Venchi - Crema Scorzette chocolate (bar) - Nov. 2, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Venchi

Crema Scorzette Arancia Cioccolato Fondente 56% (bar)

(56% Bittersweet Chocolate with Candied Orange Peels Filling (bar))

Good + 

Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar

Calories: 260 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $9.00 (plus summer shipping) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order 

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

Today's Crema Scorzette Arancia Cioccolato Fondente 56% (bar) was from Venchi S.P.A. (Castelletto Stura (CN), Italy. The company's history stretches back to Turin in 1878. The chocolatier became known for their hazelnut nougatine candies dipped in chocolate.

Aroma notes for this bar included an alluring blend of dark chocolate, orange, sweet orange liqueur and faint nut and candied orange peel cake.

Yes, this filled chocolate bar was sweet. However, the smooth, dark, bittersweet chocolate shell (that tasted a bit darker than 56%) that surrounded a soft, golden brown, orange-flavored filling,  helped to balance the sugars. The sweet center included small flecks of candied orange peel that had an authentic, soft chewy texture.

Milk, butter (and cocoa butter), vanilla and other flavorings in this gluten free bar rounded out the chocolate and orange blend.

Ingredients: Chocolate liquor, sugar, glucose syrup, cocoa butter, concentrated milk butter, candied orange peel (orange peel, glucose-fructose syrup, sugar, acidifier, citric acid. (100 g. of orange peels per 100 g. of candied product), whole milk powder, condensed sweetened whole milk - 9% fat (milk, sugar), cocoa powder, water, emulsifier: soy lecithin, natural vanilla flavor, natural flavoring, acidifier: citric acid.

Allergen-related information: Contains: milk, soy. May contain: tree nuts.

Venchi - GranBlend Montezuma 75% with nibs (squares) - Aug. 5, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Venchi 

GranBlend Montezuma 75% with nibs 

Good ++

Weight: .53 oz. (15 g.) for 2 squares (.265 oz. (7.5 g.) in 1 square)

Calories: 79.5 calories (estimate) in 2 squares

Cost: $2.40 for 2 squares ($1.20 for each)

Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Cacao Nibs Theme Week.

Today's GranBlend Montezuma 75% with nibs (squares) were from Venchi S.p.A. (Castelletto Stura, Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy).

These two small, thin chocolate squares had flavor to savor. Cocoa nibs contain more unprocessed cacao bean flavor. And eating these chocolates with nibs more slowly yielded a more interesting tasting experience.

Together, the two squares had aroma and flavor notes that included balanced chocolate nut brownie, earth, light leather. The second one had more faint sweet fruit and green notes. Cocoa nibs added a soft crunchy texture in both cases (slightly softer and nuttier in the first square). Some of the very subtle flavor differences between the two came from the nibs. (Different batches of beans/nibs or origins perhaps.) 

How does one handle "unpredictable" nibs?

Both of today's squares with nibs were good with no "off" flavors. But, all it takes is one funky piece of coca bean (nib) to throw flavors off. Most artisan chocolate makers sort their beans and nibs very carefully to avoid this. 

The other strategy, employed by many high-volume chocolate producers is to increase processing and homogenize batches of cocoa nibs/beans so thoroughly (and grind/conche them for so long--sometimes many days) that any "off" flavors will be greatly reduced or attenuated, even if some desirable or more delicate flavors disappear as well. This leads to a consistent, more predicable flavor over time, but one that can be much less exciting, and one where subtle varietal, harvest and origin flavors can be lost.

Venchi - Ecuador Organic 85% Cocoa (bar) - July 25, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Venchi S.p.A.
Ecuador - Organic 85% bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 230 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.95 for 1/2 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's Organic Ecuador 85% cocoa bar was from Venchi S.p.A. (Castelletto Stura, Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy).

The aroma of this 85% cocoa bittersweet chocolate was more gentle than most 85% bars, with subtle fermented fruit, green jungle, light earth, light floral and clean, spring meadow and light green tea notes. There were no harsh, bitter or heavy acid notes.

The texture and melt were creamy smooth, in part due to added cocoa butter.

The flavor notes were similar to the aroma notes mentioned above. This ultra dark bar had a freshness and lightness to it. (It also had a very faint, fleeting hint of herb/spice: caraway.)

The finish was clean and had the same fresh green "feeling" to it as the aroma and flavor. It was as if some imaginary mint ghost left an aura of freshness in its wake, even though one couldn't taste any mint. (More likely than any spooky goings on, invisible flavors are inferred flavors--based on years of tasting experiences and memories of chocolates past.) In my experience, no other country of origin tops Ecuadorian cacao's range green-related and green/floral notes.

