Charm School Chocolate - 70% Dark Belize bar - April 29, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Charm School Chocolate
70% Dark Belize bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.05 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 157 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #1 of Chocolate and Belize Theme Week -- an extension of the past few weeks with a focus on chocolate and (other) Central American countries.

The 70% Dark Belize bar from Charm School Chocolate (Reisterstown, MD) was made with just a few ingredients: organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar and organic cocoa butter. The cacao came from Maya Mountain Cacao (MMC) in southern Belize, an organization that sources cacao beans from farmers in the region.

The tasting notes on package read: "reminiscent of plump raisins and chocolate sandwich cookies." I wasn't that excited about this description. Or, I should say I'm not sure this description does the bar justice. But, darn, I could really taste the raisins and chocolate cookies in this smooth dark bar, so it was accurate. I liked the complexity, the fruit/acid (raisins) and the chocolatey elements.

Today's Belize bar was part of a line of dairy free and vegan, single origin chocolate bars from Charm School Chocolate. (Other bars include a very tasty coconut milk chocolate bar.)

Diego's Chocolate - Cinnamon - April 28, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Diego's Chocolate
Canela (Cinnamon) 75% cacao
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) /1.8 oz. (50.9 g.) in total roll/package
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) for 1/2 roll/package
Cost: $6.00 for 1 roll/package
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA


Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Central America Theme Week, and I've started and ended this week with a rustic, single origin 75% chocolate from Diego's Chocolate (San Pedro La Laguna, Guatemala).

Diego's chocolates are cigar-shaped, hand-crafted rolls that maintain the bright flavors and texture (slightly grainy) of fresh ground ingredients. Today's artisanal chocolate was infused with subtle ground cinnamon flavor.

This authentic chocolate comes from rural Central America, a region with volcanic mountains, lakes and forests where cacao grows. It may lack some of the buttery smooth, conched-for-days mouthfeel of a Swiss-made chocolate bar, but it is a wonderful example of how chocolate confections were first (and still are) created in Central America.

This style of chocolate stretches back for centuries, and pre-dates more expensive, stainless steel industrial machines and infrastructure. And these chocolates are Maya grown and Maya made chocolates that are created "in-country" -- a treat in and of itself.

Equal Exchange - Panama 80% bar - April 27, 2015

Chocolate of the Day:

Equal Exchange
Panama 80% bar
Good+
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 174 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $4.59 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Central America Theme Week; and I'm featuring the Panama 80% dark chocolate bar from Equal Exchange (W. Bridgewater, MA).

Today's Panama 80% bar had a very similar flavor as yesterday's Panama 80% bar. Both looked the same (same molds) and both were made in Switzerland -- likely by the same Swiss chocolate manufacturer.*

Two Costa Rica bars (one sold at Whole Foods) featured earlier this week also looked very similar, and both were made by Kim's Chocolates in Belgium. There were, however, a few, very subtle flavor and color differences in the Costa Rica bars.

Today's Panama bars tasted like they could have come from the same batch in the same factory. (Both were made with cacao beans from the COCABO Cooperative in Panama.) And the bar color was the same as well.

Today's bar smelled and tasted of rich, hot chocolate with a slight hint of raspberry fruit, and the texture was creamy, almost buttery. As I commented on yesterday's bar, the flavor profile was very smooth for an 80% bar. Both bars were quite good.

Transparency in the manufacturing supply chain process is helpful, not just for the odd blogger such as myself, who is seeking to eat a "different" kind of chocolate every day.

It's also important for those who would like to understand where their chocolate comes from, and how it's made. Equal Exchange includes quite a bit of of information about farmers and the origins of cacao on their packaging (see inside of wrapper), and their website. And their commitment to fair trade is admirable.

Outsourcing of Manufacturing

It would be nice if the company who owns the "brand" and is selling the chocolate also mentioned where the chocolate was made. (Felchlin, Durig and others offer organic and fair trade chocolate in Switzerland.) Why should we care? While the Swiss are known for fine, creamy smooth chocolate; labeling regulations are different in the EU than in the U.S. Outsourcing manufacturing overseas might actually result in better product, but more transparency would be great.

Chocolate and Love - Panama 80% bar - April 26, 2015

Chocolate of the Day:

Chocolate and Love
Organic Panama 80% bar
Good +
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 196 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $N/A - sample
Purchased from: Chocolate and Love, U.K.

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Central America Theme Week.

The attractively designed and packaged, single origin, organic Panama 80% dark chocolate bar was brought to you by Chocolate and Love Ltd. (Perth, U.K.). Made with fairly traded cacao beans (from partner Cocabo in Panama), this single origin bar was manufactured for the company in Switzerland.

This is a great bar for those who shy away from high percentage bars for fear of bitter flavor. This bar had a pleasing hot cocoa aroma, and an even, smooth dark flavor, particularly for an 80 percent cacao bar. There was a very subtle hint of earthiness, and no sharp or acidic notes.

*Chocolate and Love is a family-owned business, operated by Richard O'Connor and Birgitte Hovmand.

