Koko Samoa - drinking chocolate - March 2, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Koko Samoa
Imported by American Samoa Cacao
(drinking chocolate)
Good
Weight: 8 oz. cup (88 or 86? g.) / 5.6 oz. (158 g.) in total package
Calories: 196 calories in 1 cup serving
Cost: $ N/A - gift (Thank you Eric!)
Purchased from: N/A - gift

Welcome to Day #4 of 100% Chocolate Theme Week.

If you travel to cacao-growing countries you may find unprocessed rounds of 100% cacao drinking chocolate that can be shaved to create a hot drinking chocolate beverage, generally be adding boiling water and stirring until the cocoa is fully dissolved. This is one way to taste the native flavor of cacao and to support local chocolate-making activity.

Generally a sweetener is added to the rustic drinking chocolate to balance any bitterness. (This is not your mild, dutched* hot cocoa, and just how rustic the chocolate flavors are will depend greatly on local conditions.)

It had authentic cacao flavor with a touch of rich earthiness/loam.

*The Dutch process involves alkalinizing cocoa to reduce acidity and bitterness found in some unprocessed cocoa powders and is frequently used in hot cocoa mixes, baking chocolate, ice cream and other chocolate offerings. Dutched cocoa powder also tends to have a richer, darker and slightly more auburn color to it.

Pascha Chocolate Co. - Black Chocolate 100% Cacao with Nibs bar - March 1, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Pascha Chocolate Co.
Pascha Organic Black Chocolate 100% Cacao Dark Chocolate with Crunchy Cacao Nibs bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 255 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.97 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of 100% Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Black Chocolate 100% Cacao Dark Chocolate with Crunchy Cacao Nibs bar was from Pascha Chocolate Co. and was made from bean-to-bar, using organic cacao "at the source" in Peru.

Pascha offers a line of organic chocolate bars (chocolate chips and spreads) that are allergen free. This 100% bar was vegan, organic and "Keto Friendly," and made without gluten/wheat, dairy, soy or any added sugar or sweetener.

This chocolate had a dark roasted cocoa bean aroma with a creamy, nutty texture and flavor; a very faint tropical/lychee fruit note; crunchy cocoa nib bits; and a light lingering finish with an echo of the above flavors and textures.

French Broad Chocolate - 100% Cacao (bar) - Feb. 29, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

French Broad Chocolate
100 - 100% Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 (wild guess) in 1 bar
Purchased from: COA Chocolate, Sausalito, CA

Happy Leap Year* and Welcome to Day #2 of 100 percent Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's 100 - 100% Cacao bar was made by French Broad Chocolate (Ashville, NC).

This chocolate had an aroma of mixed fruits very light molasses and very faint incense, and a creamy, fudgey melt and mouthfeel. The maker's tasting notes called out wild grape and lime. I would agree with that description. The resulting chocolate had a very nicely balanced bright fruit and citrus tang to it. Not bad for chocolate with one ingredient: "cacao."

The maker's description of this bar also likens the strength of this chocolate to a "freshly pulled espresso shot." That may be true for those expecting at least some sugar in every bite of chocolate. But, for a 100% cacao bar, this was well-crafted, flavorful, bold and smooth, with a lingering, complex and well-rounded finish..and maybe a faint intermittent wisp of fruits mentioned above and green (tea).

*French Broad Chocolate works closely with partners in cacao-growing countries such as Cacao Bisiesto in Nicaragua -- Biseisto means leap year; and French Broad was celebrating their partner's founding date (on leap day, 8 years ago) with special filled chocolate frogs (putting the leap in leap year). Thank you for great work also Cacao Bisiesto!

Montezuma's - 100% Cocoa Absolute Black with Cocoa Nibs - Feb. 28, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Montezuma's

100% Cocoa Solids Absolute Black with Cocoa Nibs

Good +

Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar

Calories: 150 calories in 1/4 bar

Cost: $ missing information

Purchased from: Trader Joe's, Pacific Grove/Monterey, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Plain Dark Chocolate Theme Week, and Day #1 of 100 percent Chocolate Theme Series.

Sometimes chocolate theme weeks overlap and become akin to nested Russian dolls. In this case 100 percent cacao chocolate bars could be a sub-category under "plain dark chocolate" (meaning there are no added flavor inclusions); but if plain means ordinary, 100 percent cacao bars are usually anything but.

Today's 100% Cocoa Solids Absolute Black with Cocoa Nibs bar was from Montezuma's Chocolates (West Sussex, U.K.).

This bar had a slightly bitter, dark, forbidding chocolate aroma; and a fire-roasted dark flavor—but without the expected bitterness. It was, refreshingly, un-sweet, almost savory. A generous helping of cocoa nibs gave the bar a hearty, authentic cacao flavor and a crunchy texture.

One does need to work with very high-quality cacao for 100% chocolate, as there is nothing else to hide behind. No sugar, nothing else.

