Vosges - Raw Honey Cacao Chocolate bar - June 22, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Vosges IP, LLC
Raw Honey Cacao Chocolate bar
Good 
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $8.00 (plus shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: VosgesChocolate.com online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate, Bees and Trees Theme Week.

Today's Raw Honey Cacao bar was from Vosges IP, LLC (Chicago, IL), a company founded by well-traveled chocolatier, Katrina Markoff. (Her first creation was the Naga truffle, inspired by the flavors of India.)

Vosges Chocolate (aka Vosges Haut Chocolat) is a successful brand, known for their innovative, beautiful packaging (with designs and images suitable for framing, and perhaps inspired by fashion, makeup, food stylists and photos); their lovely descriptions of natural and exotic flavor inclusions--and, unfortunately, not for their chocolate. (In fairness, the company have not represented themselves as a single origin, bean-to-bar craft chocolate company that is source-transparent either.)

Today's 100% cacao chocolate base was made with cacao that was alkalized--a process, often used by large, bulk chocolate manufacturers to cut acidity and create a much milder chocolate flavor. This process also hides flaws in lower grade cacao, by neutralizing strong or objectionable flavor elements. Unfortunately,  desirable fruit, floral and other cacao flavor notes are also lost. Think American-style powdered hot chocolate made with alkalized cocoa vs. thick, dark and flavorful South American drinking chocolate. Some prefer the former for its predictable, mild cocoa flavor, usually mixed with a healthy dose of sugar and a comforting hint of added vanillin or vanilla extract or marshmallows.

The chocolate used for Vosges and Wild Ophelia bars has a bulk, commercial taste to it, often with a slightly waxy melt. The focus seems to let the (quite wonderful) flavor inclusions shine. Less flavorful chocolate doesn't overwhelm the featured flavors. Or it could be that the Vosges customer base doesn't care for the stronger taste of bean-to-bar chocolate. Or, it could be that using bulk chocolate is just a lot more economical. (Financial risks tend to be higher for bean-to-bar chocolate makers.) There is very little information about where the cacao or chocolate comes from on the Vosges website.

Today's raw honey bar was described as being: "Divinely decadent, Midwestern raw honey wildflower nectar harmonizes the intensity of the 100% cacao experience." 

It was certainly the tamest "100% cacao" bar I'd ever tasted. It had a mild cocoa aroma with a faint coconut note. The honey* did sweeten this chocolate nicely, I'm not sure how it could be labeled "100% Cacao" with honey in it, but that is another topic. (Perhaps the 100% label could be legally allowable if the honey is only a tiny percent by weight.)

In keeping with the Bees and Trees theme this week, I will also mention that Vosges offers a Tree Mylk bar (made with hazelnuts), in addition to bars and truffles with honey. Again, the flavor combinations are always wonderful. I hope there might be a higher end chocolate one day to match Katrina's inspired blends of spices, flowers, fruits, and other lovelies.

*Ingredients: Unsweetened chocolate processed with alkali, raw honey, cocoa butter

Bees and Beans - Honey Bar Jr. - June 21, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Bees and Beans

Honey Bar Jr.

Good

Weight: .7 oz. (20 g.) in 1 small bar

Calories: 100 calories in 1 small bar

Cost: $1.95 for 1 small bar

Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate, Bees and Trees Theme Week.

Today's Honey Bar Jr. was from Bees and Beans (Portland, OR). Several years ago, this small outfit set out to re-invent the traditional candy bar, using local ingredients from Oregon. Great idea, given the access to honey, hazelnuts and possible craft chocolate partners in the Portland area. I think they've succeeded.

The Honey Bar Jr. had a core of sweet honey caramel and hazelnut nougat (real egg whites, flecks of real hazelnut) was dipped in dark chocolate, creating a flavorful high-end candy bar. No preservatives or anything artificial; it was a honey of a sugar bomb though.

This bar's small, "junior" size was just right. Any bigger and you might have a hard time dividing this with a friend or family member on a hot day, when the gooey-sticky factor increases. While this bar is securely sealed in the wrapper (thank you), be careful not to store this treat in a pocket or the bottom of a lunch bag as you may need a napkin when opening and consuming. 

Sea salt, butter and hazelnuts helped to balance the high level of sugar* in this caramel and nougat confection. 

*Ingredients: Sugar, honey, chocolate (cacao beans, sugar, cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin, vanilla beans), cream, hazelnuts, butter, egg whites, salt, vanilla extract (water, alcohol, sugar, vanilla bean).

Nuance Chocolate - Honey and Lavender Truffle - June 20, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Nuance Chocolate
Honey and Lavender Truffle
Good+ - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) for 1 truffle (per website)
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 truffle
Cost: $3.80 for 1 truffle
Purchased from: Nuance Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate, Bees and Trees Theme Week.

Today's hand-rolled and enrobed Honey and Lavender Truffle was from Nuance Chocolate (Fort Collins, CO).

This generously sized, rich-tasting 70% dark chocolate truffle was filled with a creamy dark chocolate ganache. Using high-quality chocolate for confections like this does make a difference. A truffle does not have to be sugar-dominant (thank you Nuance!).

Each bite filled the senses with balanced and authentic lavender (essential oil) aroma and flavor. The sweetness was brought to you by...local wildflower honey. Thank you Colorado bees.

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)