Chocolat Madagascar - Mokarana Honey Fine Dark Chocolate 85% Cacao (bar) - May 16, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolat Madagascar
Mokarana Honey Fine Dark Chocolate 85% Cacao (bar)

Good ++
Weight: 1.325 oz. (37.5 g.) / 2.65 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 222 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar 
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar 

Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order 

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate, Bees and Trees Theme Week.

Today's Mokarana Honey Fine Dark Chocolate 85% Cacao (bar)--made with Cacao Grand Cru de Sambirano--was from Chocolat Madagascar (United Kingdom). 

The company is based in the UK, but the chocolate was crafted (tree-to-bar/"in country") by Chocolaterie Robert (Antananarivo, Madagascar).

Aroma notes included: chocolate, faint spice and very faint banana bread and sweet green seed/nut.

Texture: relatively soft, velvety dark chocolate

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate fudge brownie with honey.

I enjoyed the gently complex aroma and flavor elements: fudge brownie, honey, spice, fruit (banana), and that the chocolate wasn't too sweet--or too bitter for an ultra-dark 85% cacao bar. 

Ingredients: Madagascar cocoa beans, Mokarana Honey. (Madagascar Origin)."

Allergen-related information: "May contain milk, soya & cashew nuts."

Godavari Chocolate Inc. - Bon-fiction "Order of the Dark Roast" 91% (bar) - Apr. 16, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Godavari Chocolate Inc.
Bon-fiction "Order of the Dark Roast" 91% dark chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .485 oz. (13.75 g.) / 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 85 calories in 1/4 bar
Cost: $8.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Sigona's Market, Palo Alto, CA  

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and India Week.

Today's Bon-fiction "Order of the Dark Roast" 91% dark chocolate (bar) was made from tree-to-bar in India, and imported and distributed by Godavari Chocolate Inc. (Folsom, CA).

The cacao used to make this bar was "hand-picked from farms in the Godavari region of Southern India."

Aroma notes for this single origin 91% bar included: faint dark roast cacao/dark chocolate and subtle and relatively pleasing umami and roasted notes (faint oven-roasted/barbecued earthy greens).   

Flavor notes for this India-grown and made chocolate included: rich, roasted ultra-dark chocolate, with a subtle sweetness, followed by some balanced tart and bitter notes which peaked and then rapidly receded and lingered at a much lower level into a relatively long and pleasant ultra-dark finish.

The texture was smooth and relatively buttery/creamy with a very tiny bit of (surprisingly little) astringency in the finish.

I enjoyed this more than the 99% "Eclipse of the Senses" dark bar (that I tasted yesterday) from the same maker. Just a little sugar (and possibly a different batch/roast profile) made this 91%er a more balanced bar. I like trying dark roasts, as long as I can still enjoy some balanced complexity in the cacao.

Today's 91% "Order of the Dark Roast" bar was fun to try. This chocolate may still be too bold and bitter for some. But, just like wine, and many other things in life, not everyone will agree on what's "best" or even taste chocolate in the same way.* 

As for me, I enjoyed several small bites, consecutively, each more inviting than the last. (That first bite was a bit like jumping into cool/cold water--a little brisk.) I liked that I could taste some additional and pleasing chocolate-y (cocoa) and then very faint spiced hot chocolate notes in the finish after 3-4 bites. 

Savor small pieces...slowly. I also advise exposing this chocolate to open air for 10-15 minutes, after you open the sealed inner package, and before eating. (Yes, that's right; it's like certain very bold red wines. It may need to "breathe" a little first.)

Ingredients: "Cocoa Beans, Organic Cane Sugar."

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that also processes: Milk, Peanuts, Almond, Cashew, Walnut, Coconut, Hazelnut, Pistachio."  

*Some of us who have genes allowing us to enjoy more bitter foods, may enjoy items those with more delicate palettes may find off-putting.

Godavari Chocolate - Bon-fiction "An Eclipse of the Senses" 99% dark chocolate (bar) - Apr. 15, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Godavari Chocolate Inc.
Bon-fiction "An Eclipse of the Senses" 99% dark chocolate (bar)
Good +
Weight: .485 oz. (13.75 g.) / 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 92.5 calories in 1/4 bar
Cost: $8.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Village Market, S.F. Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA 

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and India Week.

