To'ak Chocolates - Utah Gin Cask Aged Ecuadorian Dark Chocolate 75.5% Cacao (bar) - June 25, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

To'ak Chocolate
Utah Gin Cask Aged Ecuadorian Dark Chocolate 75.5% Cacao (bar)
Good +++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar/package
Calories: 150 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: N/A - holiday gift from family
Purchased from: N/A - holiday gift from family (thank you Megan and Tony!)

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

Today's Utah Gin Cask Aged Ecuadorian Dark Chocolate 75.5% Cacao (bar) was made from tree-to-bar in Ecuador, by To'ak Chocolate  (Quito, Ecuador). The company specializes in high-end, Ecuadorian cacao-based chocolates.

The makers work with Ecuador's famed "Nacional" cacao variety, a popular cacao dating back to the 1800s.* In the 1900s, disease (Witches Broom) adversely impacted cacao harvests for decades.** (I feel grateful that when I started Chocolate Banquet almost 18 years ago, many South American cacao farms were on the rebound.)

Aroma and flavor notes for this attractively packaged bar included: relatively subtle dark chocolate, faint molasses, sweet green (botanical, oxalis), and very faint, well-balanced: earth/forest, diffuse tart-sweet fruit (peach, cacao), and then light cream in a gentle, lingering finish.

Texture: well tempered, uniformly smooth, thick (in a cool room) and relatively creamy. (And, as a delightful bonus, there was a crunchy, whole, cacao bean at the center that had a slight charcoal roast flavor to it.)

This was a skillfully and thoughtfully executed dark chocolate -- smooth, sophisticated and subtly complex and flavorful. Well balanced, and it was not too sweet (thank you!).

Ingredients: 75.5% Organic Heirloom Cacao Beans, 24.5% Organic Cane Sugar

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

*In the maker's words: "As of 2009, pure Nacional cacao was believed to be extinct. Our journey led us to the secluded valley of Piedra de Plata, where we found some of the last surviving trees..."

** This plant gall disease (caused by fungal and other contributing causes) disfigures plants; and it has also caused the collapse of cacao harvests in Brazil.

Fjak - Hacienda Limon, Ecuador 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) - June 24, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Fjak Chocolate  
Hacienda Limon, Ecuador 70% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.055 oz. (30 g.) / 2.11 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 167.7 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order 

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week. 

Today's Limited Edition Hacienda Limon, Ecuador 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) from Fjak Chocolate AS (Eidfjord (Hardangerfjord), Norway).

This bar was part of Fjak's Limited Edition "Cocoa Explorers'" series--that are made using high-quality, unique and often award-winning single origin/region cacaos. The cacao used to make this bar came from 12 Tree, Hacienda Limon, Quevado Cotopaxi, Ecuador.*

The intriguingly complex aroma notes included: dark chocolate, botanical spice (green pepper); complex and rich floral/honey; aromatic wood; and faint nut, mineral water and molasses.

Texture: smooth dark chocolate with a very faint astringency ("dryness") toward the finish.

Flavor notes included: rich dark chocolate with complex green botanicals (including freshly cut greens) and spices (including green bell pepper, green peppercorn); molasses, honey and panela; and very faint aromatic wood, earth and nut (green walnuts in sweet syrup, sweet green hazelnut, pine nuts).

I loved the maker's choice of cacao and their skilled and thoughtful execution that led to this aromatic and flavorful chocolate bar. So much delicious and complex flavor, coaxed from just three ingredients.

Maker's tasting notes: Floral Honey, Hazelnut.

*Fjak's description: "...Using the excellent "Heirloom Cacao Preservation' accredited cocoa beans from Samuel von Rutte's Hacienda Limon farm, we have created a classic 70% dark bar..."  

Ingredients: Cocoa Beans, Cane Sugar*, Cocoa Butter* (* = Organic)

Allergen-related information: "Processed in a facility that handles nuts, dairy and gluten."

