Fu Wan Chocolate - Taiwan No. 5 - 62% Nibs Chocolate (bar) - Nov. 15, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Fu Wan Chocolate
Taiwan No. 5 - 62% Nibs Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .795 oz. (22.5 g.) / 1.59 oz. (45 g.) in total bar
Calories: 133.6 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 - $14.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Taiwan No. 5 - 62% Nibs Chocolate (bar) was made by Fu Wan Chocolate (Pingtung, Taiwan).

Fu Wan makes tree-to-bar chocolate, working with farmers in Pingtung in southern Taiwan, where the climate is likely the most suitable for growing cacao.

This bar had a rapid melt and almost fluffy, whipped creamy texture. The balanced, even chocolate flavor had relatively light, bright sweet fruit notes (ripe tangelo, mild plum) with no off notes. Nibs added a bit of soft crunchy texture.

Obolo Chocolate - 70% Cacao with Nibs (bar) - Nov. 14, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Obolo Chocolate
70% Cacao con (with) Nibs (bar)
Good +
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 132 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's 70% Cacao con (with) Nibs (bar) was made in Chile by Obolo* Chocolate (Santiago, Chile). Obolo is one of the first (if not the first) small-batch, bean-to-bar, locally-based, chocolate makers  based in Chile, certainly in recent times.**

Chile is known more for fine wine grapes than cacao. However, cacao-growing neighbors like Peru and Bolivia to the north (where cacao grows best, within 20 degrees of the Equator), are relatively closeby, and Obolo has already made chocolate with other cacao (origins) and flavor inclusions. It's delightful to have a Chilean-based maker join the growing list of artisan chocolate makers.

This dark bar had chocolate flavor with fruit (dried banana, grape, fresh red plum) and faint green notes. The texture was smooth and uniform and cacao nibs added a bit of soft crunchy cacao texture.

*Obolo means a small gift or contribution.
** Most large chocolate companies selling products in Chile are from Europe or elsewhere.

Charles Chocolates - Cocoa Nib Brittle Bar - Ruby Cacao - Nov. 13, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Charles Chocolates
Cocoa Nib Brittle Bar - Ruby Cacao
Good
Weight: .875 oz. (25 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar (white dot w/ line through it)
Calories: 137.5 calories in 1/4 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA


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

Today's picturesque pink Cocoa Nib Brittle Bar—made with Ruby Cacao—was from Charles Chocolates (San Francisco, CA).

This creamy and sweet ruby chocolate* had a slightly fermented red berry (red raspberry and cherry plum jam) flavor, and had golden veins of faintly smoky-savory** toffee brittle running through it.

*Ruby chocolate (made with special ruby cacao beans) was introduced in 2017 by Barry Callebaut, a Belgian-Swiss chocolate company.

**At least compared to the ruby chocolate, these pieces of sweet toffee brittle seemed less sweet and relatively more savory.

Ingredients: ruby cacao bean (sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, unsweetened chocolate, citric acid, soy lecithin), cane sugar, cacao nibs. 

Lake Champlain Chocolates - moka fleck (bar) - Nov. 12, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Lake Champlain Chocolates
moka fleck (bar)
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 162 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $4.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's moka fleck (bar) was from Lake Champlain Chocolates (Burlington, VT). The company, founded in 1983, has been turning out a variety of milk and dark chocolate bars and confections with a variety of flavor inclusions for many years.

The bar was described as "dark-milk chocolate with a jolt of Dominican coffee and cacao nibs" and contained 43% cocoa (solids).

This 43% cocoa milk chocolate bar was sweet, but the included the roasted cacao nibs helped tone down the sugar glow a bit, which dark chocolate fans will appreciate.

This chocolate had smooth, quite sweet mocha latte aroma and flavor, interspersed with "crunchy flecks of house-roasted cocoa nib."*

*I've included Lake Champlain Chocolates' product descriptions (in quotes) in today's write-up because I found them to be accurate, without a lot of marketing fluff. And what I would've written sounded a bit redundant. 

The only language I might change would be the word "jolt" (of Dominican coffee and nibs). I found these flavor elements to be smooth and in-balance. (Milk powder helps mellow the stronger flavors a bit.) But, if you're looking for wake up candy, this chocolate does contain sugar, caffeine (coffee + cacao) and theobromine (the stimulant in cacao).

The Prolific Bean - Organic Cacao (beans) - Nov. 11, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

The Prolific Bean
Cacao
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight:  .082 oz. (2.36 g.) / 2 oz. (56.6 g.) in total package
Calories: 12 calories (per package) in 2 beans*
Cost: $11.49 for 1 package
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Nibs Theme Week.

Today's package of "Cacao" (beans) were from The Prolific Bean (Menlo Park, CA), a company that specializes in high-end coffee and cacao beans.

