Bar Au Chocolat - DR bar - May 4, 2014

From: Wikipedia.org

Chocolate of the Day: 

Bar Au Chocolat
Duarte Province, Dominican Republic bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .92 oz. (26 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 138 calories in 2/5 bar
Cost: $13.00 in 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Today was the last day (Day #7) of Chocolate and Dominican Republic Theme Week.

This dark chocolate 70% cacao bar from Bar Au Chocolat (Manhattan Beach, CA) was crafted from two ingredients: cacao and cane sugar. The single origin dark bar was carefully esconced in a gold-stenciled manila outer wrapper, and a beautiful, copper-gold inner foil wrap.

The cacao beans used to make this tasty bar came from the Duarte Province in the northern part of the Dominican Republic (DR). The chocolate had a balanced red/acidic fruit note combined with a smoother, darker, earthier flavor that I didn't pick up in other DR bars this week.

Black Mountain Chocolate - Dark 70% DR bar - May 3, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Black Mountain Chocolate
Dominican - Dark Chocolate bar
Very Good
Weight: 1.125 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.25 oz. (63 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 (estimate) calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.00 (plus any applicable shipping)
Purchased from: Black Mountain Chocolate

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Dominican Republic Theme Week.

Today's 70% cacao Dominican bar from bean-to-bar maker Black Mountain Chocolate (Black Mountain, North Carolina) was made "exclusively with Dominican Republic cacao."

This dark bar tasted fresh, and full of rich, even flavor, with a well-balanced, raisin/red fruit undertone.

"Nibs" the bear -- part of the Black Mountain Chocolate logo -- appeared on both the wrapper and the bar.

Valrhona - Lait Bahibe DR bar - May 2, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Valrhona
Lait Bahibe bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.46 oz. (70 g.) total bar
Calories: 185 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Dominican Republic Theme Week.

This Lait Bahibe Milk Chocolate (46% cacao) bar from well-established, bean-to-bar* chocolate-maker Valrhona (France) had a buttery melt and mouth feel while preserving a quality cocoa flavor. Better than your average milk chocolate bar, and made with single origin cacao beans from the Dominican Republic, this smooth DR bar also had a light touch of vanilla.

*For those interested in the bean-to-bar chocolate-making story, the Valrhona website also offered a detailed explanation of bean-to-bar chocolate-making.

I ate half of this Lait Bahibe bar and melted the other half into a lavender cake with whipped cream. No good chocolate goes to waste.

Raaka Chocolate - Vanilla Rooibos DR bar - May 1, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Raaka Chocolate
Vanilla Rooibos bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (56.6 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.95 (guess)
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Dominican Republic (DR) Theme Week.

Raaka Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY) offers a different take on a Dominican dark chocolate bar, with their Vanilla Rooibos bar.

I say "different" not only because this organic, 66% cacao bar contained flavor additions (organic vanilla, green rooibos tea and honeybush tea) -- the other DR bars this week have been "unflavored" single origin bars -- but, also because Raaka crafted this bar from unroasted cacao beans*, giving the bar a light almost floral, candy taste. (Tasting notes listed on the bar wrapper: cherry, toasted marshmallow.)

Most chocolate is made from roasted cacao beans; and roasting provides some of the characteristic robust flavors found in finished chocolate. However, Raaka stonegrinds their cacao and added ingredients, and processes their chocolate at lower temperatures, producing what they call "virgin chocolate."

*This bar contained a blend of cacao beans from both Bolivia and the Dominican Republic; and was vegan, gluten free, nut free, and soy free.

Loved the outer wrapper adorned in ink "doodles" -- like you might have done in class, only executed by a super-skilled graphics professional. I also thought Raaka's "Story" page was one of the best About pages I've seen for a chocolate company:

Raaka - Story
http://www.raakachocolate.com/pages/our-story
Not only are founders Ryan Cheney and Nate Hodge shown getting their hands dirty (literally), but they also give props to previous contributors -- a classy thing to do in any industry, but frequently given short shrift.

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.