Chocolate Naive - Kilimamwenza Congo Dark Chocolate 70% (bar) - March 10, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolate Naive

Kilimamwenza Congo 70% Nano_Lot Dark Chocolate (bar)

Good ++ - Good +++

Weight: 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar

Calories: 366 calories in 1 bar

Cost: $15.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: missing information 

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and JKLM Theme Week, where chocolate flavor inclusions-- or in today's case, origins--that begin with the letters J,K,L and/or M are featured. 

Today's Kilimamwenza Congo Dark Chocolate 70% (bar) was crafted by Domantus Uzpalis at Chocolate Naive (Zietelos, Lithuania).*

African cacao cannot be easily summarized. But when people hear African cacao, what comes to mind is typically bold, deep, dark forastero cacao beans grown in a few countries in West Africa and chocolate made using a relatively heavy roast profile. 

Today's award-winning dark chocolate was a relatively eloquent, soft-spoken entree, made with a lighter Trinitario-Forastero hybrid variety of cacao grown on Kilimamwenza farm in Mambasa, Ituri province, located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in central, sub-Saharan Africa.

This chocolate had a smooth but relatively complex dark chocolate aroma--with light, balanced, fermentation and umami (leather), and very faint fruit and green-floral notes.

The melt and initial texture were fairy uniform and creamy. A mild astringency in the finish led to a mouthfeel with a slight dryness/graininess. This astringency comes from polyphenols and tannins (as in unripe fruits (bananas, persimmons, olives, avocado), tea or red wine). 

While polyphenols have health benefits they also need to be balanced for a positive tasting experience. Heating/roasting/processing tends to diminish their presence.

The lightly roasted (110 degrees C./230 degrees F.) dark chocolate flavor was smooth, with a touch of honey-like sweetness, and a light, lingering finish with delicate green-floral, honey and fruit notes. (A lighter roast helps preserve lighter, more volatile flavor compounds (e.g. floral notes) as well as the polyphenols mentioned above.)

Ingredients: cacao, cane sugar, pure cacao butter

**Sometimes a chocolate maker has a rare, time-limited opportunity to purchase a small amount (a micro-lot) of cacao beans from a certain farm, origin and/or harvest year. This Chocolate Naive Kilimamwenza nano-lot, micro-batch bar was born from such an opportunity. 

Often there are small cacao fermenteries and co-ops involved in small, high-quality batches of bean output as well. This is not dissimilar to coffee projects and co-ops (usually not far from where cacao grows) in equatorial regions. (Chocolate Naive's chief chocolate maker does mention he was inspired by an individual(s) who helped local coffee co-ops export beans and to break into the specialty coffee market.) Who knows how many other pockets of great cacao in the massive continent of Africa are out there, waiting to be discovered?

Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat - Mekong Kumquat 68% Tien Giang (bar) - Mar. 9, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat
Mekong Kumquat 68% Tien Giang Single Origin (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 220 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar  
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order 

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and JKLM Theme Week, where I'm featuring chocolates with flavor inclusions and origins that start with the letters J, K, L and/or M.

Today's Mekong Kumquat 68% Tien Giang Single Origin Vietnamese Chocolate (bar) was crafted by Marou Faiseurs de Chocolate--chocolate makers in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), Vietnam.*

The kumquat** is a small, orange, "inside out" citrus fruit that can be eaten whole, peel and all. In fact, the most edible part is actually the sweet rind. The inside contains a relatively small amount of tart, acidic fruit and seeds.

This bar had an aroma with smooth dark chocolate, bright sweet-tart apricot and aromatic citrus, light spice, very faint fleeting earth, and very, very faint malt/cereal notes. 

It had an even, smooth, dark chocolate melt, texture and flavor. (There were no detectable textural bits of fruit.) Fruit flavor and citrus fruit acidity were uniformly present throughout the tasting experience, although these elements shifted in an almost magical way from bite to bite.

Do savor this chocolate slowly. The kumquat fruit took a while to bloom from "just" fruit-forward acidity to fully-formed kumquat flavor. Notes of sweet orange, dried apricot, neroli (orange blossom), aromatic lemon, and various fruit-floral qualities appeared and disappeared. And this elusive dance persisted during the full hour when this chocolate was tasted and re-tasted.

