Belvie Chocolate - Don Duong Dark Chocolate 72% Cacao Lam Dong, Vietnam (bar) - May 16, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Belvie Chocolate Maker
Don Duong Dark Chocolate 72% Cacao, Lam Dong Province, Vietnam (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 229.2 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.25 (+ shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's Don Duong Dark Chocolate 72% Cacao Single Plantation, Lam Dong Province (bar) was made in Vietnam by Belvie Chocolate Maker (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam). 

Belvie Chocolate offers a variety of chocolate bars made with (Trinitario) fine cacaos, purchased from cacao farmers located in different regions of Vietnam. This bar was crafted using cacao grown on a single plantation, in Lam Dong province in the Central Highlands.

All the Belvie bars I have sampled this week have been full of interesting flavors. No dull darks here. 

This 72% cacao dark chocolate had an aroma and flavor with pleasing fruit (fig filled butter cookie, peach jam), very faint green, true chocolate (dark chocolate torte with warm spices) and soft waves of balanced, loamy earth notes. It was relatively low in acid and bitterness, and had a pleasant, clean finish. 

Belvie Chocolate's tasting notes read as follows: 

"Taste and Flavour: Dusky, cloves and some stone fruit. Great balance and complexity, long and wonderful finish."

Ingredients: "Cacao and cacao butter 72%, cane sugar 28%"

Allergen-related information: "Gluten free; Dairy free; May contain traces of nut."

 

Belvie Chocolate - Dark Chocolate 90% Cacao Ben Tre (bar) - May 15, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Belvie Chocolate Maker
Dark Chocolate 90% Cacao Ben Tre (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 260 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.75 (+ shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's Dark Chocolate 90% Cacao Ben Tre (bar) was made in Vietnam by Belvie Chocolate Maker (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam). 

Belvie Chocolate offers a variety of chocolate bars made with (Trinitario) fine cacaos, purchased from cacao farmers located in different regions of Vietnam.

Belvie Chocolate's description read as follows: "This bar is made of some exceptional selected and handpicked beans from a small single plantation in Ben Tre, Vietnam, on the border of Ham Luong river in Mekong Delta. Cacao trees are planted together with durian (fruit) trees."

The complex aroma notes of this single terroir bar included: bold dark chocolate, a slight savory (potato chip) note at the beginning; fleeting green floral; butter; faint cocoa, fruit and caramel; and an uptick of clean light green.

Texture: This chocolate was "Stone ground and conched for 72 hours, continuously in small batches," and had a relatively smooth, thick, substantial mouthfeel.

Flavor/tasting notes: bold dark chocolate with green; roasted, balanced bitterness (burnt toast); citrus acidity (grapefruit)/balanced, subtle, tart-sourness (with a hint of natural fruit sweetness) that lingered a bit toward the end. Relatively clean finish given these bold flavors.

For those that like bold, roasted, ultra-dark bars, this deserves a spot in a tasting flight.

Ingredients: "Cacao 90%, cane sugar 10%"

Allergen-related information: "Gluten free; Dairy free; May contain traces of nut(s)."

 

Belvie Chocolate - Dark Milk Chocolate 55% Coffee + Nibs (bar) - May 14, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Belvie Chocolate Maker
Socola Caphe Sua Da (bar)
Dark Milk Chocolate 55% Cacao Coffee + Nibs (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 226 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.25 (+ shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's Dark Milk Chocolate 55% Cacao Coffee (Socola Caphe) + Nibs (bar) was made in Vietnam by Belvie Chocolate Maker (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam). 

Belvie Chocolate offers a variety of chocolate bars made with (Trinitario) fine cacao(s), from different regions of Vietnam. Some of these bars, like today's, highlight local flavor inclusions like Vietnamese coffee.

Belvie Chocolate's description read as follows: "This chocolate made of the beans from Dong Nai province, a highly inland area underlaid by volcanic rock, supports cacao plantations on its low-lying slopes as well as its valey (sic). A little coffee added to show typical Vietnamese taste."

This single terroir, dark milk chocolate successfully evoked Vietnamese coffee: a robust, but sweet and creamy beverage make with condensed milk.

