Primo Botanica - Mountain Cardamom, Dark Coconut Mylk 60% Nicaraguan Cardamom bar - Apr. 6, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Primo Botanica 

Mountain Cardamom - Dark Coconut Mylk 60% Nicaraguan Cardamom (bar)

Good ++ 

Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar

Calories: 167 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar

Cost: $9.25 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's (Batch #1) Mountain Cardamom - 60% Dark Coconut Mylk Chocolate Infused with Nicaraguan Cardamom (bar) was crafted by Primo Botanica (Troy, NY).

Located in New York State's Capital Region, Primo Botanica got its start in 2017. The company is dedicated to making "the world's most potent chocolate using single origin cacao, unrefined sugar, herbs, fungi and spices."*

This bright, slightly fruity, sweet coconut mylk cardamom chocolate was blessed with a heavenly, complex and full-bodied cardamom scent and flavor. (A seamless infusion, there were no gritty pieces...only a flowering abundance of authentic spice flavor.) The cardamom was harvested adjacent to a cacao-growing area in central Nicaragua. (More on the spice story below.)

While cardamom ruled this bar with a golden scepter, other elements contributed to the harmonious whole. The coconut mylk and cocoa butter helped to create a smooth, relatively creamy texture, melt and mouthfeel. Panela added sweet warmth (very faint caramel). In addition to the cardamom, there was a very faint note of roasted coffee, or perhaps this was inferred.**

The description of this chocolate on Bar and Cocoa's website read as follows:

"Creamy, coconut with the citrusy, minty, spicy - qualities of cardamom. During our last visit to mountainous, Matagalpa, Nicaragua with the cacao sourcing non-profit, Enliven International, we had the privilege to meet several cacao farming families. While the men go out and prune cacao trees, the women wild harvest spices and fruit to buffer sales. Several years later we were able to pay these women directly to harvest, dry and send this very special cardamom through one of the employees of Enliven to include this very special, limited bar. And yes, it's vegan!"

Ingredients: Mexican cocoa beans + cocoa butter (60%), organic Colombian panela (cane sugar), coconut milk powder (dehydrated organic coconut milk, tapioca, organic acacia fiber), ground direct trade Nicaragua cardamom.

Allergen-related information: "Never soy or dairy"

*Disclosure: I am a sucker for innovative, high-quality chocolates with botanicals, spices and edible flowers.

**The rich, roasted "coffee" note could have been from the (Mexican) cacao, the cardamom--or more likely both. Also likely, I could have been imagining this bar made into a coffee drink. Cardamom-infused coffee is not unusual in the Arab world (Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Pakistan and elsewhere)--in countries where the spice trade and coffee origins met and intertwined centuries ago.

Green cardamom (Elettaria cardamomum) is native to India, but is cultivated in southeast Asian and Central American countries as well.

Triangle Roasters - Dark Rye Whiskey 70% Nicaragua (bar) - Apr. 5, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Triangle Roasters
Dark Rye Whiskey 70% Nicaragua La Colonia (bar)
Good +++
Weight: .85 oz. (24.05 g.) / 1.7 oz. (48.11 g.) in total bar
Calories: 132 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Dark Rye Whiskey 70% Nicaragua La Colonia (bar) was from Triangle Roasters--a small batch coffee roaster and chocolate maker in Philadelphia, PA. 

Years ago, when I led chocolate tastings with beverage pairings, people assumed wine would be the beverage of choice. They were surprised to hear my preference was usually whiskey.

So, I was excited to taste today's Whiskey bar. The trick was how to eat this bar slowly, when it had such a seductively subtle, clear, sweet chocolate and whiskey aroma. 

The sophisticated tart, fruity, dark chocolate blended perfectly with the Dad's Hat Pennsylvania Rye Whiskey.* This craft chocolate + craft distiller collaboration bar offered the best of both worlds.** 

The base chocolate (insofar as it could be separated from the whiskey) provided bright, sweet fruit flavor, but also offered satisfying glimmers of light earth, umami, and the textural luxury of rich cocoa solids and smooth cocoa butter. 

The finish was lovely and lingering.

Ingredients: Cacao, cane sugar, cocoa butter, rye whiskey

Allergen-related information: Made in a facility with nuts and dairy

*Dad's Hat is distilled and bottled by Mountain Laurel Spirits, LLC (Bristol, PA).

**This chocolate reminded me of a whiskey cocktail with a cherry and a twist of orange and chocolate bitters I had years ago after a long walk along San Francisco Bay. (I don't drink alcohol that often, and a good drink is memorable.) 

Duffy's Chocolate - Nicaragua Juno (Chuno) 70% (bar) - Apr. 4, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Duffy's Chocolate

Nicaragua Juno (Chuno) 70% (bar)

Good + 

Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.11 oz. (60 g.) in total bar

Calories: 176 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $9.50 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Buenos Dias and welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Nicaragua Theme Week.

Today's Duffy's Chocolate Nicaragua Juno (Chuno) 70% (bar) from Red Star Chocolate Ltd (Cleethorpes, England) was made from bean-to-bar using directly traded Xoco* single origin criollo (cacao variety) cocoa beans.

This 70% dark bar had a uniform, sweet dark chocolate aroma and flavor, with a hint of savory (roasted vegetable, potato, nut) and a sweet, faint fruit tartness (red fruit, berry jam). 

Initially, there was a very mild fruit astringency toward the end of the finish. And a moment after the last bite there was a hint of tart, red cherry. The optimal flavor seemed to arrive after the bar was unwrapped for about 15-20 minutes (after three successive bites/tastes). And as I re-tasted this bar, more complexity and faint notes appeared and disappeared (red raspberry jam), and the very faint, roasted veg/potato chip note diminished a bit. 

Duffy's Chocolate maker's notes reads as follows: "A complex mix of fresh hay, mellow red fruit and a roast chestnut aftertaste."

Ingredients: "Cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, cocoa butter and sunflower lecithin"

Allergen-related information: "soya free, gluten free...Vegan-friendly"

*Directly traded cacao implies that cacao beans were purchased directly from a farmer(s), rather than going through a third-party. The implication/hope is that more money goes directly to small family farms and farmers, most of whom are paid very little. 

Xoco, a private company, owns and operates its own farms in Nicaragua and other Central American countries, and offers high-quality, fine flavor cacao beans to makers. The company works with local farmers (partnership contracts with several hundred "out growers") and offers guidance on desired cultivation techniques and fine cacao flavor traits.

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."