Fresco Chocolate - Ghana 68% Recipe 260 - Light Roast, Subtle Conche dark chocolate (bar) - Sept. 30, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Fresco Artisan Chocolate

Ghana 68% Recipe 260 - Light Roast, Subtle Conche dark chocolate (bar)

Good ++ - Good +++

Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar

Calories: 136.5 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $9.00 (+ summer shipping) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Ghana Week.

Today'a Ghana 68% (Recipe 260) Light Roast, Subtle Conche (bar) was made by Fresco Chocolate (Lynden, WA).

Fresco offers single origin bars with different roast (light to dark) and conche* (subtle to long) profiles that can be tasted side-by-side. There's no better way to learn what you really like, and to better understand what choices support your preferences.

This approach makes it easier for customers to create chocolate flights and tastings--for a group of friends, or just for one. (These bars are created using recipe numbers, that are also included on the labeling.)

The subtle aroma notes for today's 68% Ghana (light roast) bar included (in order of appearance) dark chocolate with subtle tangy, sweet acidic green and fruit (dried persimmon), very faint vegetable (potato bread), faint brown sugar and very faint warm spiced fruit (peaches and pears heated with cinnamon and other spices).

The texture was smooth and relatively buttery.

Flavor notes for this single-ingredient bar included: rich, "warm," sweet dark chocolate, bread and butter, and a sustained current of true chocolate (fudge, dark chocolate torte and frosting). This dark chocolate had a mild fruit acidity (sweet, tart red berry (lingonberry** jam with a hint of sweet persimmon) that lingered/sparkled a bit into the finish. The chocolate was very low in bitterness.

This bar had a relatively subtle aroma, but was filled with bright, full, sweet and true chocolate notes. The light roast and subtle conche likely helped to preserve or highlight some of these bright, light, sweet flavors.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter

Allergen-related information: "Free from: gluten, dairy, nuts, soy"

*Conching follows the initial grinding of cacao. Fresco describes conching as "heat, motion, aeration and time producing chocolate's final flavor." And "adjusting these variables can produce dramatically different flavors." 

**Lingonberries, also known as mountain cranberries and cowberries, are popular in Scandinavia and have a sweet, tart, red berry flavor. Lingonberry jam is generally just a bit mellower (naturally a bit sweeter and less acidic) than our cranberry jam/sauce.

Fresco Chocolate - Ghana 100% dark chocolate (bar) - Sept. 29, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Fresco Artisan Chocolate

Ghana 100% light roast, subtle conche dark chocolate (bar)

Good ++ - Good +++

Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar

Calories: 127.5 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $13.00 (+ summer shipping) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Ghana Week.

Today'a Ghana 100% (Recipe 235) Light Roast, Subtle Conche (bar) was made by Fresco Artisan Chocolate (Lynden, WA).

The company's single origin, bean-to-bar chocolate bars demonstrate precisely why and how choices made in chocolate making process matter. You can taste what different roasting and conching* choices/profiles taste like in finished form.

It's easy to assemble "flights" of Fresco bars (e.g. with the same cacao origin(s) but different roast and conche choices), and taste them side-by-side to compare the differences between light or dark roast, and subtle vs. long conching. (Today's bar is the first of three Fresco Ghana bars featured this week.)

The aroma notes for this 100% bar included (in order of appearance) dark chocolate with subtle tangy, sweet acidic green and fruit (dried persimmon), yeast bread and dark chocolate with a faint bitterness.

The melt and mouthfeel were buttery smooth.

Flavor notes for this single-ingredient bar were lovely, and included: beer (porter, stout), bread and butter, and rich, buttery (there's that word again), luscious fudge-y, dark chocolate with relatively mild acidity and relatively low bitterness** for an ultra-dark bar.

While I didn't have a comparable Fresco 100% Ghana bar with another roasting choice, I did really like this "light roast" choice with this particular cacao. A heavier roast might have resulted in the loss of some more delicate notes.

The taste of this wonderful 100% cacao bar was very satisfying; so make sure to savor it slowly.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans

Allergen-related information: "Free from: gluten, dairy, nuts, soy"

*Conching follows the initial grinding of cacao. Fresco describes conching as "heat, motion, aeration and time producing chocolate's final flavor." As with roasting (and most other steps in chocolate making), conching requires great attention to detail. And "adjusting these variables can produce dramatically different flavors."

**Bitterness is a result of several factors including the variety of cacao used (even the soil where the cacao was grown at times), fermentation, and roasting. Over-roasting cacao can lead to a bitter taste-- especially if more volatile fruity, nutty, green and floral notes that might have helped keep the flavor more balanced are "burned" off in the roasting process.

LetterPress Chocolate - Amaranth Crunch - Ashanti Ghana 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Sept. 28, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

LetterPress Chocolate LLC
Amaranth Crunch - Ashanti Ghana 70% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 (+ summer shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Amaranth Crunch 70% Dark Chocolate (bar)--made with Ashanti Ghana 70% Dark Chocolate, Puffed Amaranth + Sea Salt--was crafted by LetterPress Chocolate LLC (Los Angeles, CA).

The aroma notes for this bar were subtle and sweet including (in order of appearance) faint fruit (berry jam), dark chocolate cereal, very faint fleeting oxalis (tart lemony greens, sour grass, wood sorrel), dark chocolate again with faint, fleeting brown sugar/molasses.

Flavor notes included: sweet, dark chocolate, light cereal grain with a roasted, balanced bitterness, and brownie--especially in the second half of tasting.

Maker's tasting notes: toasty chocolatey crunch

Ingredients: Cacao beans, organic unrefined cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic puffed amaranth, sea salt.

Allergen-related information: Processed in a facility that also processes nuts and dairy. Pareve. 

LetterPress Chocolate - Ashanti Ghana 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Sept. 27, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

LetterPress Chocolate LLC
Ashanti Ghana 70% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 (+ summer shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Ashanti Ghana 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) was made from bean-to-bar by LetterPress Chocolate LLC (Los Angeles, CA).

The company describes the Ghana cacao origin and sourcing process as follows: "Ashanti is a (cacao) growing region of Ghana that has been plagued with slave labor and poor prices for farmers. Thanks to the organization at COCOBOD (government-controlled cocoa board) in Ghana, we have secured cacao which we paid 2x the commodity price to help farmers make a living wage."

This bar had a pleasing aroma with notes that included (in order of appearance) freshly baked bread with honey, chocolate with warm spice (root beer, cinnamon), back to fresh bread again. A few minutes later I also picked up very faint, fleeting notes of green (oxalis), sweet red fruit (cranberry sauce) and ripe blackberry soda/jam, and chocolate cake.

This well-executed bar had a smooth melt and texture.

The taste of this 70% dark bar quickly and quietly bloomed into an imaginary pan of freshly baked brownies in my mouth. A true "brownie" bar. And it had a bright, almost fruity sweetness and acidity and very little bitterness. 

Maker's tasting notes: "brownie crust, graham cracker" 

Ingredients: Cacao beans, organic unrefined cane sugar, organic cocoa butter.

Allergen-related information: Processed in a facility that also processes nuts and dairy. Kosher (Parve).

Chocolate Story - Ghana 100% Cocoa (bar) - Sept. 26, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Manufaktura Czekolody

(Chocolate Story)

Ghana 100% Cocoa (bar)

Good + - Good ++

Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar

Calories: 170.25 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $9.50 (+ summer shipping) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Ghana 100% Cocoa (bar) was by Manufaktura Czekology (Chocolate Story) in Poland.

The aroma notes for this bar included (in order of appearance): green/flower stalks, true chocolate (brownie), very faint, fleeting sweet red fruit/berry, molasses, and vegetable (potato/potato chip).

Flavor notes included: well-done, ultra-dark chocolate brownie batter and fire-roasted nut butter, with a balanced bitterness with a light astringency, and a mild-to-moderate sour acidity (grapefruit) in the finish. Charcoal-roasted brownie was what stuck in my mind.

