Seahorse Chocolate - Dark Milk Vegan 65% (bar) - Aug. 27, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Seahorse Chocolate
Dark Milk Vegan 65% (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 271 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Spinnaker Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and The Sea Theme Week.

Today's Dark Milk Vegan chocolate (bar) was crafted by Seahorse Chocolate (Bend, OR).

Aroma notes for this Good Food Awards winner included: dark milk chocolate, and subtle, authentic coconut milk.

This bar broke with a gentle snap; had a slow, thick, luxe melt and a silken, creamy texture; and it had a relatively long (textural and flavor) finish.

Flavor notes included: deep, dark chocolate (fudge brownie; smooth dark chocolate-y ganache; subdued, authentic coconut milk; and barely there, diffuse fruit candy/jam/marmalade and roasted coffee/mocha.

The taste was close to a deep, dense, higher-end Forastero and/or Trinitario variety cacao and tasted  darker than many 65% cacao chocolates (more like 72% cacao or even 75% cacao bars).*

Well-balanced, relatively bold and flavorful yet also very smooth, this is a dark milk vegan bar for true dark chocolate lovers.

Maker's tasting notes: "Reminds us of: Fudge, candied pear, licking brownie batter spatula" and "Reminds us of: Fudge, Orange, Lee Hazlewood's vocals"

Ingredients: Cocoa Beans, Coconut Milk, Organic Sugar 

Allergen-related information: "Vegan, Gluten Free" 

*Cacao percentages can be useful if you're buying dark chocolates. However, "darkness" depends on many factors, including variety/ies of cacao used, origin, and choices made in the growing, fermenting and processing of said cacao(s). All 70% dark chocolate bars will not taste the same. Some will taste light and bright; others deep and dense. And some will taste sweeter or more bitter than others. Sometimes a 65% chocolate can taste like 75% chocolate, and vice versa.

Spinnaker Chocolate - 70% Uganda with Nibs (bar) - Aug. 26, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Spinnaker Chocolate
70% Uganda with Nibs (bar)
Good +++ 
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 130 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Spinnaker Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Uganda Theme Week, and Day #2 of Chocolate and The Sea Theme Week. 

Today's 70% Uganda with Nibs (bar) was crafted by Spinnaker Chocolate (Seattle, WA).

This well-made bar was similar to yesterday's 70% Uganda bar (without nibs) from the same maker. It was slightly tangy, chocolate-y, flavorful and creamy, and was made with a very short list of high-quality ingredients. 

Aroma notes for today's chocolate included: chocolate-y, with very faint, diffuse tangy fruit (pickled green fig and berry jam).

The appealing texture was an elegant blend of creamy and crunchy.

Flavor notes included: chocolate (dark chocolate ganache) with subtle tart-sweet red berry. 

The sprinkle of nibs added a great, pure, and smooth cacao flavor that was well integrated with the smooth chocolate. And there were no "off" notes in the cacao nibs, which tells me that special care was taken in the sorting and processing of the cacao beans (and nibs).

I enjoyed the balanced complexity in both yesterday's and today's Uganda 70% dark chocolates; and the added texture and authentic cacao flavor of the nibs in today's bar. 

Ingredients: Cacao, Organic Cane Sugar, Cocoa Nibs

Allergen-related information: "Processed in a facility that uses milk powder and nuts."

  

Spinnaker Chocolate - 70% Uganda (bar) - Aug. 25, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Spinnaker Chocolate
70% Uganda (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 120 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Spinnaker Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Uganda Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and The Sea Theme Week.

Today's 70% Uganda (bar) (Batch 329.3) was made by Spinnaker Chocolate (Seattle, WA). The family-owned and operated company offers a variety of single origin chocolates.

Seattle is perched on Puget Sound that connects to the Pacific Ocean. And the company's sea blue packaging is adorned with images of a sailboat on top, and waves below. (I hope these chocolate makers are able to enjoy some time on the water occasionally.)

Aroma notes included: chocolate, cream, fruit (citrus, berry, fig), very faint herbal (citrus leaves, oxalis).

Texture: smooth and creamy. 

