Hasnaa Chocolats Grands Crus La Feverie - India Idduki 71% bar - Feb. 17, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

La Feverie - Hasnaa Chocolats Grands Crus

India Idduki 71% Dark Chocolate (bar)

Good ++ - Good +++

Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (56.6 g.) in total bar

Calories: 160 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $9.50 (estimate) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Bonjour and Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and India Theme Week, and Day #1 of EFGHI Theme Week, where you'll see words like Idduki, India, and Hasnaa's La Feverie, and floral flavor elements, featured.

Today's Idduki India 71% (bar) was created by Hasnaa's Chocolats Grand Crus La Feverie bean-to-bar workshop (in Bordeaux, France). It was made using (2019 Harvest) organic cacao grown in Idukki, Kerala, in southern India. 

Hasnaa, her husband and team make confections and bars in a celebrated red wine region of France. In borrowing some of the language of wine that refers to high-value ingredients and sources, the "Chocolats Grand Crus" label says to me they make great single origin chocolates. (La Feverie is Hasnaa's bean-to-bar workshop.) 

This 71% India bar had an aroma with a sequence of interesting elements: the first bite had a refreshing, but subtle and well-balanced green floral (rose) note which dissipated after the package was open for a while.*

The second bite had an aroma and flavor with a faint fermented red fruit (red grape, cherry and cacao fruit) note. Both were followed by dark chocolate flavors with light, tart-sweet, tropical fruit (ripe pineapple, mango, mangosteen, and cacao fruit/pulp) notes. 

Maker's tasting notes on Bar and Cocoa (U.S. chocolate distributor) site: "Plump notes of cherry, slight flowery rose on a final of pineapple and candied exotic fruits."

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar

*Floral notes are a bit shy. They will escape out a window as soon as possible, presumably to return to the gods or the garden. And, once gone, they rarely return. In more scientific terms, floral notes tend to be more volatile; and heavily roasted/processed chocolate will typically have far less of these flavor elements left.

Soklet - Desi Rabdi - Milk Chocolate with Pistachios, Saffron (bar) - Feb. 16, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Desi Rabdi - 45% Toasted Milk Chocolate (with) Pistachio, Saffron (bar)

Good - Good +

Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar

Calories: 283.5 calories in 1 bar

Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar + shipping

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and India Theme Week.

Today's Soklet Caramelized Milk Chocolate with Pistachios and Saffron (bar)* was manufactured by Regal Foods and Beverages (Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India).

This Desi Rabdi bar was inspired by traditional Indian sweets. It contained cocoa butter, but no cocoa solids.* But, I wouldn't call this "white chocolate." The bar had a rich golden brown hue that was achieved by careful caramelization of sugar and milk. Cocoa butter or fat (which can be half of the content of cocoa beans) contributed a creamy, but firm (at room temperature) chocolate bar texture.

Happily, this confectionery homage did not taste overly sweet (cane sugar was the third ingredient). And there were enjoyable, milky hints of pistachio nut--and a fleeting, delicate and uplifting floral saffron spice note.

Ingredients: Cacao butter, skimmed milk powder, cane sugar, roasted pistachio, saffron 

*Note: A white chocolate work-around was used today.

To "count" as a chocolate on Chocolate Banquet, a bar, confection, beverage or other chocolate item needs to contain some form of cocoa solids. Today's Desi Rabdi bar contained a generous amount of cocoa butter (it was the number one ingredient), but no cocoa solids.

This should not have been a surprise, as traditional Indian desserts aren't typically loaded up with dark chocolate.

So, even though this bar was perfectly fine on its own, I drizzled a fine thread of very smooth/mild dark chocolate (melted dark chocolate with a few drops of date syrup and rose water) across a piece of this bar. 

I used a small amount of dark chocolate so I wouldn't "suffocate" the more delicate saffron and pistachio flavors in this bar. The goal of this "topping" was to create a layering of flavors rather than a forced flavor fusion. It was a successful pairing.

Soklet - Candied Ginger 60% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Feb. 15, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Soklet
Candied Ginger 60% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total 
Calories: 264 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar + shipping
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Soklet Candied Ginger, 60% Dark Chocolate Glazed Ginger bar was manufactured by Regal Foods and Beverages (Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India). 

This vegan chocolate bar had an inviting, smooth, relatively subtle, semi-sweet chocolate aroma suffused with warm, sweet ginger spice notes. It was a judicious and well-balanced blend of these two relatively strong flavors. 

As with other Soklet bars sampled this week, this one was an authentic-tasting,* Indian Origin chocolate--made with cacao grown on plantations in the foothills of the Anamalais, in Tamil Nadu in southern India. The chocolate was not too sweet, not too bitter, and not too heavy on flavor inclusions; and there were no sharp or "off" notes. 

Ingredients: Cacao beans, cacao butter, cane sugar, crystallized ginger

*Authentic-tasting to me means that I can taste and recognize the whole food ingredients used to make the chocolate. 

Over-processing and attempts to boost or sweeten certain flavors, can make it difficult to taste nuanced, natural flavors. Ironically, in the U.S. (and elsewhere), the addition of "Natural Flavors" (from animal or plant sources and often processed with chemical additives)--and other not so natural added ingredients--can taste artificial and obscure the original flavors. 