The descriptive terms listed for today's cacao beans included: "Organic, Whole Bean, Hand Peeled, Low Caffeine, Anti-Inflammatory and Antioxidant."  (They're also gluten free, vegan and soy free.) The country of origin for the cacao was not identified.

This "sustainably-farmed, all natural energy snack" was very good, with all the satisfying flavor elements one might find in a relatively delicate but complex chocolate with no "off" or extremely bitter flavors. (More of a citrus fruit note in the aroma than a bitter one.)

The texture and "chew" was just what you might hope to find in a roasted cacao bean. With each bite, the bean gently fractured into lovely nib pieces. Selling roasted cacao beans intact may help preserve flavor as well. (Less surface area(s) exposed to open to the air mean less drying out/staleness.)

These cacao beans were pricey, but also of very high quality. And one or two beans might be enough to satisfy your cacao or chocolate craving. Nibs (and whole beans) are high in flavor and very low in calories (with zero sugar or sweetener).

*These beans were labeled as containing approximately 6 calories per bean. (Each bean only weighs about .041 oz.) 

The numbers for 1 oz. of cacao nibs varies from 130 to 170 calories per oz. The percentage of fat in cacao beans depends in part on where the cacao was grown. (Cacao grown in colder climates has a bit more fat, which may help explain the variance.)

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TCHO - Organic, Fair Trade Roasted Cacao Nibs - Nov. 10, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

TCHO
Roasted Cacao Nibs
Good +
Weight: 1 TB (3 g.) / 7.84 oz. (222 g.) in total package
Calories: 20 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $6.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: TCHO.com (online order)

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Nibs Theme Week.

Today's Organic, Fair Trade Certified Roasted Cacao Nibs were from TCHO (Berkeley, CA).

Opening up a fresh package of roasted cacao nibs is an invitation to experience the essence and origin of true, deep, unsweetened chocolate flavor. Frequently nibs (unless raw) will have roasted, nutty or coffee notes. In this case, the nibs had nice roasted chocolate aroma and flavor with a faint, not unpleasant, green tea note.

TCHO tasting notes for these nibs read as follows: "Intense fudge-like flavor with notes of roasted almonds and malt."

These humble little cacao bean bits had uniform flavor and crunchy texture with no "off" notes. This tells me that the cacao beans were fermented, dried, sorted and roasted by a sequence of experienced hands.

While plain nibs will be too bitter for some sweet chocolate lovers, most will appreciate the opportunity to try cacao nibs at least once.

And, for those fortunate cooks and chocolate lovers who are creative, you will have a ball with these. They can be used in so many ways, in both sweet desserts (brownies, chocolate chip cookies, marinated in spirits of your choice and sprinkled over ice cream, etc.),  and beverages/smoothies, and also in savory dishes (spice rubs, marinades, with salads, smoked, etc.). Add nibs to coffee (during the brewing and filtering process), for a touch of roasted mocha flavor. Or infuse nibs into hot milk and strain them out before serving.

At 1 gram of Carbohydrate, 1.5 g. of (unsaturated) Fat, and 20 calories, a single (1 TB) serving of roasted cacao nibs offers a lot of satisfying flavor for very little "cost" for those watching what they eat. And, no sugar.

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Joe Chocolate Co. - Roasted Cacao - Dark Chocolate Espresso Bark with Nibs - Nov. 9, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Joe Chocolate Co.
Roasted Cacao - Dark Chocolate Espresso Bark with Coffee and Roasted Cacao Nibs
Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14 g.) / 1 oz. (28 g.) in total package
Calories: 85 calories in 1/2 package
Cost: $ N/A - gift from a friend
Purchased from: N/A - gift from a friend

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Cacao Nibs Theme Week.

Today's Joe Chocolate Co. (Seattle, WA) dark chocolate bark was a gift from a friend. Thank you Elise! She found this Roasted Cacao - Dark Chocolate Espresso Bark with Coffee and Roasted Cacao Nibs snack while traveling in Washington.

The long product name seemed appropriate to fully capture the big flavor from these small pieces of rich dark bark—flavorful "bits of buzz."

The team at Joe Chocolate turn out "functionally caffeinated" offerings at their combined chocolate factory and coffee bar. (Founders, Sam Tanner and Peter Keckemet,* opened the first Joe Chocolate Co. retail location at Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle on June 1st, 2019.)

As soon as this small package was opened, it yielded wafts of freshly roasted, bold coffee and cacao nibs—uplifting on a cool, misty morning. Each small shard of the bark broke with a snap and each bite offered a roasted espresso and cacao bean nib (heavy on the crunch) extravaganza. The roasted beans complemented the fairly smooth and steady dark chocolate bark base.

*Joe Chocolate Co. was founded in 2016. The founders started production with a trail snack initially aimed at (Pacific Crest Trail) thru-hikers and friends. They use fair labor chocolate and Latin American, co-op sourced coffee beans in their snacks.

Copyright 2019. Unauthorized use of the text and/or images from this site, www.ChocolateBanquet.com, is a copyright violation.