Violet Sky - 77% Guatemala Fennel Pollen bar - April 19, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Violet Sky American Craft Chocolate
Guatemala 77% with Fennel Pollen bar
Good +
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 185 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA


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

Today we're having fun with the herb fennel. Fennel grows wild in California. Every part of the fennel plant is edible, including the tiny flowers and yellow pollen.

High-end chocolatiers and chefs occasionally infuse or dust food and dessert items with fennel pollen. The naturally sweet, fennel particles have a licorice flavor.

While potent, the fennel in today's (Lachua) Guatemala 77% with Fennel Pollen bar—from Violet Sky American Craft Chocolate (South Bend, IN)—didn't overpower the base 77% dark chocolate. This chocolate had its own bold flavor with citrus notes.

Violet Sky - Star Brightened Day Dark Blueberries and Flowers bar - March 29, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Violet Sky

Star Brightened Day

77% Dark Chocolate with Blueberries and Flowers bar

Good - Good +

Weight: 1.236 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar

Calories: 185 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar

Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA
 

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

Today's Star Brightened Day 77% Dark Chocolate with Blueberries and Flowers bar was the creation of Violet Sky, an American Craft Chocolate maker based in South Bend, IN.

Most of the chocolates featured in this chocolate and flower-themed week contain some combination of blueberries and lavender. I'm not sure where this trend started, but it's certainly popular this year. I prefer just lavender and chocolate, as the blueberry flavoring varies in different bars, and seems to mute the lavender and the chocolate.

However, today's flavorful bar* at least contained more authentic blueberry flavor than most (with a hint of natural berry tartness/acidity).

Jasmine flowers and powdered honey amped up the floral profile a bit—a fun blend if you like floral flavors.

*Ingredients: Cocoa beans, cane sugar, blueberries, lavender flowers, powdered honey, jasmine flowers

Violet Sky - Pierce the Veil Dark Chocolate with Rose Lime Leaf and Ginger bar - March 25, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Violet Sky

Pierce The Veil

Dark Chocolate with Rose Lime Leaf and Ginger bar

Good + - Good ++

Weight: 1.236 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar

Calories: 185.5 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar

Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Pierce the Veil Dark Chocolate with Rose Lime Leaf and Ginger bar from Violet Sky (South Bend, IN) sounded very complex and ambitious.

Was this another delicate chocolate confection with rose essence? No. This bar had a bold underlying bean-to-bar chocolate base with the energy of a recently exploded constellation of flavors.*

Violet Sky Founder Hans Westerink produces a wide variety of craft chocolate bars (all swaddled in unique paper wrapper and colored foil wrapper combinations) with creative and interesting flavor blends and inclusions.

Today's Pierce the Veil bar's was made with a blend of Guatemalan cacao (Lachua) and Peruvian cacao (Maranon). And despite the distinctive flavor adds, the dark, fruity, acidic chocolate base shone through nicely.

Citrus notes were amplified by Kaffir lime leaf bits; and pieces of ginger dominated. The rose petals added some nice pink-purplish color to this riot of color, texture and flavor that were applied to this side of the bar. (It was all serious dark chocolate on the flip side.)

Tasting tip: If you want to taste the rose, choose a piece with less ginger (light golden-beige bits) and more of the pink (rose petal) bits.

Look forward to trying more Violet Sky bars, including those with barrel-aged components.

*Ingredients: Cocoa beans, cane sugar, ginger root, rose petals, Kaffir lime leaf