Patricia's Chocolate - Fortunato No. 4 - 68% Peruvian Grand Cru Dark Chocolate - July 13, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Patricia's Chocolate 
Fortunato No. 4 - 68% Peruvian Grand Cru Dark Chocolate
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .56 oz. (16 g.) in a 2-piece tasting sample package
Calories: 87 calories (estimate) in a 2-piece package
Cost: $3.80 (estimate) for a 2-piece package 
Purchased from: Patricia's Chocolate, online order

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

Today's Fortunato No. 4 - 68% Peruvian Grand Cru Dark Chocolate was from Patricia's Chocolate (Grand Haven, MI).

Aroma notes for this Pure Nacional* cacao-based chocolate included: smooth dark chocolate, light fruit and floral, and very faint tart sweet green herb (oxalis) and light, aromatic tea.

The 68% dark chocolate had a very smooth, creamy melt and texture.

Attractively complex flavor notes included: smooth, sophisticated dark chocolate, diffuse fruit (sweet, refreshing red berry), and very faint caramel and refreshing (light, floral) sweet green tea.

Ingredients: (None listed on small package.)

Allergen-related information: (None listed on small package.)

*As chocolate lovers become more familiar with the variety of cacao(s) grown, (like grape varieties in wine) there has been more discussion about aroma and flavor associated with different varieties. The main three varieties often mentioned are Forastero, Trinitario and Criollo. But, it's more complicated than that.

The relatively rare and precious Fortunato Nacional (Pure Porcelana) heritage cacao beans used in today's chocolates were from Peru. This Nacional cacao was thought to have disappeared (due to disease and habitat changes), but in 2011 it was "rediscovered" in a Maranon River Canyon in Peru. (Fortunato is the name of the farmer on whose land these trees grow.)

Porcelana cacao (white beans/seeds when cut open) originated in South America and is associated with Criollo cacao/cultivars. Piura Porcelana can be found in northern Peru and is often associated with Nacional cacao. Confused yet? Nacional heritage cacao (associated with Ecuador and Peru) shares some properties Criollo variety heritage cacao. Both have soft, layered complex flavors that can include mild floral, fruit and nut.

Bottom line: Criollo and Porcelana cacaos are highly prized, but can be more delicate and prone to diseases. Only a small percentage of chocolates sold are made with fine Criollo/Porcelana cacaos. The majority of chocolate sold worldwide is made with the bolder Forestero and/or Trinitario cacao varieties as well as hybrids and cultivars of all the varieties listed above.

Patricia's Chocolate - Fortunato No. 4 - 47% Peruvian Grand Cru Dark Milk Chocolate - July 12, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Patricia's Chocolate 
Fortunato No. 4 - 47% Peruvian Grand Cru Dark Milk Chocolate
Good ++
Weight: .56 oz. (16 g.) in a 2-piece tasting sample package
Calories: 87 calories (estimate) in a 2-piece package
Cost: $3.80 (estimate) for a 2-piece package 
Purchased from: Patricia's Chocolate, online order

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

Today's Fortunato* No. 4 - 47% Peruvian Grand Cru Dark Milk Chocolate was from Patricia's Chocolate (Grand Haven, MI).

Aroma and flavor notes for these Peruvian Pure Nacional (Porcelana) cacao based chocolates included: milk chocolate and caramel. There was a very faint sweet warm spice and sweet herb (licorice) notes in the late finish.

The texture was creamy and relatively light.

While the relatively high sugar content in this 47% dark milk chocolate (and the presence of milk) may have suppressed some subtle (fruit, floral, nutty) Nacional cacao flavors, these small ingot-shaped chocolates were still quite good.

Ingredients: (Not listed on small package)

Allergen-related information: (Not listed on small package)

*The name "Fortunato" comes from the name of the farmer who owns the land on which the prized cacao trees grow.

Amedei - Porcelana Cioccolato Fondente Extra 70% (bar) - May 11, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Amedei srl

Porcelana Cioccolato Fondente Extra 70% (bar)

Good + 

Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) in total bar

Calories: 280 calories in 1 bar

Cost: $17.50 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's Porcelana Cioccolato Fondente Extra 70% (bar) was from Amedei srl (Pontedera (Pisa), Italy).

