Chocolate Brownie Bites - May 5, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

Goodbody Baked Goods
Chocolate Brownie (brownie bites)
Good +
Weight: 1.83 oz. (52 g.) / 4.5 oz. (128 g.) total package
Calories: 240 calories in 6 small squares
Cost: $ part of a larger pack of 5 flavors
Purchased from: Abe's Market, online order

These dark, devilish, Chocolate Brownie Bites from Goodbody Baked Goods (Boulder, CO), hit the spot. Almost fluffy in texture, these gluten-free brownie squares were my favorite Goodbody flavor I've tried thus far.

The company makes a line of "cookie bites" (small squares, packaged similarly to these brownie bites). Goodbody Baked Goods founder, Susan Wang (a former personal fitness trainer) wanted to create healthy treats for herself, her family and others. (In addition to being gluten free, these bites were grain free, dairy free and low glycemic.)

I recommend pairing these diminutive brownie bites with berries. Fresh strawberries worked quite nicely.

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate Brownie Theme Week.

Cacao Crunch Brownie - May 4, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Blue Mountain Organics
Cacao Crunch Brownie
Good
Weight: 2.4 oz. (68 g.) in 1 package
Calories: 290 calories in 1 package
Cost: $4.99 in 1 package
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was the second day of Chocolate Brownie Theme Week.

Blue Mountain Organics (Floyd, VA) is a bakery, specializing in organic, raw and sprouted items, that makes a line of several different gluten-free brownies. Yesterday I tried their Cacao Walnut Brownie, and today it was the company's Cacao Crunch Brownie.

Today's brownie offering, like yesterday's, was also made with a moist, chewy base of pressed dates, agave and cacao; and it had a bit of crunchy texture from ground hazelnuts, buckwheat grouts and golden flax. 

Cacao Walnut Brownie - May 3, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Blue Mountain Organics
Cacao Walnut Brownie
Good
Weight: 2.4 oz. (68 g.) in 1 package
Calories: 290 calories in 1 package
Cost: $4.99 for 1 package/brownie
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA


Today's Cacao Walnut Brownie from Blue Mountain Organics (Floyd, VA) kicks off the first day of Chocolate Brownie Theme Week. Many of the offerings this week are either organic, vegan or raw (or all of the above), and all are gluten free.

This brownie was rich and moist with a slight dried fruit tang. In fact, the #1 ingredient listed for this product was "Premium organic dates" -- followed by a short list: agave, cacao,  walnuts and golden flax.

Mayan Calendar - May 2, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Casa de Chocolates
Mayan Calendar
Good
Weight: 3 oz. (85 g.)
Calories: 450 calories (estimate) in 1 calendar
Cost: $10.00
Purchased from: Casa de Chocolates, Berkeley, CA

Today's solid chocolate (61% cacao) disc depicting the Mayan calendar was made by Casa de Chocolates (Berkeley, CA). A description of this calendar, on the company's website, reads:

"The Mayan calendar is remarkable and respected as the most accurate calendar to date; it was the center of Maya life and their greatest cultural achievement."

In hauling this venerable chocolate calendar around (to Belize and back) this past week, the 5-inch disc developed a crack -- a bit like the Liberty Bell that I saw many years ago in Philadelphia, PA. In both cases, a crack did nothing to diminish the interesting history of this calendar, or how much I liked the item. This chocolate was a fun one to show people in Belize; some (including cacao farmers) were Maya descendants.

Goss Milk Chocolate bar - May 1, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

Goss Chocolate
Milk Chocolate bar
Good +
Weight: 2 oz. (56 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 300 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $6.00 (BZ $) ($3.00 U.S.D.)
Purchased from: Advanced Tees (shop), in Belize airport (BZE), Belize

Today's Milk Chocolate bar from Goss Chocolate (Placentia, Belize) was full of rich, chocolatey, fudge brownie flavor, and was much better than the average milk chocolate I am used to tasting in this category.

After buying this shiny gold bar from a refrigerated case in a shop at the Belize airport and carting it around for a week (in and out of refrigeration), I was expecting the worst (a white haze of fat bloom, melted corners, an off-taste). However, I was delighted to find when I unwrapped this bar today that it had survived all these ups and downs, and still tasted great.

The fine flavor in this milk chocolate bar speaks well of the cacao beans Goss Chocolate obtained (ingredient #2, after cane sugar) and the skills of the chocolate maker(s) at Goss. The company is located on the seashore (Caribbean) in Southern Belize. This location has access to high quality beans from cacao growers and farms nearby, but it still takes talent and patience to coax the best from the beans. It was great to taste another bar that was made from Belize beans, and made in Belize as well.

Cacao has been enjoyed for thousands of years in this area. The Mayans and peoples who have settled in Belize since then are fortunate indeed to enjoy this national treasure. I was not able to visit Goss Chocolate this past week, while in Belize. I might have flown over it on the way back (from Punta Gorda to Belize City). The picture at right shows a snippet of the Belize coastline and beautiful reefs in this area from several thousand feet up.

