Cocoa Parlor - Royal Dark 88 Peruvian Single Origin bar - Oct. 7, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Cocoa Parlor
Royal Dark 88 Peruvian Single Origin bar
Good ++
Weight: .705 oz. (20 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 106 calories (estimate) in 1/4 bar
Cost: $4.99 in 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA


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

High-percentage (greater than 80% cacao) dark chocolates offer a unique, concentrated taste experience. Today's 88% cacao bar contained just two-ingredients—organic cocoa mass from Peru and organic raw cane sugar.

The "Royal Dark 88 Peruvian Single Origin" bar from Cocoa Parlor (Laguna Niguel, CA) had an intriguing, sweet aroma with hints of "green" mango, fig and marshmallow, and subtle floral notes.

The aroma was so sweet that I forgot there would be very little sugar when I took a bite. That's not a bad thing. In fact, I think this chocolate would make an interesting addition to any side-by-side, "ultra-dark" tasting plate. Speaking of sugar, the raw sugar in this bar might have imparted a bit more flavor (than processed/white cane sugar), but it was hard to tell.

After taking a bite, I enjoyed this bar's almost buttery melt. The creamy smoothness was followed by a slight bitterness. (Again, I had to remember, this was an 88% cacao bar.) There was a very light graininess and astringency toward the end (I could feel those polyphenols in the back of my throat). However, the interesting aroma and flavor up front—combined with the that fact that this chocolate wasn't ultra bitter—won me over.

This Cocoa Parlor Royal Dark 88 Peru bar was organic, vegan, gluten free and made with non-GMO ingredients. Many of the company's bars and other chocolate items contain organic Peruvian chocolate as well.

The content and images on this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Arete - Peru Nacional 66% bar - Oct. 6, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Arete Fine Chocolate
Peru Nacional 66% bar
Very Good
Weight: 2.2 oz. (61 g.) in total bar
Calories: 330 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Maya, Santa Barbara, CA


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

This unique and special 66% dark chocolate bar was made by Arete Fine Chocolate (Milpitas, CA). It was notable for its smooth, creamy and rich, yet relatively mild, flavor. I picked up hints of dried fruit (raisin), caramel and cream in this even, well balanced bar.

Source: Peru.org 

The was a relatively small production, craft bar, not found in too many places. I was fortunate to buy this bar in Santa Barbara, and to have met Arete's founders (David and Leslie Senk) at The Chocolate Garage -- a unique place in the San Francisco Bay Area where "Garage" members/subscribers are often able to meet the makers behind great tasting chocolate.

Peruvian Cacao
There are 196 provinces in Peru, and these provinces are grouped into 25 regions. Cacao is being grown/produced in 10 regions (shown in brown on the illustration) according to a report ("Cacao in Peru: A Rising Star") I found on the peru.org website. Growing areas can be found in coastal, Amazon and rainforest regions. Collectively growers produce more than 40,000 cacao hectares.

"Nacional" cacao was a popular choice in Peru and Ecuador the 1900s. Unfortunately, diseases led to reduced supplies of this great bean for many years. The Nacional beans from this bar came from the Maranon Canyon (likely in an area in central Peru, carved out by the Maranon River*).

*While the great Amazon River is fed by many sources, the Maranon River is considered the "source of the Amazon river" by many. The Maranon River is large enough to also be associated with an area likened to the Grand Canyon in the U.S. southwest.

The content and images on this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com. Source for map of Peru was Peru.org.

Maverick Chocolate Co. - 63% Morropon Dark Chocolate bar - Oct. 5, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Maverick Chocolate Co.
63% Morropon Dark Chocolate bar
Good ++
Weight: .92 oz. (26 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 138 calories (estimate) in 2/5 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

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

The 63% Morropon Dark Chocolate bar was made by Maverick Chocolate Co., a family business based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Paul and Marlene, owners and head chocolate makers, with help from their two sons and daughter-in-law, craft their bean-to-bar, small batch chocolate bars at the historic Findlay Market in Cincinnati.

This attractively packaged bar had a smooth dark chocolate flavor with uniform ripe, red berry fruit and slight nutty flavor notes.

The cocoa beans for this three ingredient bar (organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar and organic cocoa butter) came from a cooperative in Peru.

Cooperatives play an important role in connecting cocoa farmers with chocolate makers.  The following description appeared on the packaging for this bar: "The Norandino Co-op in Morropon, Peru unites small farmers with a common goal -- to preserve the Piura White Criollo Cacao and to improve the quality of life for their farming community."

The content and images on this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Pascha Chocolate - 70% Cacao Peru bar - Oct. 4, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Pascha Chocolate Company
70% cacao bar
Good +
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in 1/3 bar
Calories: 208 calories (per label - seems high) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $4.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

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

Today's organic 70% cacao bar from Pascha Chocolate Company (Toronto) had uniform sweet floral, green, and marshmallow flavor notes.