Aroma: The aroma notes: sugars (caramel, powdered sugar, marshmallow) and a very light sweet coffee/tea aroma.

Texture: The chocolate's texture was a blend of thick, smooth and creamy, with crunchy, mild cacao nibs (pieces) on the back of the bar.

Flavor: This sweet dark milk bar had uniform smooth, mild but rich dark, almost fruity, chocolate flavor with a hint of caramel.

Ingredients: "Cacao and cacao butter 55%, cane sugar 25%, milk powder 20%, coffee"

Allergen-related information: (none listed)

  

Belvie Chocolate - Good Morning Vietnam 70% Coffee (bar) - May 13, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Belvie Chocolate Maker
"Good Morning Vietnam" 70% Cacao Coffee Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 225.2 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 (+ shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's "Good Morning Vietnam" 70% cacao Coffee Chocolate (bar) was made in Vietnam by Belvie Chocolate Maker (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam). 

Belvie Chocolate offers a variety of chocolate bars made with (Trinitario) fine cacaos, purchased from cacao farmers located in different regions of Vietnam. Some of these bars, like today's highlight local, specialty flavor inclusions, like coffee.

Belvie Chocolate's description read as follows: "This bar is a perfect combination of the two local specialties from Lam Dong province in Vietnam. Our flavorsome chocolate from Lam Dong 70% single terroir and the K'HO Arabica coffee grown by the K'Ho tribes on the Langbiang mountain, one of the best coffee(s) in South East Asia."

The aroma and flavor of this single terroir bar included complex dark chocolate and coffee notes. It had almost a spicy sweet aroma; and the amounts and varieties of the coffee and cacao were nicely balanced to allow the nuances of both to come through. 

The relatively bold chocolate had a very faint, fleeting savory vegetable (potato) note at the beginning, followed by true chocolate with a bit of fruit, and loamy earth notes.

The coffee was flavorful with a moderate amount of fruit acidity and perhaps a bit of natural bold, roasted sweetness (grilled/caramelized pieces of chocolate cake) and a trace of sweet nuttiness (although the subtler nuances were difficult to distinguish from the chocolate). The coffee notes were most present in the first few bites, but yielded subtle flavor(s) throughout the tasting experience.

Ingredients: "Cacao and cacao butter 70%, cane sugar 30%"

Allergen-related information: "Gluten free; Dairy free; May contain traces of nut"

*Vietnam is the world's second largest coffee exporter, and most of the country's coffee is grown in the Cental Highlands of southern Vietnam (near where cacao is grown). 

The K'ho people are an ethnic minority living primarily in the Lam Dong province in the Central Highlands of southern Vietnam, known for its coffee. While most coffee grown in Vietnam is Robusta, the coffee the K'ho tribe cultivates is more typically Arabica--the variety featured in today's "Good Morning Vietnam" chocolate.

 

Belvie Chocolate - Black Pearl of the Mekong Dark Chocolate 85% Cacao (bar) - May 12, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Belvie Chocolate Maker
Black Pearl of the Mekong Dark Chocolate 85% Cacao (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 288 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 (+ shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Black Pearl of the Mekong Single Terroir Dark Chocolate (Chocolat Noir) 85% Cacao Limited Edition (bar) was made in Vietnam by Belvie Chocolate Maker (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam). 

Belvie Chocolate founders, Jannie Ha Tran and Marc Vanborren, produce a variety of small batch, craft chocolate bars using (Trinitario variety) fine cacao from different growing regions in Vietnam, including today's 85% cacao chocolate.

The initial aroma of today's bar had a very faint savory (baked potato) note, in addition to a diffuse fruit sweetness and spice/herb notes. (After a few minutes the faint savory/vegetable note seemed to disappear.)

It was great to try this limited edition darker than usual bar from Belvie. The chocolate had an overall bold dark cocoa flavor; however, it also had a mild, friendly, natural fruit (almost marshmallow) sweetness for an 85% cacao ultra-dark bar. The flavor also included soft undulations of balanced, loamy earthiness.

The texture was smooth, with an initial very faint and balanced astringency (slight back of the throat tickle) after the first bite.

