Cacaosuyo - 70% Cacao Piura Select Dark Chocolate (bar) - Nov. 14, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Cacaosuyo 
(Produced by Theobroma Inversiones SAC)
70% Cacao Piura Select Dark Chocolate (bar) 
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) in total bar
Calories: 130 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Weeks.

Today's Cacaosuyo 70% Cacao Piura Select Dark Chocolate (bar) was produced by Theobroma Inversiones SAC (Lima, Peru). 

The company is dedicated to making chocolate using cacao fruit/beans grown in the land of the "Four Suyos"* of Peru, a term that recalls a rich cacao history dating back to the Incan Empire. Through these chocolates, one can experience a very important cradle site for cacao in the Americas, where it's believed that centuries ago the Inca people shared cacao with their allies, but kept it a secret from outsiders.

Today's 70% cacao dark bar is the last of four conveniently sized (single-serving) different Cacaosuyo bars featured this week, and was made with prized "white" cacao beans grown in the Piura region of northwestern Peru--a region that includes semi-tropical forests in the east and coastal beaches to the west.

This chocolate had true chocolate aroma with a faint dried fruit, molasses, lightly wine- soaked raisin and citrus (Meyer lemon peel) notes. The bar was relatively thin, allowing easy and rapid access to the texture and flavor. It had a creamy melt and mouthfeel.

Flavor notes were similar to the aroma notes mentioned above with a slight hints of malt/cereal and green nut and a very light citrus astringency (throat tickle). This bar was relatively suave and sophisticated: well balanced, flavorful yet tastefully subtle.

The maker's tasting notes read as follows: The "...flavor you are about to experience is a product of a combination of meticulous harvest and post-harvest processes. We are confident that this bar, with its light citrus and nutty notes, will be a pleasant discovery." 

Ingredients: Cocoa paste (Theobroma cacao L) and sugar.

*The Four Suyos refers to Incan empire Tawantinsuyu's Four Suyos (similar to counties or regions) that surrounded Cuzco: Antisuyo (east, forest/wild area), Chinchaysuyo (northwest), Contisuyo (west) and Collasuyo (south). The Empire at its heydey occupied most of Peru, and parts of what is now Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile and Argentina. 

Centuries ago, the Spanish named the Peruvian city of Piura, after the native Quechuan word "pirhua," meaning "abundance." The Peruvian region of Piura overlapped with the Incan suyo known as Chinchaysuyo. (Chinay or Chincha means ocelot in Quechua.)

Cacaosuyo - 70% Cacao Lakuna Dark Chocolate (bar) - Nov. 13, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Cacaosuyo 
(Produced by Theobroma Inversiones SAC)
70% Cacao Lakuna Dark Chocolate (bar) 
Good +++ - Very Good 
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Weeks.

Today's Cacaosuyo 70% Cacao Lakuna Dark Chocolate (bar) was produced by Theobroma Inversiones SAC (Lima, Peru). 

The company is dedicated to making chocolate using cacao fruit/beans grown in the land of the "Four Suyos"* of Peru, a term that refers back to the Inca Empire. The Incas consumed cacao "as a source of energy and power" and today the peoples of Peru are linked to a rich cacao heritage and traditions that stretch from past to present.

Today's 70% cacao dark bar is the third of four conveniently sized (single-serving) different Cacaosuyo bars featured this week, and was made with cacao beans grown in the Amazon region in northern Peru (Amazonas).

I would advise opening the inner packet that contains this bar and you might sample the aroma, but then let it breathe for a few minutes. (The aroma will shift and mellow a bit.) This chocolate had a unique aroma with rich, concentrated dark sweetness, dried fruit (prunes, lightly rum-soaked dark raisins) and faint licorice spice and herbal spirits notes. 

The bar was relatively thin, allowing great access to the texture and flavor. The bar's true dark chocolate, and natural dark sweetness bloomed (like you'd find in fennel, licorice or other naturally sweet plants) with the first bite. Don't worry if you're not a licorice fan, you won't need to be to enjoy this experience. The melt was almost creamy, and the texture was smooth but with a very light astringency mid-way to finish.

Chocolate flavor notes were similar to the dried fruit aroma and sweet herbal notes listed above. There was also a very slight green/bright earth note that was faint and harmonized with the overall cacao profile. A minute or two after the last bite, I experienced floral notes (that included saffron (Crocus sativus), an expensive floral spice derived from the bright orange stamens springing from the center of purple saffron crocus flowers). What an intriguing bar.

The maker's tasting notes read as follows: "Our passion to explore the Amazon and chocolate brings us a wonderful cacao that is hidden in the rich jungle of Peru, to transform into an exquisite dark sweetness, full of floral notes that intimately combine with fruits make this a new experience for those of us who dream of deliciously different flavors. We call it Lakuna."**

Ingredients: Cacao paste (Theobroma cacao L) and sugar

*The Four Suyos refers to Inca empire Tawantinsuyu's Four Suyos (similar to counties or regions) that surrounded Cuzco: Antisuyo (east, forest/wild area), Chinchaysuyo (northwest), Contisuyo (west) and Collasuyo (south). The Empire at its heydey occupied most of Peru, and parts of what is now Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile and Argentina. 