This bar was made "bean-to-bar, near the source" with fine aroma cocoa beans from Peru. Ingredients: organic cocoa mass, organic sugar, organic cocoa butter and organic vanilla.

Dedication to chocolate for all
The team behind Pascha is passionate about "pure" ingredients (without additives or allergens) and taste. And those who have special dietary needs or preferences can be grateful for their vigilance in this area.

Pascha bars are made in a dedicated allergen free facility, in part due to founder, Simon Lester's, own experience of having family members with food allergies/sensitivities. The company is dedicated to "full ingredient traceability."

This bar was fair trade certified, vegan, "free from peanuts, nuts, dairy, soy, eggs, wheat and gluten," and contained no genetically modified ingredients.

The content and images on this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Maglio - Tingo Maria Peru 65% bar - Oct. 3, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Maglio
Tingo Maria Peru - Cacao 65% bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 264 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $6.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: CocoaBella Chocolates, Westfield Centre, San Francisco, CA

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

This 65% cacao Tingo Maria Peru bar was from Maglio (Italy).

Tingo Maria is the capital of Leoncio Prado province in central Peru. It's close to the mountains and is a gateway city to the Amazon rainforest. Coffee and cacao are grown here in the fertile Huallaga (River) valley area.

This bar had an even chocolately aroma and flavor, with balanced fruit (berries, melon) acidity and sweetness.

The content and images on this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Amedei - Blanco de Criollo square - Oct. 2, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Amedei
Blanco de Criollo bar
Good +
Weight: .4 oz. (11.32 g.) (estimate) in 1 small square
Calories: 60 calories in 1 square
Cost: $N/A - free small square, came part of a larger order
Purchased from: N/A - from Chocosphere (online order)


Bienvenidos a (Welcome to) Day #1 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.

Today's sample size chocolate square came taped to a Chocosphere business card as part of a chocolate order I'd placed with their site last month. These high-end chocolate squares (I also received a Venchi square recently) are a helpful way to sample new chocolates.

The Blanco de Criollo bar was made by Amedei (Pontedera (Pisa) Italy) with Criollo cacao from Peru. This chocolate had some interesting, but very subtle flavors. It had a very subtle, earthy, roasted dark chocolate aroma, some pomegranate-citrus-woodsy fruit acid notes, a very slight graininess or astringency, and a very slight bitter, roasted coffee aftertaste.

The small sample size was not big enough to re-taste* later. Happily, one can still get a lot of information in one or two small bites.

*Re-tasting a chocolate even only 1/2 hour later will often evoke different flavor notes, so I try to re-taste the Chocolate of the Day over the course of a morning. 

The content and images on this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Domori - Cacao Criollo 70% Guasare Dark Chocolate bar - Oct. 1, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Domori
Cacao Criollo 70% Guasare Dark Chocolate bar
Very Good
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) in total bar
Calories: 132 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $6.85 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere (online order)


Time to bid adieu to Chocolate and Italy Theme Week with one last interesting bar, made by an Italian bean-to-bar maker who works with some of the best cacao in the world.

The Cacao Criollo 70% Guasare Dark Chocolate bar was from Domori (None, Italy) located outside of Turin (Torino).

Company founder, Gianluca Franzoni, started looking for great cacao in South America in the early 1990s. He founded Domori in 1997 with a mission to preserve the biodiversity of fine flavor Criollo cacao. (To help further this goal, he bought a plantation in Venezuela.) Domori offers a variety of single origin and Criollo bars and has been part of gruppo illy since 2006.

Most of Domori chocolate bars are made with Criollo or Criollo hybrid cacao beans. This Guasare bar was made from the "mother of all Criollo" cacao (beans), from Venezuela.

Yes, origin stories are interesting, but how did this bar made from this intriguing cacao taste?

Reviewers comments I'd read mentioned "...aromas of dried fruits and honey. Unique..." and
"cream, fruit, sweetness..." and "floral notes, toffee, cream..."

I found the flavor to be bolder (less subtle) than I supposed it would be after reading the above reviews. The 70% bar had a mild aroma, but had a uniformly full flavor, starting with red fruit, followed by fudge, nut, sweet cream notes. The second bite had a brief exotic floral flourish to it about halfway through, followed by a slight citrus woodsiness. I'm convinced if I kept eating a bit more of this bar during the day, the flavors would just keep unfolding. However, don't count on being able to do this. This bar, weighed less than 1 oz. (28.3 g.), and disappeared quickly.

Thank you to Domori and others who are helping to keep these strains of Criollo alive and well. It's a pleasure to taste bars like this.

*Guasare is a type of heritage or origin cacao, (re-)discovered near the Guasare River, in the Zulia state of western Venezuela surrounding Lake Maracaibo. 

The content and images on this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.