Dick Taylor - Bee Pollen and Fennel 70% Brazil Dark Chocolate (bar) - June 19, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Dick Taylor
Bee Pollen and Fennel 70% Brazil Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 300 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $9.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Brazil Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate, Bees and Trees Theme Week.

Today's Bee Pollen and Fennel 70% Brazil Dark Chocolate - Seasonal Release bar was made by Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate (Eureka, CA).

Fennel was a great choice for this seasonal bar. It has a naturally sweet, licorice-like aromatic scent and aroma. It's June and bees and other pollinators are feasting on spring flowers. These helpful insects rely on different plants later in the year, including fennel.*

The first whiff of this bar was all bold, deep dark (Forastero-like) cocoa, with a slight roasted coffee note. Returning to this bar 3-5 minutes later, the aroma was a more balanced blend of dark (more Trinitario-like) cocoa balanced with light herbal (fennel, caraway) and floral (pollen) notes. (Yes, another example of why one should eat a good chocolate slowly...and re-taste at intervals if you have patience. Flavors do un-fold.)

The back of this ebony-colored bar was a tapestry of gold and green. The base chocolate had a creamy melt and texture; and the smooth chocolate with light tart fruit notes was accented by slightly crunchy fennel* seeds and a healthy smattering of bee pollen. 

The tasting experience melded garden spice and aromatic and flavorful sweet fennel notes with buttery honey and floral pollen notes--all without being too sweet (thank you!).

The flavors lingered pleasantly in the finish. What a fun and enjoyable bar.

*Currently, towering stalks of fennel (trees almost) are covered with delicate green (edible) fronds; they will become a valuable food later in the year. Although sometimes considered an invasive plant here in California, every part of the fennel plant is edible, and beneficial insects and birds love fennel. 

When the fennel forest in my side yard puts out grains of sweet, delicious yellow pollen in summer, bees and other pollinators (along with a few human tasters) will be enjoying this yellow "candy.". By September, green fennel seeds can be harvested and eaten and used in cookies, cakes, digestives...and chocolate. Birds will nibble on the rest.

Dick Taylor - Vanilla Milk Chocolate bar - June 18, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Dick Taylor
Microbatch Vanilla Milk Chocolate bar
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 300 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Dick Taylor, online order

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

Today's Microbatch 55% Vanilla Milk Chocolate bar was made by Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate (Eureka, CA)--in early spring 2020 as news about Covid-19 virus related shutdowns and quarantines was spreading around the globe. This bar was described as a special treat, a comforting bar for uncertain times, in the makers' write-up.

Expectations run high with any chocolate from Dick Taylor founders Adam Dick and Dustin Taylor. Past reviews of chocolate from this duo include glowing adjectives and phrases like they "put the craft in craft chocolate." (True statement.) They consistently deliver great chocolate. And today's bar was no exception.

A similar milk chocolate bar in less capable hands might be smooth, uniformly ultra-sweet and over vanilla'ed and perhaps a little gummy. And any unique single origin chocolate aroma/flavor notes might be muted or undetectable.

When I gently tore open this brown paper wrapper, the first aroma was a pleasing dark chocolate and not vanilla. Then a very natural vanilla bean note appeared, then dark milk chocolate, and then another, slightly different vanilla whiff. Layered, high-quality flavors. The sign of a very capable maker. 

First contact revealed a texture that was beyond creamy. The ultra-satisfying melt and mouthfeel was partly due to the milk used -- Alexandre Family Farm "A2/A2" whole (possibly 6%) fat milk.*

Chocolate (with faint notes of tart fruit and balanced earth) and vanilla flavors washed over the palette in politely impeccable creamy, subtly flavored waves, that receded just as gracefully.

I am inspired by the hard work and skills of great makers who send love letters to us in the form of great products and special micro-batches. In this case inspiration was derived from a wonderfully flavored vanilla milk chocolate bar.

