Enna Chocolate - Wampusirpi Honduras, 100% Dark Chocolate (bar) - June 23, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Enna Chocolate 

La Mosquitia, Wampusirpi, Honduras 100% Dark Chocolate (bar)

Good ++

Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar

Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar

Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar (+ summer shipping)

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's La Mosquitia, Wampusirpi 100% Dark Chocolate (bar) was made by Enna Chocolate (Exeter, NH). Founder, and chocolate maker, Enna Grazier, makes small-batch, bean-to-bar chocolate using ethically-sourced cacao.

This ultra-dark bar had a deep, dark and complex aroma with earth, leather, forest, and faint concentrated fruit (dried peach, fig), sweet green and vegetable (kiwi and cucumber), spice (licorice and cinnamon) and roasted coffee notes.

The melt and mouthfeel of this bar were smooth and creamy.

The aroma notes were pleasant and complex. However, my palette quickly registered the deep, dense, uniform, relative bitterness of a 100% cacao bar. There was no sugar to conjure up bright or sweet fruit notes. Nor were there any "off" notes in this single ingredient (roasted cacao) bar. 

With just a single ingredient, there is no safety net; nothing else to hide behind. I'm always impressed with really good 100% cacao bars. It speaks to a long chain of high-quality decisions that can be traced back to the very beginning, from the genetics of the cacao tree and the care of the farmer, and later through the labor of love and many steps of chocolate making. 

The well-executed and balanced flavor notes experienced in this single origin bar included deep, dense forest with almost savory, smooth earth (fresh mineral water, clay); true dark chocolate (fudge brownie with ground cocoa nibs without the sugar), and faint concentrated fruit and coffee. 

These notes gradually diminished into a smooth, polished dark finish.

The cacao used to make this bar was from La Mosquitia, Wampusirpi, in northeastern Honduras, and is part of the "Mosquito Coast" (at the Western edge of the Caribbean Sea that extends SE into Nicaragua--in the Honduran department of Gracias a Dios. ("Thanks to God" indeed.) 

This is a great area for tropical rainforests, marshes, wildlife and cacao. The Mosquito Coast in the Western Caribbean Sea is a relatively wild area, it's been likened to mini-Amazon.

Ingredients: Roasted cacao

Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility that processes tree nuts, peanuts, and milk."

French Broad Chocolate - 100% Cacao (bar) - Feb. 29, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

French Broad Chocolate
100 - 100% Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 (wild guess) in 1 bar
Purchased from: COA Chocolate, Sausalito, CA

Happy Leap Year* and Welcome to Day #2 of 100 percent Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's 100 - 100% Cacao bar was made by French Broad Chocolate (Ashville, NC).

This chocolate had an aroma of mixed fruits very light molasses and very faint incense, and a creamy, fudgey melt and mouthfeel. The maker's tasting notes called out wild grape and lime. I would agree with that description. The resulting chocolate had a very nicely balanced bright fruit and citrus tang to it. Not bad for chocolate with one ingredient: "cacao."

The maker's description of this bar also likens the strength of this chocolate to a "freshly pulled espresso shot." That may be true for those expecting at least some sugar in every bite of chocolate. But, for a 100% cacao bar, this was well-crafted, flavorful, bold and smooth, with a lingering, complex and well-rounded finish..and maybe a faint intermittent wisp of fruits mentioned above and green (tea).

*French Broad Chocolate works closely with partners in cacao-growing countries such as Cacao Bisiesto in Nicaragua -- Biseisto means leap year; and French Broad was celebrating their partner's founding date (on leap day, 8 years ago) with special filled chocolate frogs (putting the leap in leap year). Thank you for great work also Cacao Bisiesto!

Cuban handmade chocolate, drinking chocolate - Mar. 1, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

(unidentified Cuban chocolate maker)
Chocolate ball
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) (estimate) in 1 serving
Calories: 145 calories (estimate) in 1 serving
Cost: $N/A - gift
Purchased from: N/A - gift (bought in Cuba)

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate Gifts Theme Week.

Today's ball-shaped chocolate was special. It came all the way from (Baracoa) Cuba. Thank you to Sue who gifted me with this authentic chocolate.

