Aruntam - Caffe Latte 48% Caffe Napoletano & Latte Italiano (bar) - June 19, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Aruntam Sensory Chocolate
Caffe Latte Dark Milk 48% Caffe Napoletano and Latte Italiano (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 145 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Caffe Latte Dark Milk 48% Caffe Napoletano and Latte Italiano (bar) from Aruntam Sensory Chocolate (made at JoyFlor srl in Milano, Italia).

The company describes this "Italian Life Style" milk chocolate this way: "Esteemed Coffee from India with delicate chocolate notes, roasted in Naples, and united with the best Italian milk, creates a chocolate bar that will delight your palette."

Aroma notes for this bean to bar craft chocolate bar included: fresh coffee (cappuccino) blended with subtle sweet, rich cocoa; and very faint salt caramel.

The texture and melt were creamy. There was a very slight dryness (astringency) about 4 seconds in my mouth; otherwise is was quite smooth.

The 48% milk chocolate had smooth cocoa and fudge flavor with very faint nut and earth notes. This well-balanced blend was relatively complex and rich for a lower-percentage (<50%) cacao chocolate, and wasn't overly sweet (thank you!). The coffee and whole milk added authentic flavor and helped balance the sweetness.

Ingredients: "organic cacao beans, Italian whole milk, organic cane sugar, organic cacao butter, coffee (4%); Emulsifier: organic sunflower lecithin." (Cacao: 48% min.)

Allergen-related information: Contains milk and may contain traces of nuts.

Sabadi srl - Prickly Pear Peels & Marjoram (bar) - June 18, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Sabadi srl
Prickly Pear Peels and Marjoram (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 120.75 calories in 1/2 bar 
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA 

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

Today's Prickly Pear Peels and Marjoram (bar) was from Sabadi srl (Modica, Italy).

The cacao used to make this chocolate was from Ecuador. The prickly pear peels were, I'm guessing, from cactus fruits (Opuntia ficus indica*, aka fico d'india) grown in Catania (Sicily). These fruits are said to symbolize life in Catania (near Mount Etna)--a life that can include adapting to tough conditions and overcoming thorny obstacles, as well as enjoying sweet fruit.

Aroma notes for this "cold-processed organic chocolate" included: smooth dark chocolate and aromatic herbal (marjoram, thyme)** notes.

The base dark chocolate--peppered with crunchy sugar crystals--was relatively sweet (60%) and smooth.

Flavor notes for this 60% cacao chocolate included: smooth dark chocolate infused with authentic marjoram herbal flavor. I couldn't really pick out prickly pear peel flavors (perhaps a mild diffuse fruit sweetness and a few tiny fibrous botanical bits. (The peels did add some fiber, if not distinct flavor.)

I enjoyed the flavors. Marjoram was the most notable flavor inclusion, but all three elements (sweet cocoa, marjoram and prickly pear peels) were blended skillfully together.

Ingredients: Cocoa mass (organic, from fair trade producers, presidio slow food) -- origin: Ecuador -- variety: Nacional Fino de Aroma; cane sugar (organic, slow food), prickly pear peels (organic) (min. 2%), marjoram (organic) (min. 0.7%). Cocoa: 60% minimum.

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

*Rose-colored when ripe, prickly pear cactus fruits in the Americas are sometimes known as cactus pears (from the nopal cactus) in English, or "tunas" in Spanish. 

**This bar contained marjoram, but no thyme to my knowledge. As always, write-ups on Chocolate Banquet include observations about and descriptions of aroma and flavor notes (like wood, nut, herb, floral). These notes are perceived/tasted, but are not necessarily literal.

Kitchen & Love - 85% Cocoa Extra Dark Chocolate Covered Almond Stuffed Dates - June 17, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Kitchen and Love
85% Cocoa Extra Dark Chocolate Covered Almond Stuffed Dates
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .89 oz. (26 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total package
Calories: 112 calories in 2 piece serving
Cost: $4.49 for 1 package of 8 pieces
Purchased from: Crossroads Specialty Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's 85% Cocoa Extra Dark Chocolate Covered Almond Stuffed Dates were from Kitchen and Love Foods ("Cucina et Amore"), and were imported into the U.S. by Cucina and Amore Inc (Novato, CA). They company began with Italian specialty foods and has expanded over time.

Aroma notes for these individually-wrapped treats included: dark chocolate, dried fruit (date) and nut (roasted almond).

The texture was a layered blend of thin dark chocolate shell, moist date, and crunchy almond at the center.

Flavor notes included: bold dark chocolate, date and roasted almond. I enjoyed this flavorful, complementary trio of flavors and textures. The 85% dark chocolate and the almond helped balance the sweet date fruit.

Ingredients: "Dates, Dark Chocolate [Cocoa Mass, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Powder, Soy Lecithin (Emulsifier), Whole Milk Powder, Natural Vanilla], Almonds, Salt."

Allergen-related information: "Contains: Tree Nuts, Milk and Soy."

Sabadi - Zen, Zenzero Cioccolato Di Modica I.G.P. Biologico (bar) - June 16, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Sabadi srl
Zen - Zenzero Cioccolato Di Modica I.G.P. Biologico 
(Zen - Organic Modica Chocolate with Ginger (bar))
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 118 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Zen - Zenzero Cioccolato Di Modica I.GP. Biologico (bar) was from Sabadi srl (Modica, Italy), and imported into the U.S. by A. Priori Specialty Food Importing and Distribution (Salt Lake City, UT).