The maker's tasting notes read as follows: "From the lush orchards of Tien Giang province, this small citrus called kumquat adds a bright sweetness to the spicy notes of our well-known Tien Giang chocolate." 

Ingredients: Cacao nibs, cane sugar, cacao butter, dried kumquat

*Imported (to the U.S.) by: A Priori Specialty Food (Salt Lake City, UT).

**Kumquats (Citrus japonica, formerly genus Fortunella) originated in Eastern Asia. The small, oblong fruits can be eaten whole, sliced and included in salads and as garnishes,  and/or boiled with sugar and used in drinks, desserts, marmalades, jams and jellies.

Kumquats are cultivated in Southeast China and other Asian countries (e.g., Japan, Taiwan), and in the mighty (and agriculturally productive) Mekong River delta area in southern Vietnam. Kumquats have also been hybridized with other citrus fruits, such as the mandarin orange. Calamansi/calamondins include wild kumquat hybrids with Philippine limes/lemons (Citrofortunella microcarpa). And, Meiwa kumquat + Satsuma mandarin orange hybrids are known as "Orangequats".

And if you visit Vietnam during the Lunar New Year, you will see these small evergreen, citrus trees in pots, loaded with small orange fruits, everywhere. They'll be strapped to the back of motor scooters and small flatbed trucks, whizzing by you on big city streets.

Tien Giang province, located south of Ho Chi Minh City, is one of 13 provinces associated with the Mekong River delta area in southern Vietnam and where today's cacao was grown. The more temperate/tropical south is where fruits (especially bananas), coffee, coconuts and cacao are cultivated.

Essential Living Foods - Roasted and Salted Keto Crunch Low Carb Trail Mix - March 8, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Essential Living Foods

Roasted and Salted Keto Crunch Low Carb Trail Mix

Good - Good +

Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 12 oz. (340 g.) in total package

Calories: 150 calories in 1 serving

Cost: $ N/A - gift from a friend

Purchased from: N/A - gift from friend (thank you Bill!)

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and JKLM Theme Week, where chocolate items with flavors and origins starting with the letters J, K, L and/or M are being featured. Somewhat surprisingly, I found a lot of "K" entries this week.

Today's Essential Living Foods* Roasted and Salted Keto Crunch Low Carb Trail Mix was from Essential Living Foods (Torrance, CA), distributed by Terrafertil US, LLC.

I have never been on a ketogenic** diet; however, I've come to prefer less sugar over time. So I found this low carbohydrate, Keto Certified mix very appealing. It was a little sweet, a little salty, yet so different (and more satiating over a period of hours) than most highly sweetened, high-carbohydrate (often granola-based) trail mixes. 

The mix provided lots of satisfying crunchy texture with every element, toasted coconut pieces, cocoa nibs and roasted pumpkin and sunflower kernels (seeds). The cacao nibs conveyed the essence of cacao--unsweetened, slightly nutty, dark chocolate flavor.

The refreshing lack of sweetness also made it easier to taste and savor the individual elements that made up this mix. I enjoyed this as a stand-alone snack or breakfast, and even as a topping for my (non-keto) oatmeal. 

Ingredients: Organic toasted coconut chips, organic cacao nibs, organic roasted pumpkin kernels (organic pumpkin kernels, salt), organic roasted sunflower kernels (organic sunflower kernels, salt).

 

*Ecuador based snack-food company, Terrafertil Nature's Heart/Terrafertil Group, acquired the assets of Los Angeles-based Essential Living Foods (an organic, vegan, superfood brand) in 2017. In 2018, Nestle expanded their organic/plant-based offerings by acquiring a majority stake in Terrafertil (Nature's Heart and Essential Living Foods brands).

**Keto is short for ketogenic, as in a ketogenic diet that is low in carbohydrates and relatively high in fat and protein that results in the body switching to/burning more fats vs. sugars for energy. Ketogenic diets have become popular for weight loss; but when not taken to an extreme, cutting carbs/sugars in combination with eating more whole (less processed) foods can provide other benefits.