Today's Bon-fiction "An Eclipse of the Senses" 99% dark chocolate (bar) was made from tree-to-bar in India, and imported and distributed by Godavari Chocolate Inc. (Folsom, CA).

The cacao used to make this bar was "hand-picked from farms in the Godavari region of Southern India."

Aroma notes were roast-y and chocolate-y, and relatively subdued. The intensity arrived with the first bite. The flavor notes for this single origin, tree-to-bar 99% cacao chocolate included: ultra-dark chocolate; with relatively tart (yogurt), bitter and roasted wood and earth notes.

The texture was smooth and relatively buttery/creamy. (Note: Often there is added cocoa butter, on top of what is present with the cacao beans being used in ultra-dark bars. Surprisingly, there was no added cocoa butter listed on the ingredients. I consider that a brave choice with very bold, dark cacaos like this (with strong Trinitario + Forestero qualities.)

"The Eclipse of the Senses" was a fitting name for this bar. There were very few subtleties here. But, just like an eclipse, at the very end you feel the light from the Sun/Moon coming back again. 

I could imagine small quantities of this almost unsweetened chocolate being used with other, sweeter, flavors (sauces, meats, specific vegetable dishes, spirits, smoothies/shakes, dried fruits, affogatos, etc.)--to provide some interesting contrast or flavor depth.

I liked that this was tree-to-bar chocolate (made "in country" in India where the cacao was also grown); the short list of (two) ingredients; the unapologetic darkness (in small doses); and the faint mellower chocolate note(s) that popped up briefly at the very end of a long finish.

Ingredients: "Cocoa Beans, Organic Cane Sugar."

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that also processes: Milk, Peanuts, Almond, Cashew, Walnut, Coconut, Hazelnut, Pistachio."  

Maui Ku'ia Estate Chocolate - Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao "Grown in Maui" (bar) - Apr. 3, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Maui Ku'ia Estate Chocolate
Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao "Grown in Maui" (bar) 
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Maui Ku'ia Estate Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #13 of Chocolate and Hawaii Theme Week.

Today's Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao "Grown in Maui" (bar) was manufactured by Maui Ku'ia Estate Chocolate Inc. (Lahaina, Maui, HI).

This dark bar was made using locally grown cacao. from Maui. It's also a rare example of a "made in country" (from tree to bar in the U.S.) chocolate. Hawaii is a special place in many respects; it's also one of the only U.S. states with the optimal climate and soils to support cacao trees.

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate with sweet green botanical; subtle diffuse tropical fruit (mango) and date), faint floral and barely detectable ripe white wine grapes/cacao pulp.

This 70% chocolate had a rich, balanced and authentic dark chocolate flavor with bright, diffuse tropical fruit (mango, cacao pulp, sweet white wine grapes) notes; and faint, fleeting floral oolong tea and then more fruit in the relatively long finish.

Goldilocks zone achieved. (It was not too strong, bitter or sweet. It was just right.) The chocolate was full of sophisticated, subtle flavors; and it had a pleasing natural fruit sweetness* rather than a sugar-y sweetness (thank you!). 

I really enjoyed the balanced complexity and natural bright fruit sweetness in this Hawaiian dark chocolate--thoughtfully made with just three ingredients.

Maker's tasting notes: "Tropical fruits, delicate cocoa, lingering fruit & wine notes."

Ingredients: Cacao Beans, Sugar, Cocoa Butter

Allergen-related information: (None listed on packaging.) 

*These flavor notes were consistent with the cacao varieties listed. "Cacao varieties: Classic Trinitario, Upper Amazon mix, ancient Criollo, novel hybrids."

One One Cacao - Portland 71% (bar) - June 22, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

One One Cacao 
Portland 71% dark chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .35 oz. (10 g.) (estimate) in 1 sample bar
Calories: 54 calories (estimate) in 1 sample bar
Cost: Part of a $53 six-bar tasting kit + tasting experience 
Purchased from: Happy Chocolate Experiences, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Portland 71% sample bar from One One Cacao* (Kingston Parish, Jamaica) was part of a six-bar sample pack + online tasting experience. The chocolate selection (and conversation between the maker and a moderator) allowed tasters to experience a virtual tour of Jamaica through the lens of cacao. The chocolates were made from cacao grown in four different Jamaican parishes. 

