Chokola Bean to Bar LLC - Belize Maya Mountain Bar; Taos Bakes Pinon Coffee Dark Chocolate (bar) - Aug. 2, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chokola Bean to Bar LLC
Belize Maya Mountain 70% bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.02 oz. (29 g.) / 2.04 oz. (58 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chokola, Taos, NM

Welcome to Day #9 or Chocolate and Cowgirl Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and New Mexico Theme Week.

Taos, a mountain town in northeast New Mexico, has a population of almost 6,000 residents.* There are real cowgirls in Taos, a city that has small businesses and organizations like Cowgirl Designs, a small shop that offers graphic design and branding services to the Taos community; the Taos Rodeo (with junior cowboy and cowgirl categories); and cowgirl farmers we met.

We passed several locations and ranches on the outskirts of town that could have been featured in Western films.

There are also a growing number of craft chocolate makers in New Mexico, including at least one in downtown Taos: Chokola Bean to Bar LLC.

We picked up a few Chokola items, including today's Belize Maya Mountain 70% cacao bar, adorned with an image of what resembled a Pronghorn** in their shop. They offered single origin bars, filled chocolates, drinking chocolates and a chocolate pudding bar. Customers could also purchase a chocolate flight to try items side-by-side.

This chocolate had a true chocolate and concentrated fruit aroma and a fairly bright but acidic fruit flavor (think lemon, apricot, and fresh pineapple) that was present throughout the tasting experience. The texture was smooth and fairly creamy, almost fudgey.

The makers tasting notes read: "pineapple, honey and caramel."

We also re-tasted a second New Mexico bar today: the Pinon Coffee Dark Chocolate (bar) from Taos Bakes (Questa, NM), pictured with the Chokola bar at right. We'd tried a very similar version of this energy bar back in 2018, under the company name Taos Mountain Energy Bar. Same location and company, but they decided to re-brand). Pinon coffee is made with a blend of real coffee plus a hint of toasted pine nuts from pinon (aka pinyon) pine trees--commonly seen growing in the Land of Enchantment.

*Taos, New Mexico, according to 2017 numbers had a population of 5,668. There are, at certain times of the year, many out of town visitors as well, who come to sightsee, enjoy the relatively moderate SW climate and the mountain scenery, and to ski in the winter. 

** While the image may not have been of a Pronghorn, frequently called Pronghorn Antelope, an animal native to the Western U.S. that can run up to 65 miles per hour, it reminded us of its story. This animal once lived and grazed in grasslands across the the Western U.S. and midwest. Their range and their decline paralleled that of the American Bison.

Cowgirl Chocolates - Mild Milk Chocolate Sarsaparilla 33% Cocoa Sarsaparilla Chocolate Bar - July 31, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Cowgirl Chocolates
Mild Milk Chocolate Sarsaparilla 33% Cocoa Chocolate Bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .625 oz. (17.5 g.) / 1.25 oz. (35 g.) in total bar
Calories: 93 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Mild Milk Chocolate Sarsaparilla 33% Cocoa Chocolate Bar was from Cowgirl Chocolates (Pilot Point, TX).

This bar had a relatively creamy melt and texture, and a sweet sarsaparilla/root beer aroma and flavor blended in nicely with the milk chocolate.

It powered a hike into a beautiful, iconic western white rock canyon that was so quiet, one could hear a single leaf move on a tree.

This chocolate also brought back childhood memories of summertime root beer floats and root beer popsicles. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we left our room with a view of horses and hard-working horseback riders (and cowgirl), in Abiquiu and moseyed on to Taos, New Mexico, in search for a few more chocolates.

Cowgirl Chocolates - Spicy Milk Chocolate Mint 33% Bar - July 30, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Cowgirl Chocolates
Spicy Milk Chocolate Mint 33% Cocoa Chocolate Bar
Good
Weight: .625 oz. (17.5 g.) / 1.25 oz. (35 g.) in total bar
Calories: 93.5 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Spicy Milk Chocolate Mint 33% Cocoa Bar was from Cowgirl Chocolates (Moscow, ID).

This bar was sweet and creamy with natural mint (mint oil) flavor and a hint of spicy cayenne pepper.

Today's bar was sampled near a horse pasture in New Mexico (with a tiny herd of micro cattle on the table in the foreground, for effect). We also enjoyed meeting a real cowgirl, Ellie, who helps care for and train these wild horses in Abiquiu, NM, near the Abiquiu Inn and Georgia O'Keeffe's home. (She also leads trail rides.) Real hat and boots, and the real deal too.

I also realized today that my mother, a real horsewoman and cowgirl in her day, was likely the inspiration for this theme week, and would have loved this view if she were here. Thanks mom!

Fine and Raw Chocolate - Mesquite No Sugar Added (bar); Ginger 67% (bar) - July 28, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Fine and Raw Chocolate
Mesquite No Sugar Added 58% cacao (bar)
Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 63 calories (per label) in 1/4 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Fine and Raw Chocolate, online order

Fine and Raw Chocolate
Ginger 67% cacao (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 164 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $25.00 for 5-bar collection set
Purchased from: Fine and Raw Chocolate, online order

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

Today's Mesquite No Sugar Added 58% cacao and Ginger 67% cacao bars were both made by Fine and Raw Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY).


Rounding up cows out on the range conjures up thoughts of hard work, dusty rides through high chaparral and mesquite tree country, and music around a fire. And speaking of mesquite...

Mesquite
...Mesquite wood smoke is used for barbeques. But lesser known is the fact that the beans these trees produce are edible and can be ground into a flour and eaten.