Endangered Species Chocolate - Organic 52% Milk Chocolate with Key Lime (bar) - March 7, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Endangered Species Chocolate
Smooth Organic 52% Milk Chocolate with Key Lime (bar)
Good 
Weight: .466 oz. (13.3 g.) / 1.4 oz. (40 g.) in total bar
Calories: 73.3 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and JKLM Theme Week, where I'm featuring chocolate items with flavor inclusions or origins that start with the letters J, K, L and/or M. 

Every few years I've gone on an alphabetic chocolate treasure hunt. This may be my last year to do so, as there are many other interesting chocolate themes to pursue. 

Today's Smooth Organic 52% Milk Chocolate with Key Lime (bar) from Endangered Species Chocolate (Indianapolis, IN) has been waiting for years in my chocolate vault for its turn. What better K + L flavor item than Key Lime?*

Chocolate and citrus pairings typically yield refreshing and delightfully tart-sweet results. And today's smooth, organic dark 52% cocoa milk chocolate suffused with natural key lime flavor was no exception. As billed, the texture was smooth, almost creamy. A hint of vanilla added a bit of floral warmth and paired nicely with the chocolate and the lime.

Ingredients: Organic milk chocolate (organic cane sugar, organic whole milk, organic cocoa butter, organic chocolate liquor, organic soy lecithin (as an emulsifier), and organic vanilla), Key Lime Oil.

*Smaller and more thin-skinned than Tahitian or Persian limes, Key Limes (aka Mexican limes) are often grown in Florida in the U.S. When ripe they can be yellow-green. They are aromatic (almost floral) and tart-sweet, with relatively low bitterness, and make a great flavoring for desserts (Key Lime pie), beverages (cocktails, limeades) and other items, including flavor inclusions in (or part of fillings or ganaches for) chocolate bars and confections.

The Oakland Chocolate Co. - 80% Bachelors Hall Farm (Jamaica) bar - March 6, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

The Oakland Chocolate Company
80% Cacao Bachelors Hall Farm, St. Thomas, Jamaica bar
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (56.7 g.) in total bar
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.00 for 1 bar + shipping
Purchased from: The Oakland Chocolate Company, Oakland, CA

Welcome to Day #9 (last day) of Chocolate and Jamaica Theme Week; and Day #1 of Chocolate and JKLM Theme Week, in which I feature chocolate items with flavor additions and/or origins that begin with the letters of the alphabet. This week those letters are: J, K, L and/or M.

Today's 80% Cacao Bachelors Hall (Jamaica) bar was made by Nancy Nadel owner and chief chocolate maker at The Oakland Chocolate Company (Oakland, CA). 

Nadel makes single origin bars and confections, all from Jamaican grown cacao--from a single parish (Saint Thomas) and estate/farm (Bachelors Hall Estate).

The aroma of today's 80% cacao Jamaica bar had a true chocolate (fudge brownie) aroma, with very faint and balanced umami, fermented cacao, and pleasing earth notes. 

The flavor notes were very similar with a hint of cream, and red fruit (mild, ripe cherry), fleeting coffee and spice. (Note: there was no cream or dairy in this bar.) It had balanced, relatively low bitterness for an ultra-dark chocolate.

Almost all the Jamaica bars featured in the past week, from different chocolate makers, used cacao from the same farm (Bachelors Hall Estate). So any differences in aroma and/or flavor were more likely to be due to a maker's choices, such as different cacao bean inspection (micro-sorting), roast profiles or conch times, or even aging or packaging.

Today's bar was a great example of all the tasting notes possible with this Jamaican cacao origin. Luscious true chocolate brownie flavor--with a little earth, fruit, spice, fermented cacao, umami and cream, but not too much (or too little) of any one element.

Ingredients: cocoa mass, organic cane sugar, cocoa butter, sea salt

*Jamaica is located at approximately 18 degrees North latitude -- well within the cacao growing belt (0 to 20 degrees north and/or south of the Equator). 

Most chocolate makers today are using Jamaican-grown cacao beans from the country's largest cacao farm in St. Thomas Parish, in Surrey County, in Eastern Jamaica -- Bachelor's Hall Estate, east of Kingston. Although where you find coffee farms in Jamaica, you may also see a few cacao trees as well. The two crops have similar growing requirements. 