Honeymoon Chocolates - 70% Raspberry Dark Chocolate Tanzania with raw honey, Tanzania cacao (bar) - June 23, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Honeymoon Chocolates
70% Raspberry Dark Chocolate with Raw Honey, Tanzania (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31 g.) / 2.2 oz. (62 g.) in total bar
Calories: 171 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Honeymoon Chocolates, online order

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

Today's 70% Raspberry Dark Chocolate with Raw Honey, Tanzania (bar) was from Honeymoon Chocolates (St. Louis, MO). 

This dark bar was created using Kokoa Kamili*, Tanzania cacao, Missouri Wildflower and Clover honey and raspberry. This follows a very similar Dark Raspberry bar, featured yesterday, by the same maker, that used Belize cacao. The Belize cacao might have been a bit smoother, but I enjoyed the bolder contrast in today's bar.

Aroma and flavor notes included: tart, sweet, ripe red raspberry and dark chocolate.

Texture: soft, very smooth, buttery, ultra-dark chocolate interspersed with rosy, red raspberry bits (with crunchy seeds) pressed into the back of this bar. 

Flavor notes included: ultra-dark (rich, very slightly earthy, bittersweet) chocolate; and authentically tart-sweet red raspberry bits. The slightly bitter chocolate and the bright, ripe berry were nicely balanced and very complementary. The more delicate sweet, floral honey showed up at the end of the finish, after the more dominant cacao and berry flavors subsided.

I appreciated that this chocolate was made with just four high-quality ingredients, and that it wasn't too sweet (thank you) -- allowing each ingredient to shine on its own.

Maker's Tasting Notes: Molasses, Cheesecake, and Raspberries

Ingredients: Raw Honey, Organic Cacao, Organic Cacao Butter, Organic Raspberry

Allergen-related information: Manufactured in a facility that prepares Dairy and Gluten products. 

*Kokoa Kamili is a central (cacao) fermentary and cacao processing facility located in Mbingu Village in Tanzania that works with farmers. They buy "wet" cacao from thousands of small farmers, process and export cacao. This social enterprise was founded in 2013 by Brian LoBue and Simran Bindra.

Honeymoon Chocolates - 70% Raspberry Dark Chocolate with Raw Honey, Belize (bar) - June 22, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Honeymoon Chocolates
70% Raspberry Dark Chocolate with Raw Honey, Belize (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31 g.) / 2.2 oz. (62 g.) in total bar
Calories: 171 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Missing information

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

Today's 70% Raspberry Dark Chocolate with Raw Honey, Belize (bar) was from Honeymoon Chocolates (St. Louis, MO). The company was "founded in a dorm room in 2016," and, happily for us, has produced a variety of (single origin cacao) chocolates sweetened with honey.

This dark bar was created using bean-to-bar Maya Mountain Belize cacao; Missouri Wildflower and Clover honey; and raspberries.

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate (deep dark chocolate fudge; berry fruit; very faint, fleeting warm spice, fruit vinegar); raspberry fruit pieces; and very faint floral (honey).

Texture - somewhat soft dark chocolate, with a rich, slow melt; and occasional bits of raspberry and crunchy whole raspberry seeds.

Tasting notes included: pleasing, single origin (Belize) dark chocolate flavor, interspersed with authentic, bright, tart-sweet raspberry fruit bits.

I liked that this chocolate was not too sweet (thank you!) and I appreciated it was made with just four high-quality ingredients--allowing each ingredient to shine.

Ingredients: Cacao, Raw Honey, Cacao Butter, Raspberry

Allergen-related information: Made in a facility that prepares Dairy products. "Free of refined sugar, soy, and gluten."

  

Honeymoon Chocolates - Switchgrass Spirits 75% Dark Chocolate Rye Whiskey (bar) - June 21, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Honeymoon Chocolates
Switchgrass Spirits 75% Dark Chocolate Rye Whiskey (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31 g.) / 2.2 oz. (62 g.) in total bar
Calories: 171 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Honeymoon Chocolates, online order

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

Today's Switchgrass Spirits 75% Dark Chocolate Rye Whiskey (bar) was from Honeymoon Chocolates (St. Louis, MO).

This dark bar was created using organic Kokoa Kamili, Tanzania cacao, raw Missouri wildflower and clover honey, and (alcohol-removed) Switchgrass Rye whiskey.