*Not all milk is the same. Modern dairy milk sold in your local grocery store contains at least some (or all) A1 beta-casein protein. Today's Dick Taylor bar was made with A2/A2 whole milk from Alexandre Family Farm in Crescent City in Northern California. (The company offers a 6% whole milk.) Why is A2 milk protein better? Short answer: the more traditional A2 milk protein can be easier to digest than modern cow milk containing A1 protein.

(Water) buffalo and certain dairy cow milk(s) contain A2 proteins. The buffalo milk I tasted locally also had a great, creamy texture and mild/clean flavor. (I reviewed a buffalo milk hot chocolate and another chocolate bar made with buffalo milk a few years ago.)

Ingredients: Organic cacao, organic cane sugar, organic A2/A2 whole milk powder, organic cocoa butter, organic vanilla bean

Mission Chocolate - Three Theos - Cacao, Bicolor, Cupuacu bar - June 17, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Mission Chocolate
Three Theos - Cacao, Bicolor, Cupuacu (bar)
Good +
Weight: 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 330 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $11.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's "Three Theos - Cacao, Bicolor, Cupuacu" dark chocolate bar was created by Mission Chocolate (Sao Paulo, Brazil).

This 70% dark chocolate bar was made with conventional cacao (Theobroma cacao solids and cocoa butter)--and with two related Theobroma* flavor inclusions: cupuacu fruit and candied bicolor seeds. The result was a unique Theobroma and Brazil immersion experience. (Virtual travel through food. Skip the jet lag, and enjoy the flavors.)

The chocolate bar aroma had notes of honey, fruit vinegar, chocolate, molasses and faint spice.
The first bite was enough to reveal an interesting melange of tastes and textures.
A generous constellation of sweet, tart squares of cupuacu fruit with sweet tangerine, light pineapple, candied papaya, and cacao fruit notes occupied the back side of this bar. Nestled among the fruit were
good-sized pieces of light-colored and lightly caramelized bicolor seeds--that added soft crunch and mild flavor. Echoes of fruit and seed lingered in the finish and aftertaste

*The name of this bar is based on botanical contributions from three members of the Theobroma genus: Theobroma cacao, Theobroma bicolor and Theobroma Cupuacu. The first of these three is the most well-known and its seeds/beans are used to make milk and dark chocolates.

Species in the Theobroma genus are part of the Malva or Mallow (Malvaceae) family of plants.

Gallette Chocolates - 40% Milk Chocolate bar - June 16, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Gallette Chocolates
40% Milk Chocolate bar
Good +
Weight: 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 500 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's 40% Milk Chocolate bar was from Gallette Chocolates (Sao Paolo, Brazil)--and it was the third Gallette chocolate bar made with Brazilian cacao that I've featured this week.

This 40% milk chocolate confection had a delightful caramel aroma. It was smooth and unapologetically sweet. Could I taste the chocolate underneath? No, not really. Maybe a tiny, slightly tart spark of Trinitario cacao (Bahia) fruit flavor with a micro-sliver of green fuel. At only 40 percent cacao solids....chocolate becomes more about the sugar. 

Earlier this week, I sampled a Gallette 70% robust Forastero bar from Bahia. And yesterday's Gallette 56% dark milk chocolate bar attempted a high dive into the middle of the Goldilocks zone* of the chocolate pool--running a risk of failing to satisfy tastes on either end. One could catch a glimmer of the cacao origins through the sweetness in the 56%-er where some cacao and milk/dairy flavors were still detectable.**

Today's 40% cacao honey-red toned beauty, dripping with caramel, lounged at the shallow end of the pool, shrugging its shoulders. It seemed to say: "What do you want? I am beautiful. I come from a good family, I engage in sustainable and fair trade practices. Take me or leave me; but your hankering for caramelized sugar, whole milk with a hint of cocoa will be satisfied." (Indeed it was.)***

*Goldilocks might have enjoyed tasting chocolates...