This chocolate, made with Porcelana cacao, tasted a lot like (yesterday's) Amedei Chuao 70% bar from the same Italian maker. It also had a sweet, relatively delicate, chocolate flavor and a slight, unusual cereal and cereal box/chewing gum (chicle) note.

Yesterday I speculated that some of this flavor could have been from the packaging itself (or an external storage or shipping factor). I believe both bars were packaged, shipped and stored in a similar way, so it's possible.

I wish I'd saved a piece of yesterday's Chuao bar to do a side-by-side tasting with today's Porcelana sibling to see what the subtle differences might have been between the two.

Today's chocolate had a slight soft, tart fruit astringency, with a fleeting throat tickle. There were very mild sweet spiced canned fruit, light vanilla/floral and true delicate chocolate cookie notes. There was nothing objectionable in either bar. But, neither was there much that was particularly exciting.

Expectations run high for artisan chocolate bars that mention Chuao or Porcelana, that come with a high price tag ($17.50 USD for this bar). Amedei has cultivated relationships with plantations in Venezuela that are growing "genetically pure" criollo cacao, known for subtle and delicate flavors.

No offense to larger chocolate makers is intended. Support for farmers and growers of great cacao stock in Venezuela and elsewhere is very important. But if one is chasing legendary flavor, there are a few small batch Chuao and Porcelana bars out there that will blow the doors off this week's Amedei bars, for a fraction of the price.

For example, I'd recommend Wm. Chocolate's Porcelana bar, reviewed earlier this week, that had an incredibly sophisticated, almost magical tasting curve. (I am a sucker for a great flavor ride.)

For those who remember Rogue Chocolatier, small batch bean-to-bar maker Colin Gasko helped set the bar for me, and likely many others, years ago. I can still remember that Porcelana bar.

Chapon Chocolatier - Venezuela 70% Porcelana mini bar - May 6, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chapon Chocolatier
Venezuela 70% Porcelana mini bar
Good ++
Weight: .176 oz. (5 g.) / 6.35 oz. (180 g.) in total box of 36 mini bars
Calories: 27 calories (estimate) in 1 mini bar
Cost: $45.00 for 1 box of 36 mini bars
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Last week was Chocolate and Colombia Theme Week, and this week the focus shifted to neighboring country, Venezuela. Both South American countries have a cacao history that stretches back thousands of years.

In the 13+ years since Chocolate Banquet began, the fortunes of these two South American countries have evolved. Colombia is more fully recovered (from years of internal strife), and Venezuela has been suffering economically in recent years.

Fortunately, several international chocolate companies still offer single origin Venezuela bars (made with Venezuela-grown cacao), including today's Venezuela 70% Porcelana mini bar from Chapon Chocolatier (Paris/Chelles, France).

Today's mini bar was part of a larger Chapon single origin collection (that included two other Venezuela bars (featured yesterday) and one from Colombia (featured last week). Today's small 70% Porcelana bar was sweet and had a tart fruitiness and a faint earth note.

Porcelana is a rare and precious cacao. Cacao seeds/beans are lighter in color and flavor, and trees are grown/found in an area near/south of Lake Maracaibo (Sur del Lago) in Western Venezuela. The largest lake in South America, this estuary is more akin to a salty bay given its connection to the Caribbean Sea. Its famous lightning storms and oil drilling exploits create an exotic, dark mystique around this region. Always glad to see rare plants and trees surviving what seem to be tough conditions.

Original Beans - Piura Porcelana 75% bar - June 30, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Original Beans
Piura Porcelana 75% bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) /2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories:  calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.95 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Peruvian Superfoods Theme Week.

Today's Piura Porcelana 75% bar from Original Beans (Amsterdam) was made in Switzerland. It was made using with treasured "white" Porcelana (Piura Valley, Peru) cacao beans from the Piura Valley or Peru.

The inside of the Porcelana cacao seed (bean) is creamy white (instead of the more common purple and white) and these beans are prized for their delicate, complex flavor.

