Zotter - In-Fusion - Raspberry in Cacao Dark Chocolate (bar) - Dec. 2, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Zotter

In-Fusion - Raspberry in Cacao Dark Chocolate (bar)

Good + - Good ++ 

Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar 

Calories: 200 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $7.99 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Zotterusa.com, online order

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Fruit Theme Weeks.

Today's Zotter In-Fusion Raspberry in Cacao (bar) was made in Austria and distributed by Zotter Chocolates US LLC (Fort Myers, FL). 

This dark chocolate was part of a line of fruit "in-fusion" bars made with fine cacao and flavored with ground, freeze-dried fruits that mirror/enhance naturally occurring fruit notes in cacao.

Aroma notes for this bar included: red raspberries and raspberry hot chocolate. 

Made with 40% "dark" milk chocolate, this bar had a creamy, even texture; and a smooth, sweet, chocolately hot cocoa flavor. 

Other flavor notes included red raspberry fruit and jam, faint vanilla and a very faint, fleeting earth note. 

The number one ingredient was sugar; and this bar was quite a bit sweeter than the other dark chocolate bars in this (Zotter) In-Fusion bar series tasted so far. All have contained some milk powder, but the other In-Fusion bars contained (or at least started with) 70% dark chocolate vs. today's milkier and sweeter 40% cacao bar. As a result cocoa notes were more muted.

Happily the authentic fruit aroma and flavor of the raspberries (fully incorporated and with no seed grit) were allowed to shine brightly and beautifully in this bar. A judicious amount of vanilla contributed some natural "happy" flavor (hot cocoa, baked goods), and a wee bit of salt helped balance the sweetness.

Maker's tasting notes: "Created bean-to-bar, using fine flavor cacao and freeze-dried raspberries by "Faire Beere".*

Ingredients: Organic, fair trade cane sugar; organic, fair trade cocoa butter; dry whole milk; organic, fair trade cocoa mass; dry skim milk; organic dried raspberries (2%); organic soy lecithin; organic vanilla bean powder; organic lemon powder (organic lemon juice concentrate, organic corn starch, organic sugar); salt

Allergen-related information: "Contains milk, soy." (double check all ingredients)

*Faire Beere d.o.o. is a producer of fruits and tree nuts, located in Bratunac, Bosnia-Herzegovina.

Zotter - In-Fusion - Sour Cherry in Cacao Dark Chocolate (bar) - Dec. 1, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Zotter

In-Fusion - Sour Cherry in Cacao Dark Chocolate (bar)

Good + 

Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar 

Calories: 200 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $7.99 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Zotterusa.com, online order

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Fruit Theme Weeks.

Today's Zotter In-Fusion Sour Cherry in Cacao (bar) was made in Austria and distributed by Zotter Chocolates US LLC (Fort Myers, FL). 

This dark chocolate was part of a line of fruit "in-fusion" bars made with fine cacao and flavored with freeze-dried fruits that in many cases mirror naturally occurring fruit notes in cacao--a wonderful concept.

The bar had a very subtle aroma (chocolate, diffuse fruit, french bread); a creamy, even texture; and a smooth chocolately flavor with notes of subtle cherry and fleeting, very faint, earthy fruit.

While nicely executed and well balanced, the added milk to this 70% dark bar may have muted aroma and flavors somewhat. I was expecting stronger cocoa and brighter tart cherry notes until I spotted "dry skim milk" in the ingredients list.

Adding milk to dark chocolate can even out flavors and give them a mellow, homogeneous continuity; however the sharper and stronger notes (for better or for worse) may be neutralized in the process.

Maker's tasting notes: "...intensely chocolatey with a sublime cocoa butter melt and charming sour cherry flavor."

Ingredients: Organic, fair trade cocoa mass; organic, fair trade cane sugar; organic, fair trade cocoa butter; organic dried sour cherries (4%); dry skim milk; organic soy lecithin; organic lemon powder (organic lemon juice concentrate, organic corn starch, organic sugar)

Allergen-related information: "Contains milk, soy."

Chocolate Naive - 61% Dark Milk Chocolate with Golden Berries and Banana (bar) - Nov. 30, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolate Naive 
61% Dark/Milk Chocolate with Golden Berries and Banana (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 158 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 (+ summer shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Fruit Theme Weeks.

Today's 61% Dark Milk Chocolate with Golden Berries* and Banana (bar) was from Chocolate Naive (Vilnius, Lithuania).