Roasted mesquite beans are said to have notes of slightly sweet vanilla, cream, caramel, coconut and/or chocolate. They were a food source for native peoples in Mexico and the Southwest U.S., who referred to mesquite as the tree of life, because of its many uses.

People continue to use mesquite flour ground from seeds (pods shown at right), bean pod pulp, in items including gluten free pine nut cookies, roasted mesquite bean "coffee," protein drinks/bars, mesquite bean jelly, and, of course, chocolates.

Today's raw Mesquite bar contained cacao and mesquite powder and none of the usual sugar sweeteners: i.e., coconut, cane, maple or birch sugar. Instead this chocolate was lightly sweetened with organic ground lucuma (a South American fruit with a mild sweet flavor and thick creamy, slightly starchy texture).

This Mesquite bar had a surprisingly sweet and warmly spicy chocolate aroma, and a faint trace of light fruit (apple custard), sweet potato and honey notes in the flavor and finish. The three American native plants: cacao, lucuma and mesquite worked well together. This chocolate had a thick, creamy texture and a very slight granularity.

Ginger
If you like ginger, you might like Fine and Raw Chocolate's 67% dark ginger bar, made with organic ginger powder.


The ginger was thoroughly incorporated and not visible to the naked eye. However, it was evident in the aroma and flavor of this bar and lingered into the finish. The melt was even, and the texture was slightly granular.

The added ginger gave the "50% raw and 50% roast(ed)" cacao bar a warm, satisfying zing. Ginger is from Asia originally, but we've adopted it as one of our own.* (Many of us have fond childhood memories of homemade ginger molasses cookies.)

We paired this Ginger bar with a sweet, spicy kick of music from Ginger Cowgirl, (aka Stacy Antonel, originally from the Bay Area, who moved to Nashville in 2017. We wish her well. She's got a great sound. (Photo source: Ginger Cowgirl website.)

*True, ginger is from Asia and not the wild west. However, there are very capable horsewomen—cowgirls in spirit—in Asia too. Just ask someone who has visited Mongolia or ridden in the Mongolian Derby. (Photo Source for image of Mongolian girl riding horse: Daily Travel Photos)

The spice closest to ginger that's native to the Americas and has co-evolved with chocolate historically would likely be allspice. Allspice is not uncommon in Caribbean-adjacent cuisines, local chocolates and drinking chocolate.

Fine and Raw Chocolate - Alderwood Smoked Salt 70% Cacao (bar) - July 26, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Fine and Raw Chocolate
Alderwood Smoked Salt 70% Cacao (bar)
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) in total bar
Calories: 137 calories (per label) in 1 bar
Cost: $25.00 for 5 bar set
Purchased from: Fine and Raw Chocolate, online order

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

Today's Alderwood Smoked Salt 70% Cacao (bar) was from Fine and Raw Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY).

This bar had an aroma with chocolate, green, fruit, and very light savory and butterscotch notes. The melt was even, with a slightly stoneground, astringent mouthfeel—likely from both the cacao and coconut sugar that the company uses to sweeten bars.

Flavor notes included chocolate, light fruit and very faint smoked salt and coconut, with a mild chocolate finish.

Most of the cowgirls and horseback riders we know ride in the hills in the outskirts of urban areas around San Francisco Bay (a bay with a rich history of salt-making).

Fortunately there are still enough open spaces to be a cowgirl. (If you look closely at the landscape photo (at right) you may not be able to spot the horseback rider in the distance, riding through golden grasses, and oak, bay and eucalyptus trees.

Why alder trees?

Most of the smoked salt chocolate bars we've tried have contained Alderwood Smoked Salt. What's so special about alder tree wood smoke?

Red alder trees in the Pacific NW were used medicinally by native peoples. The bark contains aspirin-like substances. However, the real reason why these trees are used to smoke salt has to do with the flavor of the smoke from this wood. It's subtle and even a bit sweet, according to some. (Contrast this with the stronger Hickory smoke used for bacon, or Cedar smoke, which can impart a strong woodsy flavor with a hint of pine or camphor, which may overpower many chocolates.)

Another factor in choosing a milder smoke may be that a smoky flavor in fine chocolate has been considered a defect, in part because cacao farmers in more tropical climates may have smoke dried their cacao beans under thatched or covered structures due to higher than desirable levels of  moisture/rain (which can signal other challenges with a batch of cacao).

Personally we're OK with trying unique and well-balanced umami flavors and have enjoyed bars with smoked nibs and smoked salt and other similar inclusions. Bring it!

Liz Lovely - Cowgirl Cookie Truffles - June 26, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Liz Lovely, Inc.
Cowgirl Cookie Truffles
Good
Weight: 1.13 oz. (32 g.) / 6.7 oz. (190 g.) in total container
Calories: 150 calories in 1 cookie
Cost: $8.99 (estimate) for 1 container of 6 truffle cookies
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate Cookie Theme Week. As with all other chocolate items on this site, these Cowgirl Cookie Truffles—manufactured and distributed by Liz Lovely, Inc. (Waitsfield, VT)—were gluten free.

What are truffle cookies? Well, in this case, these rich confections were thick, soft chocolate chip cookies completely covered in dark chocolate. One was enough to satisfy, so it's possible that this container could be enough to share with five others.

Cookie Truffles (flavors) offered by this company include: Cowgirl, Moose, Sugar and Mint.

These cookies were certified gluten free, vegan and Non-GMO Project Verified.