It's wonderful to see more 100% (no sugar) bars on the market over time that are actually enjoyable to nibble on. Montezuma's also offers their absolute black bars with flavors also (mint, orange, almond, etc.). 

Noi Sirius - Icelandic Chocolate 56% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Feb. 27, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Noi Sirius
Icelandic Chocolate 56% Dark Chocolate (bars)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.02 oz. (29 g.) / 7.05 oz. (200 g.) in total package of 2 bars
Calories: 160 calories in 1.02 oz. (29 oz.) of 1 bar
Cost: $9.99 for 1 package of 2 bars
Purchased from: N/A - gift (Thank you Don!)

Welcome to Day #9 of Plain Dark Chocolate Theme Week.

Plain, does not mean boring, or lesser quality chocolate. Today's Icelandic Chocolate 56% Dark Chocolate, from Noi Sirius (Reykjavik, Iceland), was from...Iceland! And the flavors in this bar were subtle and intriguing.

When I see a non-origin* specific chocolate (often a blend origins) that is lower than 60%, my expectations about flavor tend to be relatively low.

However, this bar had very light baked chocolate cake infused with light fragrant green (tea) and faint peach, cherry or tropical fruit/light floral aroma and flavor notes. Added vanilla and dry cocoa contributed to the uplifting, lighter, sweet baked goods, flavor profile.**

Light green, fruit and floral notes are relatively volatile, and often are lost during the chocolate-making process. So to have them preserved in this way was quite nice. Light and fun natural flavors from a cool country. (Today's weather forecast for Reykjavik, Iceland, called for snow and temperatures of 28 degrees F. (-2 degrees C.).)

*Origin of cacao beans, or indicating where cacao that was used to make this chocolate was grown. Cacao grows approximately 20 degrees (latitude) above and below the Equator.

**Ingredients: Cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla, cocoa dry solids.

Chocolates Simon Coll, S.A. - 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate (bar) - Feb. 26, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolates Simon Coll, S.A.
70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2.99 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 159 calories in 1 oz. (28.3 g.) of bar
Cost: $6.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Plain Dark Chocolate Theme Week.


Not all "plain" dark chocolate blend bars are the same. However, the bulk of cacao harvested is used to make "bulk" chocolate, which does have a sweet, and sometimes relatively bland, over-roasted, very uniform chocolate flavor (occasionally brightened with some vanilla).

For large, high-volume makers flavor consistency is key--a requirement in fact--which means it's more difficult to find flavor depth and interesting variations that occur in a single year (or origin). This same volume vs. value situation holds true for wine and many other foods and beverages as well. However, this doesn't mean that all dark chocolate blends made with consistency in mind are alike.

Today, we sampled a dark bar from Spain, with some history dating back to the 1700s.

The 70% Cacao Dark Chocolate bar from Chocolates Simon Coll, S.A. (Barcelona, Spain) proved to be one of the better plain dark chocolate bars. (European flavor profiles can sometimes vary from U.S.-made dark chocolate.)

The packaging was adorned with an illustration/poster painted by Alphonse Mucha* circa 1900 for Chocolate Amatller*, a chocolate company founded in Barcelona in 1797.

And inside the attractive wrapper, the dark chocolate had a slightly malty, slightly fruity, sweet, chocolatey dark bar with a pleasant flavor and finish with a hint of vanilla.

Ingredients: "Cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, fat reduced cocoa powder, emulsifier (soya lecithin) and flavouring (vanilla)."

*Alphonse Mucha was a Czech painter, illustrator and graphic artist known for his Art Nouveau style paintings and stylized theatrical posters. The founders of Chocolate Amatller were patrons of the arts. The Chocolate Amatller brand was, more recently, incorporated into Chocolates Simon Coll, S.A., a company that continues to feature the brand's historical look.

Dagoba - New Moon 74% Cacao (bar) - Feb. 25, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Dagoba Organic Chocolate
New Moon 74% Cacao (bar)
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #7 of Plain Dark Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's New Moon 74% cacao bar was from Dagoba Organic Chocolate* (Ashland, OR). This organic and gluten free "rich dark chocolate" bar did in fact have a bit more flavor depth than your average "plain" dark chocolate bar, with relatively balanced fruit acidity and earth/bitter notes.

The dark chocolate was made using Organic and Rainforest Alliance Certified cacao. (No country of origin was listed.) This bar also, if I'm reading the ingredients list** correctly, contained some milk.

*Dagoba Organic Chocolate, a division of The Hershey Company, was founded in 2001 by Frederick Schilling. The brand has been owned by The Hershey Company since 2006. Hershey has maintained the Dagoba factory facility in Ashland, OR.

**Ingredients: Organic dark chocolate (organic and Rainforest Alliance Certified cacao beans, organic cane sugar, organic cacao butter), Non-GMO soy lecithin); organic milk.