Ingredients: Organic chocolate liquor from Ecuador (66.5 percent), organic cocoa butter, organic cane sugar.

Venchi - Cuor Di Cacao 85% (bar) - July 21, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Venchi
Cuor Di Cacao 85% (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 300 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.75 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Italian Chocolate Theme Week.

This thick, faceted ultra-dark had fermented fruit, earth, green jungle, mild sour/bitter aroma and faint vanilla tobacco aroma and flavor notes. The taste also had a light marshmallow floral note. The texture was relatively smooth and creamy.

The chocolate possessed a variety of deep and serious notes, all balanced and with soft edges. 

It lacked brightness and light -- no ripe citrus or summer peach and strawberry Criollo cacao notes here. But, then again, one may not associate these traits with 85% chocolate. 

Ingredients: Chocolate liquor (chocolate liquor from Ecuador 26.5%, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier: soy lecithin, natural vanilla flavor.

Venchi - Nougatine Bonbons - July 20, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Venchi
Nougatine Bonbons 
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .388 oz. (11 g.) for 2 pieces (1.94 oz. (5.5 g. each))
Calories: 58 calories (estimate) in 2 pieces -- 539 cals. in 100 g.
Cost: $1.90 for 2 pieces
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, part of online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Italian Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Nougatine Bonbons were from Venchi (Torino (Turin), Italy).

Nougatine is an historic specialty for Venchi. The recipe for today's confection is said to date back to 1878. First, sugar is caramelized in a copper cooking pot and then bits of special, local (IGP) hazelnuts are incorporated. Then the nougat center is covered with chocolate.

The 56% dark chocolate coating around these capsule-shaped bonbons covered a hard, crunchy center of toffee-like caramelized bits of Italian IGP hazelnuts. These special hazelnuts from the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy had a special sweet, creamy roasted nutty flavor that lingered into the finish. 

Because of the capsule shape of these shiny, individually-wrapped chocolates, I was tempted to write a prescription to myself: take two of these each morning; to be taken daily, for the rest of 2020.

Ingredients: Hazelnut Piedmont i.G.P. caramelized (sugar, Piedmont hazelnut 48%) 66.2% cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa powder, cocoa butter, coating agent: gum Arabic, emulsifier: soy lecithin, natural vanilla flavor. (Venchi chocolates are "naturally gluten free;" however, (this nougatine) may contain traces of other nuts, milk, fruits.)

Venchi - Granblend "Montezuma" Fruttato 65% squares - July 18, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Venchi
Granblend "Montezuma" Fruttato 65% squares
Good 
Weight: .53 oz. (15 g.) in 2 squares (7.5 grams each)
Calories: 86 calories in 2 squares
Cost: $2.40 for 2 squares ($1.20 x 2) + shipping
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Ciao and welcome to Day #1 of Italian Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Granblend "Montezuma" Fruttato 65% squares were from Venchi, made using cacao from four plantations (primarily Madagascar and perhaps other sources). Venchi is a large, privately held chocolate manufacturer based in Castelleto Stura, Cuneo, Piedmont, Italy). 

Italian Chocolate Overview
The first chocolate makers in Italy date back to the late 1700s. Italy is also home to some of the longest running chocolate businesses in the world. There are still several family and privately held chocolate companies in existence after more than a century.* 

In the 1800s, companies like Caffarel, Pernigotti, Streglio, Peyrano and Venchi got their start. Venchi was founded in 1878 in Torino (Turin), Italy, by chocolatier Silviano Venchi, and became well-known for their chocolate and hazelnut nougatine candies.

Fruttato Squares
Today's Venchi dark chocolate 65% cocoa squares had an attractive circle of pink (flavored white chocolate?) on each square. The individually-wrapped squares had a subtle chocolate and fruit (strawberry - strawberry rose-vanilla aroma) and flavor.

The inclusion of whole milk powder yielded a smooth, creamy melt and mouthfeel. The milk may also have muted the sweetness a bit (OK by me) and mellowed flavors (maybe not so good, depending on the flavors that were muted). 

Madagascar cacao is often associated with red berry and citrus notes. A touch of "vanilla in ground berries"** and an acidifier (citric acid)** were added to this chocolate--perhaps to enhance the berry and citrus notes. (A salute to Madagascar terroir perhaps?)

In any case, the subtle flavors were nicely balanced, and we're asked to accept the trade-off of adding milk to dark chocolate, i.e. you get creamier texture but tamer flavors. This could well have been a good choice; but we'll never know. 