The complex bouquet of aroma notes included: dark chocolate (fudge-y, very slightly earthy), sweet green, molasses/brown sugar, and very faint sweet herbal and barely detectable fermented fruit/whiskey.

This bar had a smooth, cocoa buttery, almost creamy texture and melt.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate (very slightly earthy, roasted (coffee latte with molasses)); very faint sweet tart green (oxalis); very faint nuanced (floral, herbal) honey-like sweetness and naturally sweet/aged whiskey.

I enjoyed the rich, complex, and balanced aroma and flavor notes in this dark chocolate. And I appreciated that this bar was made with just four high-quality ingredients. (I also liked the hexagon (honeycomb) pattern on the back and the (compostable) packaging design.) A portion of the proceeds from this numbered bar were "automatically donated to support honeybee research."

Ingredients: Cacao, Raw Honey, Cacao Butter, Rye Whiskey 

Allergen-related information: Made in a facility that processes Dairy products. "Free of refined sugar, soy, and gluten."

 

Honeymoon Chocolates - Chocolate Covered Raw Honeycomb - June 20, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolate Covered Raw Honeycomb
Organic Tanzanian Cacao + Raw Honeycomb
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3.0 oz. (85 g.) in total package
Calories: 150 calories in 1/2 package
Cost: $14.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Honeymoon Chocolates, online order

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

Today's Chocolate Covered Raw Honeycomb made with Organic Tanzanian Cacao + Raw Honeycomb was from Honeymoon Chocolates (St. Louis, MO).

Aroma and flavor notes included: dark chocolate (balanced earth, fruit) and faintly floral honey.

Special preparation for this especially decadent treat included having water and wet and dry towels on hand, and enjoying this dark chocolate covered thick, chewy, waxy, honeycomb--flowing with liquid honey--leaning over a sink. That helped make cleanup a snap. 

I enjoyed the fact that this substantial confection was made with just two, high-quality ingredients (raw honeycomb and organic Tanzanian cacao)

The bulk of this sweet confection was a honeycomb full of honey and should be enjoyed as such. Thankfully I could still taste the dark Tanzanian cacao/chocolate, which broke into shards around the edges when I cut this piece in half. It was a good counterpoint to all that 'comb.

Ingredients: Honeycomb, Organic Tanzanian Cacao

Allergen-related information: (No additional information found on container.)

Pacific Resources International - Raspberry Dark Chocolate Patties with Manuka Honey - June 19, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Pacific Resources International (PRI)
Raspberry Dark Chocolate Patties with Manuka Honey
Good ++
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33 g.) / 5 oz. (141.5 g.) in total package
Calories: 120 calories in 1 serving (3 pieces)
Cost: $9.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: PRI, online order 

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate & Honey Theme Week.

Today's Raspberry Dark Chocolate Patties with Manuka Honey were distributed by Pacific Resources International (Carpinteria, CA).

Aroma notes for these individually-wrapped (in pink foil) patties included: faintly earthy dark chocolate and bright, sweet red berry (raspberry, strawberry), and very faint fig and nut cookie. 

Textures: slightly crunchy (in a cool room) the outer dark chocolate shell had a thick fudge-y, creamy melt and mouthfeel; and a soft, almost velvety honey filling.

I liked the contrast between the 99% cacao ultra-dark chocolate coating and the bright, very sweet, red-berry (raspberry)-infused honey filling. If it weren't for the earth-tethered cacao to ground the honey-fueled, sweet berry filling, it might have lifted off into the candysphere. 

The only downside: the chocolate and raspberry flavors were so commanding that it was harder to taste the floral and other honey notes (as I'd been able to do in PRI's Orange dark chocolate patties, featured yesterday).

Ingredients: "Manuka/Honey, 99% cocoa dark chocolate, natural raspberry flavoring"

Allergen-related information: (None I could find on the packaging.) 

*Manuka honey comes from the nectar of flowers that grow on the Manuka (Leptospermum scoparium) shrub-like tree. It is native to New Zealand and parts of (coastal) Australia, but is also cultivated in other areas of the world.