Flavor notes: shades of true chocolate (creamy fudge, slightly tart ganache and slightly fruity fudge brownie) with very faint citrus flower-herbal, clean mineral and fig and berry jam. There was no dairy/cream in this bar, but it did have a slightly sour, authentic cream/buttermilk and orange taste, and creamy texture. And it had a long, pleasing chocolate-y finish.

I really enjoyed this well-executed, single origin Uganda 70% bar. It was a true chocolate magic carpet ride. Balanced, slightly tangy and fruity secondary notes supplied a satisfying depth of flavor. I liked the complexity achieved with just two ingredients. The sweetness level also seemed right where it should have been for this cacao--enough sugar to brighten up some of the naturally occurring flavors, but not so much to mask chocolate nuances.

Ingredients: Cacao, Organic Cane Sugar

Allergen-related information: "Processed in a facility that uses milk powder and nuts."

 

Kessho - Salted Plum Dark Chocolate 59% Cacao Semuliki Forest Uganda (bar) - Aug. 24, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Kessho Craft Chocolate 
Salted Plum Dark Chocolate 59% Cacao Semuliki Forest, Uganda (bar) 
Weight: 1.05 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar*
Calories: 163 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Salted Plum Dark Chocolate 59% Cacao Semuliki Forest Uganda (bar) was from Kessho, LLC (Austin, TX). 

The company was founded in 2019 by Mark Huetsch (who spent 14 years in China) and Liang Wang (who was raised in Beijing and studied pastry in Japan).  The name Kessho (a Japanese word meaning crystal) "pays tribute to the crystalline structure of chocolate."

Kessho offers a variety of chocolate items--many of which, like today's Salted Plum chocolate, reflect Asian-inspired flavor inclusions and pairings. The name Kessho (a Japanese word meaning crystal) "pays tribute to the crystalline structure of chocolate."

Aroma and notes for this Salted Plum Dark Chocolate 59% Cacao bar--made with cacao (hybrid of Trinitario and Forastero) grown in the Semuliki Forest area of Uganda--included: dark chocolate with faint tart citrus-green (oxalis) and tangy stone fruit (plum).

Texture: smooth, thick, creamy, fudge-y texture with a luxe melt.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate (fudge, ganache); faint loamy earth and very faint sour yogurt (there was no milk in this chocolate); and citrus leaves**. 

The salt level seemed very low in the first bite; happily there was a bit more salt and sweet tangy plum fruit in subsequent bites. (Salted plums (umeboshi) are known for tangy, sour, salty and citric flavor(s).)

I liked trying this flavor combination and how the flavors fluxed just a bit through the tasting experience. This bar would be great in a chocolate and salt themed tasting flight. Even just a little salt really helped ground and balance the tangy/sour and citrus flavors.

Maker's flavor profile notes: "Cinnamon, fig, oolong" (tea leaves)

Ingredients: Whole cacao beans, sugar, cocoa butter, plum powder, salt 

Allergen-related information: Made in a facility that also processes milk, tree nuts, wheat, sesame and eggs

*If calories aren't listed on a bar, I will sometimes weigh chocolates to help estimate the number of calories (kcals). When I weighed this unwrapped bar on my scale, it was 69 grams (vs. 60 grams on the label). Definitely not a problem to have more chocolate than advertised. I'll also check my scale.  

**I associated the citrus leaf-like flavor in this salted plum chocolate with the fresh infusion teas (tisanes) I make from Meyer Lemon leaves and other citrus leaves from my yard.

Fjak - 50% Uganda Milk Chocolate Organic (bar) - Aug. 23, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Fjak Sjokolade
50% Uganda Milk Chocolate Organic (bar)
(50% Uganda Melkesjokolade)
Good ++
Weight: ~1.87 oz. (53 g.) in total bar
Calories: 290 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's 100% Organic, 50% Milk Uganda Semuliki Forest (bar) was handcrafted from bean-to-bar by Fjak Sjokolade in (Eidfjord (Hardangerfjord) Norway). 

The company offers single origin bars and chocolates with local (Norwegian) flavor inclusions. (Think apple cider, reindeer moss, brown cheese, lingonberry and other berries, Norwegian gingerbread, mushroom, and oak-smoked salt, to name a few.)

Aroma notes included: milk chocolate (rich, cream mousse), cream and very faint caramel, spice and nut.

Texture: thick, rich and creamy mouthfeel with a fairly luxurious melt.

