Michel Cluizel - Coffee (Origin Chiapas, Mexico) 70% Chocolat Noir (bar) - Mar. 10, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Michel Cluizel 
Coffee (Origin Chiapas, Mexico) 70% Chocolat Noir (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 195 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Sigona's, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Mexico Theme Week.

Today's Coffee (Origin Grand Cru Chiapas, Mexico) 70% Organic Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Michel Cluizel (Paris, France).

The coffee used to make this bar was from Chiapas, Mexico; and the cacao was from Guayas, Ecuador.

Aroma notes for this bar included: dark chocolate, coffee and very faint citrus and olive.

Texture: smooth and uniform with a very faint astringency in the finish.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate, rich but smooth coffee, and very slight (well-balanced) earth and almost undetectable olive and citrus (mild, sweet orange).

I found this to be a wonderful "sipping" chocolate--that could be savored slowly with a friend. It wasn't too sweet (thank you!), allowing one to appreciate the short list of quality, Organic ingredients.

Ingredients: cocoa from origin Guayas* (Ecuador), cane sugar*, coffee beans*, cocoa butter*

Organic Dark Chocolate (70% of cocoa minimum) and Coffee from Mexico (9% minimum)

Allergen-related information: Product made in a workshop using shelled tree nuts, milk, gluten.

Pinwheel Craft Chocolate - 70% Dark Mexican Hot Chocolate (bar) - Mar. 9, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Pinwheel Craft Chocolate
70% Dark Mexican Hot Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++ 
Weight: 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 326 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Pinwheel Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Mexico Theme Week.

Today's 70% Dark Mexican Hot Chocolate (bar) was made by Pinwheel Craft Chocolate (Eagle Mountain, UT), using beans sourced from Comalcalco, Tabasco, Mexico.

Aroma and notes for this bar included: bright, clean subtle but rich dark chocolate; cinnamon spice cookie/crispy toffee (with a touch of butter and salt); faint ginger and vanilla; and a bit of spicy cayenne pepper heat. 

Texture: smooth and creamy with small pieces of crunchy, crispy cinnamon-spice buttery toffee.

I appreciated that everything in this bar seemed thoughtfully arranged, relatively subtle, balanced and expertly-executed; and that this chocolate was yet another/different take on Mexican hot chocolate (cinnamon, vanilla and pepper(s) with chocolate). 

Two different kinds of cinnamon (Saigon, Ceylon) and two different peppers (ancho and cayenne) helped broaden the spice flavor profile--all without dominating the single estate (in Tabasco) cacao-based chocolate too much. 

The cacao used in all three of the Pinwheel bars this past week was very special, and difficult to describe. It had the subtlety of a Criollo cacao, and unique, clean/pure notes. 

Maker's tasting notes: "We crafted this delicious bar to capture all the cozy richness of a favorite beverage, Mexican Hot Chocolate..."

Ingredients: Spiced Chocolate (Cacao beans, cane sugar*, cocoa butter*, Saigon cinnamon, Ceylon cinnamon, ancho chili, ginger, cayenne pepper) Toffee (cane sugar*, Kerry Gold grass-fed butter, Mexican vanilla extract, baking soda, salt (* = organic ingredients)

Allergen-related information: (While not listed on label, the following was printed on other bars from this maker from the same order: "Made on shared equipment that processes nuts and dairy") 

Pinwheel Craft Chocolate - 70% Dark Tabasco, Mexico (bar) - Mar. 8, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Pinwheel Craft Chocolate
70% Dark Tabasco, Mexico (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++ 
Weight: 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 326 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Pinwheel Chocolate, online order

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

Today's 70% Dark Tabasco, Mexico (bar) (Batch #23041) was made by Pinwheel Craft Chocolate (Eagle Mountain, UT).

Aroma and flavor notes for this bar included: dark chocolate milk, fruit (cherry and cherry blossom; peach and persimmon tea); caramel almond latte; balanced forest and fruit teas (with light tannins); and very faint clay/clean mineral. 

I could taste the terroir, the cacao, the soils, the fermentation. And it was good. I don't remember any bar quite like this. Virtual travel in a bar for certain. But also a truly unique and wonderful chocolate.

Texture: creamy, smooth, almost like dark milk chocolate tea (but there was no milk).

I enjoyed the intriguing, balanced and very complex bundle of wide-ranging (and authentic-tasting) flavors in this bar. I kept thinking of different teas (oolong persimmon tea anyone?) when I ate this chocolate. Saying there were faint tea-floral and stone fruit flavors don't begin to do justice to this single origin, single estate bar.

Maker's Tasting Notes: "...It has a complex and unique flavor that defies description. We are honored to make chocolate from these special beans."

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

Allergen-related information: Made on shared equipment that processes nuts and dairy 

Pinwheel Craft Chocolate - 65% Dark Milk, Tabasco, Mexico (bar) - Mar. 7, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Pinwheel Craft Chocolate
65% Dark Milk, Tabasco, Mexico (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 165 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Pinwheel Chocolate, online order

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

Today's 65% Dark Milk chocolate with cacao beans from (Comalcalco) Tabasco, Mexico (Batch #23038) bar was made by Pinwheel Craft Chocolate (Eagle Mountain, UT).

Aroma and flavor notes for this single estate bar included: smooth dark milk chocolate, caramel flan, sweet nut (walnut); and hard to pin down, diffuse forest/tannin; juicy fruit and warm spice. (There was also a faint, fresh and clean mineral taste that I liked.)

Texture: creamy, almost silky melt and mouthfeel.

I loved the luxurious texture, the thoughtful short list of ingredients, and the well-crafted, subtle and complex flavors. The subtle sophistication will appeal to both milk and dark chocolate lovers.

Maker's tasting notes: "...dulce de Leche, custard, toasted walnuts"

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

Allergen-related information: Made on shared equipment that processes nuts and dairy

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*