I shaved some of this unsweetened chocolate (from this intriguing, rustic, chocolate ball) into simmering hot water and stirred into the mixture a dash of cinnamon, a few tiny bits of roasted chile, and a few drops of honey.

I stirred this drinking chocolate in a pot over the stove almost continuously for several minutes, until a few bubbles formed on the surface and the chocolate particles seemed fully dissolved.

Notes: A piece of jicama, a very small amount of corn meal and some almonds in the pot reduced acidity a bit and gave this drinking chocolate a very slightly savory and roasted flavor. These inclusions were left behind when the hot chocolate was poured off into a cup.

I enjoyed this hot beverage without any added sugar. Some may want to add a little of their sweetener of choice (honey, maple syrup, coconut sugar, etc.).

The next batch will include a few drops of Mexican vanilla extract.

Photo at top right of young Cuban woman holding chocolate ball (with cacao pods/fruits on table): Courtesy of Susan Neville, taken in Cuba. Thanks again Sue!

Hacienda San Jose - 100% Dark Chocolate Los Rios Ecuador bar - Feb. 27, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Hacienda San Jose
100% Dark Chocolate Los Rios Ecuador bar
Good +++
Weight: .35 oz. (10 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 57 calories in 1/5 bar
Cost: $N/A - gift
Purchased from: N/A - gift

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

Thank you to Mike and Lawton for their generosity in sharing this bar, which was procured at a Fancy Foods show in San Francisco.

Today's Hacienda San Jose 100% Dark Chocolate Los Rios Ecuador bar provided a wonderful flavor ride, and fulfilled a promise of what a 100% Ecuador might be.

The aroma was lovely (and worth lingering on), starting with green notes, slight floral and very light coconut notes, followed by rich freshly baked chocolate brownie aroma, that morphed into freshly baked rye, sourdough bread notes, and finally into a buckwheat pancake aroma. Lovely ride. And that was without even taking one bite.

The flavor of this chocolate was also enjoyable, especially for a 100% bar. Hundred percenters can be densely dark and impenetrable, bitter or sour. Today's bar was more approachable and friendly.

The texture was smooth, with a slightly granular texture/melt, and a balanced, very slight astringency.

Raphio Chocolate - 102% Ecuador bar - Nov. 9, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Raphio Chocolate

102% Ecuador bar

Good+

Weight: 1.1 oz. (31.5 g.) / 2.2 oz. (63 g.) in total bar

Calories: 194 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar

Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

How dark can chocolate get? 100% cacao? Apparently not.

Today's 102%* Ecuador bar was from Raphio Chocolate (Fresno, CA). Raphio's chief chocolate maker, Elisia Otavi, was inspired by her family to make healthy chocolate ("not candy"), from scratch using only "organic and natural ingredients." The company's name, Raphio, is a distillation of Raphael and Rio, the names of her two sons. 

The 102% number may sound intense; however, this ultra dark bar was relatively smooth in aroma, texture and flavor, with malt, dark chocolate, nut and berry fruit aroma and flavor notes. It was a friendlier, more approachable 100% cacao chocolate than most other 100%ers.

"Macadamia nuts, malt, berry" were the flavor notes that the maker listed on the bar's packaging. This is one of those instances where what I was tasting matched up 100% with the maker's tasting notes.

*Is it possible to have a 102% cacao chocolate? Perhaps the sprinkle of cacao nibs on the back of this bar comprised that additional 2%.

Bisou Chocolate - Noir Coco Brus 100% Cacao Dark Chocolate bar - May 6, 2018

Chocolate of the Day:

Bisou Chocolate
Noir Coto Brus 100% Dark Chocolate bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (15 g.) / 1 oz. (30g.) (per label) in total bar
Calories: 76 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $6.25 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bisou Chocolate online order

Welcome to Day #5 of 100% Cacao Theme Week.

Today's attractively designed and packaged Noir Coto Brus 100% Cacao Dark Chocolate bar from Bisou Chocolate (Oakland/Berkeley, CA) had compelling, smooth dark chocolate flavor with well-balanced bitter notes, and relatively creamy texture.

The ultra-dark bar bar lacked sharp or sour fruit notes contained in some 100% bars; and approachability is important when it comes to 100 percent bars. The chocolate did have a relatively smooth and mild, ultra-dark finish with a very faint wax note.