Flavor notes included: rich milk chocolate, authentic cream, subtle caramel cookie, warm spice and very faint toffee mocha latte, and barely detectable, muffled, diffuse fruit. 

Yes, "cream" is the word for the day. The creamy taste and texture was from the (likely whole) milk powder*. I enjoyed the authentic flavors in this bar, including the rich milk powder used. (Northern European milk powders often taste richer and creamier to me.) 

I liked that this single origin milk chocolate was well-balanced, well-executed, organic and not ultra sweet (thank you!).

Note: As with any chocolate made with dairy (or an alternative milk), milk muffles some of the cacao nuances; and that was true in this 50% dark milk bar. (The contribution of the single origin Semuliki Forest Uganda cacao was more apparent when tasting this bar side-by-side with some other, lower quality milk chocolate bars.)

Maker's Tasting Notes: "Round Milk Chocolate with Notes of Caramel & Nuts"

Ingredients: Cocoa Beans*, Cane Sugar*, Milk Powder* & Cocoa Butter* (*Okologisk/Organic)

Allergen-related information: (Contains Milk.)

*Chocolate is hydro-phobic, and your beautiful batch of chocolate will seize up if you add water or milk; so powdered milks have been used for centuries to make tempered milk chocolate bars and confections.

Ethereal Craft Chocolate - Organic Chocolate Bar - Uganda 70% Cacao - Aug. 22, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Ethereal Craft Chocolate

Organic Chocolate Bar - Uganda 70% Cacao 
Good ++
Weight: .742 oz. (21 g.) / 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in total bar
Calories: 110 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Ethereal Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Uganda Week.

Today's Organic Chocolate Bar - Uganda 70% Cacao entry was created by Ethereal Confections (Woodstock, IL).

Aroma notes for this lovely, fruity, Uganda single origin bar included: chocolate (ganache) and balanced, zesty fruity notes (light sweet citrus, mango, and lightly fermented cacao fruit pulp).

Texture: This chocolate felt simultaneously light and slightly rough/grainy (stoneground). It did melt down to a smoother chocolate in my mouth after a few bites. People who prefer a deeply creamy mouthfeel may be a bit thrown by the stoneground texture; but I enjoyed the progression of the mouthfeel as it melted. (Remember, less grinding and conching time usually means more preservation of flavors and nutrients.)

Flavor notes included: chocolate (torte, ganache) with naturally tangy-sweet fruit (mango, cacao pulp, ripe sweet fig).

I liked the well-balanced, single origin chocolate and cacao pulp/fruity flavors that gave this organic bar a natural sweetness and light to it. (It also was low in bitterness and earth, letting the fruit flavors shine.)

Ingredients: "Cocoa Beans*, Cane Sugar*. (* Organic Ingredient)

Allergen-related information: "Made on shared equipment with peanuts & tree nuts."

Cacao Space - Uganda Semuliki Forest 75% with dried apricots and almonds - Aug. 21, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Cacao Space  
Uganda Semuliki Forest 75% (bar) with dried apricots and almonds
Good ++
Weight: 1.18 oz. (33.5 g.) / 2.36 oz. (67 g.) in total bar 
Calories: 182 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Cacao Space, online order

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

Today's Uganda Semuliki Forest 75% (bar) with dried apricots and almonds was from Cacao Space (Los Altos, CA). The company offers several small batch, single origin bars and some with fruit, nut and other flavor inclusions--that have all tasted wonderful and fresh.

Aroma and flavor notes for the single origin 75% dark chocolate included: dark chocolate with, faint brown sugar and molasses, and faint fruit (berry, very faint banana) and warm spice.

This bar was a well-balanced blend of bold dark chocolate (faint roasted cacao, black licorice spice, brown sugar, very faint fruit) and pieces of authentic, high-quality dried apricots and almonds. 

All three flavors components were very complementary. The apricots added some bright tangy fruit flavor and a fresh dried fruit chewy texture that worked well. And the mellow, nutty almonds played nicely with the apricots and the chocolate. The apricots and almonds actually elevated and rounded out the dark chocolate flavor. That doesn't always happen.

Ingredients: "cacao nibs, organic coconut sugar" + "dried apricots and almonds"

Allergen-related information: (None listed on package)