Chamisa Chocolate - Bochasweet 71% bar - Sept. 2, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chamisa Chocolate
Bochasweet 71% bar
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.4 g.) (estimate) in total bar
Calories: N/A - no information
Cost: $N/A - sample bar (from Chamisa)
Sent from: Chamisa Chocolate, part of an online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Chamisa Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Bochasweet 71% bar from Chamisa Chocolate (Santa Fe, NM). Founder, Amanda Hatherly, has never been a fan of sweet dark chocolate. She has explored various sugar alternatives, including dates, freeze-dried fruit, and Bochasweet.*

Thank you to Amanda at Chamisa Chocolate for sharing this special bar.

The chocolate was dark and creamy and not too sweet, and had a certain refreshing coolness about it. Like sitting in a cool forest. (Sugar tends to feel "hotter" on the palette.) Dried blueberries added concentrated, natural, moist, berry sweetness. And a sprinkling of chopped almonds added a soft accent crunch.

The bar's natural cocoa finish also had a lingering low level of sweetness I found hard to pinpoint (and likely from the Bochasweet). This sweetness was not unpleasant, unnatural, bitter or "off" in any way. Just a very mild sweet presence. There was a distinct calm feeling with this bar. No sugar rush.

*Bochasweet is a "zero calorie, zero glycemic" sugar substitute made of kabocha extract, that is available from Bochasweet LLC (Las Vegas, NV). Kabocha is a green, pumpkin-like winter squash from Japan.

Chamisa Chocolate - raspberry bear 71% Honduras bar - Sept. 1, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chamisa Chocolate
raspberry bear 71% Honduras bar
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1 oz. (30 g.) (per label) / 2 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chamisa Chocolate, Santa Fe, CA

Welcome to Day #1 of Chamisa Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's raspberry bear 71% Honduras bar was from Chamisa Chocolate (Santa Fe, NM).

This thick, relatively creamy, organic* and vegan dark chocolate bar had red raspberry bits on the back.

The chocolate had pleasing, mini-bursts of natural tart raspberry flavor that complemented the rich, almost nutty, chocolate. And, once again, this bar, was not too sweet (thank you Amanda!).

*Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic sugar, organic cacao butter, organic raspberry

Chamisa Chocolate - little fox: pistachio and cherry 71% (bar) - Aug. 31, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Chamisa Chocolate
little fox: pistachio and cherry 71% (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (60 g.) total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chamisa Chocolate, Santa Fe, NM

Welcome to Day #1 of Chamisa Chocolate Theme Week.

It's with much gratitude that I've been able to feature 4,600+ different chocolates over more than 12 years. Chocolate Banquet would not have been possible without 100+ chocolate makers and many 100s more small and large chocolatiers.

I have special respect for bean-to-bar, craft chocolate makers. Women chocolate makers make up a growing percent in this rather technical, dynamic field. And they tend to be fascinating multi-faceted (both halves of the brain) people.

As local San Francisco Bay Area chocolate maker, Nancy Nadel* once told me, "you have to be comfortable fixing broken machines along with making and selling the chocolate, and everything else that is part of running a small business."

Amanda Hatherly, Chamisa Chocolate

So, it is with much delight that I am dedicating this week to featuring a selection of bars from Amanda Hatherly, chief chocolate maker at Chamisa Chocolate (Santa Fe, New Mexico). Amanda** is very involved with energy and sustainability. And, as it turns out, she also makes great chocolate.

After a recent visit to New Mexico, Amanda's food of the gods bar made with 81% Honduras cacao (featured recently)—found at a local New Mexico shop (Cashmere + Chocolate)—got my attention.

Today's organic and vegan Chamisa Chocolate "little fox: pistachio and cherry" 71% (bar) was made with Oko Caribe (Dominican Republic) cacao. The (compostable) wrapper was adorned with a beautiful watercolor painting of a fox.

This dark bar had well balanced flavors, was not too sweet (thank you!), and an attractive smattering of light green pistachio nut and ruby colored cherry bits occupied the back of the bar. The dark chocolate was uniform and densely dark, and relatively low in fruit/acidic flavors, which gave the cherry a chance to sparkle.

*Nancy Nadel, owner and founder of The Oakland Chocolate Company (Oakland, CA), is trained as an engineer and an artist, and she has used cacao grown in St. Mary's Parish in Jamaica to make an impressive array of confections, bars and spreads for many years. (She also previously served on the Oakland City Council.)

