Mission Chocolate - Three Theos - Cacao, Bicolor, Cupuacu bar - June 17, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Mission Chocolate
Three Theos - Cacao, Bicolor, Cupuacu (bar)
Good +
Weight: 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 330 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $11.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's "Three Theos - Cacao, Bicolor, Cupuacu" dark chocolate bar was created by Mission Chocolate (Sao Paulo, Brazil).

This 70% dark chocolate bar was made with conventional cacao (Theobroma cacao solids and cocoa butter)--and with two related Theobroma* flavor inclusions: cupuacu fruit and candied bicolor seeds. The result was a unique Theobroma and Brazil immersion experience. (Virtual travel through food. Skip the jet lag, and enjoy the flavors.)

The chocolate bar aroma had notes of honey, fruit vinegar, chocolate, molasses and faint spice.
The first bite was enough to reveal an interesting melange of tastes and textures.
A generous constellation of sweet, tart squares of cupuacu fruit with sweet tangerine, light pineapple, candied papaya, and cacao fruit notes occupied the back side of this bar. Nestled among the fruit were
good-sized pieces of light-colored and lightly caramelized bicolor seeds--that added soft crunch and mild flavor. Echoes of fruit and seed lingered in the finish and aftertaste

*The name of this bar is based on botanical contributions from three members of the Theobroma genus: Theobroma cacao, Theobroma bicolor and Theobroma Cupuacu. The first of these three is the most well-known and its seeds/beans are used to make milk and dark chocolates.

Species in the Theobroma genus are part of the Malva or Mallow (Malvaceae) family of plants.

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.