Whole Foods - Costa Rica 71% dark bar - April 25, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Whole Foods
Costa Rica 71% Cacao Dark Chocolate bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .875 oz. (25 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 153 calories in 1/4 bar (2 squares)
Cost: $ lost information
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Central America Theme Week.

This Costa Rica 71% dark chocolate bar was made with cacao beans from Costa Rica that were Rainforest Alliance Certified, and carried the "Whole Trade Guarantee" seal from Whole Foods Market (Austin, TX).

Kim's Chocolates, a large chocolate maker in Belgium, likely made today's bar, as well as yesterday's Hageland* Costa Rica 71% dark chocolate bar. The bars were the same size and molded shape.

Large companies are very good at creating consistent flavor from many small batches of cacao beans, that may vary from season to season. Smaller chocolate makers learn to do this too, but have a bit more freedom to experiment with flavors that (like wine) vary from year to year. And there may even be a bit of the notion: "If you can't fix it, feature it," occasionally. And some customers might appreciate more fruit, or more floral aroma, or other flavor characteristics in a given year, as long as a bar is well balanced.

Today's bar was likely produced under very similar conditions, with similar Rainforest Alliance Certified cacao beans, as yesterday's bar. It had some of the same dark, almost smoky flavor, but it was slightly sweeter and smoother, and less nutty than the Hageland bar.

I also used some previously squirreled away Britt Licor de Cafe (coffee liqueur) from Costa Rica and this chocolate to make a small treat. Que bueno.

*Hageland (a region in Belgium) is a brand that was originally developed by Kim's Chocolates for large chain stores (Walmart) -- likely, at least in part, to help introduce single origin chocolate to a broader audience, at an affordable price point.

Hageland - Costa Rica 71% dark bar - April 24, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Hageland
(Kim's Chocolates)
Costa Rica 71% dark bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .875 oz. (25 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 159 calories in 1/4 bar
Cost: $1.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Central America Theme Week.

Kim's Chocolates is a large chocolate maker in Belgium that manufactures bars under different brand names in the U.S., including KC, Cachet, and Hageland (a brand originally developed for Walmart).

The Hageland Costa Rica 71% dark chocolate bar, was made in Belgium, with Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa, and imported into the U.S. and stores in the San Francisco Bay Area, where I bought this bar.

Evolving supply chain, sourcing

Ingredients and commodities are often shipped thousands of miles, as part of our food supply chain, before they arrive, wholly integrated and packaged on grocery shelves. I try to shop local where I can. However, most chocolate I buy has a back-story that started with growing cacao in the tropics, and involved shipping cacao beans to a manufacturer or maker elsewhere.

The good news is that even larger players like Kim's Chocolates are trying to make improvements to their supply chain and manufacturing process. (E.g., they're working to switch to a more sustainable sourcing model, and to power their plant in Belgium with solar and alternative energy sources. Twenty percent of their energy is coming from their own solar panels.)

Today's single region bar was made, as mentioned above, with Rainforest Alliance Certified cacao. What does that mean? It means that beans were sourced from Costa Rican farms that met certain criteria for production and farming methods and treatment of workers. "Cocoa workers and families have proper housing, education, access to medical care and safe working conditions."

So, what did the bar taste like?

The tasting notes on the back of the bar package contained this description: "This strong dark origin chocolate" (has an) "...exquisitely bitter cocoa taste," (with a) "tempting bouquet of smoke and wood."

I also thought this bar had a very "dark" earthy, heavily roasted, smoky (almost burnt) flavor, with a hint of nuttiness as well. Given its strong flavor it was still well balanced and enjoyable to eat. And, very reasonably priced.

Tomorrow I'll taste and feature a very similar Costa Rica 71% dark bar, also made by Kim's Chocolates, for Whole Foods Market (with a Whole Trade Guarantee symbol). The ingredients were just a tad different, but the tasting notes on the back look very similar (dark, smoky). 

Escazu - Costa Rica 65 percent bar - April 23, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Escazu Artisan Chocolates
Single Origin Guapiles Costa Rica 65% bar
Good++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) for 1 oz. (28.3 g.) serving)
Cost: $ lost information (approximately $7.00)
Purchased from: Escazu Artisan Chocolates (at an event)

Today was Day #2 of a theme week highlighting single origin chocolates from three countries in Central America: Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama. (I featured chocolates from Nicaragua last month, and will be writing about Belize next week.)

Central American cacao culture and history stretches back thousands of years, to the Olmec, Aztec, Maya, and others, to regions with boundaries that pre-dated today's countries. The "birthplace" of cacao lies in the equatorial forests of South and Central America.

Today's 65% cacao dark chocolate bar from Escazu* Artisan Chocolates LLC (Raleigh, NC) was crafted using Rainforest Alliance Certified cacao beans from Guapiles, Costa Rica.

This single origin bar had a pleasant aroma and well-balanced, pleasing chocolate flavor profile. The bar was also lactose-, soy-, and gluten-free.

*Escazu is the name of a capital city, and also a district (San Miguel de Escazu, or simply San Miguel, district) in the province of San Jose in Costa Rica. It is also the name of today's chocolate maker based in the U.S. Guapiles is located in the province of Limon, further east (closer to the Caribbean coast).

Note: This bar is currently (April 2015) unavailable on the Escazu website.