Today's virtual stop? The Portland Parish of Jamaica, located north/northeast of Kingston, an area that includes the famed Blue Mountains National Park where coffee and cacao are grown.

The tasting and virtual travel this week was made possible by Sunita de Tourreil** at Happy Chocolate Experiences. As always, her knowledge and interaction with makers, in this case Nick Davis and Marta at One One Cacao, during the online tasting experience was enjoyable and valuable. (Check out her site (link above) for information about a planned chocolate trip to Jamaica later in 2022.)

Portland 71% bar

Aroma notes for today's dark tasting square included: cocoa, very faint spice and faint savory (vegetable and freshly baked potato bread). 

This chocolate had a rich chocolate taste and texture with a background whisper of fruit acidity/astringency. The remaining flavor notes were similar to the aroma notes above.

Re-tasting this Portland 71% bar (after the chocolate had been out of the packet for 5-7 minutes on a relatively warm morning) revealed subtle bittersweet lime flower/floral and balanced dark earth notes--adding enjoyable flavor and complexity. (The initial very faint vegetable/potato bread note I associated with fermentation was gone.)

Occasionally layered flavor shifts happen when you let certain chocolates "breathe" for a few minutes after they're unwrapped from a sealed package--as you might do for certain red wines before serving. Or when you re-taste another piece of the same bar (due to changes in your mouth chemistry as well as in volatile chocolate aroma elements reacting to air/oxygen, heat and/or light).

As with other One One Cacao Jamaica bars this week, the sweetness level for today's 71% bar, felt just right. 

Ingredients: (Not listed on small sample bar packet)

Allergen-related information: (None listed on small sample bar packet)

* The company name One One Cacao was inspired by an old Jamaican proverb: "One one cocoa, full basket" that conveys the notion that little by little, cocoa pods and beans fill baskets, baskets are filled, and goals can be met.

**Sunita previously founded The Chocolate Garage in Palo Alto, CA. Happy Chocolate Experiences provides windows into happy cacao--places, makers and destinations--and of course wonderful chocolate.

  

One One Cacao - St. Mary 71% Dark Chocolate bar - June 21, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

One One Cacao 
Saint Mary 71% dark chocolate (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .35 oz. (10 g.) (estimate) in 1 sample bar
Calories: 54 calories (estimate) in 1 sample bar
Cost: One bar in a $53 six sample bar kit + tasting experience 
Purchased from: Happy Chocolate Experiences, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's St. Mary 71% (sample bar) from One One Cacao (Kingston Parish, Jamaica) was the third of six sample bars from One One Cacao.* 

Saint Mary is a small parish in northeast Jamaica, west of the Blue Mountains National Park. Agricultural products from this region include bananas, sugar cane, citrus, cacao, coconuts, coffee and pimento/peppers.

Tasting these One One Cacao Jamaican chocolates was made possible by Sunita de Tourreil** at Happy Chocolate Experiences. (Tasting kits were sent out in advance to participants before a video interview and tasting with the maker.)

The (online/remote) interview + tasting experience with Nick Davis and Marta at One One Cacao yielded some great information on how the company was built, and how the chocolate is made. 

The aroma notes for today's dark tasting square was a pleasing, gentle blend of stone fruit (plum, cherry), subtle bread/biscuit, light cocoa, very light butterscotch brownie/caramel, and a barely there whiff of tart green herb (oxalis). 

The flavor bouquet notes for this smooth, sample square bar included: a very balanced, mild diffuse yellow stone fruit tartness (light peach, nectarine); oxalis (wood sorrel); cocoa (light chocolate and butterscotch brownie); and subtle honey graham cracker/cookie.

The level of sweetness was satisfying, and did not obscure the more delicate cacao flavor notes--that reminded me of a blend of the relatively mild but lush (heritage) criollo and the slight fruit tartness and flavor of trinitario cacao varieties.

Ingredients: (Not listed on small sample bar packet)

Allergen-related information: (Not listed on small sample bar packet)

* The company name was inspired by an old Jamaican proverb: "One one cocoa, full basket" that conveys the notion that little by little, cocoa pods and beans fill baskets, baskets are filled, and goals are met.