The Goldilocks zone reference dates back to a fairy tale,"Goldilocks and the Three Bears," from the 1800s. An early version was written by an Englishman, John Southey, and first was published as "The Story of the Three Bears" in the 1830s. A young Goldilocks (girl) character became more developed as the story grew more child-friendly in subsequent retellings.

In the story, Goldilocks visits a bears' home while the bears are away; and she searches for things that are not too hot or cold (bowls of porridge), not too big or small (chairs), and not too hard or soft (beds), ....until she finds things that are just right for her tastes.

More recently, the "Goldilocks zone" has come to mean an area around a star that might be habitable by life as we know it. A planet ripe for further study needs to be: not too hot (too close to a star, and not too cold (too far away from a star); and it needs to have the right amount of water; etc. 

The phrase "Goldilocks principle" has also been used in other contexts to refer to a balanced, middle ground (or something that is "just the right amount" as far as physical traits/parameters are concerned, and to quests for an impossible perfect middle, as in a search for the perfect mate.

**I look forward to trying higher percentage Gallette Chocolates bars made with Brazilian cacao (and other origins) in the future; and thank you to the family/founder(s) for helping to bring back great Brazilian cacao.

***Ingredients: cocoa beans, sugar, whole milk powder, cocoa butter and soy lecithin (emulsifier)

Gallette Chocolates - Para Parazinho (Brazil) 56% Dark Milk Chocolate bar - June 15, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Gallette Chocolates
Para Parazinho (Brazil) 56% Cacao Dark Milk Chocolate bar
Good 
Weight: 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 545 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's Para Parazinho (Bahia, Brasil) 56% Cacao Dark Milk Chocolate bar was from Gallette Chocolates LTDA (Sao Paulo, Brazil). 

Like yesterday's 70% (Brazil) bar from Gallette, the cacao used to make this bar was grown in the Brazilian state of Bahia--the largest cacao-producing state in the country.

This chocolate had a dairy milk and sweet caramel aroma and flavor; and a creamy. slightly waxy melt and smooth texture. Hidden under the milk, sugar and cocoa butter was a faint earthy, bold chocolate note, and a clean finish.

Ingredients: cocoa mass, sugar, whole milk powder, cocoa butter and soy lecithin (emulsifier)

Gallette Chocolates - Bahia (Brazil) Forastero 70% Chocolate bar - June 14, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Gallette Chocolates
Bahia Forastero 70% Chocolate bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.52 oz. (43 g.) / 3.53 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 230 calories in 1 serving (9 squares) of bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's Bahia Forastero 70% Chocolate bar was from Gallette Chocolates LTDA (Sao Paolo, Brazil). 

Bahia is a state in northeastern Brazil (bigger than California, but smaller than Texas), is currently the largest producer/exporter of cacao in Brazil (a country about 86.6% the size of the U.S.).

Brazil, the world's sixth largest cacao producer once occupied the number two spot. However, a fungal disease decimated cacao trees and caused a decades-long steep decline in Brazil's cacao market from starting around 1989. The Forastero variety/strains of cacao, known to be more robust and disease-resistant (than more delicate heritage varieties), have played a large part in the country's rebounding cacao industry in recent years.

Today's Forastero 70% dark bar had an aroma with deep cocoa (dark drinking chocolate), light umami* and very faint, almost tart, processed green/green fuel notes. The melt was smooth with a very slight astringency/roughness in the texture--that was not really objectionable and almost vanished after the first bite or two. 

In fact the overall flavor of this chocolate seemed to improve as the tasting progressed. 

Iniitally all I tasted was deep and dark with a slightly roasted cocoa flavor and a mellow, almost marshmallow sweet overtone I associate with Forastero cacao-based chocolate. It had a nicely balanced bitterness to it.

After four tastings over as many hours I was tasting a bit of fruit (cherry notes) and a hint of nuts (walnut). Always re-taste chocolate over the course of the day if you can hold back that long. Flavors do evolve.

