Michel Cluizel - Plantation Mangaro Madagascar 71% Cacao Dark Chocolate (bar) - July 19, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Michel Cluizel (Cluizel Paris)
Plantation Mangaro Madagascar 71% Cacao Dark Chocolate (bar)

Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1/2 bar  
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #1 of Madagascar Theme Week.

Today's Plantation Mangaro Grand Cru Ambohimarina 71% Cocoa Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Michel Cluizel (Paris, France).* 

Aroma and flavor notes for this single origin Madagascar dark chocolate included: dark chocolate/cocoa, gentle but persistent fruit (mango, cacao fruit (pulp)), and faint, balanced, vaguely botanical, fermentation (that faded after opening) and light spice notes. The texture was even and smooth. 

The fruit was sophisticated and subtle, and less overtly tart/acidic/citrus-y than some dark Madagascar chocolates I've tasted in the past. The fruit notes were more similar to heritage cacao bean fruit notes, and/or a cacao flavor that was softened by a bit more single origin, cocoa butter. 

I enjoyed the subtle, intriguing flavor notes. 

Maker's tasting/aroma notes: "Biscuit, tangy exotic fruits, gingerbread, hot cocoa, notes of citrus and pepper." (Note: Cluizel offers more online tasting information at www.lessensduchocolat.com.)

Ingredients: Cocoa (71% minimum), sugar, cocoa butter

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

* Michel Cluizel in a bean-to-bar chocolate making company that was founded in the French town of Damville in Normandy in 1948.

 

Stonegrindz - Ucayali River, Peru 70% Cacao (bar) - July 18, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Stonegrindz
Ucayali River, Peru 70% Cacao (bar) 
Good++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (27 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Stonegrindz, online order

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.

Today's Ucayali River, Peru 70% Cacao (bar) was crafted by the makers (Kasey McCaslin and Steven Shipler), and team, at Stonegrindz Small-Batch Chocolate (Scottsdale, AZ).

Aroma notes for this award-winning* single origin bar included: dark chocolate, and very faint fruit and spice.

Texture: smooth, relatively creamy texture with a light fruit astringency (dryness) in the finish.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate (ganache, sweet earthy mocha-chocolate-y tart), moderate tart-sweet fruit acidity (citrus, pomegranate, red cherry plum); very faint warm spice; and fleeting, soft earth and sweet green herbal.

There were additional flickers of fruit and botanicals (very faint sweet green herb - barely detectable mint, licorice) in the finish. The fruit notes--somewhere between peach, mango, pineapple, cherry and something else I couldn't quite grasp (possibly cacao fruit pulp)--were fun, and elusive/difficult to pin down.

I enjoyed the subtle complexity of this chocolate. Savor slowly to find the "hidden treasures" in this Peruvian cacao.

Maker's tasting notes: Notes of mocha, cedar, dark cherry, anise

Ingredients: Cacao*, cacao butter*, cane sugar* (*Organically farmed)

Allergen-related information: "Soy Free, Gluten Free, Dairy Free"

*Gold 2019 - International Chocolate Awards (Tasters) in Italy

Rozsavolgyi Csokolade - Peru Gran Nativo Blanco 72% (bar) - July 17, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Rozsavolgyi Csololade 
Peru Gran Nativo Blanco 72% (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 162.4 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $20.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Peru Gran Nativo Blanco 72% (bar) was from Rozsavolgyi Csokolade (Budapest, Hungary).

Aroma notes for this Peruvian* cacao-based chocolate included a pleasing blend of integrated subtle notes: dark chocolate (mousse), diffuse fruit and very faint spice.

Flavor notes for this smooth, creamy and naturally sweet chocolate included: chocolate-y (dark chocolate mousse, creamy dark ganache), diffuse and subtle fruit (berry jam, sweet plum), and barely detectable, fleeting earth, very faint bitterness, and floral spice. This 72% chocolate tasted more like a 68% bar. (Thank you to the maker for their choice of 72% vs. 70%.)

I enjoyed this smooth, sophisticated chocolate with many attributes of Criollo/Nacional* cacao beans including gentle and complex flavors found in heritage cacao varieties. Chocolates made from these relatively rare heritage cacao varieties are more expensive (e.g. today's $20 USD bar); but my hope is that more chocolate lovers have the opportunity to get to know and taste these very special varieties.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, cacao content 72%

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

*The maker offered these background and tasting notes: "Gran Nativo Blanco cocoa is grown by smallholder members of the Norandino cooperative in the Piura region, North of Peru. The majority of the beans in this ancient/criollo cacao varietal are completely white, with an intense aroma of gooseberries and lime, balanced with the sweetness of panela with lots of floral notes. Luckily, via careful processing, we managed to preserve most of this in the chocolate."

Chocolarder - 100% Pure Dark Amazon Rainforest choc. - July 16, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolarder
100% Pure Dark Amazon Rainforest choc.
Good ++
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 194 calories (estimated) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's 100% Pure Dark Amazon Rainforest Peru (bar) was made by Chocolarder Craft Chocolate Makers (Falmouth, Cornwall, UK).

Attractive aroma notes for this single ingredient (cocoa beans) bar included: dark chocolate, soft fruit (very subtle stone fruit (peach), berry and banana), and very light floral and nut.

This 100% Peru chocolate had a thick, creamy, stiff nut butter-like texture, a very faint astringency (dryness), and a relatively bold (at least unsweetened) dark chocolate flavor with soft sour (citrus/pink grapefruit) and fleeting nut notes.

100% cacao chocolates scare many people, even dark chocolate fans. They can be bitter, sour--and challenging for our brains to process. There is a temporary sense of surprise--the "Where's the expected hit of sugar/sweetness?" moment. 