Venchi tasting notes: "Grand blend Montezuma*** with four plantations that combine to give off unique sensations of exotic fruit, bananas and vanilla, a prized plantation from Madagascar with aromas of ripe fruit and plane tree centrally embeds a citrus-fermented rosacea chocolate to preserve its characteristics."

*In the U.S., U.K. and other countries large, historic chocolate makers' operations are now primarily owned by, or are managed as, large, publicly-traded corporations with brand portfolios. Cailler, one of the oldest chocolate companies, founded in 1819, in Switzerland, now is part of Nestle. One notable local exception where I live in Northern California is: Guittard Chocolate, founded in the 1800s south of San Francisco and the company is still going strong in 2020 with descendants from the original founder.

**Ingredients: "Madagascar cocoa mass 44.2%, sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, emulsifier: soy lecithin, acidifier: citric acid, vanilla in ground berries, natural vanilla flavor." 

***Montezuma

The "Montezuma" name on the label was a bit of a puzzle. Montezuma was the name of a hero-god in Indian (extending up into SW U.S.) mythology; and he was the Aztec chief  that ruled over a mighty empire in what is now Mexico in the 1500s). Montezuma is said to have consumed a large amount of cacao. This leader eventually met his downfall when forces led by Spanish conquistador, Hernan Cortes (Cortez) arrived looking for wealth and gold. And, Cortez brought some of the first cacao back to Spain with him. Cacao would eventually made its way to Italy and the rest of Europe as well. And, given the wonders of today's complex food supply chains, today's chocolate ended up in Northern California, closer to the original source of cacao (Central and South America).

Venchi - Venezuela Latte 47% Merida bar - May 8, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Venchi
Single Origin Venezuela Latte 47% Cocoa Merida bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 420 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $8.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's Single Origin Venezuela Latte 47% Cocoa (Merida) bar was from Venchi S.P.A. (Castelletto Italy).

This gluten free milk chocolate bar was made with chocolate liquor from Venezuela.* This smooth, flavorful milk chocolate had an aroma and taste with muted savory and light loamy mushroom-walnut notes with faint hint of vanilla and dried fruit.

Venchi ranked this chocolate as full-bodied, relatively intense (three out of five score) and aromatic (three out of four score) and as possessing flavor notes of milk cream, dried fruit/red fruits and nuts. While the first ingredient listed was sugar, the higher cacao percent and a relatively robust cacao saved this bar from being an overly sweet, flavorless milk chocolate confection.

The cacao came from Merida, located roughly (59 km) southeast of Lake Maracaibo in western Venezuela.

*Ingredients: sugar, chocolate liquor from Venezuela - 24% (total cocoa solids = 47%), cocoa butter, whole milk powder (milk solids = 19.5%), emulsifier: soy lecithin, ground vanilla pods. 

Venchi - Coconut in Black Cube - Apr. 12, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Venchi
Coconut in Black Cube
Good
Weight: .353 oz. (10 g.) in 1 cube/piece
Calories: 53 calories (estimate) in 1 cube
Cost: $1.60 for 1 cube
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Buona Pasqua (Happy Easter) and welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

Today's Coconut in Black Cube (Cubotti* Coco) was from Venchi (Piedmont, Italy).
The company was founded by chocolatier Silvano Venchi, and was established in Turin, Italy, in 1878.

Early on Venchi became known for their dark chocolate covered nougatine (made with caramelized hazelnuts). They now produce a variety of chocolate offerings, including bars, confections...and cubotti* (small "abundances" or cubes of extra dark chocolate with flavored cream fillings).

This coconut-filled dark chocolate cube was simple and elegant, and might be found in a high-end Easter basket, or a Venchi spring chocolate gift box.

*Cubotti (according to my online dictionary) translates to "abundance(s)." It also seems to be a name for small cube-shaped dessert items. (Cubo is the Italian word for cube (singular), and cubi (or occasionally cubetti) in Italian means cubes (plural).) 

Haagen-Dazs - Belgian Chocolate Vanilla and Blackberry Ice Cream - July 4, 2019

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Haagen-Dazs
Crispy Trio Layers Belgian Chocolate Vanilla and Blackberry Ice Cream
Good +
Weight: 1/3 cup (62 g.) / 14 fl. oz. (414 mL) total container
Calories: 180 calories in 1/3 cup
Cost: $1.99 for 1 container
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Island Nations Theme Week.

Happy 4th of July!—also known as Independence Day in the U.S. It was a great evening to see fireworks, on an island.