Forastero flights of fancy

You flavor fanciers may have enjoyed wine, beer and whiskey tasting flights, no? Well, this works with fine flavored chocolates as well.

This Gallette 70% chocolate made me want to pair this bar with other makers' Forastero-based 70% (or thereabouts) chocolate bars. Side-by-side tastings make it easier to detect subtle flavor nuances. Forastero cacao beans are known for their bold and "dense" flavor. So, rather than compare a Forastero-based chocolate with, e.g., a delicate complex rose of a Criollo heritage bar where the two might obliterate or depreciate each other, a flight of Forastero bars might be more edifying.

Umami

*Umami, or slightly savory, flavor(s) in chocolate are thought to be undesirable, a flaw if you will, by some chocolate tasters. I've always appreciated these flavor notes myself when they are well-behaved. Certain flavors arrive as unwanted dinner guests at some dinner tables. As long as they're relatively well-behaved and not too loud (and keep one foot on the floor at all times), I consider umami aroma/flavor notes to be interesting company. Otherwise we'd all be forced to eat the same dark chocolate pudding day after day. And wouldn't that be dull? 

BTW, I see on the Gallette website a box of small wedge-shaped chocolate confections that look like a cheese box filled with "cheese" wedges...If I can ever find this Gallette offering in the U.S., I will include these in my next Chocolate and Umami Theme Week.

Crow & Moss - Brazilian Santos Coffee 67% Chocolate bar - June 13, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Crow and Moss
Brazilian Santos Coffee 67% Chocolate bar
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 185 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.75 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Brazil Theme Week.

Today's Brazilian Santos Coffee* 67% Chocolate bar was from Crow and Moss (Petoskey, MI).

This bar had a rich, roasted coffee aroma, with notes of roasted nut, chocolate and a very faint wisp of umami/savory/hickory smoke. There was a wonderful, naturally sweet aroma to the coffee that I've not found in cacao. (Sweetness in chocolate can be perceived via "fruit" flavor notes from cacao, but often comes from sugar or added sweetener.)

The Honduras-grown cacao Crow and Moss used to make this bar complemented the Brazilian coffee very well, offering a bit of tart, fruit or berry flavor, a faint green note, and a bit of the nut and roasted notes.

The texture was a blend of smooth and crunchy with each bite triggering a cascade of rich, lovely flavor(s). The grind was uniformly perfect (not too gritty, fresh-tasting--thank you!). This was a truly great bean-to-breakfast-bar.

And yes, 67% cocoa chocolate does have a fair amount of sugar, but the coffee helped reduce and balance the sweetness. The bitterness/bitter acidity level of this three-ingredient** coffee bar was relatively low allowing subtle flavors to be savored.

Coffee History, Parallels with Cacao
Brazil is currently the largest producer and exporter of coffee (more than 2.6 million metric tonnes per year in 2019). Coffee originated in Ethiopia, and made its way to Europe.

The Dutch and the French brought coffee to the Caribbean/Americas in the late 1600s and early 1700s and by the early 1700s, the first coffee plants were growing in Brazil. For cacao/chocolate fans, coffee's origin story will sound familiar. Sadly, slave labor was part of the spread of coffee, cocoa, sugar, tea and other crops to European colonies in the Caribbean/the Americas as well as to African, Asian and other island nations close to the Equator.

In 2020, (West) Africa is the largest producer/exporter of cacao--a crop that originated in Central and South America. And Brazil is the largest producer/exporter of coffee, a crop that had its start in (Northern) Africa.

*Santos Coffee from Brazil is said to be a descendant of Bourbon coffee (Coffea arabica) originally grown on the Isle of Bourbon (Reunion), east of Madagascar in the Indian Ocean. Santos is also the name of a port city in Brazil, through which a high volume of coffee exports have moved.

**Ingredients: Honduran cacao beans, organic cane sugar, Brazilian Santos Coffee.