The cacao beans for this bar came from Coto Brus, located the province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica.

Arete Fine Chocolate - 100% Guatemala Lachua Microlot Dark Chocolate bar - May 4, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Arete Fine Chocolate

100% Guatemala Lachua Microlot Dark Chocolate bar

Good +++

Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar

Calories: 184 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar

Cost: $11.00 (estimate) for 1 bar

Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA 

Welcome to Day #3 of 100% Cacao Theme Week.

Today's 100% Guatemala Lachua Microlot Dark Chocolate bar from Arete Fine Chocolate* was one of the most approachable 100% bars you'll find.

The bar had a pleasant aroma with dried fruit and faint molasses notes and a creamy melt and texture. The ultra dark chocolate flavor was smooth with very light and well balanced bitter notes and aftertaste with a flicker of high-end green tea.

*Arete Fine Chocolate owners David and Leslie Senk, are moving their company from Milpitas, CA to Tennessee and will re-open mid-2018 in their new location, with a freshly minted chocolate for sale, at that time.

SOMA Chocolatemaker - Arcana 100% bar - May 22, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

SOMA
Arcana 100% bar
Good ++
Weight: .76 oz. (21.6 g.) / 2.29 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 115 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $13.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to the dark side, and Day #1 of Dark Chocolate Blends Theme Week.

Today's Arcana 100% bar from SOMA Chocolatemaker (Toronto, ON, Canada) was made with cocoa beans from three different origins (Madagascar, Ecuador and Venezuela).

The name "Arcana" conjures up images of mysteries that can't be readily explained, and the secrets in nature that alchemists pursued. Blending is probably a bit like this—acquainting oneself with the deep mysteries of each batch of cocoa beans, and finding just the right mix of complementary flavors.

The aroma of this ultra-dark bar had floral, marshmallow and green banana notes (reminiscent of Ecuador); and it was (as is often the case with 100% bars) almost deceptively light. Ah, the brain thought, I am about to bite into a sweet rich chocolate. Then after the first bite, the brain had to hit the re-set button. It had trouble understanding that there was no sugar in this bar.

The melt and texture were smooth (and seemed to grow creamier toward the end.) The taste was almost dull for a few seconds but incredibly deep and dark. There was no sugar or fruit (Madagascar, where are you?) to balance and brighten things up. Then there was a bitter then sour (tart berry-fig balsamic?) taste, which was interesting even if it was a bit somber. (It certainly had the depth and a complex flavor arc associated with Venezuela.)

The aftertaste, was much calmer and more subdued. It lingered for quite awhile, with the same floral notes that were present in the initial aroma. And then the brain thought, hmmm. I think I'd like to take another bite.

Cocoa Parlor - Garden of Eden 100 bar with Zante Currants - Mar. 18, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Cocoa Parlor
Garden of Eden 100 with Zante Currants bar
Good
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 232.6 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to the last day (Day #8) of Chocolate and STUVWXYZ Theme Week, where we'll finish our chocolate alphabet series.

Very few chocolate-related or inclusion items begin with the letter "z." However, there will be no zebra bacon or zozzle fruit or Zimbabwe cacao to commemorate the last day of the alphabet.

Instead, the featured chocolate is both ordinary and sublime. The Garden of Eden 100 with Zante Currants bar from Cocoa Parlor (Laguna Niguel, CA) offered a unique blend of 100 percent cacao chocolate with tiny bits of concentrated dark fruit sweetness.

Zante currants are not like other currants. They come from small Black Corinth grapes, grown primarily in Greece (country of origin), California, South Africa and Australia. And the occasional sparkles of dried fruit (raisin/currant) sweetness brightened up and helped balance today's 100 percent-er.

This organic, vegan, dark chocolate bar—listed just two ingredients: Organic cacao* and Organic zante currants, that was it. The finished chocolate bar had a delightful aroma, with light floral, light tropical fruit (banana), spice, green jungle notes.

One bite transported us deep into ultra-dark territory, with earthy, nutty, very slightly bitter (due to lack of any sugar) flavors, encased in a thick, almost chewy bar. (The cool morning in my house further firmed up the cocoa solids and cocoa butter.)

