Zotter - "My name is Bunny, Easter Bunny" - 72% Peru Chuncho + 75% Guatemala dark chocolate bars - Aug. 4, 2023

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Zotter Chocolates US LLC
"My Name is Bunny, Easter Bunny"
(Set of 2 different dark chocolate bars)

1.) 72% Peru Chuncho
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .615 oz. (17.5 g.) / 1.23 oz. (35 g.) in 1 bar

2.) 75% Guatemala 
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .615 oz. (17.5 g.) / 1.23 oz. (35 g.) in 1 bar

Calories: 205 calories in 1/2 of each bar (1/2 package)
Cost: $8.49 (estimate) for 1 set of 2 bars
Purchased from: Zotter US, online order

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate Surprise Theme Week, including chocolates with some exotic or surprising element(s), and/or chocolates that were/are just plain fun.

Today's 72% Peru Chuncho and 75% Guatemala dark chocolate bars were made in Austria and distributed by Zotter Chocolates US LLC (Fort Myers/Cape Coral, FL).

These two dark chocolates were packaged together as a set of 2 bars, providing an opportunity for a side-by-side tasting experience. Both were part of the company's "Labooko" line of pure chocolate bars. (The company also produces a variety of interesting hand-scooped, filled bars and other unique and delightfully surprising confections.) 

Zotter packaging design and illustrations are colorful and fun. Today's James Bond-like, bow-tie clad bunny (leaning on a bar and holding a martini-like cocktail) was no exception.

Below are my tasting notes, followed by Zotter's tasting notes for their two bars.

72% Peru Chuncho (bar)

Aroma notes included: smooth, sweet dark chocolate (chocolate cookie, ganache); faint cracker or savory snack; and faint diffuse fruit (sweet tropical fruit (mango) and sweet, almost floral (vanilla, rose), red berry jam on freshly baked bread).

The texture was smooth and creamy; and flavor notes included: smooth chocolate-y (dark chocolate torte, frosting/fudge), diffuse fruit (tropical (mango), sweet, slightly tart red berry, cherry plum, and watermelon), and barely detectable, spice, clean mineral, floral and salted cracker notes. 

This 72% dark Peru bar with gentle, nuanced complexity had balanced, bright fruit acidity, and was low in bitterness--consistent with Peru Chuncho cacao's reputation.*

Zotter fragrance notes: "fruity and floral, tropical fruit mix, caramelized nuts, salty pretzels"

Zotter taste notes: "sweet and mild, lightly salted crackers, nutty notes, cream, exotic fruit (echoes of mango, banana and watermelon), nutty cracker finish"

75% Guatemala (bar)

Aroma notes for this 75% bar included: bold dark chocolate; tart-sweet, dried fruit (peach, plum, berry, banana); very light bitter/acidic earth (peat); and very faint leather.

Flavor notes for this creamy 75% dark chocolate included: bold, yet balanced and smooth, cacao notes; deep chocolate (Forastero/Trinitario cacao); diffuse dried fruit (berries, banana, stone fruits); fleeting nut (peanut); fleeting warm spice; very faint, fleeting, balanced earth; and very faint, fleeting savory. 

The cacao itself, judiciously added cocoa butter by the maker, and sophisticated techniques (like fine-mist roasting) yielded creamy texture; balanced, sophisticated layered flavors that were bold but without the "rough edges" that might be more/too intense for some.

Zotter fragrance notes: "intense fruity notes of berries, cherries, banana and peach"

Zotter taste notes: "mild notes of lightly salted lye (sic) roll, sweet spice mix, intense mix of fruit: notes of exotic fruit, berries, cherries, peach, watermelon, mild peppery, fruity finish"

Thank you to Zotter for all that they continue to offer. Today's 3-ingredient, single origin dark chocolate bars (made with organic and fair trade cacao) were well-balanced and smooth, yet had surprisingly subtle complexity. This set would be an enjoyable after meal dessert; well-suited for a high-end chocolate tasting; and appropriate for a sophisticated, James Bond-like, bunny.

---------------

*Peruvian cacao notes:

Many varieties of cacao can be found growing in different cacao-growing regions of Peru, including Criollo, Trinitario, Forastero and Nacional.

Chuncho cacao is prized by chocolate makers for its aroma and flavor characteristics. Bar & Cocoa (an online specialty/high-end chocolate retailer in the U.S.) offers this description:

"Chuncho cacao encompasses around a dozen related cultivars of the Upper Amazon Forastero group, now considered to be native to the Quillabamba Valley of central Peru. They're believed to have been domesticated by the Matchiguenga people, whose members were ancestral inhabitants of the Valley."

