt and Caramel bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.37 oz. (39 g.) / 2.75 oz. (78 g.) in total bar
Calories: 187 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to the second day of Chocolate and Salted Caramel Theme Week.

Today's Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt and Caramel bar was from Salazon Chocolate Co. LLC (Eldersburg, MD).

Salazon crafts their chocolate from organic, single origin, Rainforest Alliance and Fair Trade Certified, Hispaniola cacao beans from the Dominican Republic.

The 57% cacao dark chocolate in this bar encased a buttery and slightly salty, liquid caramel filling; so if you're out on the trail, take care when you're breaking this bar open to eat or share.

A relief map of the world was embossed across the top side. And the construction of this bar created a dimensional layering of flavors: chocolate, liquid caramel, and a sprinkle of sea salt on the back.

Today's bar was a Salazon Trail Series bar—meaning, in this case, that at least 2 percent of gross proceeds of this bar will support the Appalachian Trail Conservancy.

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

Salazon Chocolate - 72% Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt and Almonds bar - May 4, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Salazon Chocolate Co. LLC
Trail Series - 72% Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt and Almonds bar
Good+++
Weight: 2.75 oz. (78 g.) in total bar
Calories: 408 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate, Salt and Almonds Theme Week.

I can't have a salt-focused week without mentioning Salazon Chocolate Co. LLC (Eldersburg, MD). This company was created specifically to honor the fusion of chocolate and salt.

The company tagline -- "the original salted chocolate" may be a slight exaggeration, but they've earned their bragging rights.

I'm partial to the company's other tagline(s): "Roam the Earth. Eat Chocolate."— a motto that summarizes my desire to travel and hike outdoors in the past 10 years.

Being out in the fresh air in the mountains or on a trail somewhere new inspires me, and the experience is even better with great chocolate and food and good company. Salazon founder, Pete Truby, was backpacking in Utah, when he had the idea of creating Salazon.

Today's Salazon 72% Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt and Almonds bar, part of the company's Trail Series*, was embossed with a map of the world.

This organic dark salt bar had surprising complex flavor, that I rarely experience in a "salt" bar. The single origin Dominican Republic chocolate was the star. The chocolate had a not unpleasant, fresh, fermented cacao aroma. It melted slowly but evenly, releasing green, mild fruit and then surprisingly floral notes.

I was, perhaps, expecting to have salt crowd out any nuances of chocolate flavor, but instead small crystals of sea salt twinkled patiently in the background, sharing the scene with chopped bits of almond.

The maker here has, instead, honored all the ingredients from across the world in this bar, in a marvelous way, blending them together to make something unique and interesting.

*"At least 2 percent of gross sales" of Salazon Trail Series bars will go to "support the Triple Crown of National Scenic Trails."

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

Salazon Chocolate - Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt and Turbinado Sugar bar - Aug. 27, 2015

Chocolate of the Day:

Salazon Chocolate Co.
Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt and Turbinado Cane Sugar (bar)
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 139.8 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Sprouts, Mountain View, CA

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Salt Theme Week.

I enjoyed seeing and tasting the sparkles of sugar and salt pressed into the back of today's bar from Salazon Chocolate Co. (Eldersburg, MD) -- a maker of organic, single origin bars with salt.

Salazon founders enjoy being out of doors, and a bar with a little salt helps replenish sodium on a long hike. I'm a hiker too, and I appreciate that sentiment. Chocolate bars with salt also taste good. Salt can complement chocolate and help balance sweet, bitter and other flavors.

The company founders also decided to give back. A percentage of proceeds from this bar go to support the Pacific Crest Trail Association. I'm happy to support good causes by eating chocolate.

Today's Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt and Organic Turbinado Cane Sugar (bar) had smooth cocoa notes, and just the right amount of sugar and salt texture and flavor for my taste.

Salazon - Sea Salt and Pepper Bar - Nov. 12, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

Salazon Chocolate Co., LLC
Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt and crushed Black Pepper
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $4.00 (estimate)
Purchased from: (information lost)

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Dominican Republic Theme Week.

Chocolate and salt have become popular partners. Today's Organic Dark Chocolate bar with sea salt from Salazon Chocolate Co. (Eldersburg, MD) goes one step further by adding a light sprinkle of organic finely ground black pepper (from India).

The company founders have built their product line around single origins dark bars with salt and other inclusions. In addition to today's Dominican Republic Sea Salt and Black Pepper bar, other sea salt bars are paired with caramel, coffee, sugar, almonds, coconut and cayenne, respectively.

I enjoyed reading the origin story printed on the bar's packaging:

Origin Story:
"Sitting around a campfire during a backpacking trip in 2009, we were struck with the idea that a salted-dark chocolate bar would be the perfect energy food. So, after visiting organic cacao farms in the Dominican Republic and perfecting the recipe, we launched Salazon Chocolate Co.

Our single-origin (Dominican Republic) organic chocolate is made using only the famous Hispaniola cacao beans, which have been fermented and sun-dried. Then each bar is hand-sprinkled with natural, solar-evaporated sea salt."

Salazon - Organic dark coffee bar - July 24, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Salazon Chocolate Co.
Organic Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt and Crushed Organic Coffee (bar)
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .75 oz. (21.25 g.) in 1/4 bar / 3 oz. (85 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 105 calories in 1/4 bar
Cost: $4.00 (estimate)
Purchased from: Whole Foods, Los Altos, CA

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

I recommend this well balanced and skillfully crafted, organic dark chocolate coffee bar from Salazon Chocolate Co. (Eldersburg, MD).

The 57% dark chocolate bar (made from cacao beans from a single co-op in the Dominican Republic) had a wonderful, more complex flavor and tasting arc than I've been used to tasting recently. (That is one advantage of a buying a bar from a company that makes their own chocolate from scratch.)

Happily, the organic, fair trade ground coffee, sprinkled on the back of the bar (from Larry's Beans in North Carolina) was flavorful but didn't overwhelm the rich dark chocolate flavors.

Just the right touch of salt (evaporated sea salt from Brazil) added interest and helped to round out the other flavors.

Conversation with Salazon founder, Pete Truby

I enjoyed speaking with Salazon founder, Pete Truby, this afternoon about his chocolate + salt. ("Salazon" means salt-covered in Spanish.) When Truby founded the company, he decided to focus on making a high-quality (bean-to-bar, small batch) single-origin line of chocolate bars with sea salt.

Salazon bars are made with organic, fair trade ingredients, and come with Rainforest Alliance and Kosher certifications as well.

Truby took an active role in selecting the cocoa and coffee beans in today's bar. The company aims to help improve living conditions for the community of cacao farmers (co-op) in the Dominican Republic where the cocoa beans are grown, fermented for a week and air dried. He also flew down to Chiapas, Mexico, where the coffee was being grown.

"Cacao is grown in the developing world. If you want good beans, you need to be aware and involved in the community. We can't fix everything, but maybe we can help with a well...We try to have the best relationship possible with our co-op," Truby explained.

I would like to add: And the results speak for themselves. Better beans + better care along all the steps in the process = better chocolate.