SOMA chocolatemaker - Minty Bar dark milk chocolate - Chocolat au lait noir 51% (bar)

Chocolate of the Day

SOMA chocolatemaker
Minty Bar - dark milk chocolate - Chocolat au lait noir 51% (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $14.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate & Mint Theme Week.

Today's Minty Bar - dark milk chocolate - Chocolat au lait noir 51% (bar) was from SOMA chocolatemaker (Toronto, ON, Canada).

Aroma notes for this bar included: sweet, smooth peppermint/spearmint dark chocolates from childhood. 

Texture: buttery smooth and creamy dark milk chocolate

Flavor notes included: smooth, rich dark chocolate (made using the company's "dream machine" cacao blend) infused with mint + very faint mint with vanilla marshmallow. 

I found this chocolate very satisfying. The smooth, creamy texture contributed to this enjoyment of this blend of flavors. Warning: this bar can be highly addictive, especially if you're hungry.

I also loved the squirrel (standing up and holding mint leaves) printed on the outer packaging. (Squirrels have broken into boxes of chocolates delivered to my front door in years past, so chocolates with squirrel images make sense to me.)

And I enjoyed the jungle pattern on the bar--with SOMA's hidden bird-like mascot wearing a shoe. This little creature is also seen next to the company tagline: "travelling without moving." (Chocolates from around the world provide lots of virtual travel opportunities here on Chocolate Banquet.)

Maker's Tasting Notes: mint, chocolate cake, caramel

Ingredients: Organic Cane Sugar, Cacao Nibs, Cocoa Butter, Milk Powder, Natural Vanilla, Organic Mint Oil, Salt

Allergen-related information: May contain trace amounts of peanuts & tree nuts. Contains dairy & cane alcohol (mint extract). 

*The squirrels in question knew exactly which box to tunnel into; and (no surprise) they went for the chocolates with nuts.

ChocolateBet: June 21, 2011

Chocolates of the Day:

The Oakland Chocolate Co.
1.) Lavender Truffle - Very Good
2.) Spearmint Truffle - Very Good
3.) Pistachio Rolled Truffle - Good + - Very Good
4.) Filled Oval Leaf (lime pepper jelly) - Very Good
5.) Filled Scallop Leaf (lemon curd) - Very Good +
6.) Filled Small Log (hazelnut butter) - Very Good - Very Good +

People ask me if I ever have trouble finding new chocolates. No, not yet. But, if I have too many oversampling days like today, I just might. I selected six possible Mediterranean flavors that came in a box of chocolates from The Oakland Chocolate Company (a bean-to-bar-to-bonbon operation). All these individual chocolates were made from Jamaican dark chocolate.

The Lavender Truffle was filled with a white ganache and topped with delicious candied lavender buds. The Spearmint Truffle with a chocolate ganache also was blessed with a tiny piece of what I believe was candied spearmint leaf. My two favorites were: the dark chocolate leaf filled with lemon curd -- a combination that is hard to beat in my opinion; and the small chocolate log filled with hazelnut butter. The hazelnut butter sparkled with bright bits of flavor, sweetness and texture. I much preferred this to overly homogenized hazelnut fillings present in some commercial chocolates.

In the same vein as the leaf with lemon curd, the oval chocolate leaf that was filled with lime pepper jelly was also good -- tart and pleasing, but not overly spicy.

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Mediterranean Theme Week.