Chocolate of the Day:
Ceimoi Chocolatier
Super Dark Ivory Coast 90% Cocoa (bar)
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 230 calories in 1 serving (4 squares of) bar
Cost: $1.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA
Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and West Africa Theme Week.
Today's "Super Dark Ivory Coast 90% Cocoa" (bar) was produced in France and distributed by
Cemoi Inc. (Pittsburgh, PA). Cemoi is a large French chocolate manufacturer, founded in 1814, with an origin story that dates further back (to 1770) in Grenoble. Cemoi also has a small manufacturing presence in Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) -- the largest cocoa producing country in the world (along with Ghana) in West Africa.*
The aroma had roasted, nutty, spice cookie, light floral, dark chocolate and very faint earth and fruit notes. The bar had a smooth, slightly oily (think very smooth nut butter) melt and mouthfeel. The flavor was uniform, dark chocolate flavor, albeit more subtle and complex than most with flavor notes similar to the aroma.
Last, but not least, his 90% bar lacked the bitterness and/or astringency associated with many other ultra-high percentage chocolate bars; and it had a relatively mild chocolate nut butter finish.
The is the 90% bar is ideally suited for chocolate fans who
- Prefer tamer ultra-dark chocolate that won't grab you by the throat
- Want to avoid the sugar found in lower percentage, sweeter dark chocolates
- Are on a budget
Maker's tasting notes read as follows: "coffee + rose + very slightly bitter"
Ingredients: "Ivory Coast unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla natural flavouring."
*Four countries in West Africa produce approximately 70 percent of cocoa in the world used to make chocolate: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon.
