Slitti - Madagascar 75% Cacao Fine Selection (bar) - Mar. 16, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Slitti
Madagascar 75% Cacao Fine Selection (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 142.5 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $6.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order 

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

Today's Madagascar 75% Cacao Fine Selection (bar) was made in Italy by Slitti Cacao Pregiati (Monsummano Terme, Tuscany, Italy).

Most dark chocolate bars I've tasted from Italy (and other countries) have uniform, almost bland, roasted dark chocolate flavor. This is the understandable result when taking high volumes of different cacao(s) from different places (often West Africa), with the goal of blending them into one consistent flavor profile over time. Some bars have some added vanilla, adding a little lift. But, the bars are fairly predictable. So I was curious to see what this single origin Madagascar bar might taste like.

This gluten-free chocolate began with an aroma of uniform baked fudge brownie and chocolate cake...what I'd normally expect.

But then this classic chocolate aroma was quickly joined by some welcome complexity: balanced fermenting cacao fruit (sweet vinegar, brown sugar, fruit (peaches, plums, apricots, cacao pulp)); warm spice (cinnamon); very faint, fleeting green floral (imagined vanilla) and baked sweet bread notes. 

The shift--from a scent with uniform chocolate brownie/chocolate cake to one with more noticeable fruit nuances--evolved over a minute or two, after the inner, sealed packaging was opened. 

The fruit notes were within the range I associate with Madagascar (Sambirano Valley) cacao-based chocolate(s). (Madagascar cacao is often described as having tart-sweet citrus fruit and berry notes, but may also include concentrated/dried stone fruits such as peach, nectarine, plum, and apricot notes, depending on the cacao varieties and fermentation techniques used.)

In fact, I found myself anticipating tart fruit notes the minute I opened this dark bar, so perhaps I was bound to find them. (This is why blind, side-by-side chocolate tastings can be more enlightening; they help reduce biases we all have--even though these same expectations, based on memories, also make us smile as we encounter "old friends" in tasting experiences.)

The flavor of this bar was uniform, roasted, smooth dark chocolate, with a touch of fruit acidity--initially less citrus (orange/tangerine) and more stewed stone fruits mentioned above with a few red currants popped in for good measure. On the third time I re-tasted this bar there was also a very faint, fleeting dark chocolate + spice/herb note (caraway, rye bread) note.

The chocolate was low in bitterness. It was relatively sweet for a 75% cacao chocolate; but some of that perceived sweetness likely came from natural fruit flavor from the cacao itself. And this chocolate had a clean, subtle chocolate-y finish.

Ingredients: "Cocoa mass Madagascar (Sambirano), sugar, cocoa butter (6%). (Cocoa min. 75%)"

Nuance Chocolate - Madagascar Sambirano Valley 70% Dark (bar) - Mar. 15, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Nuance Chocolate Company

Single Origin Madagascar Sambirano Valley 2016 70% Pure Dark (bar)

Good ++ - Good +++

Weight: .97 oz. (27.5 g.) / 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar

Calories: 150.5 calories for 1/2 bar

Cost: $8.50 (+ shipping) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Nuance Chocolate, online order

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

Today's Single Origin Madagascar Sambirano Valley 2016 (Harvest) ("Batch 22591") 70% Pure Dark (bar) was made by Nuance Chocolate Company (Fort Collins, CO). 

Nuance produces a variety of small-batch, bean-to-bar chocolates (bars and confections). This single origin dark chocolate was made using a Trinitario (variety of) cacao grown in the lush Sambirano Valley in northwest Madagascar.

The aroma, flavor--and texture--of this chocolate all had a balanced smoothness and sophistication that even Goldilocks* would be pleased with. There were no traces of dense darkness, earthiness or spiky surprises in this bar. It had a natural tart sweetness, but was not overly sour or bitter. It had a clean, crisp fruit/peaches and cream finish. It was just right.*

The chocolate had a "warm," true chocolate (hot chocolate, drinking chocolate) aroma and flavor, and an almost creamy, smooth texture. Most notably, it had a gentle wave of bright, tart-sweet fruit acidity (a blend of ripe, acidic citrus, faint ripe red berry, and concentrated stone fruits (nectarine, plum, apricot)). These acidic fruit flavor notes are very characteristic of Madagascan cacao.**

Nuance Chocolate's tasting notes read as follows: "Fascinating and sophisticated layers of flavor, with a long and satisfying finish. Brightly acidic fruit, in particular grapefruit and raspberry, with a backdrop of softer flavors like plum and apricot."

Ingredients: cacao, cane sugar, cocoa butter

*Goldilocks was a young girl in a fairy tale (or in an earlier version of the story in Europe, an older woman), who entered a home to try out the occupants' (a family of bears') furniture and porridge. During her larcenous visit, Goldilocks located items that were "just right" (not too hard, not too soft, not too hot, not too cold, etc.) that were to her liking. 

I do not advocate breaking into a bear's home. You're more likely to find grubs and honey (and trouble) there than chocolate anyway. 