Aroma notes for this bar included: chocolate, slightly earthy, aromatic fruit (sweet berry), dairy (yogurt, butter), and faint cake/cookie.

The texture was thick and relatively creamy.

This bar had milk-muted yet complex fruit notes (tart-sweet berry, banana) and rich, creamy dark milk chocolate flavor. Because the fruit inclusions were so well incorporated (organic golden berries were freeze dried and ground into the milk chocolate), it was difficult to pick out individual cacao notes. 

The fresh golden berries I've tasted have a flavor a bit like a very sweet yellow cherry tomato. So, the combination with chocolate--the pairing of the golden berries with a bit of sweet, creamy banana, with the tartness mellowed/diffused a bit with grass-fed milk powder, made sense to me; and the blend worked quite nicely.

This 61% bar was a well-balanced dark milk chocolate bar with creamy sweet-tart fruit and cocoa flavors.

Maker's tasting notes: "Initial sourness followed by a creamy aftertaste. Very pleasant combination with pronounced flavor and long-lasting taste." (Notes: "Dried banana-like, honey-like, citrusy, caramely.") Suggested beverage pairing(s): sparkling wines (demi-sec champagne...slightly sweet prosecco); and still wine(s) "such as a pinot noir, merlot or zinfandel." 

Ingredients: "Specialty cacao*, cane sugar*, pure cacao butter*, grass-fed milk powder*,  golden berries*  (5%), banana* (2%). *wild or all-natural farming"

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of treenuts, peanuts, wheat."

*Golden berries (Physalis peruviana) are covered in a very thin, green-beige, papery husk. They are part of the nightshade (Solonaceae) family (as are tomatoes, tomatillos, potatoes, eggplant and peppers). The bright yellow fruits, native to South America (Colombia, Ecuador and Peru), are also known as aguaymanto, uchuvas, uvillas ("little grapes"), Inca berries, Aztec berries, Peruvian groundcherries, Poha berries, husk cherries, Pichu berries, and Cape gooseberries. (They are not gooseberries.)

Alter Eco - Raspberry Blackout 85% Cacao Organic Dark Chocolate (bar) - Nov. 29, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Alter Eco Foods

Raspberry Blackout 85% Cacao Organic Dark Chocolate (bar)

Good + - Good ++

Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.65 oz. (75 g.) in total bar

Calories: 190 calories in 1 serving (4 sections) of bar

Cost: $ missing information

Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Fruit Theme Week.

Today's Raspberry Blackout 85% Cacao Organic Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Alter Eco Foods (San Francisco, CA).

Alter Eco packaging for this bar included images of cacao trees surrounded by a diverse mix of (taller) banana trees, hardwood timber and shade trees--with a brief explanation of the benefits of regenerative agriculture (vs. industrial agriculture), inter-cropping and shade-grown crops. "Farm like a forest," was the message "to mimic an abundant forest ecosystem." 

Farmers can benefit from planting more than one crop (less reliance on one single crop if something happens), in addition to gaining more shade for themselves and cacao trees. 

Why should chocolate lovers care? Because we want great chocolate to continue to be farmed and available in the face of climate change and other challenges, and "regenerative agriculture creates extraordinary cacao."  So, how did this chocolate taste?

Aroma

I would describe the aroma for this ultra-dark bar as very berry (raspberry jam) in a base of dark and dense, bittersweet earthy cocoa and dark chocolate cake. (Whenever I smell baked goods, I think there is likely some added vanilla. 

This bar contained a judicious amount of vanilla bean. Unlike vanilla extracts, whole vanilla beans can be a mix of aromatic floral, sweet marshmallow, earthy/woody, faint almost boozy sweet rum and maple extracts, cake/cookie, and other flavors. (Like cacao, vanilla beans contain many different flavor compounds.)

Texture 

Smooth, dense and creamy with occasional tiny, firm raspberry seeds.

Flavor 

Bittersweet, deep dark cocoa (often associated with Forastero variety cacao) with micro-bursts of authentic, tart-sweet raspberry pulp and seeds.

This bar will likely be a delight for high-percentage (80% - 100% cacao) chocolate lovers who also enjoy authentic fruit inclusions. There was plenty of rich flavor(s), without much sugar.