**Sunita previously founded The Chocolate Garage in Palo Alto, CA. Happy Chocolate Experiences provides windows into happy cacao--places, makers and destinations--and of course wonderful chocolate.

  

One One Cacao - Clarendon 71% Jamaican dark chocolate - June 20, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

One One Cacao 
Clarendon 71% dark chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .35 oz. (10 g.) (estimate) in 1 sample bar
Calories: 55 calories (estimate) in 1 sample bar
Cost: N/A - Part of a six-bar tasting kit (A full-size bar was $10.00 USD.)
Purchased from: Happy Chocolate Experiences, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's sample Clarendon 71% bar from One One Cacao (Kingston Parish, Jamaica) was the second of six sample bars from One One Cacao* (Kingston Parish, Jamaica). 

Tasting these Jamaican chocolates was made possible by Sunita de Tourreil** at Happy Chocolate Experiences. (Kits with sample bars were sent out in advance to participants, before a video conference and tasting with the makers at One One Cacao.)

Sunita's shared, online tasting experience with Nick Davis and Marta at One One Cacao yielded some great information on how the company was built. Davis, an ex-BBC correspondent, also discussed how he's developed partnerships with farmers in the different growing areas (parishes) of Jamaica, and evolved their own tree-to-bar chocolate making process over time.

One clear take-away: flavors vary among regions within this island nation. This is the case in other cacao-growing countries as well where there are different topographies, micro-climates, soil types, and farming and fermentation methods. As such, collaboration between farmers and makers is often very important.

Clarendon 71% dark chocolate

The cacao used to make this 71% dark bar was from Clarendon Parish, located in south central Jamaica, west of Kingston. 

Today's dark tasting square had subtle, complex and balanced aroma and flavor notes, including of molasses spice, faint dried fruit (rum raisins), gentle wood and naturally sweet fruity roast coffee notes.

The dark chocolate had a slightly dry, granular (faintly astringent) texture/melt. This was a subtle distraction that did little to interfere with the pleasure of tasting the relatively soft, nuanced flavors.

Maker's description: "Working alongside our partners at the Jamaica partners at the Jamaica Cocoa Farmers Association we source these beans in this central Parish of the island. Fermented up the wonderfully named Morgan's Valley area the chocolate has a wonderful summer fruit, cane rum, and all-spice flavour with hits of wood, carob, and coffee; a medium body, finely acidic/slightly tannic."

Ingredients: (Not listed on small sample bar packet)

Allergen-related information: (Not listed on small sample bar packet)

* The company name was inspired by an old Jamaican proverb: "One one cocoa, full basket" that conveys the notion that little by little, cocoa pods and beans fill baskets, baskets are filled, and goals can be met.

**Sunita de Tourreil founded The Chocolate Garage in Palo Alto, CA. Happy Chocolate Experiences provides windows into happy cacao--places, makers and (travel) destinations linked to learning about and enjoying wonderful bean-to-bar (sometimes tree-to-bar) chocolates.

  

Cacaosuyo - 70% Cacao Piura Select Dark Chocolate (bar) - Nov. 14, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Cacaosuyo 
(Produced by Theobroma Inversiones SAC)
70% Cacao Piura Select Dark Chocolate (bar) 
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) in total bar
Calories: 130 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Weeks.

Today's Cacaosuyo 70% Cacao Piura Select Dark Chocolate (bar) was produced by Theobroma Inversiones SAC (Lima, Peru). 

The company is dedicated to making chocolate using cacao fruit/beans grown in the land of the "Four Suyos"* of Peru, a term that recalls a rich cacao history dating back to the Incan Empire. Through these chocolates, one can experience a very important cradle site for cacao in the Americas, where it's believed that centuries ago the Inca people shared cacao with their allies, but kept it a secret from outsiders.

Today's 70% cacao dark bar is the last of four conveniently sized (single-serving) different Cacaosuyo bars featured this week, and was made with prized "white" cacao beans grown in the Piura region of northwestern Peru--a region that includes semi-tropical forests in the east and coastal beaches to the west.

This chocolate had true chocolate aroma with a faint dried fruit, molasses, lightly wine- soaked raisin and citrus (Meyer lemon peel) notes. The bar was relatively thin, allowing easy and rapid access to the texture and flavor. It had a creamy melt and mouthfeel.

