Moka Origins - Mexican Spice Milk Chocolate 58% Cacao (bar) - Mar. 6, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Moka Origins
Mexican Spice Milk Chocolate 58% Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) / 2.4 oz. (68 g.) in total bar
Calories: 210 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Sigona's, Palo Alto, CA  

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

Today's Mexican Spice Milk Chocolate 58% Cacao (bar) was from Moka Origins (Honesdale, PA).

This dark milk chocolate contained the Hispanic chocolate spice trinity of chili, vanilla and cinnamon. The first two of these spices are native to the Americas. 

The third, cinnamon, arrived in Mexico from Spain (via European traders, spice merchants). However, cinnamon has become so well integrated into modern life in Mexico, that it's hard to remember when it wasn't part of the cuisine.**

The cacao used to make this bar was grown in Ghana, making this Mexican Spice Milk Chocolate bar an international ensemble. 

Aroma notes included: roasted, smooth, sweet dark chocolate, warm spices and vanilla.

Texture: uniformly smooth with a thick, creamy melt and mouthfeel.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate with vanilla, chili (with small upticks in chili pepper (cayenne pepper) heat) and warm spicy cinnamon. This winter warmer was a drinking chocolate in bar form. 

Ingredients: *organic cocoa beans, *organic cocoa butter, organic cane sugar, organic milk powder, organic cayenne pepper, organic vanilla bean, organic cinnamon 

*Fair Trade Certified by Fair Trade USA/Over 58% Fair Trade Certified Ingredients

Allergen-related information: "Contains: milk." ..."Made in a facility that handles milk, eggs, wheat, soy, almonds, and other tree nuts."

** While Mexico does grow some of their own cinnamon (much of it in the State of Veracruz), both the United States and Mexico have been large importers of cinnamon for some time. 

Goodnow Farms Chocolate - Mexico Almendra Blanca 77% (bar) - Mar. 5, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Goodnow Farms Chocolate
Mexico Almendra Blanca 77% (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .97 oz. (27.5 g.) / 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bat
Calories: 165 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.99 for 1 bar 
Purchased from: Caputos, online order

Bienvenidos (welcome) to Day #6 of Chocolate and Mexico Theme Week.

Today's Mexico Almendra Blanca 77% (bar) was from Goodnow Farms Chocolate (Sudbury, MA).

Like yesterday's bar, today's chocolate was made with lighter colored "white almond" cacao beans grown in Mexico.* These beans create a lighter hued finished dark chocolate (an almost auburn, medium brown). Both these bars were skillfully made, well-tempered and they broke with a hard snap (in a cool room). 

The aroma notes for today's Goodnow Farms dark chocolate were relatively subtle.  (Note: I also had a fairly serious cold when I tasted this bar.)

The flavor notes were stronger, and included a bold, balanced, almost peppery tartness: dark chocolate with bright, tangy sweet fruit (citrus, berry); subtle cream; faint (very slightly astringent) nut; subtle, diffuse, green botanical/forest; and a barely there (well balanced, subtle) bitterness toward the finish.

I enjoyed the opportunity to try a single origin dark chocolate Almendra Blanca bar like this with beautifully complex flavors. 

I also continue to appreciate Goodnow Farms makers' short list of quality and organic ingredients; their thoughtful sourcing of cacao and local ingredients; and the fact they press their own single origin cacao butter (vs. buying large blocks of generic, deodorized cocoa butter) when added cocoa butter is desired.

Maker's Tasting Notes: "Creamy Citrus & Hazelnut"

Ingredients: "Single Origin Cacao Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Single Origin Cocoa Butter"

Allergen-related information: "May contain trace amounts of peanuts and tree nuts." ("Soy Free, Vegan, Gluten Free")

*The Almendra Blanca cacao beans used to make today's chocolate were grown and fermented on farmer Vicente Cacep's Jesus Maria farm outside Villahermosa (in the State of Tabasco), Mexico.

White Label Chocolate - Mexico Almendra Blanca 74% (bar) - Mar. 4, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

White Label Chocolate
Mexico Almendra Blanca 74% (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++ 
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 178 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $18.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Mutari Chocolate (pop-up), Santa Cruz, CA

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

Today's Mexico Almendra Blanca 74% (bar) was produced and distributed by White Label Chocolate (factory in Watsonville/ currently with pop-up location in Santa Cruz, CA).  

This bar was made with single origin "Almendra Blanca" (single variety Carmelo) cacao that was grown on a family-run farm (Finca Frida Estate), in the Soconusco region (in the southwestern corner of Chiapas), Mexico.

Almendra Blanca ("white almond" in English), is a lighter colored cacao bean that creates a slightly lighter hued chocolate. Today's bar had the appearance of a vibrant, almost ruddy, dark milk chocolate--or a cup of hot, authentic drinking chocolate.

Aroma notes for this bar included: rich, warm drinking chocolate.

Texture: well-tempered, smooth and uniform, creamy texture.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate (rich, warm drinking chocolate); diffuse warm spices and tart-sweet berries; subtle nut (green walnuts in syrup); and barely detectable pepper.

I enjoyed the complex, bright, rich chocolate-y flavor notes in this well-executed bar.

Maker's Tasting Notes: "Brown Spice, Nutty, Cocoa, Red Berry, Walnut Skin"

Ingredients: Cacao Beans, Organic Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter

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

*The cacao harvest season was Fall 2022; Batch #MX7420241028NF*

Don Bugito - Dark Chocolate Crickets with Amaranth Seeds - Mar. 3, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Don Bugito
Dark Chocolate Crickets with Amaranth Seeds
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .44 oz. (11 g.) / .88 oz. (22 g.) in total package
Calories: 36.5 calories in 1/2 serving 
Cost: $8.00 for 1 package
Purchased from: Il Parco, in the Presidio, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Dark Chocolate Crickets with Amaranth Seeds were from Don Bugito* (San Francisco, CA).