The Oakland Chocolate Company - Caramel Bar - March 5, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

The Oakland Chocolate Company
Caramel Bar
Good ++ - +++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.35 g.) in total bar
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.50 for 1 bar + shipping
Purchased from: The Oakland Chocolate Company, Oakland, CA

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

Today's Caramel Bar was made by Nancy Nadel owner and chief chocolate maker at The Oakland Chocolate Company (Oakland, CA). Nadel makes reasonably priced, high-end craft chocolate bars and confections, from scratch, using cacao grown in Jamaica.

This snack-sized, filled, dark chocolate Caramel Bar was a very satisfying take on a traditional dark chocolate and caramel filled confection. A thick covering of flavorful, rich dark chocolate elevated this bar to the next level. 

When I started Chocolate Banquet in 2006, most chocolate covered caramels had fragile, bland and sweet chocolate shells that collapsed (into a sweet, sticky mess) if not handled very carefully. The emphasis was on the sugar and not on the chocolate. 

This Oakland Chocolate Co. bar was an artful melding of single origin (Bachelors Hall Estate (farm), Jamaica) dark chocolate (with fudge brownie aroma and flavor notes) and soft, rich, buttery caramel--made with real cream and butter.*

The addition of the coconut palm sugar used to make the caramel filling increased flavor depth and helped reduce the sugar buzz** a little (thank you Nancy!). Yet, there was enough sweetness to be appealing to caramel fans as well.

Today's Caramel Bar was a satisfying and enjoyable high-end take on a confectionery classic.

*Ingredients: "Cocoa mass (direct source from farmer Desmond Jadusingh, Bachelors Hall, Jamaica), organic cane sugar, cocoa butter, cream (milk), butter, organic coconut palm sugar, rice syrup, vanilla, sea salt." 

** Coconut palm sugar is lower on the glycemic index than processed cane sugar. I noticed I wasn't experiencing as rapid a rise in blood sugar, i.e. a "hard" sugar buzz, with this sweetener many years ago when I started sampling chocolates made with coconut palm sugar. And as long as a sweetener (of any sort) doesn't interfere with tasting the chocolate, I am all for that. The stimulants in cacao (primarily theobromine, and a bit of caffeine) in chocolate are enough for me. 

Coconut palm sugar starts with people climbing high up in palm trees to gather coconut flower sap/nectar that is then made into the sugar we see in stores and in chocolates. After watching people collect this nectar in SE Asia, I have a great deal of respect for those engaged in this work.

The Oakland Chocolate Co. - Raspberry Bar - March 4, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

The Oakland Chocolate Company
Raspberry Bar
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.35 g.) in total bar
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.50 for 1 bar + shipping
Purchased from: The Oakland Chocolate Company, Oakland, CA

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

Today's Raspberry Bar was made by Nancy Nadel owner and chief chocolate maker at The Oakland Chocolate Company (Oakland, CA). 

Nadel has been making her bean-to-bar (and bean-to-bonbon chocolates) from cacao beans grown in one country, Jamaica, for many years now. She was also the first woman craft chocolate maker I met in the U.S. when I started Chocolate Banquet in 2006.

She obtained cacao to make the three bars featured this week from Bachelors Hall Farm, Saint Thomas Parish, in eastern Jamaica, and practices Direct Trade. She knows the cacao farmer (Desmond Jadusingh at Bachelors Hall Estate) personally. 

Raspberries are one of my favorite items to pair with dark chocolate. This small (filled) Raspberry Bar was packed with great aroma (true (brownie) dark chocolate, red raspberries).

The dark chocolate had smooth, almost creamy, substantial texture and the same rich, true chocolate (brownie) flavor as the aroma, with faint earth and red fruit notes. 

The tart-sweet raspberry filling wasn't overly sweet or tart (thank you), allowing authentic fresh/ripe berry flavor to shine through. The filling contained real raspberries (with real seeds) that were delicately firmed into a soft jelly with judicious use of pectin and lemon juice. 

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter, raspberries, pectin, lemon juice