Happy Valentines Day! Go To Chocolate - filled chocolate assortment - Feb. 14, 2021

Valentines Day Chocolate(s)

Go To Chocolate
Valentines Day filled chocolate assortment
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) (estimate) in 3 piece box
Calories: 170 calories (estimate) in 3 pieces
Cost: $ N/A - gift from a friend (thank you Toni)
Purchased from: N/A - from Go To Chocolate, San Carlos, CA

Note: This holiday-related chocolate entry is a bonus entry, gratefully wedged into Chocolate and India Theme Week. 

Happy Valentines Day to all who celebrate! Heartfelt thanks to my friend and neighbor Toni for the gift of filled chocolates, in heart and flower form. A seasoned world traveler, she has contributed many new chocolates to Chocolate Banquet in the past decade. 

Today's 3-piece assortment in a petite, purple, heart-shaped box were from Go To Chocolate (San Carlos, CA). Chef and chocolatier Michael Hohenthal has been creating his own small-batch chocolates (filled chocolates and bars) since 2005, and sells them at local farmers markets (a good source for finding new chocolates).

Collectively, the three glossy pieces in this box had a sweet dark chocolate with a very faint coconut aroma. 

• The first heart-shaped filled chocolate had a light, fluffy marshmallow filling with a light citrus-sweet tang.
• The second (also heart-shaped) piece contained a sweet, dark chocolate ganache filling with fudge brownie flavor notes.
• The third, flower shaped, filled chocolate had an intriguing caramelized flavor, with very light floral and fruit notes.

Ingredients: unknown (gift box was not labeled) 

Soklet - Dark Milk Chocolate with Ghee 55% (bar) - Feb. 14, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Soklet

Dark Milk Chocolate with Ghee 55% (bar)

Good +

Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar

Calories: 251.5 calories in 1 bar

Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar + shipping

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Soklet Dark Milk Chocolate with Ghee 55% (bar) was manufactured by Regal Foods and Beverages (Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India).

The aroma of this 55% dark milk chocolate bar had chocolate, malt, cereal, brown sugar, very faint green, rice, fruit (goji berry, mango), butter oil and spice notes, and most of these notes carried over into the flavor as well.

The texture of this chocolate was smooth with a creamy melt, thanks in part due to the ghee* and skim milk powder.

The flavor notes included brown sugar, chocolate, cereal and fruit (goji berry, mango, mangosteen, tropical fruit), and these lightly lingered into the finish along with a sustained cocoa note at the end. 

This tree-to-bar Soklet chocolate was created from cacao grown on plantations in the foothills of the Anamalais in Tamil Nadu, in Southern India. The chocolate was quite low in bitterness, and the fruit acidity that was present was balanced and sweet.

Ingredients: Cacao beans, cacao butter, sugar, ghee, skimmed milk powder

*Ghee is clarified butter made from cow or buffalo milk that may have a faint nutty flavor. The heating and clarifying process reduces the milk protein(s), whey/lactose and water in the butter making it potentially easier to digest for some. Ghee is often used in cooking in South Asia, as it has a higher smoke point (it doesn't burn/smoke as easily once the proteins have been skimmed off).

Soklet - 100% Dark Chocolate India Origin (bar) - Feb. 13, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Soklet
Dark Chocolate 100% India Origin (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 272.5 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar + shipping
Purchased from: Bar and Cacao, online order

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

Today's Soklet 100% Dark Chocolate India Origin (bar) was manufactured by Regal Foods and Beverages (Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India).

This complex, ultra-dark chocolate was also very approachable for a 100% cacao bar, with no sharp spikes or "off" notes. 

The aroma of this chocolate took me on a whirl around the chocolate tasting wheel. It started with a fleeting floral note, quickly evolved to spice blend, followed by brown sugar, nutty, and then green floral perfume and green coconut notes. 

The texture was thick and hearty, a satisfying thick cacao mass (think stiff, freshly ground peanut butter with less oil and no sugar).

The flavor of this one-ingredient (100% cacao beans) bar, like most unsweetened chocolate bars, was a bit different than the aroma. Deep, concentrated cacao flavor notes with very balanced (fruit) acidity and bitterness, with fleeting malt and green rice notes.

Ingredients: Cacao beans

Soklet - Peanut Butter Crunch 60% Dark (bar) - Feb. 12, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Soklet
Peanut Butter Crunch - 60% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 271 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar + shipping
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Soklet Peanut Butter Crunch - 60% Dark Chocolate (bar) was manufactured by Regal Foods and Beverages (Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India).

This vegan bar had smooth dark chocolate aroma and flavor with balanced nutty notes; creamy texture; and a pleasing finish. It was not too sweet (thank you!). 

The cacao was grown in the green hills of the Anamalais in Tamil Nadu, India. The resulting tree-to-bar Soklet, Indian Origin, chocolate in this bar was low in acidity and bitterness, made even more so by a perfectly balanced amount (subtle touch) of roasted peanuts and sea salt. Loved the subtlety of the flavor accents. This is my favorite Soklet bar so far.

Ingredients: Cacao beans, cane sugar, roasted peanuts, cacao butter, sea salt