 

Fjak Sjokolade - Sour Cherry Milk Chocolate; 50% Milk Orange & Almonds (bars) - Aug. 3, 2023

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Fjak Sjokolade
Sour Cherry Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .935 oz. (26.5 g.) / 1.87 oz. (53 g.) in total bar
Calories: 155 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Fjak Sjokolade
Mountain Trip - 50% Milk Chocolate Orange and Almonds (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .935 oz. (26.5 g.) / 1.87 oz. (53 g.) in total bar
Calories: 96.5 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Organic Sour Cherry Milk Chocolate and Mountain Trip 50% Milk Chocolate with Orange and Almonds (bars) were both from small-batch chocolate maker Fjak Sjokolade (Hardangerfjord, Norway).

Sour Cherry Milk Chocolate

The Sour Cherry Milk Chocolate was a seasonal bar--part of Fjak's Nordic Collection. It was made with cacao grown in Tanzania (Kokoa Kamili in the Kilombero Valley). 

Aroma and flavor notes for this bar: sweet floral (vanilla, berry candy), fruit (subtle sweet cherry), and faint milk chocolate and caramel.

Note: There were cocoa beans/solids (or cacao %) listed in the ingredients--just cacao butter, sugar, milk, sour cherry and vanilla. This could have been an omission on the label; or sour cherry fruit provided the look of a darker (milk) chocolate.

I've tasted berry and coffee bars with a high concentration of dark berry mass (or ground coffee) that looked like milk/dark chocolates. They contained cacao butter, but no cocoa solids. A neat visual trick that requires knowledge and skill to pull off.

Those with a sweet tooth will likely enjoy this bar. I confess, I like cocoa solids, and this was a bit too sweet for me.

Ingredients: Cocoa butter*, cane sugar*, milk powder*, sour cherry*, vanilla* (*Organic)

Allergen-related information: (Contains milk)

Mountain Trip

The 50% Mountain Trip Limited Edition bar was also a Fjak milk chocolate bar (with more cocoa bean solids) as well as orange and almonds flavor inclusions.

This "100% Organic" milk chocolate was made using cacao from Hispaniola, Dominican Republic.

Aroma notes included: dark milk chocolate, subtle sweet citrus (orange) and nut.

The base milk chocolate had a delicious, creamy sweet texture interspersed with softly crunchy almond bits and small chewy candied orange pieces.

The flavors were very complementary and well balanced. This delicious chocolate fueled a version of a mountain trip -- a hike along the San Francisco Bay Trail, complete with views of the mountains that ring the edges of this large estuary on the West Coast of California. 

Ingredients: Organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, powder milk, organic almonds, organic candied orange peel, salt and organic orange oil (less than 1%).

Allergen-related information: (Contains milk and almonds.)

*Kokoa Kamili buys "wet" (freshly harvested) cacao (beans, still with some surrounding fresh cacao fruit pulp) from cocoa farmers. They ferment and dry the cacao (beans)--critical first steps in flavor development, and in the journey that eventually results in chocolate.

Fortunato Chocolate - Dark Chocolate Dates with Sea Salt - Aug. 2, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Fortunato Chocolate
Dark Chocolate Dates with Sea Salt 
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.02 oz. (29 g.) / 8 oz. (226 g.) in total package
Calories: 120 calories in 1 serving (2 dates)
Cost: $9.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Fortunato Chocoalate, online order

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

Today's Dark Chocolate Dates with Sea Salt were from Fortunato Chocolate (Issaquah, WA).

The company is a family-owned business that specializes in rare Fortunato* Pure Nacional cacao from Peru. 

Aroma notes for these dark chocolate dates included: nuanced, dark chocolate with very faint cacao fermentation, fruit, and spice. 

A relatively thin layer of subtly flavorful 68% dark chocolate surrounded large, plump, almost fluffy,  medjool date fruit. Extra points on the fruit inside the chocolate today. For a moment, I thought this exceptional fruit (date) might eclipse the high-end Fortunato dark chocolate. Fortunately the chocolate flavor experienced during the first bite returned in the finish.

I did not taste any sea salt. (The salt grains may have settled to the bottom of the package.) But I'm sure a few judicious sparkles of salt would have been a good fit, helping to balance the sweetness just a bit.

Ingredients: "68% Fortunato Dark Chocolate (organically grown cacao and cocoa butter 68%, cane sugar 32%), medjool dates, sea salt."

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of hazelnut and almonds."

*These rare Fortunato Nacional cacao beans contain a relatively high percentage (40%) of "white" cacao beans (If you cut open the seeds (aka beans), they look white inside.) 

Fortunato is the name of the farmer in Peru who is growing these trees. The company "discovered" these beans in 2008. 

Nacional is a type of "heritage" cacao that is subtle but certainly not dull. The 68% Fortunato dark chocolate was relatively sweet. More important, it lacked the bitterness and stronger, acidic or earth flavors one might find in other cacaos.

Leith Chocolate - Passionfruit Dark Chocolate (bar) - Aug. 1, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Leith Chocolate
Passionfruit Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 219 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: Missing information 
Purchased from: World Market, Mountain View, CA

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

Today's Passionfruit Dark Chocolate (bar), a product of Scotland, was from Leith Chocolate (South Queensferry and Dublin). 

