Dick Taylor - DR bar - April 30, 2104

Chocolate of the Day:

Dick Taylor Chocolate
Dominican Republic bar
Very Good
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.4 g.) / 2 oz. (56.6 g.) total bar
Calories: 225 calories in 3/4 bar
Cost: $N/A - part of a shipment with 3 bars
Purchased from: Standard Cocoa, New York City, NY

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Dominican Republic Theme Week.

This dark chocolate (74% cacao) bar with a great flavor arc from Dick Taylor Chocolate (Arcata, CA) arrived at my doorstep several months ago, courtesy of Standard Cocoa (New York, NY).

Standard Cocoa offers a subscription for those who would like to know more about (and taste) craft chocolate, on a regular basis. Bars from some of the best new American makers who are making dark, often single origin bars, from scratch -- teasing out the best flavors from cacao beans worldwide -- can be shipped to your door-step.

This Dick Taylor bar was made with fairly-traded and organic cacao, and organic cane sugar. That's it. No emulsifiers, vanilla or other additives. So the flavors (enabled by many layers of successful processing and technique) really had a chance to shine.

Cello Chocolate - Dominican with Nibs bar - April 29, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Cello Chocolate
Dominican with Cocoa Nibs
Good++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.00 (+ $1.00 shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Cello Chocolate, online order

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Dominican Republic Theme Week.

This agreeable dark chocolate (73% cacao) Dominican (Republic) bar from Cello Chocolate (Nevada City, CA) was peppered with crunchy little cacao nibs, pressed onto the back of the bar.

Cello Chocolate founders/owners are chocolate-maker Ned Russell and Debi Russell. They select single origin beans for their flavor, and purchase Certified Fair Trade and Organic beans to make their single origin bars. (Ned and Debi each bring valuable and complementary skills to the business - he used to work at Ghirardelli, and she brings sales and marketing experience. And, yes, Ned also plays the cello.)

Amano - Dos Rios bar - April 28, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Amano Chocolate
Dos Rios bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 217.5 calories in 3/4 bar
Cost: $7.95 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Amano Chocolate table at The Chocolate Salon, San Francisco, CA

Today was the first day of Chocolate and Dominican Republic Theme Week. I'll be featuring several single origin bars, made from cacao beans grown in the Dominican Republic.

While it's true that cocoa beans from a single region may share certain flavor characteristics, the finished chocolate bars from the same country can vary widely, depending on several factors, including the crop, and in-country fermentation from year to year, as well as the steps followed by chocolate-makers (choice of roast, conch time, tempering, etc.).

Dos Rios, Dominican Republic

The Dominican Republic is located in the Caribbean. One island, Hispaniola, is home to two countries: The Dominican Republic (or D.R.) (to the east), and Haiti (to the west). "Dos Rios" refers to the area in San Cristobal province, a bit inland from the southern coast of D.R., where two rivers come together before flowing down to the Caribbean Sea. Relatively high-quality cacao has been grown in this region for many years, but the area is still somewhat remote and can be hard to get to, making travel there an adventure at times for Amano Chocolate (Orem, Utah) chocolate-maker, Art Pollard.

What caught Pollard's attention about this Dos Rios area were some unique beans that had bergamot, cinnamon and clove flavor notes. The resulting Amano Dos Rios 70% cacao bar made from these beans had floral, bergamot-to-orange blossom flavors unlike any other bar I've had. Art Pollard developed some "special techniques" just to preserve this flavor. (Floral flavors can be fragile, volatile or easily lost in the chocolate-making process.) I love floral smells and taste, so this bar was a treat.

The Fremont Diner - Mexican Chocolate milkshake - April 27, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

The Fremont Diner
Mexican Chocolate milkshake
Good+
Weight: somewhere north of 14 fl. oz. I'm guessing
Calories: unknown
Cost: $5.50
Purchased from: The Fremont Diner, Sonoma, CA

Today was Day #7 of Mexican Chocolate Theme Week. And, this week's chocolate was captured and consumed at The Fremont Diner (Sonoma, CA), located in rural wine country, in between Sonoma and Napa.

The Fremont Diner is all about hearty, country food made from scratch -- fresh biscuits, fresh eggs, fresh kale salad...smoked bacon and brisket (they have a smoker out back).

Oh, and they have a great milkshake and dessert menu (butterscotch pie, coffeecake-bread pudding today). I was tempted to get both their Mexican Chocolate and the Salted Caramel milkshakes, but decided to hold off on ordering the Salted Caramel shake. The generous sized chocolate shake was flavored with cinnamon and topped with whipped cream.

Good thing, because after the boiled peanuts, vegetable side dish, chili and smoked plate with house-made pickles, and the first milkshake, I was very full. On the walk back to the car we stopped and visited the chickens behind the restaurant (all fenced in except one loose one). Even the chicken's food (scraps of fresh bread and vegetables mostly) looked pretty wonderful.

Bar au Chocolate - Chiapas, Mexico bar - April 26, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Bar au Chocolat
Chiapas, Mexico bar
Good +
Weight: .46 oz. (13 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) total bar
Calories: 69 calories (estimate) in 1/5 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #6 of Mexican Chocolate Theme Week.

This two-ingredient dark chocolate bar (cacao beans + cane sugar) from Bar au Chocolat (Manhattan Beach, CA) was made with cacao beans grown in Chiapas, Mexico.

The chocolate had an interesting, complex and distinctive flavor profile, consistent with many of the best hand-crafted bars made from scratch.

The custom-folded packaging and lovely internal copper-colored foil inner wrapper showed careful attention to craft and detail as well.

Sonoma Latina Grill - Mexican Chocolate cupcake - April 25, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Sonoma Latina Grill
Mexican Chocolate cupcakes
Good + - Very Good
Weight: Not known
Calories: Not known
Cost: $8.65 for 3 cupcakes (1 regular, 2 small)
Purchased from: Sonoma Latina Grill, Novato, CA

Today was Day #5 of Mexican Chocolate Theme Week.

I was happy to find both a "Mexican Chocolate" items for this week, and also one that was gluten free. I picked up today's regular and tiny-sized Mexican Chocolate cupcakes at the Sonoma Latina Grill, in Novato, CA.

These cupcakes were chocolatey and flavorful, with a touch of cinnamon; and the thick swirl of white icing was buttery soft and sweet.

Cocopotamus - Naked Hottie Fudge Truffles - April 24, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

NYDC Chocolate, LLC
Cocopotamus
Naked Hottie
Good ++
Weight: 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in package of 5 pieces
Calories: 247 calories in 5 truffles
Cost: $10.00 for a box of 5 truffles
Purchased from: NYDC Chocolate, online order

Today was Day #4 of Mexican Chocolate Theme Week. Sticking with the Earth Day theme of chocolates round and green, I chose these kelly green-foil wrapped orbs of goodness.

Today's sassy, "Naked Hottie" take on Mexican Chocolate was brought to you Max and Ally Sinclair, at NYDC Chocolate (Albuquerque, NM). The company's Naked Hottie Dark Chocolate Fudge Truffles were imbued with warm cinnamon, and had an uplifting, light mint flavor note.

Each truffle was a successful blend of wonderful textures -- creamy dark chocolate core, soft fudge mantle "shell," and a very light crust of sugar.

Thank you to Elana at SweetE Organic for introducing me to NYDC's gluten-free Cocopotamus line. The Rosie Posie fudge truffles infused with rose water hooked me.