The best 100%ers have a wonderfully complex aroma (this Chocolarder bar did); and the uncloaked-by-sugar bitterness and/or sourness doesn't eclipse subtle/complex flavor and finish notes. (They didn't.) Part of its success was the lovely Peru cacao beans the chocolate maker acquired, and the rest was great execution.*

Maker's tasting notes: "A slow build to intense roasted Brazil nut with accents of grapefruit and plantain"

Ingredients: Cocoa beans

Allergen-related information: "Made in a factory that also handles tree nuts"

*Truly great cacao can make a truly great chocolate. However, in the many steps that follow after harvesting the cacao, there are many opportunities for things to go wrong (a mistake in fermentation or drying, over-roasted or unevenly roasted cacao, too much or too little of many things...). And, there is no set recipe over time; the steps and settings are slightly different with different varieties or batches of cacao beans.

Fortunato Chocolate - Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds - July 15, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Fortunato Chocolate
Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds 
Good ++
Weight: 2.04 oz. (58 g.) / 8 oz. (226 g.) in total package
Calories: 340 calories in 2 servings
Cost: $9.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Fortunato Chocolate, online order

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

Today's Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds were from Fortunato Chocolate (Issaquah, WA).

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate, faint spice, roasted nut (almond) and very faint clean mineral.

Dark smooth chocolate was interspersed with crunchy roasted almonds.

Flavor notes included: dark, flavorful and smooth dark chocolate lightly covering authentic, crunchy whole roasted almonds. 

I enjoyed the relatively soft dark chocolate and roasted nut complexity--and not too much sugar (thank you!).

Ingredients: "68% Fortunato dark chocolate (organically grown cacao and cocoa butter 68%, organic cane sugar 32%), dry roasted almonds and sea salt."

Allergen-related information: "Contains: Tree Nuts. May contain traces of milk (including lactose), hazelnut."

Fortunato Chocolate - Milk Chocolate Peanut Clusters - July 14, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Fortunato Chocolate
Milk Chocolate Peanut Clusters
Good ++
Weight: 4 oz. (113 g.) / 8 oz. (226 g.) in total package
Calories: 650 calories in 1/2 package
Cost: $9.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Fortunato Chocolate, online order

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

Today's Milk Chocolate Peanut Clusters were from Fortunato Chocolate (Issaquah, WA).

Aroma notes included: milk chocolate, roasted peanuts, and peanut brittle.

Texture: creamy milk chocolate chock full of crunchy roasted peanuts.

Flavor notes included: sweet, creamy milk chocolate and salted, roasted peanuts. These clusters were creamy, crunchy, and had enough sugar and salt to land in the tasty, addictive snack zone. (Caution: do not start eating these if you're overly hungry. It's easy to mow through multiple servings.)

The higher sugar 36+% (and milk 27%) content made it difficult to detect cacao flavor nuances. However, the salt helped balance the sweetness a bit.

Ingredients: Roasted Peanuts, 36% Fortunato Milk Chocolate (Organically grown cacao and cocoa butter 36.2%, whole/skim milk and cream 27.02%, cane sugar 36.69%, soy lecithin 0.07%, vanilla 0.02%), sea salt.

Allergen-related information: Contains peanuts, milk, soy. May contain traces of almonds and hazelnuts.

Patricia's Chocolate - Fortunato No. 4 - 68% Peruvian Grand Cru Dark Chocolate - July 13, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Patricia's Chocolate 
Fortunato No. 4 - 68% Peruvian Grand Cru Dark Chocolate
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .56 oz. (16 g.) in a 2-piece tasting sample package
Calories: 87 calories (estimate) in a 2-piece package
Cost: $3.80 (estimate) for a 2-piece package 
Purchased from: Patricia's Chocolate, online order

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

Today's Fortunato No. 4 - 68% Peruvian Grand Cru Dark Chocolate was from Patricia's Chocolate (Grand Haven, MI).

Aroma notes for this Pure Nacional* cacao-based chocolate included: smooth dark chocolate, light fruit and floral, and very faint tart sweet green herb (oxalis) and light, aromatic tea.

The 68% dark chocolate had a very smooth, creamy melt and texture.

Attractively complex flavor notes included: smooth, sophisticated dark chocolate, diffuse fruit (sweet, refreshing red berry), and very faint caramel and refreshing (light, floral) sweet green tea.

Ingredients: (None listed on small package.)

Allergen-related information: (None listed on small package.)

*As chocolate lovers become more familiar with the variety of cacao(s) grown, (like grape varieties in wine) there has been more discussion about aroma and flavor associated with different varieties. The main three varieties often mentioned are Forastero, Trinitario and Criollo. But, it's more complicated than that.

The relatively rare and precious Fortunato Nacional (Pure Porcelana) heritage cacao beans used in today's chocolates were from Peru. This Nacional cacao was thought to have disappeared (due to disease and habitat changes), but in 2011 it was "rediscovered" in a Maranon River Canyon in Peru. (Fortunato is the name of the farmer on whose land these trees grow.)

Porcelana cacao (white beans/seeds when cut open) originated in South America and is associated with Criollo cacao/cultivars. Piura Porcelana can be found in northern Peru and is often associated with Nacional cacao. Confused yet? Nacional heritage cacao (associated with Ecuador and Peru) shares some properties Criollo variety heritage cacao. Both have soft, layered complex flavors that can include mild floral, fruit and nut.

Bottom line: Criollo and Porcelana cacaos are highly prized, but can be more delicate and prone to diseases. Only a small percentage of chocolates sold are made with fine Criollo/Porcelana cacaos. The majority of chocolate sold worldwide is made with the bolder Forestero and/or Trinitario cacao varieties as well as hybrids and cultivars of all the varieties listed above.