ChocolateBet: February 18, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1 square
Holy Chocolate
Single Origin Hawaiian Milk 38% square
Good +
Weight: .89 oz. (25 g.)
Calories: 134 calories (estimate)
Cost: $8.75 for assortment package of 6 squares
Purchased from: Draegers, in San Mateo, CA


I'm working my way through a pile of Holy Chocolate gold ingots. The company's assortment pack of six individually wrapped squares -- each from different parts of the cocoa-growing world, speaks to the range of meanings associated with the term single origin. For example, today's chocolate is a Single Origin Hawaiian Milk Chocolate (38%) square. Most single origin chocolates are dark chocolates. Does the milk have to come from the same origin as the cacao beans? I don't know the answer to this question.

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Single Origin Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: February 17, 2011

Chocolate(s) of the Day:
2 squares/ingots
Holy Chocolate (Mar Toma Enterprise)

1.) Artisan Blend - Midnight 91% Extra Dark Chocolate
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: "Approx. 1 oz. (25 g.)"/ 6 oz. (168 g.) for total package of 6 squares
Calories: 129 calories (estimate)

2.) Single Origin Columbia 65% Dark Chocolate
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: .89 oz. (25 g.) / 6 oz. (168 g.) for total package of 6 squares
Calories: 130 calories (estimate)

Cost: $8.75 for a package of 6 squares
Purchased from: Draegers, in San Mateo, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Single Origin Theme Week.

Holy Chocolate's Midnight 91% Extra Dark bar was smooth, rich and refreshingly non-sweet. However, this Artisan Blend was not specifically labeled as a single origin chocolate (as were the other five squares in this packaged assortment). And I needed to eat a single origin chocolate today. (These theme weeks I started are annoying at times like this.)

The answer to this problem was simple...eat another chocolate that was single origin. I chose the Single Origin Columbia 65% dark chocolate square (pictured) from this 6-piece package. It was quite sweet -- but most chocolates do taste quite sweet if you eat them right after a 91% blend. What I liked about this gold foil wrapped 65% "ingot": fleeting hints of ripe banana, floral, bubble gum notes. I enjoy an interesting flavor curve with some pleasant surprises like this.

ChocolateBet: February 16, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1/4 bar
Madecasse LLC
Single Origin Madagascar - 80% cocoa bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .66 oz. (18.75 g.) / 2.64 oz. (75 g.) total bar
Calories: 110 calories
Cost: $7.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Draegers, San Mateo, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Single Origin Theme Week. Madecasse, based in Brooklyn, New York, specializes in single origin bars from Madagascar. The company provides "cocoa farmers with equipment and training and pay(s) them above fair trade prices." And, bars are made in Madagascar as well.

This particular bar is higher in cocoa content (80%) than other Madecasse bars I'd tasted before. My experience with bars over 80% cacao content: you never know what you'll get. This bar had a rich, dark flavor, but also a slightly bitter or acidic taste that might have come from the roasting process. This flavor seemed to override other flavors that may have been present. I think I prefer a less uniform, and more complex flavor arc with other notes being allowed to make an appearance.

And that, my friends in chocolate, is the most fancy pants language you'll probably hear me use in a chocolate post.

Thank you to Jacinta and Jane for their tasting help.

ChocolateBet: February 15, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1 square
Holy Chocolate (Mar Toma Enterprise)
Single Origin - Venezuela 65% dark chocolate square
Good + - Very Good
Weight: "Approx. 1 oz. (25 g.)"
Calories: 129 calories (estimate)
Cost: $8.75 for a package of 6 different squares
Purchased from: Draegers, in San Mateo, CA


Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Single Origin Theme Week. There are many excellent chocolates available now made from cacao that has been grown in a single country, region or plantation. Just as there is with wine, the characteristic flavors from a certain area may be similar, but flavors may vary from year to year, harvest to harvest -- or may be influenced by variants in fermentation, roasting and other processing steps.

Cacao was first consumed in liquid form. Similarly, Holy Chocolate founder, Rev. Fr. Stan Smith, began his product line with drinking chocolate and later added "ingots" -- (.89 oz.) 25 gram squares wrapped in gold foil.

Today's 65%, milk-free, dark chocolate square from was made from cacao grown in the Sur del Lago region of Venezuela. This dark chocolate was rich, dark and smooth, without any extraordinary or objectionable earthy, strong or sharp flavor notes. This is good news for people who like uniform and smooth flavor, but perhaps mildly disappointing for those who love all those different flavor notes.

ChocolateBet: February 14, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Monique's Chocolates
Dark Passion truffle
Very Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 73 calories (estimate)
Cost: $2.00
Purchased from: Monique's Chocolates, Palo Alto, CA

Happy Valentines Day to all. I hope all your chocolate dreams came true.

Today's Dark Passion, single-origin (Venezuela - 65%) truffle with passionfruit came from Monique's Chocolates in downtown Palo Alto.

Today was also Day #2 of Chocolate and Single Origin Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: February 13, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1/2 bar
Republica Del Cacao
El Comunidad Vinces Organic Dark Chocolate (75% cacao solids) bar
Very Good +
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) total bar
Calories: 254 calories (estimate)
Cost: $8.00 (member price)
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, in Palo Alto, CA

Today's chocolate was a Single Origin, Organic, dark chocolate bar made from Arriba cacao beans grown in the the community of Vinces in Ecuador. Republica Del Cacao bars are packaged with information that tells the story not just about the country, but also the community of origin. And, the company states that they return 10% of the net profits from these bars to farmers in Ecuador where the beans were harvested and chocolate was produced.

Since there are many, rich flavors to be enjoyed in this chocolate, I would recommend eating this bar a few degrees above room temperature if it's a cold day out. Alternatively, you can hold bites of chocolate in your mouth for several seconds, while they warm up, before biting into them. You may get banana floral notes in one bite, and other earthier flavors in other bites. This bar split with a hard snap (it's always hard to split good chocolate, isn't it?) and was enjoyed before, and after, hiking in the hills of San Francisco Bay.

Today was Day #1 of Chocolate and Single Origin Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: February 12, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Sweet Earth Chocolates
Berry
Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 62 calories (estimate)
Cost: $part of assortment box
Purchased from: Sweet Earth Chocolates, San Luis Obispo, CA

I'm not sure which berries constitute this "Berry" flavor; but if you're in the mood for something fruity-fresh and (Organic dark) chocolate covered -- vs. solid chocolate -- the fruits and jellies assortment box from Sweet Earth Chocolates may be an option for you. You'll also likely find lemon and orange-based items in the fruit assortment box.

Should you live in the Central Coast of California, you may be able to drive or bike over to Sweet Earth Chocolates in San Luis Obispo and try Sweet Earth Fair Trade chocolates and truffles as well. Or you can order online.