Ingredients: "Cacao 85%. Cane sugar 15%"

Allergen-related information: "Gluten free; Dairy free; May contain traces of nut"

 

Belvie Chocolate - Lam Dong Single Origin 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) - May 11, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Belvie Chocolate Maker
Lam Dong Single Origin Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao (bar)
Good +
Weight: 2.12 oz. (60 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 337.8 calories in 3/4 bar
Cost: $8.50 (+ shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Chao mung (Welcome) to Day #1 of Chocolate and Vietnam Theme Week.

Today's Lam Dong* Single Origin, Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao (bar) was made in Vietnam by Belvie Chocolate Maker (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam). Belvie offers a variety of chocolate bars made from cacao grown in southern Vietnam, including some with Vietnam-inspired flavor additions.

The aroma of today's bar was hard to pin down but it had fruit, herby-spice (liquorice, faint star anise), and warm, mineral earth/clay/adobe notes.

This 70% bar offered an enjoyably complex and interesting flavor ride, with warm spice (Five Spice blend); generic fruit sweetness/acidity; very faint, brief light vegetable (light savory: cucumber + potato); cocoa--followed by a longer stretch with upticks of coffee, bright fruit spikes (predominantly red raspberry, but also nectarine, kiwi) and earth. 

For those who enjoy experiencing layered flavors and parfait desserts, this chocolate would be a unique addition to a chocolate tasting platter. 

Belvie chocolate maker's notes: "...Chocolate made of beans from Lam Dong has a fruity quality, but here the top notes are kiwi, raspberry and (l)iquorices (sic) aroma and an intense chocolate flavor that lingers on the palette."

Ingredients: "Cacao and cacao butter 70%; cane sugar 30%"

Allergen-related information: "Gluten free; Dairy free; May contain traces of nut."

*Lam Dong is a "Highlands region, mountainous province with temperate and mild climate all the year long."

Askinosie Chocolate - Mubabu Tanzania Peppermint Dark Chocolate (bar) - May 10, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Askinosie Chocolate

Mubabu Tanzania Peppermint Dark Chocolate (bar)

Good ++

Weight: 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar

Calories: 470 calories (estimate) in 1 bar

Cost: $9.50 (estimate) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Askinosie.com, online order

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Tanzania Theme Week. 

Today's Mubabu Tanzania Peppermint Dark Chocolate (bar) was made by Askinosie Chocolate (Springfield, MO). 

Askinosie has long practiced direct trade with cocoa farmers. Many of their single origin bars bear the image of farmers on the packaging. Today's bar, made using Trinitario cacao from Mubabu, Tanzania, included a picture of Askinosie's "lead Tanzania farmer partner, Mama Mpoki--with her husband and children.

This bar was full of rich, bold aroma and flavors: a blend of bold, but smooth, dark chocolate, cool peppermint, herb and warm spice (cardamom) notes. All of these flavors had the potential to overpower each other. However, the chocolate was a skillful, high-quality blend of "opposites:" warm spice and cool, refreshing mint; sweet and dark; as well as judicious amounts of sugar and sea salt.

All the ingredients felt like they were well incorporated (likely ground to a relatively fine particle size), creating a texture that was smooth and creamy, almost fudgey on a cool morning. (The added cocoa butter that contributed to the lovely texture was also single origin Tanzania.*)

Askinosie Chocolate maker's tasting notes: "Brisk, cool peppermint and deep silky cocoa, warming cardamom finish"

*Ingredients: Mababu (Tanzania) cacao beans (Trinitario), organic cane sugar, cocoa butter (made in our factory with Mababu beans--visit askinosie.com for details*), organic turbinado sugar, organic cardamom, peppermint, sea salt.

*Note: Added cocoa butter in chocolate is not always from the same origin as the cocoa solids/beans used to make a chocolate bar. Some of the best makers--or at least the hardest working and those who set high goals for themselves--press their own cocoa butter from a specific origin/batch of cocoa beans. While cocoa butters are not as flavorful as cocoa solids, they do carry/impart some flavor(s) from their respective origins.

Allergy-related information: "Processed in a facility that also processes milk, peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat."