Wm. Chocolate - Dark + Coffee 70% Cacao Dominican Republic (bar) - Nov. 10, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Wm. Chocolate LLC
Dark + Coffee - 70% Cacao Dominican Republic Single Origin (bar)
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Wm. Chocolate, online order 

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Hispaniola Theme Weeks, focusing this week on the Dominican Republic side of the island. Today's Dark + Coffee - 70% Cacao Dominican Republic Single Origin (bar) was produced by Wm. Chocolate LLC (Madison, WI). 

The maker (Will Marx) describes this bar as "smooth dark chocolate with crunchy coffee bean pieces." True statement; but it's a bit of an under-statement.

Aroma fest
When the sealed Dark + Coffee 70% Cacao bar pouch was opened, the air was filled with the scent of freshly ground coffee (with bright, almost fruity notes). After a few minutes, the underlying 70% dark chocolate surfaced with faint, sweet earth, nutty, brownie notes. And a few minutes after that, the coffee had receded to the level of a bold, smooth partner in this blend. An hour later, pleasing earthy, nutty, and graham cracker notes appeared.

The relatively thick bar had an enjoyable, substantial creamy and crunchy textural blend.

This rich and luxurious blend of flavors was a skillfully balanced marriage, that included dark chocolate, brownie, coffee, faint red berry, and fleeting gingerbread/molasses notes. Not too sweet or bitter, these bold flavors were crafted together to form a very satisfying match. (Note to self: great winter holiday gift for chocolate addict friends and relatives.)

This rich, special breakfast (or anytime) chocolate and coffee bar should be slowly savored over the course of an hour either with good company and conversation--or simply as a treat for oneself. The unfolding, complex and wonderful aromas--present with every Wm. Chocolate bar I've tasted--are well worth slowing down for.

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic unrefined cane sugar, organic cacao butter, organic coffee beans

Allergen-related information: "No soy, dairy, grain, nuts, refined sugar, or animal products." 

Wm. Chocolate - Classic Dark 70% Dominican Republic Single Origin (bar) - Nov. 9, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Wm. Chocolate LLC
Classic Dark - 70% Cacao Dominican Republic Single Origin (bar)
Good +++
Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 144 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Wm. Chocolate, online order 

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Hispaniola Theme Weeks, focusing this week on the Dominican Republic side of the island.

Today's Classic Dark 70% Cacao Dominican Republic Single Origin (bar) was produced by Wm. Chocolate LLC (Madison, WI). 

Aroma notes included (in order of appearance) brown sugar; a subtle, shifting blend of dried fruit (plum/prune/date/fig/banana); dark chocolate; very faint and fleeting vegetable (cooked potato); a faint green floral fruit riff (custard apple); and clear fudge brownie.

After a soft-spoken, short flurry of faint brown sugar, very faint herb-spice and delicate fruit notes, the chocolate flavors resolved into high-end fudge brownie, followed by occasional pop-up appearances from invisible tropical fruit(s); and high-end chocolate torte with a whisper of sea salt. And after I thought the flavor show was over, there were a few more very faint notes of delicious earth* and fruit. 

This was a well-balanced, masterfully executed bar with plenty of layered aroma and flavor notes.

Maker's notes/description: "...smooth dark chocolate sweetened with traditional whole cane sugar."

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic unrefined cane sugar, organic cacao butter

Allergen-related information: "No soy, dairy, grain, nuts, refined sugar, or animal products."  

*The phrase "earth notes" covers a lot of territory and can refer to harsher dirt notes, something more balanced and loamy (light mushroom), savory clay, clean mineral (think sidewalks after a rain), or even chalky notes. 

Occasionally you'll hear makers mention "forest floor" notes that might evoke a walk through a rainforest. 

In today's case, this earth note was one of the most pleasing, balanced earth chocolate notes I remember tasting. It was a light two-note chord with a soft, chocolatey, almost nutty, earthiness and a lighter, tropical fruit (almost lychee but not quite)--both arriving on the palette at the same time. 

I'm always grateful for mysterious and beautiful notes like this.

Wm. Chocolate - Extra Dark 85% Cacao Dominican Republic (bar) - Nov. 8, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Wm. Chocolate LLC
Extra Dark 85% Cacao Dominican Republic (bar)
Good +++
Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Wm. Chocolate, online order 

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Hispaniola Theme Weeks, with a focus this week on the Dominican Republic.*

Today's Extra Dark 85% Dominican Republic (bar) was made from bean-to-bar by Wm. Chocolate LLC (Madison, WI). 

Aroma notes for this ultra-dark bar included: brown sugar/molasses, deep dark chocolate, green, faint dried fruit and Boston brown bread notes. (Later re-tasting: also nut butter - freshly ground peanut butter and dried banana.)

The well-tempered, well-executed and relatively thick chocolate had a thick and creamy melt and texture.

The flavors were intriguingly layered--at once uniformly dark and smooth but also with faint layers of dried fruit (plum, light raisin) in the background--and, about 3/4 way through, fudge brownie that lingered a bit in the finish. In re-tasting this bar, there was a (barely there) fleeting lighter, sweeter fruit notes -- faint flavors of freshly baked, buttered bread with a wisp of light lychee fruit.

William Marx, the talented chocolate maker behind Wm. Chocolate bars, is very skilled at managing and realizing flavor depth in each unique cacao origin/batch he works with--to the point where skill may be mistaken for subtle magic. Do take your time with this Wm. Chocolate bar (and others), or you'll miss a lot along the way. And do re-taste this over time. A well-crafted chocolate will be smooth on the surface, but will reveal hidden facets over the course of a few hours, or even minutes.

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic unrefined cane sugar, organic cacao butter

Allergen-related information: "No soy, dairy, grain, nuts, refined sugar, or animal products."

*Hispaniola refers to the Caribbean island that encompasses both Haiti (to the West) and the Dominican Republic (to the East). Island nation neighbors include Cuba to the northwest of Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico to the southeast.

The Dominican Republic (DR) is larger than the U.S. state of Maryland, but smaller than West Virginia, and is home to more than 10 million people. It has varied terrain, including rain forests and mountains and areas well-suited to growing cacao.

Almost all DR cacao is shade-grown (under the canopies/leaves) of other trees, such as citrus, banana and avocado; and much of the cacao is Trinitario (variety).

Raaka Chocolate - 70% Pomegranate Orange Dominican Republic (bar) - Nov. 6, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Raaka Chocolate
70% Cacao Pomegranate Orange Unroasted Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.35 oz. (38 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50.9 g.) in total bar
Calories: 209 calories (estimate) in 3/4 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Raaka.com, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and the Island of Hispaniola Weeks--with a focus this week on the Dominican Republic.*

Today's 70% Cacao Pomegranate Orange Unroasted Dark Chocolate (bar) was crafted by Raaka Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY)--with other flavor and sweetener inclusions from Just Date Syrup (San Mateo, CA).

Raaka makes their chocolate using fermented but unroasted cacao. Raaka does not used the term "raw" cacao as temperatures in the fermentation, mixing and fine grinding (e.g. melanging and conching) steps typically exceed 112 degrees (F) (44.4 degrees (C)).

The cacao used for this bar was from Zorzal Cacao (a fermentery, specialty cacao farm and bird sanctuary) in the mountains of the Duarte Province in the Dominican Republic. 

Aroma and flavor notes for this bar included: dark chocolate (warm, rich cocoa) with faint tangy citrus and red fruit. These concentrated fruit flavors were subtle and well integrated into the dark chocolate and were more discernible in the flavor than the aroma. 

During the tasting of this bar there were also balanced upticks of light earthiness and green notes, as well as very faint sparkles of authentic orange, dried fruit (date, plum), and pomegranate.

This bar had a fairly creamy, smooth texture, had smooth but interesting flavor complexity, and was not too sweet (thank you). It was sweetened with lower-glycemic** organic date sugar and Just Date's pomegranate molasses syrup, giving it a bit more flavor depth.

Maker's tasting notes: "Sweetened with date sugar and Just Date's pomegranate molasses, this bar blends tangy pomegranate with bright orange zest for a refined sugar-free treat."

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic date sugar, organic cacao butter, organic pomegranate powder, organic pomegranate syrup, organic orange.

Allergen-related information: "Vegan, Gluten Free, Soy Free, Nut Free"

*Hispaniola refers to the Caribbean island that encompasses both Haiti (to the West) and the Dominican Republic (to the East). Island nation neighbors include Cuba to the northwest of Hispaniola, and Puerto Rico to the southeast.

The Dominican Republic (DR) is larger than the U.S. state of Maryland, but smaller than West Virginia, and is home to more than 10 million people. It has varied terrain, including rain forests and mountains and areas well-suited to growing cacao.

Almost all DR cacao is shade-grown (under the canopies/leaves) of other trees, such as citrus, banana and avocado; and much of the cacao is Trinitario (variety).

**The date sugar was considered to be "lower glycemic," meaning this food item would be absorbed more slowly, and scores lower on the glycemic index (GI) scale. The result is that blood sugar does not spike as much or as quickly as, e.g., more processed/refined white sugar.

Red Star Chocolate - Duffy's Dark Chocolate Orange 65% (DR) (bar) - Nov. 6, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Duffy's

(Red Star Chocolate)

Duffy's Dark Chocolate Orange 65% bar with single origin DR cacao

Good ++

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

Calories: 174 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 Orange Theme Week; and Day #1 of Chocolate and Dominican Republic Theme Week.

Today's Duffy's Dark Chocolate Orange 65% bar--"stone-ground and handmade in Lincolnshire, England"--was a product of Red Star Chocolate Ltd. (Cleethorpes, England). 

This 65% chocolate and citrus bar had a uniform, smooth--and a bit darker/richer chocolate flavor, than expected. (It tasted more like a 70% - 72% cacao chocolate, and that was fine by me.) The single origin cacao was sourced from the Dominican Republic.

Aroma notes included: of dark chocolate, orange and faint floral, spice and bread.

The bar had a creamy melt and texture. It was a pleasing, balanced blend of uniformly smooth yet rich dark chocolate with orange (oil) flavor with a very faint floral cake note.

Ingredients: Organic cocoa beans, organic sugar, cocoa butter, orange oil and sunflower lecithin.

Allergen-related information: "Soya free, gluten free"

 

Michel Cluizel - Noir 63% Ecorces D'Orange (Dark 63% Orange Peels) (bar) - Nov. 5, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Michel Cluizel

Noir 63% Ecorces D'Orange

(Dark 63% Orange Peels)

Good ++

Weight: 33.3 oz. (1.16 g.) / 100 oz. (3.5 g.) in total bar

Calories: 179.8 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar

Cost: $10.00 (+ summer shipping) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Noir 63% Ecorces D'Orange (Dark 63% Orange Peels) bar was from Michel Cluizel (Damville, France).

This chocolate had a subtle aroma. This relatively thick bar yielded a smooth, substantial mouthfeel with a sustained creamy melt and texture.

The dark chocolate had smooth and satisfying flavor and malt and butter notes, with occasional sparkles of orange (candied orange peel). The vanilla pod was used sparingly. Overall, it was very nicely balanced, not too sweet (thank you) and quite appealing.

Ingredients: Cocoa, sugar, candied orange peels (13% minimum) (orange, sugar, glucose syrup), cocoa butter, emulsifier (rapeseed lecithin), Bourbon vanilla pod.

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of shelled tree nuts, milk and gluten."

Hogarth Chocolate Makers - Sarsaparilla and Orange 68% (bar) - Nov. 4, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Hogarth Chocolate Company Ltd.
Sarsaparilla and Orange 68% Cacao (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 185.6 calories 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 Orange Theme Week.

Today's Sarsaparilla and Orange 68% Cacao (bar) was from Hogarth Chocolate Company Ltd. (Nelson, New Zealand).

Hogarth makers described sarsaparilla* as a "thirst quenching, slightly spicy tonic, (that's) not so common these days." They combined sarsaparilla with licorice and ginger to achieve this classic spicy flavor (similar to sassafras, horehound, birch beer and/or root beer) and blended it with cacao and orange.

Orange is a challenging flavor to impart in desserts and baked goods. Orange peel loses it's flavor and is often enhanced with orange juice and/or orange oil (and/or artificial flavors) as a result. It also often requires preservatives. (Sugar can also act as a preservative.)

The aroma for this sarsaparilla flavored chocolate with candied orange pieces included: subtle dark/bittersweet chocolate, root-y/herbal, and faint citrus/floral notes.

The bar had a lush, thick, creamy texture with a satisfying melt and mouthfeel.

After a few day of sweet milk chocolates, this less sweet bar was very satisfying. (I admit I have a fairly strong bias toward less sugar, if only because too much sugar obscures flavor nuances.) This orange flavored chocolate was not too sweet. (Thank you!)

The flavor was a mix of dark/bittersweet chocolate and a balanced, yet complex, blend of slightly earthy and naturally sweet root flavors: sarsaparilla, ginger, licorice, and maybe a little inferred arrowroot (cookie) and star anise. These flavors lingered lightly into the finish. 

Tiny islands of sugared orange peel/zest shreds were pressed into the back of the bar. The orange peel provided a subtle, authentic citrus flavor (that complemented the roots/herbs) and contributed a barely there chewy textural element.

Maker's notes: "...aromatic and refreshing, with candied orange pieces for a sweet zesty bite."

Ingredients: Cocoa solids 68% (organic cocoa beans, organic, fair trade cocoa butter), organic sugar, sarsaparilla root, licorice root, ginger root, orange oil; candied orange (orange peel, glucose, sugar, citric acid, preservative E220).

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of milk and nuts."

*Sarsaparilla (actually a group of similar plants in the Smilax genus) is a woody, tropical vine-like plant that can be found in South American rainforests, Jamaica, the Caribbean, Mexico, Honduras, and the West Indies...some of the same places where cacao is grown/originated.

The soft drink known as "sarsaparilla" that was popular many years ago was often made with sassafras, birch, and other roots and herbs. (The taste is said to be similar to sassafras, horehound and "wild sarsaparilla," birch beer and/or root beer.) Due in part to health concerns associated with people consuming too much sassafras and sarsaparilla (e.g., not being cooked in the correct way to make it fully safe), and perhaps cost savings associated with substitutes, the flavors of these herbs/roots are often synthesized in a lab or factory.

Note: The roots of "Wild sarsaparilla" (Aralia nudicaulis)--a North American plant closer to the ginseng family, and not part of the Smilax genus--is sometimes used as a sarsaparilla substitute to flavor root beer and has also been used as a medicinal plant.

Confusing? Yes it is.