Maya Mountain Cacao Visit - Belize

Maya Mountain Cacao
April 2013 Visit

While in Belize this past week, I took a trip to Maya Mountain Cacao, adjacent to the Cotton Tree Lodge, with Belcampo Lodge (Punta Gorda) staff.

Several highly regarded craft chocolate makers in North America and Europe have made bars with cacao from this area (the Toledo District of Southern Belize). Maya Mountain Cacao sources premium beans from local cacao farmers and focuses on quality fermentation and drying of cacao beans. These beans are then sent to chocolate makers.

During our visit, we saw different shades of brown beans (all purple in the middle when cut in half) that had been fermented carefully in horizontal wooden boxes for the required number of days, then sun-dried on a tarp on the ground and under covered, solar drying areas. Beans were segregated in groups/batches as they dried. The fermentation area smelled a bit like a winery (a pleasant yeasty, wine aromas).

Two Maya women were hard at work helping to sort and grade the beans. Once beans were dried and sorted, they were packed in bags (large plastic and burlap sacks) and sent to (or picked up by) chocolate makers, who will roast, winnow and grind them into dark, rich paste -- that will eventually be made into chocolate bars.

Seneca Klassen, a cacao grower and chocolate maker from Hawaii, observed that Maya Mountain Cacao staff seemed to be taking extra steps to sort, grade and ensure that undesirable particles, broken pieces and twig bits were being removed -- steps that may or may not happen to this degree in different countries, especially if farmers are paid by the pound for their harvest.

Thank you to everyone at Maya Mountain Cacao and Belcampo for the tour. Sorry to have missed meeting you Emily (Stone); maybe next time!

Toledo Cacao Growers Association
There are a few different options for cacao farmers to get their beans to market in Southern Belize. Maya Mountain Cacao is one. I also made a very quick stop at the Toledo Cacao Growers Association (TCGA) in Punta Gorda.

According to the man I spoke to at TCGA -- who was very kind to show me their holding and weighing area for cacao beans when I dropped by -- almost 500 farmers regularly bring cacao beans to sell to this non-profit organization. Beans are weighed and inspected as part of this process. Local Belize chocolate makers that buy beans from TCGA include Cotton Tree Chocolate (Punta Gorda), Goss Chocolate (Placencia), Kakaw Chocolate (San Pedro), and Wangla Chocolate.

Cotton Trees and Cocoa Nibs - April 30, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Cotton Tree Chocolate
Cocoa Nib Crunch (bar)
Good
Calories: 183 calories for 1/3 bar
Cost: $15.00 Belize dollars ($7.50 US Dollars)
Purchased from: Advance Tees shop in Belize International Airport, Belize City, Belize

This week I'm enjoying chocolate brought home from Belize, including today's sweet, milk chocolate (46% cacao) Cocoa Nib Crunch bar from Cotton Tree Chocolate (Punta Gorda, Belize). My favorite part: the nibs - packed with earthy, unsweetened chocolatey flavor.

This was the first chocolate brand/bar that I saw in Belize. I snapped one up at a shop in the Belize International Airport within an hour of arriving -- just in case I might not see it again. However, I needn't have worried, as I was on my way to the Toledo District in Southern Belize -- known for its cacao farms and chocolate.

Later in the week, I had the privilege of visiting the Cotton Tree Chocolate factory store in Punta Gorda town (a few miles from where I was staying, at the Belcampo Lodge and Farm). And I bought more bars after seeing chocolate made there. (Thanks again to Juli for the tour.)

Cotton Trees and Cacao
When I first arrived in Belize, I noticed strips of leather-like bark with fluffy, cream-colored cottony fluff attached. I soon figured out (by looking straight up) that these had fallen from a Cotton Tree.

The Cotton Tree (also known as the Ceiba tree) is a tall tree that towers above the jungle canopy in Belize. Revered by the people, and tied to Maya legends, this tree has a massive root system (similar to a large fig or banyan tree). I hiked through undergrowth, around vines, and over limestone rocks to see the roots of one massive tree up close (see photo) while in Belize. (Thank you Desmond for leading the way.)

Cacao and Cotton Trees both grow in forested areas in Belize, and other areas of Latin America. Cacao trees grow well with some shade cover. I think if I was a cacao tree, I would feel fortunate to have some shade from a Cotton Tree.

Maya Mountain Cacao, Cotton Tree Lodge
While in Belize, I also took a brief tour of the Maya Mountain Cacao fermentation and drying operation at the Cotton Tree Lodge (both were within sight of another very large, majestic Cotton Tree).

Belcampo's first batch of chocolate made in the chocolate building of their new Agritourism facility on their property in Punta Gorda was made in part with beans from Maya Mountain Cacao.

Next post will include more on this tour...