Taza Chocolate - 80% Cacao Crunch bar + Nicaragua Rosquillas cookies - Apr. 3, 2021

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Taza Chocolate
80% Cacao Crunch Organic Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $1.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's featured 80% Cacao Crunch Organic Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Taza Chocolate (Somerville, MA).

This ultra-dark bar was made from cacao from an unknown origin(s). (The country (ies) of origin were not on the label.) However, it was a perfect pairing with the Nicaraguan Rosquillas cookies I made today. (More on these cookies below.) 

This Taza Chocolate bar was everything these cookies were not (except both were crunchy). The chocolate had a deep, dark roasted (yet not roasted),* green aroma. It conjured the feeling of being in a cool, green forest, with almost (but not quite) a mint/menthol note. It was, refreshingly, un-sweet (thank you!).

The even, stone-ground dark chocolate flavor also had depth (with a faint umami hint of leather). Embedded throughout the chocolate was a tiny riot of crispy, crunchy, puffed quinoa particles. 

Nicaraguan Rosquillas, chocolate cookies

Today's effortlessly light, crunchy shortbread style cookies were made using masa harina (finely ground corn flour). These relatively airy but substantial cookies were good with coffee, but could be enjoyed anytime. They were delicious and gluten-free. I made two different kinds. 

The first batch had "flower" petal-shaped indentations around the edges, with small mounds of panela (unrefined brown sugar) in the centers. 

And the second batch was made with an egg (making these cookies a bit lighter and fluffier) and these had Nicaraguan chocolate centers. 

I'm now a fan of rosquillas. They can be made slightly less sweet. (I used less sugar than most of the online recipes I found called for; and that did not seem to make a difference in the outcome.)

Taza Chocolate Ingredients: "Organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar, organic puffed quinoa, organic cocoa butter, organic vanilla beans."

*It's possible to have a blend of different roasted batches, each with a different flavor profile.

If makers heavily roast all their cacao, they run the risk of losing more subtle green and floral notes. (Occasionally more roasting time is used to lose objectionable flavors in lesser quality cacao.) However, if cacao beans are under-roasted, makers may miss out on some of the flavor development that comes with roasting. Some makers mix different roast batches to try to capture the best of both worlds. 

The best chocolate makers create several test roast batches to optimize roast settings/times for a given lot of cacao. Each cacao origin/variety may have different percentages of fat, moisture and various flavor attributes.

Friis Holm - La Dalia 100% (Nicaragua bar) - Apr. 2, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Friis-Holm Chokolade
La Dalia 100% (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 240 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $20.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's La Dalia 100% (bar) was from Friis-Holm Chokolade (Hvalso, Denmark).

La Dalia is a largely rural area (that includes a town) in Nicaragua (near Matagalpa and Jinotega). The sub-tropical forests and volcanic soils in this hilly region are well-suited for growing cacao trees. 

Nicaragua is one of several cacao cradle/origin countries in Central America. Cacao has been cultivated and appreciated here for centuries. Happily, a handful of dedicated farmers and fermenteries have connected with skilled artisan chocolate makers around the world in recent decades--resulting in some great chocolates.

This aroma of this bar had light, pleasant notes of concentrated/dried fruits, raw sugars, nuts, dark chocolate and very faint, freshly mowed sweet, green grass.

The creamy, rapid melt and velvety smooth texture were enjoyable and luxurious.

Over time, the brain learns to be prepared for the surprising disconnect between the sweet aroma and the bitter taste of unsweetened, 100% cacao chocolates. Added cocoa butter* can help cushion the blow.

The flavor of this unsweetened, 100% cacao bar was like landing on a large, silk cushion--which is to say, it wasn't as bitter as expected. The deep, roasted cacao bitter flavor in this two-ingredient bar did surface but it was steady and balanced; there was no scary spikiness to it. 

*Ingredients: Cacao beans, cocoa butter.

Triangle Roasters - Nicaragua - 70% Nicaragua La Colonia (bar) - Apr. 1, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Triangle Roasters
Nicaragua - 70% Nicaragua La Colonia (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.7 oz. (48.11 g.) in total bar
Calories: 265 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order 

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

Today's 70% Nicaragua La Colonia (bar) from Triangle Roasters (Philadelphia, PA) was well executed and complex. Its shimmering aroma and flavor notes held my attention, and sparked joy, from start to finish. 