Flavor notes were similar to the aroma notes mentioned above with a slight hints of malt/cereal and green nut and a very light citrus astringency (throat tickle). This bar was relatively suave and sophisticated: well balanced, flavorful yet tastefully subtle.

The maker's tasting notes read as follows: The "...flavor you are about to experience is a product of a combination of meticulous harvest and post-harvest processes. We are confident that this bar, with its light citrus and nutty notes, will be a pleasant discovery." 

Ingredients: Cocoa paste (Theobroma cacao L) and sugar.

*The Four Suyos refers to Incan empire Tawantinsuyu's Four Suyos (similar to counties or regions) that surrounded Cuzco: Antisuyo (east, forest/wild area), Chinchaysuyo (northwest), Contisuyo (west) and Collasuyo (south). The Empire at its heydey occupied most of Peru, and parts of what is now Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile and Argentina. 

Centuries ago, the Spanish named the Peruvian city of Piura, after the native Quechuan word "pirhua," meaning "abundance." The Peruvian region of Piura overlapped with the Incan suyo known as Chinchaysuyo. (Chinay or Chincha means ocelot in Quechua.)

Cacaosuyo - Cuzco 80 Dark Chocolate 80% Cacao (bar) - Nov. 12, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Cacaosuyo 
(Produced by Theobroma Inversiones SAC)
Cuzco 80 Dark Chocolate 80% Cacao (bar) 
Good ++  
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.

Today's Cacaosuyo 50% Cacao Piura Milk (bar) was produced by Theobroma Inversiones SAC (Lima, Peru). 

The company offers chocolate made "in-country" using cacao fruit/beans grown on lands in Peru that overlap with the "Four Suyos"* or Four Regions of the ancient Inca Empire. These areas have a rich cacao history spanning several centuries.

Today's 80% cacao dark bar is the second of four conveniently sized (single-serving) different Cacaosuyo bars featured this week. It was made in country, i.e. in Peru with cacao beans grown in the Cuzco region of Peru. 

This chocolate had an interesting aroma with grape, green, and subtle fermentation and earth notes. The bar was relatively thin, allowing great access to the texture and flavor. The chocolate had a creamy melt and mouthfeel and smooth texture. And some of the faint green notes carried over into the flavor. For an 80% chocolate, this had an appealing, very balanced bitter and sweet quality.

The maker's tasting notes read as follows: 

Ingredients: Cacao paste (Theobroma cacao L) and sugar

*The Four Suyos refers to Incan empire Tawantinsuyu's Four Suyos (similar to counties or regions) that surrounded Cuzco: Antisuyo (east, forest/wild area), Chinchaysuyo (northwest), Contisuyo (west) and Collasuyo (south). The Empire at its heydey occupied most of Peru, and parts of what is now Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile and Argentina.

Auro Chocolate - Paquibato Origin 70% Dark Chocolate bar - July 10, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Auro Chocolate
Paquibato Origin - 70% Dark Chocolate bar
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .875 oz. (25 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 145 calories in 1/4 bar (per label)
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Island Nations Theme Week.

Today's 2017 Paquibato* Origin 70% Dark Chocolate bar was made "in country," by Auro Chocolate (Calamba City, Laguna, Philippines). That is, this chocolate was made in the Philippines using cacao grown in the Philippines.

The makers at Auro are aspiring to create fine chocolate from the Philippines; and because they're relatively close* to where the cacao is grown (not usually the case for chocolate makers), they can work more directly with cacao farm cooperatives/farmers to help develop desired flavor profiles for their chocolate.

Today's chocolate had a dark chocolate, green forest and tart red fruit (plum, berry) aroma and flavor with faint earth and black pepper notes,

The bar broke with a hard snap and had a balanced sweetness. (Let the fruit do the work, not the sugar, and a conservative amount of sugar will make the fruit sparkle a bit.)

*Paquibato is located in the Calinan District, Davao City, Davao del Sur, Philippines. Auro Chocolate's Davao City location (and the Malagos Chocolate Museum) are located not far from here. 

However, more to the point, Auro Chocolate (Laguna) sources cacao from coops/farms, including: the Subasta Integrated Cooperative in Calinan, Fardecosa Cadalian in Baguio District, and the Paquibato Tree Development Cooperative—likely the source for today's Paquibato bar.