The bar had light, balanced fruit (berries, black currant), faint forest floor earthiness and fermentation notes. It had a smooth dark chocolate melt and taste, with balanced blackberry, black raspberry, black currant and red grape flavor notes. The fruit was subtle, full and round, complex and lower in acidity than most "bright" berry/fruit chocolate.

The flavor finish had a very subtle but long tail. It tapered off but then had a small fruit blip late in the curve, and a very slight earthiness even later.

The makers tasting notes described the flavor as having: lime, raspberry and pecan notes.

Also important to Original Beans founder, Philipp Kauffman, that the origin be honored for its treasured resources, like the Peruvian butterflies part of today's packaging design. Kauffman has pledged to plant one tree for every bar sold "...preserving some of the Earth's rarest places."

More superfoods...
Peruvian cacao could certainly be described as a superfood. A lot of people are using that term to market exotic foods with high nutritional value. But, of course, flavor and texture of the food in question are important too. And high-quality, bean-to-bar chocolate, like today's three ingredient bar (cacao mass, raw cane sugar and cocoa butter) gets high marks in all these areas.

Also consumed today was an Antioxidant Sweet Berry powdered mix from Amazing Grass (Newport Beach, CA), stirred into a glass of water.

The mix contained a variety of fruit and vegetable ingredients, green tea, as well as maca (discussed earlier this week) and camu camu* powders.

It may not have been as yummy as today's chocolate, but the company does produce offer offerings with cacao, as well as a convenient way to hydrate with a beverage full of vitamins and minerals, particularly if you have a tough time eating your greens before they wilt in your fridge.

*Camu Camu is an Amazonian, tart fruit high in Vitamin C. It looks like a bit like a large cherry plum or a miniature red apple in photos.

Rozsavolgyi Csokolade - Porcelana cacao criollo Venezuela bar - May 14, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Rozsavolgyi Csokolade
Porcelana cacao criollo Venezuela 71% bar
Good +++
Weight: 1.235 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 186 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $20.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Porcelana criollo cacao Venezuela 71% bar was from Rozsavolgyi Csokolade (Budapest, Hungary).

This three-ingredient* bar had a pleasing, balanced, complex yet rather delicate, dark aroma with a very faint brown butter note. The flavor had chocolate, light fruit (peach, champagne grape, light berry) and earthy, forest floor notes.

Earthiness is a tough flavor element to manage, and the presence of this note often goes back to fermentation (which the maker may not have been present for). Too much earth is too much, but this was handled quite nicely.

*Ingredients: cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter

Valrhona - El Pedregal Venezuela bar - Oct. 2, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Valrhona
El Pedregal Venezuela Noir 64% bar
Good +++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 201 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Cacao at the Heathman, Portland, OR

Welcome to Day #9 of French Chocolate Week, and Day #2 of Venezuela Theme Week.

Single origin chocolate can refer to cacao that was grown in a specific region. Or the term single origin can be even more specific, referring to on a single estate, farm or plantation. Today's Chocolat de Domaine (Single Estate Chocolate) bar from Valrhona (Tain l'Hermitage, France) was the latter.

The El Pedregal Venezuela Noir 64% bar resulted from Valrhona's decade-long effort to restore and grow Porcelana, a relatively rare Criollo cacao, at El Pedregal estate in Venezuela.

Porcelana* Criollo flavor notes are known for being subtle and wonderful, well balanced, less acidic and bitter. This same flavor profile makes it more easily overshadowed by sugar and/or inclusions than, say, chocolate made from bolder strains of Forestero cacao.

The bar had a very pleasing, subtle aroma, and an even melt and smooth consistency.

Sadly, at "only" 64% cacao, there was too much sugar for me to detect the advertised flavor notes of honey and ripe fruit (think peach rather than red or black berries). I liked the idea of adding (less processed) brown sugar which imparts its own warm, mellow flavor, and would not want to second guess the chocolate makers on this choice. However, I couldn't help but wonder what a 70% cacao bar might have tasted like. (Ingredients: cocoa beans, brown sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin and vanilla)

The El Pedregal bar had a clean and subtle finish with no off notes.

*Porcelana comes from the cacao seed's (or bean's) appearance. When the raw bean is cut open the inside has a white or ivory color, lighter than other cacao beans.