The dark chocolate had a smooth/even flavor, and a crunchy texture--from tiny sugar crystals, giving this bar a stoneground texture, and slightly more layered sweet taste.

Aroma and flavor notes included: sweet, dark chocolate; subtle warm ginger; and very faint malt.

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, cane sugar, ginger (0.6%). Cocoa 60% minimum.

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that also processes: nuts, milk and soy"

Karuna Chocolate - Date Sugar Dolcificante Ai Datteri Dark Chocolate 80% (bar) - June 15, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Karuna Chocolate 
Date Sugar Dolcificante Ai Datteri Dark Chocolate 80% (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 154 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $14.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Date Sugar Dolcificante Ai Datteri Dark Chocolate 80% (bar) was from Karuna Chocolate (Velturno, Belzano/South Tyrol, in northern Italy).  

The cacao used to make this bold dark chocolate was from Oko Caribe in El Cibao Region, Duarte Province, in north central Dominican Republic.

Aroma notes included: bold dark chocolate and very faint dried fruit (date and very faint caramelized dried, green banana), and very faint brown sugar.

The chocolate had a creamy, thick melt and smooth texture.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate (deep, dark fudge, subtle earth, roasted cacao), faint dried fruit, and very faint sparkles of clean mineral water and barely there dark, bitter stout and dark roasted nuts. Instead of being sweetened with cane sugar, the maker(s) chose to use date powder, giving it a very faint date/brown sugar flavor. 

This made "without added sugar" ultra-dark bar had a balanced bitterness, and a relatively subtle fruit acidity.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans*, date powder*, cocoa butter*; Cocoa min. 80% (* certified organic)

Allergen-related information:  "It may contain traces of nuts."

Karuna Chocolate - Dominican Republic Dark Chocolate 80% (bar) - June 14, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Karuna Chocolate 
Dominican Republic Dark Chocolate 80% (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 157 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Dominican Republic Dark Chocolate 80% (bar) was from Karuna Chocolate (Velturno, BZ/South Tyrol, in northern Italy).  

Aroma notes included: pleasing dark chocolate (dark rich cocoa), subtle dried fruit (plum) and faint brown sugar.

This 80% bar, made with cacao grown in the Dominican Republic, had a creamy smooth melt and texture.

Flavor notes included: deep, rich dark chocolate (cocoa, fudge brownie), balanced stone fruit (plum, nectarine) acidity, very light sweet green, brown sugar, and very faint ale/porter, soft earth and fleeting warm spice, nut, and clean mineral water.

I really enjoyed this satisfyingly complex ultra-dark chocolate. It had very balanced, mild bitterness, and a wonderfully nuanced bouquet of single origin cacao and raw sugar notes.

Ingredients: "Cocoa beans*, raw cane sugar*, cocoa butter* (Cocoa min. 80%) (*certified organic)"

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of nuts" 

Rimini - Hazelnut, Sicilian Pistachio & Italian Espresso Chocolates - June 13, 2023

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Rimini Chocolate
1.) Hazelnut - Good ++ - Good +++
2.) Sicilian Pistachio - Good ++ 
3.) Italian Espresso - Good ++ - Good +++

Weight: 3 pieces out of a total 25-piece box
Calories: (No information; this was a gift)
Cost: $ N/A - gift from family (Thank you Megan!)
Purchased from: N/A - Mother's Day gift

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

Today's Hazelnut, Sicilian Pistachio and Italian Espresso chocolates were from Rimini Chocolate (Colorado). 

After spending time in Rimini, Italy, owner and chocolatier Michael Schneider opened two Italian-inspired gelato and chocolate shops in Vail and Beaver Creek (CO) in the U.S.

These attractive, Italian-inspired, filled chocolates were skillfully executed blends of texture and taste. Flavor notes included rich, smooth dark/bittersweet chocolate and delicious soft, flowing caramel ganache flavored centers. 

The Hazelnut chocolate had almost impossibly silky smooth, sweet filling with authentic,  appealing hazalnut/gianduja flavor. The thin, attractively decorated dark chocolate shell had balanced boldness (very faint, fleeting earth) that helped balance the sweetness and natural nut flavor. The layered chocolate and hazelnut flavors were in perfect balance with each other.

Sicilian Pistachio very faint oxalis in aroma. Much like an excellent Italian pistachio gelato, the authentic pistachio flavor bloomed gradually after the first bite. And the texture of the filling was, like the Hazelnut, silky smooth.

 And the Italian Espresso was a faithful rendering of this most satisfying beverage.

Rimini describes their Italian Espresso filled chocolate this way: "...This...Tuscan pick-me-up presents rich caramel infused with fresh roasted Italian style espresso surrounded by dark chocolate." The texture, like almost all the chocolates in this collection was superb: silky smooth, almost whipped, yet very rich. 

This was a caramel, mocha cappuccino to remember. If I lived in Colorado, I would try out their gelato flavors as well. I'm sure they are good.

The centers were flavorful (and just a little bit salty like other ones?? or no). And the flavors were high-end, fresh and authentic.

They were well-executed, what you're more likely to see from a ?? trained chef/chocolatier. The couverture thicknesses were just right (not too thick). Everything was well-balanced--smooth yet flavorful. Not too sweet; and well balanced with salt. And their elegant, hand "painted" appearance made them well-suited for gifts.

Ingredients: (Received as a gift; outside packaging/information had been removed.)

Allergen-related information: (May have contained milk.) (No information.)