Pump Street Bakery - Ecuador 75% bar - July 12, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Pump Street Bakery
Ecuador 75% - Guantupi 2014 Harvest (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. (28.3 g.) of bar
Cost: $13.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: ZombieRunner, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #8 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

The Pump Street Bakery (Orford, Suffolk, UK) is a blend of bakery and cafe, located in the village of Orford on Suffolk's Heritage coast; and creative things are happening at this family owned business.

It sounds like a great place to linger over coffee and cake, perhaps before taking a class or workshop to learn more about great food. And last, but not least, single origin, bean-to-bar chocolate is made in their bakery.

Today's Ecuador 75% bar had a pleasant, complex bittersweet cocoa aroma, and broke with a clean hard snap.

Both taste and texture were smooth and balanced in this three ingredient bar (cocoa beans, cane sugar and cocoa butter). Hints of dried fruit, marshmallow and slight floral flavor mingled with bittersweet vanilla tea or coffee notes. (There was no vanilla in this bar.)

This dark bar was crafted from Heirloom Cacao Preservation accredited cocoa beans (Guantupi 2014 Harvest) from Samuel von Rutte's Hacienda Limon farm on the Guantupi River (Guayas basin) in the Los Rios province of Ecuador. Pump Street imports their beans directly from Samuel "and carefully processes his great beans to produce a 75% smooth dark chocolate with notes of caramel and cream, finishing with roasted coffee and honey."

Trader Joe's - Ecuador bar - July 11, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Trader Joe's
66% Cacao Dark Chocolate Ecuador bar
Good++
Weight: .795 oz. (22.5 g.) / 1.59 oz. (45 g.) in total bar
Calories: 115 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $N/A - part of 8-bar package, cost previously recorded
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

This 66% cacao Ecuador bar from Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA) was part of an 8-bar tasting pack, or "Chocolate Passport" -- with 8 different single origin bars.

This complex little bar had a sweet almost spicy chocolate aroma, and a flavor arc that included caramel, fruit, hazelnut, and ended with very slightly bitter earth. The texture was pleasantly creamy, in terms of mouthfeel and melt.

There wasn't a lot of information as to where the cacao beans came from within Ecuador, i.e. which plantation/farm or province. But if I had to guess I'd say it contained at least some Arriba Nacional fine flavored cacao.

The concept of a Chocolate Passport was great. I love to travel, but I may not be able to get to every chocolate producing country in the world. Eating single origin chocolate bars gives us a way to travel "virtually" to each of the major cacao producing regions and learn about geographic differences in beans, and in some cases the difference in soil and local conditions as well as processing.

Duffy's - Corazon Del Ecuador bar - July 10, 2015

Chocolate of the Day:

Red Star Chocolate Ltd
Duffy's Fine Dark Chocolate
Corazon Del Ecuador - Camino Verde 72% bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. (28.3 g.) piece of bar
Cost: $N/A - part of a larger subscription box
Purchased from: Cocoa Runners, U.K.

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Duffy's Corazon Del Ecuador - Camino Verde bar from the U.K. was made from Nacional cacao beans from the Guayas province of Ecuador.

Why is the bean type so important you might be asking? This tasting note printed on the packaging (pasted below) helps explain the sweeter, lighter, floral and fruit flavors that can accompany these fine flavored Nacional beans:

"A floral chocolate with hints of hazelnuts, orange blossom and allspice ..."

Today's 72% dark bar smelled sweet with a light caramel note, and very subtle, uplifting floral scent. The subtle "fruit" (think light, bright citrus + mild strawberry) was detectable as well. It faded to a light chocolate brownie finish.

This chocolate was nothing like the dense, dark earthy bars of the past few days; but then again, I'd been tasting 85% and 100% bars, which don't benefit from the slight sugar sparkle effect that 70% bars do.

Why re-tasting matters...

My only quibble was with the texture of this otherwise smooth bar -- there was a very slight graininess (as you might taste in a marshmallow) as the bar was melting in my mouth. However, when I re-tasted the bar a few hours later, none of this "graininess" was present -- only smooth chocolate. This is why it's important to re-taste during the course of a day. While some of these apparent changes in flavor and texture can occasionally be attributed to an inconsistency within a bar, it's more likely due to shifts in the taster's palette (what they've been eating or drinking in the last few hours before eating the chocolate).

And the temperature of the chocolate can make a difference too. For example, a bar that's too cold may literally have a stiffness to it that makes accessing certain flavors more difficult.

Chchukululu - Chukudamia 65% Dark with Macadamia bar - July 9, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chchukululu
Chukudamia - 65% Dark Chocolate with Amazonian Macadamia bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .704 oz. (20 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 100 calories in 2/5 bar
Cost: $7.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

I met Lourdes Delgado, president of Chchukululu (Ecuador), when she was at the Winter Fancy Food Show (in San Francisco) last January. I enjoyed her passion for educating people about Ecuador and Arriba Nacional cacao, and hearing about her Ecuadorian chocolate bars.

The company name, Chchukululu, is slightly easier to comprehend if you imagine the word's origin. Roughly translated from Kichwa-Aymara, it means "singing bird."

Chchukululu bars, including today's 65% Dark Chocolate with Amazonian Macadamia (nut bits), are made from "Cacao Nacional that grows along the Arriba Zone, comprising the provinces of Manabi, Guayas, and Los Rios."