Aroma notes included: smooth dark chocolate and aromatic wafts of fruit (peach, mango, passion fruit).

Leith sources chocolate from South America; and the dark chocolate in this bar was uniform and smooth with subtle roasted dark cocoa flavor.

The fruit flavor notes were very similar to the aroma notes (mentioned above) and included the same blend of stone fruit (peach, mild apricot) and tropical fruits (mango, faint passion fruit). 

My experience with passion fruit is that this flavorful and seedy sweet and sour fruit has rich sweet citrus, floral--and occasionally cacao fruit pulp, other tropical fruits, and fruit punch--notes. 

Ingredients: "Cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier: Non GMO soy lecithin, vanilla extract, natural passion fruit flavour."

Allergen-related information: "Allergens: soya" "Made in a facility that handles dairy, peanuts, soy and tree nuts." "No gluten containing ingredients"

The Xocolate Bar - Organic, Fair Trade 70% Bear Hug (bar) - Aug. 31, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

The Xocolate Bar
Bear Hug Organic, Fair Trade 70% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $14.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Phoenix Gift Shop, Big Sur, CA

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

Today's Bear Hug Organic, Fair Trade 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) was from The Xocolate Bar (Berkeley, CA). 

The fruit flavor was supplied by a sleuth* of berry-flavored gummy bears--embedded in 70% dark chocolate. The description read: "a tender gift for someone who needs a bear hug."

Aroma and flavor notes for this bar included: dark chocolate and authentic fruit (red raspberry + ripe blackberry + light purple grape) candy or jam. 

The front side of this bar was sober, serious and smooth dark chocolate. The back side was a wild candy party scene--adorned with an abundant field of tiny white sugar sprinkles. Frolicking in this field were the aforementioned berry-hued gummy bears...And the two sides, happily, co-existed harmoniously.

The organic, fair trade 70% dark chocolate kept the sugar in check, so this wasn't overly sweet (thank you!). 

Ingredients: "fair trade dark chocolate*, (cacao,* sugar,*, sunflower lecithin), gummy bears (tapioca syrup,* sugar,* pectin, grape juice,* citric acid, natural color, natural flavor, vitamins C E & A), sprinkles (sugar, cornstarch, carnauba wax) *organic..."

Allergen-related information: "Vegan; organic" 

*A "sleuth" of bears is a term referring to a group of bears observed together in one place.

Utopick Chocolate - Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao Rare Citrus (bar) - July 30, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Utopick Chocolate SL
Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao Rare Citrus (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 194 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $18.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Bean to Bar Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao Rate Citrus (bar) was from Utopick Chocolate SL (Valencia, Spain). 

Aroma notes included: chocolate with light, fleeting fermentation (alcohol), subtly layered citrus (lemon, orange), very faint warm citrus spice and lemony bittersweet herb.

The flavor notes were similar to the aroma notes above, but with richer chocolate-y notes and a slight, balanced tart (sweet sour) bitterness. The small strips of sweetened citron peel on the back of the bar added upticks of lemony flavor.

I enjoyed this sophisticated blend of two relatively bold flavors: citron peel and chocolate. Citron peel, (usually candied) is used in cooking/baking, beverages, cocktails and desserts. It's a popular citrus fruit flavor accent in Europe, but relatively rare to find in the U.S. 

Maker's tasting notes: "Roasted cocoa, orange juice, grandmarnier and vermouth herbs."

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, cane sugar, pure cocoa butter, citron, glucose and dextrose.

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of nuts, egg and milk protein, soya and gluten, due to the presence in our factory."

Astor Chocolate - Chocolate Cliche - Milk Chocolate Key Lime (bar) - July 29, 2023

Chocolate of The Day 

Astor Chocolate 
Chocolate Cliche Zero Flocks Given Milk Chocolate Key Lime (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.75 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 130 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $2.12 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Cost Plus World Market, Mountain View, CA

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

Today's Chocolate Cliche Zero Flocks Given Milk Chocolate Key Lime (bar) was from Astor Chocolate (Lakewood, NJ).  The company offers a wide variety of chocolates using "premium Belgian chocolate that is sustainably produced."

Aroma and flavor notes for this milk chocolate bar included: dark milk chocolate, citrus (lemon, lime) and faint vanilla.

The texture of the base milk chocolate was smooth and creamy. Tiny, barely visible, citrus bits emitted tart-sweet lemon/lime sparkles that cooled into a slightly bitter citrus peel in sweet milk chocolate finish. 

Milk chocolate and citrus fans will find this bar an entertaining summer chocolate. (The package features a cartoon flamingo with sunglasses lounging in a pool, with "zero flocks given.") 

Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, whole milk powder, soy lecithin (emsulsifier), and natural vanilla extract), dried lemon peels, dried lime powder, citric acid, natural lemon flavor, and natural citrus flavor.

Allergen-related information: "Contains: Milk and soy. May contain wheat, peanuts, and tree nuts."