Bears will eat chocolate but, like dogs, eating too much can make them quite ill. So, politely decline if they ask you for some. Humans can process the plant alkaloid theobromine (and smaller amount of caffeine), found in cocoa and chocolate; but many other animals cannot.

**These lovely citrus and other fruit flavors reminded me of cacao fruit. If you are traveling in Hawaii (the only U.S. state where you'll likely find cacao growing) or other tropical country within 20 degrees latitude of the Equator, do look for opportunities to try cacao, specifically the pulpy white cacao fruit.

If we could transport ourselves to the plantation where the Trinitario cacao used to make this bar was grown, and we broke open one of the cacao pods (fruits) to taste the ivory-colored fruit pulp surrounding the seeds (cacao beans), we'd find that the fruit has its own tart sweet fruit flavor that's a blend of many of the fruits referenced in today's description. 

Cacao fruit is bright, tart-sweet and delicious. The flavor(s) vary in intensity depending on the cacao variety and where it's growing. Citrus, watermelon, various tropical fruits (mango, mangosteen, pineapple), and many other fruit and floral descriptors, have been used to describe this exotic fruit that begins to ferment fairly quickly once harvested. 

Madagascan cacao seems to capture some of this cacao fruit essence better than some other origins.

Fossa Chocolate - 70% Dark Mava Ottange Madagascar (bar) - Mar. 14, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Fossa Chocolate Pte Ltd
70% Dark Mava Ottange Madagascar (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 274 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's 70% Dark Mava Ottange Madagascar (bar) was crafted by Fossa Chocolate in Singapore.

Fossa is known for small-batch chocolate(s) with different tea inclusions. (Their oolong tea infused bars are especially nice.) Almost all their offerings I've sampled have had a subtle sophistication about them.*

This chocolate was made using cacao from the Sambirano Valley area in northwestern Madagascar, a region known for its cacao. Most of the Madagascar bars this week share this same origin.**

The cacao beans in this bar were from the MAVA Plantation--that encompasses eight different farms, including the Ottange Farm.

The aroma of this vegan, gluten-free bar had a softly sweet, slightly fragrant (hot cocoa, hot drinking chocolate) with faint fruit, floral (neroli), spice, and almost undetectable green notes. 

The chocolate had a uniformly smooth melt and texture and was made using cacao from the MAVA Plantation that contains several different farms, including the Ottange Farm.

The Dance of the Seven Citrus Veils
The taste fulfilled on the promise hinted at in the aroma notes. It was as if I "heard" a dance party happening, on the other side of a set of large wooden doors. And, after the first bite of this chocolate, those doors were suddenly thrown open and I was invited to join the party. 

My senses were suddenly illuminated with a sweet-tart candied citrus peel brightness. Flavors shimmered and shifted around me within a bright hemisphere of light. These flavors were mostly within the citrus spectrum, including ripe tangerine, sweet orange, tangelo, Mandarin orange, Valencia orange, Navel orange and kumquat--and pure sunshine and sugar. 

It was hard to pin down the other more subtle flavor elements in the midst of the dance of a seven citrus veils. But they included a faint flickering of forest/earth and chocolate malted milk powder.

All this fun, from only two-ingredients: cacao and cane sugar. Except for the bright citrus headlights, this is one of the most civilized, and sweetest, Madagascar ride I've taken in a few years. The 70% cacao landed closer to a 60-65% cacao bar on my palette, in part due to its bright sweetness.

Fossa tasting notes read as follows: "orange, malt, roasted nuts."

Ingredients: Cacao, cane sugar

*Yes, that included Fossa's limited edition "Duck Shit" Dancong Tea Chocolate bar that had a faint, but balanced, grassy flavor note that recalled a marshy area where you might see ducks dabbling. (No actual duck contributions were involved in the making of this bar; so there's no need to be squeamish.)

**Decades ago, cacao from Bertil Akesson's family plantation launched many of the first Madagascar craft chocolate bars in the U.S. Akesson became one of the first well-respected suppliers to provision the new wave of new bean-to-bar makers with single origin beans. 

Other "made in country" bars/chocolates in Madagascar worthy of note include those from Chocolaterie Robert SA.

Beyond Good (formerly Madecasse), a cocoa and vanilla company with direct ties to Madagascar (based in Brooklyn, NY), was started in 2006 by two Peace Corps volunteers. Madecasse chocolate bars were some of the first "Madagascar" bars I can remember sampling when I started Chocolate Banquet in that same year.

Michel Cluizel - Mangaro Noir 65% Madagascar (bar) - March 13, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Michel Cluizel 
Mangaro Noir 65% Madagascar (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 199.4 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.99 for 1 bar 
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and JKLM Theme Week, where I'm featuring chocolate items with flavors and origins that start with the letters J, K, L and/or M; and Day #2 of Chocolate and Madagascar Theme Week.

Today's Mangaro Noir 65% Madagascar (bar) was from Michel Cluizel (Damville, France). This chocolate was made using cacao from a single farm (Mangaro Plantation) located in northwest Madagascar, in the lush Sambirano River valley--a region known for its high-quality cacao (which is sometimes referred to as "green gold").