The aroma was delightfully multi-layered with very faint green tea latte, light sponge cake, brown sugar, light spice (cinnamon, vanilla), subtle fruit (goji berry, golden raisin) notes. A few minutes later there was a very faint umami/savory (leather, mushroom) note.

The bright chocolate flavor was fruit-forward (ripe boysenberry--a cross between a raspberry and a blackberry) with a fleeting but balanced earthy nut (walnut) note. A pleasant fruity tartness bloomed (into tart cherry) after the first chew and lingered into the long finish, that ultimately ended with a polite, earthy nut note. 

The maker's notes read as follows: "toffee, blackberry, hazelnut."

Ingredients: Cacao, cane sugar.

Alfred Ritter - Cacao Selection - Dark Chocolate 61% Cacao Fine with Cacao From Nicaragua (bar)

Chocolate of the Day

Alfred Ritter GmbH and Co.
Cacao Selection - Dark Chocolate 61% Cacao Fine with cacao from Nicaragua (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 296.8 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Mollie Stone's, Sausalito, CA 

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and NOPQ Theme Week, featuring chocolates with flavor inclusions and origin locations that start with the letters N, O, P and/or Q. And we're extending this "week" by ending with a series of chocolate bars that contain cacao from Nicaragua.

Today's "Cacao Selection - Dark Chocolate 61% Cacao Fine with Cacao from Nicaragua" (bar) was from Alfred Ritter GmbH and Co. (Waldenbuch, Germany). 

In 2019, the company launched a series of Ritter-Sport "Cacao Selection" (selected origin) bars made with just 3-4 ingredients.* (Yesterday, the Ritter Cacao Selection 74% Peru bar was featured.)

Today's bar followed the Ritter-Sports packaging tradition. A generously-sized (3.5 oz./100 g.), square bar was molded into a connected array of thick (smaller) squares. Each individual square bore the Ritter logo. To enjoy, just break off the number of squares desired to create your preferred serving size. 

This chocolate was made with Nicaraguan cacao beans,* and had a smooth dark, roasted cacao flavor. As expected this 61% cacao chocolate was brighter, sweeter and a bit smoother than yesterday's (darker, "intense") Ritter-Sport 74% Peru bar. 

Happily, neither chocolate was blandly uniform. (Many high-volume chocolates can be.) They each had plenty of true chocolate flavor, and both possessed some pleasingly complex cacao aroma and flavor nuances. Today's Nicaragua bar had an aroma with concentrated fruit (dried plums, apricots)--similar to yesterday's Peru bar. 

The flavors, however, had a shyer, sophisticated quality--with hints of cream and subtle fruit (peaches and strawberry) and pure cocoa (hot chocolate) notes. These notes are more often associated with fine cacao or heritage cacao beans. (Although the fruit notes were also brightened/elevated a bit by the greater amount of sugar in this bar.)

*Ingredients: Chocolate liquor (made from cocoa beans from Nicaragua), sugar, cocoa butter.

Allergen information: "May contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, milk, soy and egg."

*Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa sourcing. "We purchase a volume of UTZ and/or Rainforest Alliance Certified (tm) cocoa equivalent to the volume used in this product. www.ra.org/mb." 

Alfred Ritter GmbH - Cacao Selection Dark Chocolate 74% Cacao Intense Peru (bar) - March 30, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Alfred Ritter GmbH and Co.
Cacao Selection - Dark Chocolate 74% Cacao Intense with cacao from Peru (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 296.8 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Mollie Stone's, Sausalito, CA 

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and NOPQ Theme Week, featuring chocolates with flavor inclusions and origin locations that start with the letters N, O, P and/or Q. 

Today's "Cacao Selection - Dark Chocolate 74% Cacao Intense with Cacao from Peru" (bar) was from Alfred Ritter GmbH and Co. (Waldenbuch, Germany). 

The company has offered a wide variety of bars with different flavor inclusions for many years. In 2019, they launched a series of Ritter-Sport "Cacao Selection" (selected origin) bars made with just 3-4 ingredients.

