Maya Chocolates - "Sassy" 65% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Feb. 16, 2024

Chocolate of the Day 

Maya Chocolates 
"Sassy" 65% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 2.2 oz. (62.4 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 341 calories (estimate) for 1 day
Cost: $4.79 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Sassy 65% Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Maya/Maya'a Chocolates (Pinole, CA). 

Aroma and flavor notes included: bold, smooth fudge-y dark chocolate with diffuse red fruit (berry); balanced, (barely detectable) earth; and accented with sassy sparkles of sea salt.

Texture: bar broke with a hard snap, and had a creamy melt and texture 

What I liked about this bar: 1.) smooth yet flavorful dark chocolate with subtle complexity; and 2.) an attractive, complementary balance of dark chocolate and salt. (I like savory chocolate flavors.)

Ingredients: Unsweetened Chocolate, Cane Sugar, Cocoa, Butter (Milk), Soy Lecithin, Sea Salt

Allergen-related information: Contained milk (butter). May contain traces of tree nuts.

Ritter Sport - Caramello Salato (Salted Caramel) (bar) - Feb. 15, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Ritter Sport
Caramello Salato (Salted Caramel) (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 480 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Salt Week. 

Today's Ritter Sport Caramello Salato (Salted Caramel) (bar) was from Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG (Waldenbuch, Germany). 

Aroma notes included: salt caramel, milk chocolate, and faint sweet caramel toffee.

Texture: smooth, creamy milk chocolate studded with crunchy caramel (toffee) bits.

Flavor notes included: rich, milky chocolate, with microbursts of salted caramel/sweet toffee.

After the first bite (square), I wanted a squeak more salt, to help balance the sweetness (sugar is the number one ingredient). But subsequent squares turned up a bit more salt; and then the whole bar lit up in the sweet-salt addictive, "Goldilocks" zone. Beware, if you were only planning on having just a few bites.

Ingredients: "Milk chocolate with salter butter-caramel-crisps and caramel pieces. Ingredients: sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate liquor, milk, lactose (milk), skim milk, glucose syrup, butterfat (milk), butter (milk), soy lecithin, cream, salt.

Allergen-related information: (Contains milk, soy.) "May contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts, wheat and egg."

Maya - 65% Dark Chocolate with Raspberry (bar) & Castronovo - White Chocolate Lemon Sea Salt (bar) - Feb. 14, 2024

Chocolate(s) of the Day 

Maya Chocolates
Raspberry - 65% Dark Chocolate with Raspberry (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31.2 g.) / 2.2 oz. (62.4 g.) in total bar
Calories: 171 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.79 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Castronovo Chocolate
White Chocolate Lemon and Lemon Salt (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31 g.) / 2.2 oz. (62 g.) in total bar
Calories: 95 calories in 1/4 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Castronovo Chocolate, online order

Happy Valentines Day and welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Salt Theme Week. 

Today's two chocolate bars sampled together were the perfect blend for hearts and chocolate day -- a yin and yang blend of dark chocolate and red fruit + white chocolate yellow citrus and sea salt sunshine. 

Maya Chocolates - Raspberry 65% Dark (bar)

Aroma notes included: citrus (sweet, tart lime), red raspberry and dark chocolate.

Texture: smooth dark chocolate and bits of berry pulp and crunchy raspberry seeds.

Flavor notes included: chocolate-y (rich fudge brownie) and authentic red raspberry.

Ingredients: "Unsweetened Chocolate, Cane Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin, Freeze Dried Raspberries"

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of milk (and) other tree nuts."

Castronovo - White Chocolate Lemon, Lemon Salt (bar) 

Aroma notes included: authentic, refreshing whole lemon (rind and fruit) and sweetness.

Smooth, creamy white chocolate (with fully incorporated/infused lemon and just the right touch of lemon sea salt) made for a very well-balanced, flavorful and enjoyable white chocolate. 

Castronovo chocolate maker, Denise Castronovo, cited memories of "Nanny's lemon meringue pie", light lemon desserts and Italian cookies (with lemon zest and icing) as her inspirations for this lovely bar.

Note: While I don't "count" white chocolate as a daily chocolate, I do feature ones I really like (that aren't too sweet), paired with a dark or milk chocolate on the same day.

Ingredients: "cocoa butter*, cane sugar*, whole milk*, lemon, lemon sea salt (*organic ingredients)"

Allergen-related information: "Contains milk. Made in a nut-free facility that uses wheat."

Castronovo Chocolate - Sacha Inchi Bark - Feb. 13, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Castronovo Chocolate
Sacha Inchi Bark
Good ++ 
Weight: 3 oz. (85 g.) / 4 oz. (113 g.) in total bar
Calories: 455 calories (estimate) in 3 oz. (85 g.) serving
Cost: $12.00 for 1 package
Purchased from: Castronovo Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #15 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.

Today's dark chocolate covered Sacha Inchi Bark was from Castronovo Chocolate (Stuart, FL). 

Thank you to chocolate maker Denise Castronovo, who is currently offering bars and confections made with cacaos from at least three different growing locations in Peru. She has also been developing chocolate offerings with today's indigenous Amazonian flavor inclusion--sacha inchi--to help introduce these tasty South American seeds to U.S. consumers.

Aroma notes included: roasted nuts/seeds (similar to roasted pumpkin seeds + roasted peanuts); faint dark chocolate.

These thick mini slabs of flavorful dark chocolate bark were chock full of whole, roasted sacha inchi* seeds. The seeds contributed a "roasty", nutty flavor and texture that complemented the dark chocolate nicely.

