Nuance Chocolate Company - Buttermilk Spice 45% Cacao (bar) - May 6, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Nuance Chocolate Company
Buttermilk Spice 45% Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .97 oz. (27.5 g.) / 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar 
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Nuance Chocolate, online order 

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Warm Spices Theme Week.

Today's Buttermilk Spice 45% Cacao bar (Batch ID: 39323) was made by Nuance Chocolate Company (Fort Collins, CO), and was a member of the company's "Flavored Milk Series".

Aroma and flavor notes included: chai- and pumpkin-pie spiced chocolate milkshake. 

The spices were fully integrated into today's 45% cacao chocolate so there was no spice grit (thank you). Said spices were present enough to fully enjoy.* A bit of vanilla added upbeat and soothing warmth.

Texture: smooth and creamy with a satisfying melt.

I enjoyed the rich, smooth texture and flavor; the spices; and the skillful inclusion of buttermilk in this bar. 

Ingredients: "cacao, cane sugar, buttermilk solids, cocoa butter, spices, sunflower lecithin, vanilla beans."

Allergen-related information: Contains dairy. "Manufactured in a facility that also processes tree nuts, peanuts, milk, eggs, wheat, and soy."  

* I love cinnamon and warm spice blends; I heavily-spice chocolates and other desserts and ice creams if left to my own devices. Today's chocolate was in the spice Goldilocks zone -- enough to be enjoyable and not overwhelming--it was just right for almost everyone.

Nathan Miller - Strawberry & Rye Whiskey bar - April 5, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Nathan Miller

Strawberry and Rye Whiskey bar

Good - Good +

Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g. ) / 2 oz. (56.6 g.) in total package

Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar

Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Nathan Miller is one of the few chocolate makers brave enough to incorporate buttermilk* into some of his craft chocolate bars. Buttermilk adds a tart sweet and salty freshness to milkshakes and desserts, so why not chocolate bars? 

Today's Strawberry and Rye Whiskey bar from Nathan Miller (Chambersburg, PA)—wrapped in festive yellow, green and orange (what looked to be handmade) paper and sky blue foil—had an intriguing dark chocolate aroma with fresh strawberry aroma.

The 55% dark chocolate had a relatively smooth, almost creamy melt and texture, and a slightly complicated flavor profile. It had a somewhat unexpected earthy (dirt, mushrooms) flavor spike about a 1/3 of the way through the tasting experience. However, on the back side of this note, there was a very faint hint of what was likely whiskey, followed be a pleasant slight strawberry and buttermilk ice cream finish. 

Ingredients: 55% buttermilk chocolate made with Oko-Caribe direct trade organic Hispaniola cacao, organic buttermilk, raw fair trade organic cane sugar, organic strawberry, organic cacao butter, organic rye whiskey.

*The company also sells a bar made with camel milk.

Nathan Miller - Gingerbread Bar - Oct. 27, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Nathan Miller Chocolate
Gingerbread Bar
Good ++
Weight: .2 oz. (5.66 g.) / 2 oz. (56.6 g.) in total bar
Calories: 30 calories (estimate) in 1/10 bar
Cost: $8.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Fog City News, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate, Sugar and Spice Theme Week.

Today's Gingerbread Bar was made by Nathan Miller Chocolate (Chambersburg, PA)

The bar was made with 55 percent Oko Caribe* direct trade organic Dominican cacao, organic buttermilk, organic cane sugar, and organic cocoa butter.

This Gingerbread bar (that contained some flour) was a complex mix of salty, slightly tangy, bitter-sweet chocolate with a hint of warm spice afterglow that kicked in at the end.

*Oko Caribe is a cacao fermentary near the city of San Francisco de Macoris in the Cibao region of the Dominican Republic.

Nathan Miller Chocolate - 45% Buttermilk bar - Oct. 16, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Nathan Miller Chocolate
45 percent Buttermilk bar
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (56.6 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Greetings and Welcome to Day #4 of And Now for Something Completely Different Theme Week.

Today's unique twist on a milk chocolate bar was the incorporation of buttermilk.

Nathan Miller, a successful pastry and dessert chef, started making chocolate in Boulder, and later set up shop in the Amish country of Pennsylvania. Miller and team have been busy producing chocolate bars from single origin cacao beans. Some of his award winning bars contain flavor inclusions, and some don't.

The 45 percent Buttermilk Chocolate bar from Nathan Miller Chocolate (Chambersburg, PA), was a flavorful blend of pleasant surprises.

Swaddled in bright pink lokta paper from Nepal and light blue foil, this bar smelled like chocolate brownie with very subtle hints of salt and smoke.* And at one point, I thought I tasted a slightly floral note. The chocolate had more complex, bold character and flavor than most milk chocolate bars—which I liked. The base chocolate was made from Oko Caribe Direct Trade, Organic Hispaniola cacao (from the Dominican Republic).

The organic buttermilk brought out a richer, bolder flavor with a slightly salty tang, that I enjoyed.

Disclaimer:
I really like brownies, salt, smokey* umami flavors and buttermilk. So, I'll likely appreciate this bar more than most. Most critics consider any smokey flavor in cacao to be a defect.

*A smokey flavor can come about in a few different ways. Following fermentation, cacao beans are spread out to dry on flats, or on the ground. In case of rain, beans might be in (or moved to) a covered area, and a fire might be used to help heat and dry cacao. Or smoke may waft in from a nearby cooking fire. In some cases, smoke may cover up less desirable flavors.

Lillie Belle Farms - Sunshine Daydream 45% bar - May 19, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Lillie Belle Farms
Sunshine Daydream 45% Milk Chocolate bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 375 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Lillie Belle Farms, Central Point, OR

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

I celebrate chocolates in unique combinations with edible items. This Limited Edition Sunshine Daydream 45% Bean-To-Bar Milk Chocolate bar from Lillie Belle Farms (Central Point, OR) was made with powdered cultured buttermilk instead of "regular" powdered milk. This caught my attention.

The description on the packaging read as follows: "...Using extremely fruity (organic) cacao beans from Peru in combination with some organic sugar, powdered buttermilk, and a hint of (organic) vanilla bean, we created a rich and just a bit tangy (bar)."

I'd say this was accurately described. This rich, fairly creamy bar did indeed have a very subtle tangy flavor, and very mild, not unpleasant dark/sour fruit and bitter undertones (likely from the cacao and not the buttermilk). Short of a side-by-side tasting with a bar made from the same ingredients + regular powdered milk, it's hard to know. It was an interesting and fun bar to try.