This chocolate had a complex and appealing aroma, especially for a 65% (sub-70%) cacao bar. Aroma notes included: dark chocolate, light honey, fruit and faint/fleeting green (tea, very faint chicle/rubber, forest) and light earth and roasted notes. 

The chocolate had a smooth melt and texture with little to no astringency.

Flavor notes included earthy dark chocolate, faint, fleeting (balanced) umami/savory fermented, and faint fruit (ripe citrus, tart sweet berry) and warm spice. There was a friendly amount of well-managed earthiness; that is, there were no jarring "dirt" or "loamy" spikes. 

A very subtle hint of authentic, slightly earthy vanilla pod rounded out this bouquet of flavors and added a bit of warmth and charm.

The finish was relatively short and clean, with only a trace of smooth, sweet chocolate remaining by the very end. 

Ingredients: "Fine cocoa from the Mangaro Plantation (in Madagascar), sugar, cocoa butter, Bourbon vanilla pod."

Trader Joe's - Organic 92% Dark Chocolate Single Origin Organic bar from Madasgascar - Mar. 12, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Trader Joe's

Organic 92% Dark Chocolate Single Origin bar from Madagascar

Good + - Good ++

Weight: 1.32 oz. (37.5 g.) / 2.64 oz. (75 g.) in total bar

Calories: 240 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $N/A - gift for 1 bar

Purchased from: N/A gift from family member (Thank you Dave!)

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and JKLM Theme Week, where chocolate items with flavor inclusions and origins beginning with the letters J, K, L and/or M are being featured. Today also marked the first day of Chocolate and Madagascar Theme Week.

Today's Organic 92% Single Origin Madagascar Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA). This 92% cacao chocolate was made, from bean-to-bar, in Madagascar. Heirloom cacao beans used to make this bar "in country" were grown in remote tropical forests, and "directly sourced from farmer-run, organic cooperatives."

The resulting chocolate was packed with very deep, dark, complex aroma and flavor, and was a great example of a balanced, naturally savory (umami) bar, with a minimum of sugar. 

The aroma had complex, very dark chocolate, and fleeting savory/umami notes (baked bread, brownie, Boston brown bread (with molasses and raisins), baked potato/roasted root vegetables) and very faint leather and clay/earth. 

In the heart of the tasting curve there was a relatively high degree of fruit acidity: bright, tart, bittersweet citrus fruit notes. Think orange juice, orange marmalade, and/or dark, aged and mellowed balsamic vinegar infused with tangerine, plum and berries, or charcoal roasted holiday citrus fruitcake. (Madagascar cacao is known for its citrus and red berry notes.)

This was a hearty meal of a bar. Toward the end, the robust dark flavor(s) converged into a relatively long finish, reminiscent of an ultra-dark, lightly salted, complex, fudge brownie with caramel. (Note: There was no salt, and very little sugar, in this chocolate.)

I liked this bar, especially when it had been unwrapped and left to breathe for just a few minutes). Left out too long, it may lose some of the more complex and delicate flavors. And you'll be left with roasted and acid notes that are quite bold, but without some of the finer flavors that make it more balanced and approachable for a 90%+ cacao chocolate.

I plan to add it to future tasting flights to allow people to experience its unique attributes. Thank you to the farmers and processors for growing this cacao and making skillful fermentation, roasting and conching/grinding choices that, together, resulted in such an interesting bar. And thank you to Trader Joe's for sourcing some great, high-quality chocolates over time.

Ingredients: Organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic sunflower lecithin (emulsifier).

Elmhurst - Cacao Oat Latte + Mocha, Maca, Mushroom Latte - Mar. 11, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Elmhurst Milked, LLC

Oat Latte with Cacao

Good

Weight: 3 fl. oz. (88.7 g.) / 12 fl. oz. (355 mL) in total bottle

Calories: 52.5 calories in 1/4 bottle 

Cost: $ missing information

Purchased from: missing information 

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and JKLM Theme Week, featuring chocolate items with flavors and/or origins that begin with the letters J, K, L and/or M.

Today's Oat Latte (with) Cacao was from Elmhurst Milked, LLC (Elma, NY). The company offers plant-based milks with no added "fillers, gums or additives."

 

Today's Oat Latte possessed a rich mocha aroma--smooth but robust (flash brew Arabica) coffee and dark chocolate syrup notes with rich texture and flavor. (It was also not as sweet as the aroma seemed to indicate, which was to my liking.) This brew had a lush, oat-milk enabled liquid velvet mouthfeel. And there were no added gums or emulsifiers in this vegan, dairy-free drink. (thank you!).

Maca, Mocha, Lucuma, Mushroom Latte 

Just for fun, I also mixed a little bit of this beverage with an Essential Living Foods Maca, Lacuma and Mushroom powdered mix. The dry blend had faint caramel and light vanilla angel food cake notes that brightened up and complemented the darker coffee and cacao in today's Cacao Oat Latte beverage. A few too many flavors; but it was fun to try.

Ingredients: oatmilk (water, oats), flash-brew coffee (water, Arabica coffee), hemp cream (water, hemp seeds), cane sugar, cacao powder, natural flavors.

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?