**Lakuna, or lacuna in English, has a nuanced (temptingly metaphorical) series of definitions. It can mean an interval or gap; a missing page from a book, manuscript or logical argument; or (in a medical context) a cavity or depression in a bone. In Botany, lacunae are air spaces in cellular plant tissues. 

But, rather than a deficiency, a gap can also have great value. (Note: Without lacunae or nasal cavities we could not smell and taste.)

How might this definition apply to today's chocolate? 

Music is created by a variety of notes, some strong, some soft. But, there is also depth and power in the pauses between notes. This 70% Amazonas bar has bold flavors, but in the intervals between what seem to be strong notes, complex green/herbal and floral notes emerge, resulting in a wonderful whole. So, rather than what might be emptier gaps in some chocolates, the "holes" are filled with music. A "w" is added to "whole" here. 

Great chocolates that I've had the pleasure to try are created by chocolate makers and maestros--along every step of the process from bean-to-bar--and seem to evoke a distinct sense of their own music when you taste them. I chalk this experience up to multi-layered crafting skills, chemistry magic in the "gaps" and around the edges, and perhaps a touch of chocolate-tasting synesthesia (where senses of smell and taste might merge in the brain with auditory senses and experience memories.)

A solid, perfectly uniform block of anything can be powerful and skillfully executed, but there is less to "hear" and write about. Which is why I'm attracted to the interesting and varied facets and forms of science, nature and people...and complex foods like chocolate.

Cacaosuyo - Cuzco 80 Dark Chocolate 80% Cacao (bar) - Nov. 12, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Cacaosuyo 
(Produced by Theobroma Inversiones SAC)
Cuzco 80 Dark Chocolate 80% Cacao (bar) 
Good ++  
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Cacaosuyo 50% Cacao Piura Milk (bar) was produced by Theobroma Inversiones SAC (Lima, Peru). 

The company offers chocolate made "in-country" using cacao fruit/beans grown on lands in Peru that overlap with the "Four Suyos"* or Four Regions of the ancient Inca Empire. These areas have a rich cacao history spanning several centuries.

Today's 80% cacao dark bar is the second of four conveniently sized (single-serving) different Cacaosuyo bars featured this week. It was made in country, i.e. in Peru with cacao beans grown in the Cuzco region of Peru. 

This chocolate had an interesting aroma with grape, green, and subtle fermentation and earth notes. The bar was relatively thin, allowing great access to the texture and flavor. The chocolate had a creamy melt and mouthfeel and smooth texture. And some of the faint green notes carried over into the flavor. For an 80% chocolate, this had an appealing, very balanced bitter and sweet quality.

The maker's tasting notes read as follows: 

Ingredients: Cacao paste (Theobroma cacao L) and sugar

*The Four Suyos refers to Incan empire Tawantinsuyu's Four Suyos (similar to counties or regions) that surrounded Cuzco: Antisuyo (east, forest/wild area), Chinchaysuyo (northwest), Contisuyo (west) and Collasuyo (south). The Empire at its heydey occupied most of Peru, and parts of what is now Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile and Argentina.

Cacaosuyo - 50% Cacao Piura Milk (bar) - Nov. 11, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Cacaosuyo 
(Produced by Theobroma Inversiones SAC)
50% Cacao Piura Milk (bar) 
Good ++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Weeks.

Today's Cacaosuyo 50% Cacao Piura Milk (bar) was produced by Theobroma Inversiones SAC (Lima, Peru). 

The company is dedicated to making chocolate using cacao fruit/beans grown in the land of the "Four Suyos"* of Peru, a term that recalls a rich cacao history dating back to the Incan Empire. 

Today's 50% cacao bar is the first of four conveniently sized (single-serving) different Cacaosuyo bars featured this week, and was made with "white" cacao beans grown in the Piura Province of northwestern Peru. 

This chocolate had a pleasant milk chocolate aroma with a faint earth note. The bar was relatively thin, allowing great access to the texture and flavor. The first bite had a very slightly gummy melt; and the overall mouthfeel and texture were luxuriously creamy.

Flavor notes included caramel and vanilla integrated into the milk chocolate, that also had barely detectable fruit (stone fruit, nectarine) and nutty (cashew) notes. (Any faint earth that I though I detected in the aroma was not really present in the flavor.)

Ingredients: Cacao paste (Theobroma cacao L), milk, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla

*The Four Suyos refers to Incan empire Tawantinsuyu's Four Suyos (similar to counties or regions) that surrounded Cuzco: Antisuyo (east, forest/wild area), Chinchaysuyo (northwest), Contisuyo (west) and Collasuyo (south). The Empire at its heydey occupied most of Peru, and parts of what is now Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia, Chile and Argentina.