Jouvay Chocolate - Granada Cocoa Farmers' Coop - Jouvay 60% Cocoa with Nutmeg (bar) - July 2, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Jouvay Chocolate
Grenada Cocoa Farmers' Coop - Jouvay 60% Cocoa - touch of Nutmeg (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 210 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information


Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Island Nations Theme Week.

Today's Jouvay Chocolate 60% Cocoa (with a) Touch of Nutmeg bar was made with cacao from the Grenada Cocoa Farmers' Coop (Grenada, West Indies). Grenada is a lush tropical island in the Caribbean Sea known for its cacao and spices.

Jouvay Chocolate is a partnership between Grenada cacao farmers and LA Burdick Grenada. The company is majority-owned by the cacao growers who are also involved in the manufacturing process, doing "value-added processing" (several steps further than the fermentation of beans) in-country, where the beans are grown—vs. shipping cacao beans to other countries (U.S., Europe, Australia, etc.) for chocolate making, as is often the case.

The base chocolate in this four-ingredient** bar was sweet and pure. However, it was difficult not to be swept away by the presence of nutmeg, which made itself known in the aroma and flavor.

Nutmeg

This bar had a sustained spike of nutmeg* flavor throughout. Like vanilla, saffron, and many other flowers and "baking" spices, there is a happy warmth that comes with tasting nutmeg—an uplifting spice with a faint hint of aromatic peppercorn. (If you've never tried grating fresh nutmeg into a beverage or dish, I highly recommend trying this.)

*Nutmeg (Myristica fragrans) is a ground or grated spice from a seed of an evergreen tree, that originated in the Moluccas (Banda), or Spice Islands, in Indonesia. The British removed nutmeg trees from Indonesia and spread them to British colonies with similar climates in the early 1800s. Today, nutmeg is widely cultivated in Indonesia, Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, and in the West Indies (especially in Grenada).

**Ingredients: cacao beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter, nutmeg.

Shattell Chocolate Organico - Bitter 70% Cacao Tumbes bar - Jan. 6, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Shattell Chocolate Organico
Bitter 70% cacao - Cacao Tumbes bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.2 oz. (35 g.) / 2.4 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 206 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com (online order)

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

Today's Bitter 70% cacao - Cacao Tumbes bar was from Shattell Chocolate Organico* (Lima, Peru). And like other Shattell bars featured this week, the cacao used to make the bar was grown in a specific region within Peru.

It's notable, if not obvious, that the chocolate was made "in-country" (i.e. in the same country where the cacao was grown ), as this is rarely the case for the chocolate we buy in the U.S. and Europe.

Tumbes, located on the coast in the NW of the country, is one of 10 cacao growing regions in Peru—a country with diverse micro-climates and elevations ranging from coastal areas just meters above sea level to highland, mountainous regions. This week bars are being featured from several of these regions.

This 70% organic, dark chocolate had a complex aroma and flavor—with notes of dried fruit, spice, nuts, and a faint trace of fruit acid/vinegar.** This Tumbes bar had a relatively pleasing taste during middle and end, with a very slight astringent after-texture.

*This week's Shattell Chocolate Organico bars were produced and distributed by Qulinaria Peru S.A.C.

**The faint, fleeting fruit vinegar note seemed to dissipate later in the day, after the sealed, inner packaging had been open for awhile and/or when the bar was eaten with/after other food.

Chocolate Always - 36% Cacao Organic Milk Chocolate Bar - Nov. 3, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolate Always
36% Cacao Organic Milk Chocolate Bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .875 oz. (25 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1/4 bar
Cost: $2.99 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Single Origin Milk Chocolate Theme Week. Most of this week's bar have been dark milk chocolate. Today we'll try something on the lighter side.

Today's 36% Cacao Organic Milk Chocolate Bar was a product of Peru, made for Chocolate Always (Weston, FL).

How low can you go (percentage wise) and still have a bar with fine chocolate flavor?

This well tempered bar was, as expected, very sweet, with caramel/toffee notes in the aroma and taste. While a bit too candy-sweet for my taste, it was still a cut above many other 36% chocolate items.

Also, any chocolate made in the country of origin (Peru in this case), is still worth noting, as it's not the norm; and it's a plus in that, one hopes, more income stays in producing countries (also not the norm).