Flavor notes included: rich dark chocolate with faint tropical fruit (citrus, cacao fruit, berry) notes, and roasted sacha inchi seeds (similar to a blend of roasted large squash/pumpkin seeds + peanuts). 

Note: this bark may no longer be available; but chocolate-covered sacha inchi were on the website. I look forward to trying other sacha inchi and chocolate blends from Castronovo in the future.

Ingredients: "dark chocolate (cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, cocoa butter), Sacha inchi (roasted)"

Allergen-related information: Made in a nut-free facility.

*Sachi Inchi (Plukenetia volubilis) seeds come from six-pointed star-shaped seed pods (that look a bit like tiny green pumpkins--hanging off vines) in the Amazon rainforests of Peru and Northern Brazil. (Sacha Inchi are also found in Colombia, Venezuela, Bolivia and Ecuador.) These seeds are also known as Inca peanuts, Peruvian peanuts, jungle peanuts and mountain peanuts. 

  

Castronovo Chocolate - Valle de Los Rios, Peru Dark Milk 60% Cacao (bar) - Feb. 12, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Castronovo Chocolate
Valle de Los Rios, Peru Dark Milk 60% Cacao (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31 g.) / 2.2 oz. (62 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Castronovo Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #14 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.

Today's Signature Collection, Valle de Los Rios, Peru Dark Milk 60% Cacao (Batch #1211) (bar) was from Castronovo Chocolate (Stuart, FL). 

Happily this week, I've been able to sample chocolates made with cacaos from a variety of Peruvian regions. Thank you to Chocolate maker Denise Castronovo, who is currently offering bars and confections (see Sacha Inchi bark in tomorrow's post) made with cacaos from at least three different growing locations.

Aroma notes included: chocolate with soft floral, fruit and caramel.

This 60% bar broke with a well-tempered hard snap, and had a uniform, smooth, relatively creamy texture.

Flavor notes included: sweet, smooth dark milk chocolate with very faint floral, fruit and caramel and almost undetectable sweet cereal milk. Light, sweet finish.

Maker's tasting notes: "...my most feminine and delicate flavor profile milk chocolate....(with a) soft floral character, delicate fruit of melon, and (a) hint of clove spice."

Ingredients: cocoa beans*, cane sugar*, milk*, cocoa butter* (*organic ingredients)

Allergen-related information: Contains milk. Made in a nut-free facility.

 

Castronovo Chocolate - Salitral, Peru 70% Desert Criollo Cacao (bar) - Feb. 11, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Castronovo Chocolate
Salitral Peru 70% Desert Criollo Cacao (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31 g.) / 2.2 oz. (62 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $14.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Castronovo Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #13 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.

Today's Signature Collection, Salitral, Peru 70% Desert Criollo Cacao (Batch #1349) (bar) was from Castronovo Chocolate (Stuart, FL). 

Chocolate maker Denise Castronovo used "...a mix of native criollo cacao from the northern coastal desert region of Piura--where the Amazon meets the desert coast..." to make this bar. She was intrigued to read the words "desert" and "native criollo cacao" together. (Me too!) I've always imagined the more "delicate" native criollo cacaos growing under the shade of taller trees in temperate rainforests.* 

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate (drinking chocolate, cocoa); very faint soft, sweet green botanical (light floral and spice); and faint, diffuse fruit (green fig, berry) and nut (almond).

This 70% bar broke with a well-tempered hard snap, and had a uniform, smooth, almost creamy, pleasing texture.

Flavor notes included: smooth dark chocolate with a very pleasing flush of bright, complex fruit (citrus, cacao fruit, berry) and very faint nut notes. It also had a pleasant finish.

Maker's tasting notes: "This chocolate boasts bright citrus and tropical fruit flavors up front that transition into delicate nutty and spice flavors at its finish..."

Ingredients: cocoa beans*, cane sugar*, cocoa butter* (*organic ingredients)

Allergen-related information: Made in a nut-free facility that uses milk and wheat.

*Deserts are associated with a limited tree (canopy) cover. However, like grapes, coffee or other fruit crops from the Equatorial belt, certain varieties of cacao trees/fruit are better-suited for areas with direct sun (vs. growing under a canopy) than others. Coastal desert areas also provide more humidity (e.g. coastal fog) than inland deserts. (I have seen, e.g. introduced cacao trees growing in Hawaii with no tree cover, but they're also growing very close to the Pacific ocean, and at a higher (cooler) latitude.)

Castronovo Chocolate - Awajun Women, Peru 70% Rainforest Cacao (bar) - Feb. 10, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Castronovo Chocolate
Awajun Women, Peru 70% Rainforest Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31 g.) / 2.2 oz. (62 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $14.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Castronovo Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #12 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.

Today's Awajun Women, Peru 70% Rainforest Cacao (Batch #1351) (bar) was from Castronovo Chocolate (Stuart, FL). 

Castronovo Chocolate maker Denise Castronovo sourced Peruvian cacao beans to make this bar from a cacao cooperative of indigenous women from the Awajun and Huambisa communities in the Amazon rainforest.

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate (warm cocoa, drinking chocolate)

This 70% bar broke with a well-tempered snap, and had a uniform, smooth, almost creamy, pleasing texture.

Flavor notes included: smooth dark chocolate, with very faint floral/perfume/cardboard and barely detectable fruit (dried fruit (very subtle date), caramelized fruit) and nut (almond) notes. Pleasant, sweet finish with very light caramel.

Maker's tasting notes: "...laced with natural sweet flavors of almond, vanilla and caramel." 

Ingredients: cocoa beans*, cane sugar*, cocoa butter* (*organic ingredients)

Allergen-related information: Made in a nut-free facility that uses milk and wheat.