Today's thick, dark "intense" bar consisted of squares that could be broken off, to create a preferred serving size. It was made with Peruvian cacao beans,* and had fairly deep dark, roasted cacao flavor. However, this chocolate was not blandly uniform. It also possessed some pleasingly complex cacao aroma and flavor nuances.

The aroma had hints of concentrated fruit (dried plums, apricots), and fleeting aromatic, green-floral-fruit cocoa notes (hibiscus/rose, light cherry, hot chocolate) in the tasting experience.

Ingredients: Chocolate liquor (made from cocoa beans from Peru), sugar, cocoa butter.

Allergen information: "May contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, milk, soy and egg."

*Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa sourcing. "We purchase a volume of UTZ and/or Rainforest Alliance Certified (tm) cocoa equivalent to the volume used in this product. www.ra.org/mb."

SkinnyDipped - Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Almonds - Mar. 29, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

SkinnyDipped
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Almonds
Good +
Weight: 3.5 oz. (99 g.) in total package
Calories: 490 calories in 1 package
Cost: $4.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: FarmFresh To You CSA box, add-in order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and N,O,P,Q Theme Week, featuring chocolate items with flavors and origins that begin with the letters N, O, P and/or Q--like peanut butter.

Today's SkinnyDipped Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Almonds were distributed by Wild Things Snacks, Inc (Seattle, WA).  

This tempting snack blend of roasted almond, peanut butter and chocolate aroma and flavor. The whole roasted almonds at the core provided satisfying crunchy texture, and a thin layer of peanut butter and dark chocolate added a creamy, nutty flavor and finish. 

Crunchy, creamy, sweet (sugar and organic maple sugar) and salty (sea salt). Classic snack food formula. I would have preferred a little less sugar and salt, but that didn't stop me from eating an entire, resealable package over the course of a day. 

The founders (a mother and daughter team) are to be commended on creating a tasty snack that contained fewer unnatural ingredients, preservatives and sugary glazes than many traditional confectionery chocolate-covered offerings. And the ingredients were Non-GMO Project Verified. 

The nuts were the stars here, but I was able to taste the relatively thin ("skinny dipped") underlying chocolate layer. Some of the cocoa was alkalized (made less acidic with alkali) making the chocolate smoother, less bitter/acidic. This is a common process for high-volume hot cocoa and chocolate candy--making it more consistent and approachable to more buyers. However, I wondered what high-quality, unadulterated cocoa or (milder and pricier) heritage cocoa would have tasted like? 

Ingredients: Almonds, dark chocolate (unsweetened chocolate processed with alkali, cane sugar, cocoa butter, sugar, palm kernel oil, peanut flour, salt, soy lecithin), organic maple sugar, sea salt, peanut butter (peanuts, peanut oil, sea salt).

SkinnyDipped - Milk Chocolate Peanuts - Mar. 28, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

SkinnyDipped
Milk Chocolate Peanuts
Good + 
Weight: 3 oz. (85 g.) / 3.5 oz. (99 g.) in total package
Calories: 480 calories in 3 servings
Cost: $5.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: FarmFresh To You CSA box, add-in order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and N,O,P,Q Theme Week, featuring chocolate items with flavors and origins that begin with the letters N, O, P and/or Q--including today's classic combination of chocolate and peanuts.

Today's SkinnyDipped Milk Chocolate Peanuts were distributed by Wild Things Snacks, Inc (Seattle, WA). 

The aroma of this snack was similar to a Nestle Butterfinger bar. It was a healthier version perhaps, but the smell summoned memories of addictively sweet and salty childhood chocolate and peanut confections nonetheless. This offering had "no shiny glaze or wax" and "no artificial colors or flavors," and came in a sealed, and resealable, package. 

Instead of a more processed, layered, crispy peanut center you may find in a candy bar, the peanut pieces at the heart of these treats were jumbo-sized (premium Virginia) peanuts--wholes and halves--dipped in a light coating of darker milk chocolate, sweetened with sugar and maple syrup, with a pinch of sea salt. 

These were a bit too sweet and salty for me, but there was more authentic peanut and chocolate flavors poking through (that were nice!), and these chocolate dipped peanuts were not quite as sugar-drenched as many similar alternatives.

Ingredients: Peanuts, milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk, unsweetened chocolate, soy lecithin, vanilla), organic maple sugar, cocoa powder, soybean oil, sea salt.