Having tried both 70% and 100% Ghana bars from Chocolate Story, I'm curious what an 85% to cocoa bar, made with this same cacao, might taste like. The 70% was sweet, fruity and lively with layered chocolate depth, and quite pleasing. I'm wondering if an 85% might result in a happy medium, that might be just right. Perhaps the makers did try this and decided to go with this fiery 100%er instead.

Maker's tasting notes: "roasted wood, caramel, nuts."

Ingredients: 100% cocoa beans from Ghana.

Allergen-related information: This product may contain milk, nuts.

 

Chocolate Story - Ghana 70% Cocoa Grand Cru (bar) - Sept. 25, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Manufaktura Czekolody

(Chocolate Story)

Ghana 70% Cocoa Grand Cru (bar)

Good ++ -  Good+++

Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar

Calories: 149.25 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $8.50 (+ summer shipping) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Ghana Theme Week. 

The Republic of Ghana is a West African country bordering the Atlantic Ocean, about the size of Oregon or Wyoming in the U.S. Ghana is currently the second largest cacao producing country in the world. 

Today's Ghana 70% Cocoa Grand Cru (bar) was created by Manufaktura Czekology (Chocolate Story) in Poland.

The aroma notes for this bar included (in order of appearance): fudge brownie, molasses, faint green (stalks), vegetable (potato chip), faint sweet mixed fruit + grape jelly, and very faint warm spice (brown sugar caramel and cinnamon)...and a few minutes later, faint, mineral (calcium) and green floral (orchid).

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate cake, brown sugar, very subtle fruit (fresh, ripe wine grapes), dried fruit (prune). 

This fudge-y, chocolate-y bar with touches of fruit and other flavors will likely appeal across the board to dark chocolate aficionados. It was smooth and naturally sweet, but with enough complexity and style to go beyond a mere confection. And it was bold without being too acidic or bitter.

Maker's tasting notes: "a delicate dried grape flavor at first with the taste of caramel, nougat and roasted nuts."

Ingredients: Roasted cocoa beans from Ghana (70%), sugar. (Cocoa solids 70% min.)

Allergen-related information: May contain milk, nuts.

Askinosie Chocolate - Dark Chocolate + Intelligentsia Coffee (bar) - Sept. 24, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Askinosie Chocolate

Dark Chocolate + Intelligentsia Coffee (bar)

Good +++ - Very Good 

Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar

Calories: 153.3 calories in 1/3 bar

Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Missing information

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate Breakfast Theme Week.

Today's Dark Chocolate + Coffee (bar) was from Askinosie Chocolate (Springfield, MO). Askinosie crafts single origin and "CollaBARation"* bars with flavor inclusions, such as today's blend of 72% Mababu, Tanzania dark chocolate and in-season, single origin, Colombian coffee from roaster and retailer, Intelligentsia Coffee and Tea (Chicago, IL).

The smell of this freshly opened bar was one beautiful, deep, dark complex layer cake. Aroma notes included (in order of appearance) rich roasted coffee and dark chocolate, bright, fruity notes including sweet honey tangerine, sweet herbal (root beer), followed by a few faint flickers of berry jam and green-lemon oxalis (sour grass, sorrel). 

The texture was smooth with a pleasing, even melt.

As for the flavor, this Askinosie-Intelligentsia bar delivered the experience of a great cup of coffee and delicious 72% dark chocolate, simultaneously, with every bite. Each maker supplied an incredibly well-balanced and flavorful, high-quality product; and the combination was extremely satisfying. I savored every morsel of this bar. It was one of my favorite chocolate breakfasts this month.

Maker's tasting notes: "honey, tangerine, cola"

Ingredients: Mababu, Tanzania cocoa beans (Trinitario); organic cane sugar; direct trade, in-season, single origin coffee; cocoa butter ("made in our factory with Mababu (cacao) beans").

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

*Note: The current version of this (Askinosie) Dark Chocolate + (Intelligentsia) Coffee CollaBARation bar (available as of this writing on the Askinosie website) looks very similar, but it may have a very slightly different formulation, and/or origin/plantation back-story and a higher price.