Theo and Philo Chocolate - Dark Chocolate with Black Sesame and Nuts bar - Jan. 11, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Theo and Philo Chocolate Factory
Dark Chocolate with Black Sesame and Nuts bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (45 g.) in total bar
Calories: 220 calories (per label) in 1 bar
Cost: $7.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and the Philippines Theme Week.

Today's Dark Chocolate with Black Sesame and Nuts bar was from Theo and Philo Chocolate Factory (Manila, Philippines).

The relatively soft, sweet dark 65% cacao chocolate provided a great foil for the crunchy fiesta of black sesame seed praline, cashew and glazed pili* nut bits embedded throughout the bar. This satisfying blend yielded layered roasted nut and seed and true smooth chocolate flavors, with a very faint malt note in the finish.

Ingredients: "Cacao beans, sugar, glazed pili nuts (pili, sugar, oil), cashew, cocoa butter, black sesame"

*Today's bar was made using a blend of ingredients from the Philippines; although many of these ingredients likely originated from different parts of the world centuries ago. Cacao originated in Central and South America and was spread primarily by the Spanish (and other Europeans) to overseas colonies with similar tropical climates.

Pili nuts (Canarium ovatum) grow on trees that are native to Northern Australia and nearby islands (Papua New Guinea and "maritime" Southeast Asia). They've also been cultivated in the Philippines for some time. Technically a seed, these nuts can also be found in many Pacific island nations. Their shape is somewhere between an almond and a sheathed pine cone seed that is more pointed at one end. 

Pili nuts are surrounded by a tough shell, probably similar to Macadamia nuts. (Many years ago, I remember seeing tourists driving their car over Mac nuts in Hawaii to crack them--an incident that helped explain their inherent toughness, and high cost.)

Black sesame seeds (Sesamum indicum) are native to Asia and have been cultivated for thousands of years. Like cacao seeds (aka cacao "beans"), sesame seeds grow in a fruit pod. 

Cashews (cashew apples) are native to NE Brazil and can be found growing in Central and South America--as well as other tropical climates, including the Philippines. (Nigeria, Vietnam and India are currently the largest producers of cashews.)

Every day I feel fortunate to be able to savor the results of all this botanical migration, in the form of single origin chocolates and/or chocolates with creative flavor inclusions. Chocolate is almost a "universal" food. It's one of those foods (like lemon, breads, certain herbs, nuts) that can successfully be part of sweet or savory offerings, or both at the same time.

 

Theo and Philo - 70% Dark Chocolate bar - Jan. 10, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Theo and Philo Artisan Chocolates 
70% Dark Chocolate bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.59 oz. (45 g.) in total bar
Calories: 220 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $7.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's 70% Dark Chocolate bar was from Theo and Philo Artisan Chocolate Factory (Manila, Philippines). The company offers single origin bars as well as chocolate with flavor inclusions inspired by Filipino cuisine.

This 70% bar had a smooth melt and a consistent, true chocolate with light mellow, red fruit (cherry, mild red berry) and faint caramel aroma and flavor notes. The chocolate, made with beans grown in the Davao region (on Mindanao further south from where Manila headquarters are) had low acidity and bitterness and a light, friendly finish. It was sweet, but not overly so.

The maker's description of this bar follows:

"Straight-to-the-point and brutally honest, our 70% Dark Chocolate is a proud no-nonsense heavy-hitter. Just like that dapper lolo you can rely on to dish only the bittersweet truth with suave; this classic bar uses high-quality cacao for rich depth that features notes of cherries and earthiness. This smooth and forever stylish bar smothers you with an addictive sweetness born from the finest of Davao's* cacao beans."

Ingredients: Cacao beans, sugar, cocoa butter

*The Davao region, known for its cacao, is located in the southern part of Mindanao island,  located in the southern Philippines--north of the Equator by 6-8 degrees (latitude). Manila, the Philippines capital city, where Theo and Philo HQ is located is further north on the Island of Luzon (closer to 16.5 degrees North (latitude)--still within the band where it's possible 

Auro Chocolate - 77% Dark Chocolate bar - Jan. 9, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Auro Chocolate
77% Dark Chocolate bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 280 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $7.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and the Philippines Theme Week.

Today's 77% Dark Chocolate Filipino Origin bar was produced by Auro Chocolate (Calamba, Laguna, Philippines). The rapidly growing company was founded in 2015. Auro Chocolate branded offerings include finished bean-to-bar chocolate, single origin (Filipino) bars, as well as chocolate ingredients (cacao beans, cocoa butter) from farming partners in Mindanao.*

This relatively thick, square bar had a smooth, velvety melt and texture. It had true, uniform, bold chocolate flavor with balanced bitterness and acidity, a very faint vanilla note, and a polite finish. This chocolate was a very approachable ultra-dark bar.

Ingredients: Cacao mass, cane sugar, soy lecithin (emulsifier), natural vanilla extract.

*The Republic of the Philippines is made of more than 7,000 islands; however, the island nation is perhaps best known for the largest (and most populous) islands of Luzon (in the north) and Mindanao (in the south). The latter (home to more than 25 million people) is a geologically "younger" mountainous island with fertile, volcanic soils--ideally suited for growing cacao, coffee and many other crops. 

Southern Mindanao (especially the Davao region in SE Mindanao) is known for cacao. Cacao grows best in areas close to the Equator. And Davao City is located at an ideal 7.2 degrees latitude (just north of the Equator). 
 