To honor the red, white and blue today, an appropriately tri-colored ice cream sundae was created and eaten, starting with Crispy Trio Layers Belgian Chocolate Vanilla and Blackberry Ice cream from Haagen-Dazs (distributed by Nestle Dreyer's Ice Cream Company in Oakland, CA).

This ice cream was topped with fresh blueberries, red raspberries, and a drizzle of Raspberry Aqua Perfecta from St. George's Distillery (based in Alameda, CA, Island #1). It was a great dessert for a backyard, pre-fireworks meal, and it was followed by a chocolate cigar.

Venchi Cuba Chocolate Cigar

Today we also celebrated Independence Day with a Venchi Cuba (Island #2) chocolate and hazelnut cigar, made with cacao from New Guinea (Island #3).

Venchi - 85% Organic Lamas - Sisa bar - Jan. 11, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Venchi S.p.A

85% Organic Lamas - Sisa bar

Good 

Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar

Calories: 226.1 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $8.95 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocosphere.com (online order)

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.

Today's 85% Organic Lamas - Sisa bar was from Venchi S.p.A (Castelletto Stura, Cuneo (CN), Italy) was made with cacao grown in the Lamas District, Lamas Province, in the San Martin Region, in northern Peru.

This Venchi bar came with two easy-to-decipher visual scores printed on the packaging. It showed us that this bar was rated a 2 on a scale of 5 for Intensity, and 3 out of 4 on a scale for Aromaticity.*

This rating system might be helpful to buyers, but without knowing what other chocolate bars they are comparing this to, it loses some of its utility. For example, this bar was way more intense than a blander commercially popular bar and still was fairly bold and acidic. (I wondered what a 5 would be like on this scale.)

The organic and gluten free deep, dark, slightly acidic bar had a slightly reddish color. It had an even, deep roast "feeling," a smooth cocoa butter** melt and texture and an even, dark flavor.

There was, surprisingly, a fleeting floral note. (The maker's tasting notes read as follows: "Note(s) of white flower, dried fruit and honey.") The floral note was surprising because, generally, smooth dark flavor and texture in an ultra-dark bar like this comes from longer conching/grinding times and the addition of lots of cocoa butter, meaning that more volatile floral notes are usually lost or masked in the process.

*Aromaticity is a term that refers to the properties of an organic compound that gives off an aroma. More specifically, this term is used in organic chemistry to describe certain molecules that have a "ring of resonance bonds" that exhibit more stability than found in other configurations.

**Ingredients: organic cocoa mass (from Peru), organic cocoa butter, organic cane sugar

Venchi - Organic Dark Chocolate 70% bar - Sept. 27, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Venchi S.p.A.
Biologico 70% Dark Chocolate bar
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 400 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.08 (sale) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere (online order)

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Italy Theme Week.

I would be remiss if I didn't include at least one Venchi chocolate this week. This company had its start in the 1800s, in the Piedmont region of Italy.

Today's Venchi organic, extra dark chocolate 70% bar was made with Criollo Blanco and nacional Amendolado cacao beans from Ecuador. These beans are valued for their fine flavor and aroma, and the blend used in this 3-ingredient chocolate ("organic Ecuador cocoa mass, organic sugar cane, organic cocoa butter") yielded a wide spectrum of pleasing flavors.

The gluten free Venchi 70% bar was thick, sweet, and very creamy, and full of very subtle flavor: floral fruit, nutty, very light smoke, light earth, green olive/wood. I had to really focus to detect this incredible range of flavor notes; but other than that "effort," it was a very easy bar to eat. No real bitterness* (just a very, very balanced subtle hint in the finish); no astringency off-notes, or funky earthy molds.

Very nice and smooth, yet surprisingly complex if you pay attention.

*Polyphenols and Criollo

Plants containing certain bitter compounds and alkaloids are better able to deter insects and other would-be pests that would eat or damage plants. Interestingly, some of us omnivores (monkeys, squirrels, humans) co-evolved to tolerate, and actually benefit from, small amounts of these compounds, such as polyphenols (plant-based molecules that contain anti-oxidants). And, conveniently, monkeys, squirrels and humans helped scatter seeds to other parts of forests, benefiting plants.

Bitter and astringent flavors are present in plant-based foods and beverages such as cacao, tea, wine, berries, nuts, etc. Polyphenols, flavanol polymers, and/or tannins taste bitter or cause a sense of puckery dryness in one's mouth.

Criollo cacao beans are generally lower in polyphenols than, say, Trinitario cacao beans. As a result, chocolate made from Criollo beans tends to be less bitter and/or astringent. And, with less bitterness, subtler floral and fruit flavors can be easier to detect as well.