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic cocoa butter, organic raw cane sugar, organic dried raspberries, organic vanilla beans. (

Allergen-related information: "May contain milk, hazelnuts, almonds, coconut, and soy. Individuals who are allergic to these should not consume this product."

Andy's Orchard - Apricot Surprise - Nov. 28, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Andy's Orchard

Apricot Surprise

Good +

Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) (estimate) in 1 large confection

Calories: 230 calories (estimate) in 1 piece

Cost: $3.50 for 1 package

Purchased from: Andy's Orchard, Morgan Hill, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Fruit Theme Weeks. 

Today's Chocolate Surprise was from Andy's Orchard (Morgan Hill, CA).

This jumbo-sized, dark chocolate covered confection had an aroma with fudge brownie and chocolate cookie notes.

A smooth dark chocolate shell covered a large piece of sweet, white divinity fudge with walnuts, topped with dried Blenheim apricot.

The fudge tasted high-quality and homemade but was (as most fudges are for me) too sweet and rich. The other components (the dark chocolate, apricot and walnuts in the fudge) all had authentic, satisfying flavors. Andy's Orchard grows a variety of fruits, including apricots. Prior to the development associated with Silicon Valley, apricots, cherries and plums were local and road-side market staples in Santa Clara County.* 

Ingredients: Dried Blenheim Apricots, Divinity with Walnuts, and chocolate

Allergy-related information: (No information on small label; contained tree nuts (walnuts).)

*Apricots orchards were everywhere in the South Bay 1950s. The street I had grown up on was once part of an orchard, as near as I can tell. "...Until the 1960s, Santa Clara Valley was the largest fruit production and packing region in the world, with 39 canneries."

By the 1970s, the fruit industry was winding down and many fruit canneries had closed. The remaining fruit trees were still beautiful, especially in the early spring, when apricot and cherry trees were covered with white blossoms, and swathes of green grass and yellow mustard flowers and sour grass (oxalis) flowers grew between the trees. 

Children would wander into orchard remnants to gaze at caterpillars and butterflies, eat an apricot, and occasionally throw ripe apricots at each other. At least that's what we did, before the old orchard behind our back fence was bulldozed and homes were built.

Now, I need to drive south for an hour to find apricot trees at Andy's Orchard; and I was grateful there were still some Bleinheim apricots left.

Andy's Orchard - Chocolate Apricot - Nov. 27, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Andy's Orchard

Chocolate Apricot

Good ++

Weight: 1.2 oz. (33.96 g.) (estimate) in 1 package

Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 package

Cost: $3.00 for 1 package

Purchased from: Andy's Orchard, Morgan Hill, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Fruit Theme Weeks. 

Today's Chocolate Apricot was from Andy's Orchard (Morgan Hill, CA).

This dark chocolate covered Blenheim apricot had aroma notes that included: coffee, earthy dark chocolate and very faint honey sweet-tart fruit and biscuit/cookie.

The plump, moist and sweet Blenheim apricot contributed authentic apricot tart-sweet, stone fruit flavor with rich, faint honey-floral notes. The smooth, dark chocolate couverture complemented the sweetness.

This also evoked childhood memories of eating chocolate covered (California-grown) apricots and prunes. 

Ingredients: Dried Blenheim Apricot (prepared with sulfur dioxide), and dark chocolate 

Allergen-related information: (none listed on small label))

Andy's Orchard - Apricot Amaretto Sandwich - Nov. 26, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Andy's Orchard

Apricot Amaretto Sandwich 

Good + - Good++

Weight: 1.6 oz. (45 g.) (estimate) 1 piece

Calories: 160 calories (estimate) in 1 piece

Cost: $3.50 for 1 package

Purchased from: Andy's Orchard, Morgan Hill, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Fruit Theme Weeks. 

Today's Apricot Amaretto Sandwich was from Andy's* Orchard (Morgan Hill, CA).

The aroma of this layered confection included notes of chocolate biscuit, almond biscotti, cooked rice, and sweet almond cookies.

Flavors included layers of dark chocolate, marzipan, and juicy, tart-sweet apricot with honey floral notes. The use of (now relatively rare) Blenheim apricots up-leveled the flavor. It made for a great California dessert.

Ingredients: Dried Blenheim Apricot (prepared with sulfur dioxide), glace apricot, marzipan, and chocolate

Allergen-related information: (none listed on small label/tag)

*Andy" of Andy's Orchard is Andrew Mariani -- part of a famous California fruit growing family.