This cricket-based, planet-friendly protein snack was made in California, but was inspired by "Mexican Prehispanic cuisine and Native American ingredients."

Aroma notes for these small rounds included: very faint dark chocolate, vanilla, and seed cookie.

The texture was fairly smooth (soft, lightly crunchy chew followed by chocolate melt/mouthfeel, with subtle fiber from amaranth seeds -- and I'm guessing from toasted cricket pieces as well.).

Flavor notes included: chocolate; mild, toasted amaranth seed; and very faint vanilla. There was not any insect or other savory protein (cricket-like) flavor I was aware of--even though crickets were listed as the number one ingredient. (Note: I did have a fairly bad cold on this day.)

Ingredients: "Toasted Crickets, Amaranth Seeds, Semisweet Chocolate (cacao beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin, vanilla beans), Sea Salt"

Allergen-related information: "If you are allergic to shellfish, this product may not be right for you. Made in a facility that processes milk, eggs and peanuts."

*Don Bugito is a woman-owned company that sells edible insect snacks. The company was founded in 2011 by Monica Martinez. 

Casa Bosques - Pure Dark Chocolate 74% Organic Cacao Criollo Chiapas, Mexico - Mar. 2, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Casa Bosques
Pure Dark Chocolate 74% Organic Cacao Criollo Chiapas, Mexico (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 146 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $17.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: DeLaurenti (store), online order 

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

Today's Pure Dark Chocolate 74% Organic Cacao Criollo Chiapas, Mexico (bar) was from Casa Bosques (New York, NY and Mexico City).* 

Aroma notes for this bar included: dark chocolate and faint chili and olive.

Texture: smooth

Flavor notes included: bold dark chocolate with relatively high acidity (tannic acids, bark).

I liked that this 74% cacao ultra-dark bar wasn't too sweet. It may be too strong for some, but it was fun to try something with deep, dark authentic forest and fermentation flavors. I also appreciated that there were no emulsifiers or artificial ingredients. 

Instead the process of chocolate making (from reading information on the Casa Bosques website) is considered a creative endeavor and might include small amounts of ingredients like blue corn, various plants, preserved lemon, etc.

Ingredients: "Organic cacao, organic cane sugar"

Allergen-related information: "Vegan and Organic." "Handcrafted in a facility that also processes peanuts, tree nut, dairy."

*Casa Bosques is a project by Rafael Prieto, founder and creative director of Savvy Studio. Cacao/ingredients are obtained from "small ranches in Mexico." 

Chocolat Bonnat - Kuna Balam Mexique 75% Cacao (bar) - Mar. 1, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolat Bonnat
Kuna Balam Mexique 75% Cacao (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 301.5 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $21.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Kuna Balam Mexique 75% Cacao (bar) was from Maison Bonnat Chocolatier (Voiron Cedex, France). The family-owned company has been in the chocolate business since 1884.

Aroma notes for this special limited edition chocolate (made with Mexican Cacao) included: authentic, classic dark chocolate, subtle fruit (cherry) and very faint roasted cacao/mocha and balanced forest.

There was a story in French about the wildlife (jaguar) on the cacao plantation, on the back of the bar, that is worth re-telling in short form.*

This bar had a smooth, uniform and satisfying (almost buttery) texture.

Flavor notes included: deep dark chocolate fudge cake and creamy dark frosting; fudge brownies; slightly acidic dark chocolate ice cream. 

I liked the deep, classic chocolate-y flavor(s) -- produced with just three ingredients. The natural sweetness/fruit level was fairly high, making this seem "sweeter" than 75% cacao. The smoothness and sweetness will appeal to those who shy away from higher percentage dark chocolates.

Maker's Tasting Notes: "Fruity aromas with fruity and woody flavors"

Ingredients: "Cacao, cacao butter, sugar"

Allergen-related information: Peanut Free, Sesame Free, Gluten Free,...Kosher..."May Contain Traces of Milk and Tree Nuts" 

*"The story of Kuna Balam tells of the intention to protect the birth of a young jaguar in the Mexican jungle within Bonnat's family plantation. In order to not disturb his coming into the world, part of the plantation has been closed. After he left, they realized that old and special cocoa trees dotted this part of the plantation and they decided to make a chocolate celebrating this extraordinary event.

Ranger Chocolate Co. - Mexico Soconusco Dark Chocolate Bar 70% - Feb. 28, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Ranger Chocolate Co.
Mexico Soconusco Dark Chocolate Bar 70%
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in total bar
Calories: 349 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Mexico Theme Week. It's always a pleasure to return to the Americas, where cacao originated. 

Today's Mexico Soconusco 70% Dark Chocolate Bar was from Ranger Chocolate Co. (Portland, OR). The Soconosco region is "the birthplace of cacao in Mexico, where they've been growing this crop for 4,000 years..."

Aroma and flavor notes included: dark chocolate (rich drinking chocolate); fruit (mango, wine grape juice/white raisin); diffuse warm spice; very faint botanicals (faint peppercorn); and very faint, fleeting, warm apple cider in the finish.

Texture: well-tempered and executed bar with smooth and satisfying texture.

I liked everything about this well-executed chocolate. I enjoyed the balanced, deliciously hearty yet smooth, cacao aroma and flavor complexity...the fruit, spice and other subtle flavors in this bar. I also appreciated the texture and the sourcing of the short list of ingredients.

Maker's Tasting Notes: "juicy mango, grapefruit, white grape, juniper"

Ingredients: "organic cacao, organic sugar"

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