**Amanda is the Director of a regional energy efficiency training center for the Department of Energy, and is also involved in water efficiency training. Her commitment to sustainability carries over into her chocolate making as well. (She uses organic cacao, compostable packaging, and Chamisa Chocolate is located in a solar-powered facility. Her bars are also vegan.)

Libeert Belgian Chocolate Creators - Ecuador 71% Dark Origin Chocolate (bar) - Aug. 30, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Libeert s.a. - Belgian Chocolate Creators
Ecuador 71% Dark Origin Chocolate (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.35 oz. (40 g.) / 2.7 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 255 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $1.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's Ecuador 71% Dark Origin Chocolate (bar) was from Libeert s.a. - Belgian Chocolate Creators (Comines, Belgium).

Belgian chocolates have been made from cacao blends (no origin listed), and/or been made with West African cacao (where most of the world's supply is currently grown).

However, a larger number of Belgian chocolate bars are now available made with cacao from other/single origins, including Central and South America.

This thin bar had a slightly buttery melt, and cocoa/true chocolate, light floral, fruit, earth and nut notes. A balanced, subtle bouquet of flavors.

The maker's description read: "Roasted cocoa with...hints of humus and flowers." 

Palette de Bine - Equateur Esmeraldas 75% bar - Aug. 29, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Palette de Bine
Equateur Esmeraldas 75% (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 1.235 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 185 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $15.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's Equateur Esmeraldas 75% bar was from Palette de Bine (Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada).

In art, a wood palette might be used to mix paints that are applied to a surface to create a finished work of fine art. One could draw an analogy here and apply it to chocolate. Or, a literal translation of the company name, would be "palette of good." Either way...

This bar was shaped like a wood plank and had an appealing true chocolate flavor throughout, with balanced fruit (peach/nectarine with a touch of raspberry), an upbeat floral note, and a faint nuttiness.

There was a very, very slight astringency/graininess in the texture toward the finish, but the bar was very well crafted overall. Together, these flavors and textures created a fine, finished piece.

Holy Cacao - 70% Cacao Dark Chocolate Ecuador bar - Aug. 28, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Holy Cacao
70% Cacao Dark Chocolate Ecuador bar
Good +++
Weight: .1.26 oz. (50 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 255.5 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's 70% Cacao Dark Chocolate Ecuador bar was the creation of Holy Cacao Chocolate (Pnei Hever, Israel). The company has been perfecting that process for bean-to-bar chocolate for the past decade.

This well-tempered dark chocolate broke with a hard snap and had a true cocoa/chocolate aroma and flavor with a fleeting hint of green (green tea, certain green plants). Some delicate whisps of other very faint flavor notes included: green, sesame seed, poppy rose floral and light dried fruit (very light golden fig) and very light licorice.

The texture and finish were smooth and uniform.

Pump Street Chocolate - 100% Hacienda Limon Ecuador bar - Aug. 27, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Pump Street Chocolate
100% Hacienda Limon, Los Rios Province, Ecuador bar
Good +++
Weight: 1.235 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 174.3 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Strawberry Village, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's 100% Hacienda Limon, Los Rios Province, Ecuador bar (Batch #9404) was made by Pump Street Chocolate, a company known for its baked goods* as well as its bean-to-bar chocolate. The company is located in the village of Orford in Suffolk, England.

When biting into a 100% cacao bar, one's brain is expecting chocolate with some sugar, and is sometimes ill-prepared for a chocolate wholly without sugar unless it's made the new association with fine, un-sweetened chocolate.

After tasting many 100% bars, my brain no longer suffers from this fleeting disconnect about sugar vs. no sugar. But when trying a new 100%er, I still find myself bracing for some strong, overpowering flavors.

I needn't have been concerned about today's bar. It was quite smooth and delicious. The chocolate had a slightly green, aroma and flavor (characteristic of many Ecuador bars).** It had bold, balanced and smooth, deep chocolate flavor with a faint, uniform earthy undertone.

*Pump Street chocolate bar flavors include sourdough and sea salt, rye crumb, hot cross bun(s). Unfortunately, we're unable to try these bars due to gluten restrictions; but they sound delicious.

**Green and floral notes are characteristic of many Ecuador bars. This particular bar was made using a long conche time for the cacao, giving it a "subtle earthiness and a low acidity." 

When cacao is conched for a longer time, the particle size grows smaller, cocoa butter and solids are more thoroughly incorporated, and particles are "polished," giving a bar a smoother, creamier mouthfeel. The longer conche time can also result in the loss of volatile or stronger flavor elements. The flavor is smoother. There may be fewer objectionable flavor spikes. However, any floral or more fragile flavors may also be lost, so there are some trade-offs to be made.