Arriba Nacional is considered "fine flavored" cacao* and is characterized by a sweet floral, light fruit aroma.  I did experience a lighter, sweeter complex aroma and flavor in the first few bites of this bar, that was different than non-100% Nacional Arriba bars this week.

Delicate Flavors "vs." Hybrid Vigor

It would be great to preserve more of these "heritage" fine flavors in cacao beans. However, I'm guessing as we make plants more uninviting to insects (and diseases) by increasing bitter components and making them tougher, delicate aromas might be at risk. (The roses in my yard that were bred to be the hardiest seem to have lost some of their lovely smell over time.)

*Only a small percent of the world's chocolate is made with these fine flavored Arriba Nacional beans, so called because of their floral and fruit aroma and flavor notes. An increasingly small percent of chocolate in Ecuador is made with these beans, due to adoption of more vigorous hybrids such as CCN-51 -- that may be more productive and disease-resistant, but may lack some of these pleasant aromas. One can hope that work is still underway on hybrids that retain more of these precious flavors. 

Cemoi - Dark 72% Ecuador bar - July 8, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Cemoi Chocolatier Francais
Nature - Dark (Noir) 72% Cocoa Ecuador (Equateur) bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .7 oz. (20 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 120 calories in 2 squares
Cost: $1.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

The Nature Dark Chocolate 72% Ecuador bar from Cemoi Chocolatier Francais (Perpignan, France) was made with certified organic cacao from "selected plantations" in Ecuador.

In fact, all the ingredients (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter and "natural vanilla flavor") were Certified organic -- i.e., everything except the sunflower lecithin.

This chocolat noir bar had a smooth, uniform dark chocolate flavor profile with enough bitter, earth and slight smoke tones to make it interesting.

Was this chocolate made from CCN-51 cacao? (A significant amount of cacao from Ecuador now comes from this more robust hybrid.) It was hard to tell. This chocolate lacked the delicate floral or fruit notes present in some Ecuador (Arriba) chocolates; but it also seemed similar to other bars I've been sampling from Ecuador in the past several months.

Higher-volume chocolate companies strive for consistency, and this bar was balanced with no sharp or off notes.

And, at $1.49 for 1 bar, it was a good value, and certainly worth tasting.

Dandelion - 100% Camino Verde Ecuador bar - July 7, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Dandelion Chocolate
100% Camino Verde Ecuador bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .66 oz. (18.66 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 99 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Dandelion Chocolate, San Francisco, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

A true, one hundred percent cacao bar represent chocolate at its essence. Just cocoa solids and cocoa fat (butter). There is no sugar, or other "fillers" to hide behind.

And, whereas the first bite of a regular, 70% cacao bar may yield a slight warm, lilting rush of flavors and sweetness, the first bite of some 100% bars can be more like jumping into a cold pool. A bit shocking at first, but also a bit thrilling and refreshing.

Today I had a great opportunity to try two very dark bars side by side that were both made with cacao from Camino Verde, Ecuador: a 100% bar and an 85% bar (featured yesterday). Both were from Dandelion Chocolate (San Francisco, CA). Side by side tastings are a great way to learn about chocolate, and to find out what you like best.

Today's 100% Camino Verde Ecuador bar had a sweet, loamy earth aroma. It broke with a hard snap. The first bite yielded a bitterness that quickly settled down and evened out to a uniform bitter earthy flavor with a very faint hint of tobacco or smoke. (It was relatively low in acid or "fruit" notes, that often seem to be enhanced by sugar.)

Both yesterday's 85% Camino Verde Ecuador bar (2014 Harvest, Batch #1) and today's 100% Camino Verde Ecuador bar (2014 Harvest, Batch #1) were fairly smooth and even in taste and texture and had a slight bitterness to them. It was interesting to note that the 100% bar (with no sugar) seemed to smell sweeter than the 85% bar (I didn't expect that), even though the 100% bar had a more bitter flavor (I did expect that).

Dandelion Chocolate produces a line of attractively wrapped, single origin, bean-to-bar chocolate bars. They've built relationships with cacao farmers in countries that have included Ecuador, the Dominican Republic, Belize, Papua New Guinea, Liberia and Madagascar. As with other chocolate-makers, they are also constantly evaluating beans from different sources, to help ensure quality over time (harvests and batches do vary), and to investigate new sources. (E.g., they recently made an exploratory trip to Cuba.)

Dandelion - 85% Camino Verde, Ecuador - July 6, 2015

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Dandelion Chocolate

85% Camino Verde, Ecuador bar
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: .66 oz. (18.6 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 99 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Dandelion Chocolate, San Francisco, CA

Today's Camino Verde, Ecuador, bar from Dandelion Chocolate (San Francisco, CA) had a faint cocoa and honey aroma, and had a slightly bitter (but nicely balanced) coffee flavor note. This 85% bar -- made with cacao from Camino Verde, Ecuador -- was refreshingly un-sweet.

Camino Verde Crunch (bark style)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) in 1 piece
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. (28.3 g.) piece
Cost: $3.00 per oz. (sold by weight)
Purchased from: Dandelion Chocolate, San Francisco, CA

The second chocolate item was also from Dandelion Chocolate, and made with cacao from Camino Verde, Ecuador. The Camino Verde Crunch was broken into pieces, bark style, and sold by weight (by the ounce) in a small brown paper bag. A toffee brittle center, and a generous sprinkle of cacao nibs, gave this chocolate its crunch.

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.