Piura, Peru, would have been part of Chinchaysuyo. (Chinchay in Quechua means Ocelot.)

Honeymoon Chocolates - Peruvian 70% Dark Chocolate, Raspberry Raw Honey (bar) - Nov. 10, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Honeymoon Chocolates
Peruvian 70% Dark Chocolate Raspberry Raw Honey (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 188 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Village Market, Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate, Honey and Citrus Theme Week, and Day #3 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.

Today's Bean-to-Bar Peruvian 70% Dark Chocolate with Raw Honey (bar) was from Honeymoon Chocolates (Saint Louis, MO).  

The company creates micro batch stone-ground chocolate bars sweetened with raw honey. A portion of the proceeds from this chocolate bar (and others) "are automatically donated to support honeybee research."

The base 70% dark chocolate had a soft melt and texture and an even, dark flavor with faint fermented, cream notes. Raspberry (fruit with seeds) added ruby red color highlights--in the bee-inspired, hexagon-patterned bar--as well as subtle pops of bright, naturally sweet and tart red berry flavor. 

A judicious amount of raw honey contributed a subtle sweetness (vs. the sugar buzz one often feels after eating more processed sugars and syrups). 

Ingredients: Organic cacao, raw honey, cacao butter, raspberry and vanilla bean.

 

Honeymoon Chocolates - Peruvian 70% Dark Chocolate with Raw Honey (bar) - Nov. 9, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Honeymoon Chocolates
Peruvian 70% Dark Chocolate with Raw Honey (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 188 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Village Market, Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Honey and Citrus Theme Week, and Day #2 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.

Today's Bean-to-Bar Peruvian 70% Dark Chocolate with Raw Honey (bar) was from Honeymoon Chocolates (Saint Louis, MO).  

The company creates micro batch stone-ground chocolate bars sweetened with raw honey. A portion of the proceeds from this chocolate bar (and others) "are automatically donated to support honeybee research."

This chocolate had a soft, almost velvety melt and texture. The relatively robust dark chocolate with notes of cream, earth, roasted coffee, dried fruit (prune, citrus), and very faint spice and fermented cacao. The raw honey contributed a subtle sweetness.

Ingredients: Organic cacao, raw honey, cacao butter and vanilla bean.

Cacao Crudo - Siracusa Lemon PGI Zest 77% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Nov. 8, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Cacao Crudo S.r.l.
Cioccolato Fondente Bio - Scorze di "Limone di Siracusa IGP" (barretta)
Dark Organic Chocolate "Siracusa Lemon PGI" Zests (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++ 
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 149 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ N/A - sample from Cacao Crudo
Purchased from: N/A - sample from Cacao Crudo

Benvenuta! Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate, Honey and Citrus Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.

Today's Organic Dark Chocolate "Siracusa Lemon PGI" Zests (bar) delivered bold flavors with just three ingredients: Peruvian cacao, coconut flower sap and Italian lemon zest. 

The makers at Cacao Crudo S.r.l. crafted this unroasted, Criollo chocolate (in their laboratory in Rome, Italy). The company offers raw chocolates made with fine cacao that are quite wonderful.

This bar had a lush green, sweet lemon tree scent. The 77% dark chocolate provided relatively intense and smooth dark flavor with faint green notes, and the lemon zest added a balanced bitter "bite." 

Not only has Cacao Crudo delivered on the promise of raw cacao, but also on potential existing with the marriage of high-quality cacao and high-quality lemon. (The few chocolate and lemon confections are almost always too sweet or made with lower quality ingredients.)

For those who also prefer less sugar,in your chocolate experience, the company's use of coconut flower sap sweetener and choice of a subtler sweetness level is also close to perfection in my opinion.

Chocolate Pairings

This bar was also a great chocolate to add to tasting plate/menu. I paired this intense 77% dark chocolate and lemon zest bar with the following beverages and foods: a hot coffee cocktail (with whiskey, honey and Frangelico liqueur); 3 varieties of tea (green, Fujian Oolong and smokey black teas); 3 varieties of honeys, cheeses; and warmed nuts today. 

The clean, almost green notes of the Fujian Oolong tea won out by a slim margin on the beverage pairing front.

The pairing with warm hazelnuts, almonds and walnuts (very lightly salted with sea salt and rosemary and drizzled with EVOO) was especially popular on this cold, windy day. But the pairing of this bar with cheeses was surprisingly successful as well.

*Ingredients: Unroasted, Organic Criollo cacao beans paste, Organic concentrated coconut flower sap, dried, Organic "Siracusa Lemon PGI" zests (3%).

PGI (in Italian IGP) is a special designation for Italian grown produce (grapes, hazelnuts, lemons, etc.) and foodstuffs tied to a specified region.