*100% Cacao from Fairly Traded Cocoa Beans from the Dominican Republic. (Note: More recent or future bars may be made from cacao from another origin.)

L'Amourette - 100% Venezuela bar - March 30, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

L'Amourette Chocolatier
100% Venezuela bar
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 171 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. (14.1 g.) serving
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #9 of Chocolate and Venezuela Theme Week.

Nothing says intensity like a 100% cacao Venezuela bar made with cacao mass and cocoa butter (and, in this case, a hint of vanilla bean) -- where no sugar has been added.

The chocolate maker(s) at L'Amourette Chocolatier (San Francisco, CA), used Carenero Superior (Trinitario) cacao beans in this single origin bar.

The glossy Vegan, Soy and Gluten-free bar was rich (with cocoa butter) and had the same oxymoronic sounding "smooth but bitter" earth description that I used with three other Venezuela bars this month. Some regions have more of this more intense flavor profile than others. It lacks some of the brighter fruit (citrus), berry, or floral, notes that are found elsewhere.

Thank you to Kathryn for tasting collaboration.

Pacari Chocolate - Raw 100% and 70% bars - February 11, 2013

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Pacari Chocolate
1.) Raw 100% bar
Very Good
Weight: .35 oz. (10 g.) in 1/5 bar/ 1.76 oz. (50 g.) total bar
Calories: 53 calories for 1/5 bar
Cost: $6.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

2.) Raw 70% bar
Good +
Weight: .35 oz. (10 g.) in 1/5 bar / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) total bar
Calories: 53 calories (estimate) for 1/5 bar
Cost: $6.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

What is raw chocolate? Most definitions involve minimizing heating the chocolate during roasting and conching (typically to a range below 112 - 120 degrees Farenheit) in order to preserve antioxidants and nutritional value. The challenge has been to create a finished bar or product that doesn't taste any different than a fine bar that has been traditionally processed.

I'm happy to report that today's raw bars from Pacari Chocolate (Ecuador) were nicely tempered, with a perfect snap, flavorful, smooth and rich. Nothing about them yanked me out of the tasting experience in taste or texture that said "raw." The 100% cacao bar had a nice floral note to begin with and followed up with a sustained robust current of rich, slight bitter flavor.

We tasted the Raw 70% bar second. The added sugar masked a bit of the floral note at the beginning, created a bright spot in the middle, and mimimized the bitter flavor. When we re-tasted the Raw 100% bar after this one, some of the floral note was also gone, and it tasted a bit more bitter/sour than it had initially.

While it was interesting to compare these two raw bars from the same maker (and it's not unusual to re-taste a bar at the end of a chocolate tasting to find that flavors shifted), based on this experience, I would advise eating the 100% bar separately to enjoy the unique, unadulterated flavors of pure cacao.

Thank you to Lawton for tasting input.

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Note: Due to travel this week, posts and photos will be delayed.

ChocolateBet: July 1, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
.75 oz.
Il Cioccolato di Pasticcione
Le Monorigini (single origin) bar from Venezuela
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: .75 oz. (21.2 g.) / 1.5 oz. (42 g.) in 1 bar (estimate)
Calories: 108 calories (estimate)
Cost: N/A - Thank you Rick!
Purchased from: Il Cioccolato di Pasticcione - dal 1937; shop in Rome, Italy

I love finding bars with no sugar. Smooth and dark, this fondente extra, 100 percent cacao bar, senza zucchero (with no sugar), had a little bit of a flavor arc (which I like). I didn't get a lot of distinct, sharp or unique notes that might help me immediately recognize the country of origin (Venezuela). However, I am not a super-taster (yes, they exist), and I also didn't taste this side-by-side with any other similar bars, which might have been helpful.

I believe this chocolate may have contained a bit of cocoa butter and a hint of vanilla. However, the mention of the aroma of vanilla listed on the label could have been meant as a tasting note rather than a literal description of contents. Perhaps someday I will fly over to Rome to ask the shopowners.

Thank you to Rick who kindly sacrificed this chocolate bar for the cause, meaning this bar's appearance on Day #2 (July 1) of Chocolate and Single Origin Theme Week.