Auro Chocolate - Regalo Single Estate 85% Dark Chocolate Philippine Origin bar - Jan. 8, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Auro Chocolate

Regalo Single Estate 85% Dark Chocolate Philippine Origin bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 340 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Limited Edition Regalo Single Estate 85% Dark Chocolate Philippine Origin bar was produced by Auro Chocolate (Calamba City, Laguna, Philippines) (dba FODC, Inc.).

This two-ingredient* chocolate starred bold, deep dark cocoa/true chocolate and faint sweet brown sugar notes, with supporting players that included: fruit/sugar acidity (dried apple, sweet pink/red grapefruit broiled with brown sugar and imagined cinnamon), slightly fermented chocolate and dried fruit notes. And, in the latter part of the tasting curve, there was a fleeting, faint smoked flavor (smoked dark tea, umami/barbecue) note.

This ultra-dark bar offered a robust and well-executed smoothness. It was a polite, polished and approachable 85% bar.

The Regalo** cacao beans used to make this bar were grown in "the lush, tropical forests of Davao" in the southeastern Philippines. The maker's tasting notes read as follows: "...the Regalo variety has notes of green apple, green tea and pine wood."

*Ingredients: Cacao mass, organic muscovado sugar.  

**The Spanish word "regalo" means gift, present or treat in English.

 

Auro Chocolate - Mana Single Estate 85% Dark Chocolate Philippine Origin bar - Jan. 7, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Auro Chocolate
Mana Single Estate 85% Dark Chocolate Philippine Origin bar
Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 340 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $7.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Limited Edition Mana Single Estate 85% Dark Chocolate Philippine Origin bar was produced by Auro Chocolate (Calamba City, Laguna, Philippines) (dba FODC, Inc.).

This two-ingredient* chocolate had bold, deep dark cocoa, sweet (brown/unrefined) sugar (molasses, green coconut/nut/seed/peanut brittle), dried fruit (dried apricot, peach/nectarine, fig, prune, banana, apple), rum, and slightly green (aroma and flavor) notes. 

This ultra-dark bar offered a robust yet smooth, well-executed complexity. It had moderate dried fruit acidity, but relatively low bitterness--for a higher percentage (85%) cacao bar. The organic muscovado sugar contributed flavor, without being too dominant or sweet. (Thank you.)

The Mana cacao beans used to make this bar were grown in "the lush, tropical forests of Davao" in the southeastern Philippines. The maker's tasting notes included the following: "...Mana has notes of caramelized apple, rum, sweet, banana and cashew apple." 

*Ingredients: Cacao mass, organic muscovado sugar.  

Firetree Chocolate - Philippines Mindanao Island 73% Cocoa (bar) - Jan. 6, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Firetree Chocolate Limited
Philippines Mindanao Island 73% Cocoa (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 137 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Single Estate Philippines Mindanao Island 73% Cocoa (bar) was from Firetree Chocolate Limited (Peterborough, U.K.).  

The aroma and flavor notes of this smooth, almost creamy dark bar included true dark chocolate, caramel, honey, very faint and intriguing green-floral, and even fainter pleasant, almost savory earthiness and nut butter cookie notes. It was a well executed, pleasing chocolate. 

This chocolate was sweet, but the bump up from 70% to 73% Cacao--and the slightly unrefined quality of the sugar--seemed to have softened the hard, processed sugar effect,  allowing more cacao flavors to be experienced. (Thank you!)

The maker's tasting notes read as follows: "Citrus, honey and caramel layers yield a gentle yet rich nature. To enjoy fully, take time to let the flavours develop on the palate."

Ingredients: Cacao mass, unrefined sugar, cocoa butter 

 

Dormouse Chocolates - 71.5% Dark Chocolate (Philippines) - Jan. 5, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Dormouse Chocolates

71.5% Dark Chocolate (bar)

Good +

Weight: 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar

Calories: 405 calories in 1 bar

Cost: $9.00 + shipping for 1 bar

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and The Philippines Theme Week. Last week featured bars made from cacao grown in the "South Pacific." Today the focus shifts to the Republic of the Philippines--an archipelago made up of more than 7,000 islands.

Today's 71.5% Dark Chocolate (bar) was made by Dormouse Chocolates (Manchester, England). This bar was made using Trinitario/Criollo beans (2017 harvest) from Kablon Farm--a family firm based in the Cotabato region, on the southern island of Mindanao, in the Philippines.

This dark bar's aroma had fleeting green-floral (saffron), light nut, wood and spice (brown sugar molasses cookie) notes.

The texture of this well-tempered bar was relatively smooth, with an even, light sugar astringency and very fine graininess. (Think stoneground cocoa beans with whole sugar.) 

Conch time was 48 hours, which likely preserved flavors. (Long conch times in dark chocolate making can extend to up to 90+ hours. This longer processing time creates very smooth textured chocolate; however, some of the flavors may be lost after this length of time.)

Tasting notes for this sweet and flavorful chocolate included subtle dried fruit (date), dark chocolate, and faint brown sugar molasses cookie and fresh sugarcane and fruit jelly notes.

The dark chocolate finish gradually faded with with a rich brown sugar sweetness.

The maker's tasting notes read as follows: "Toasted oats, biscuits and caramel with a hint of blackcurrant."

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, muscovado sugar, cocoa butter

(Muscovado sugar is unrefined, or partially unrefined cane sugar with a molasses flavor. Muscovado sugar is less refined than brown sugar--which is refined white sugar with molasses added back in.)