Manoa - Ghost Pepper bar - June 30, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Manoa Chocolate
Ghost Pepper 60% bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .66 oz. (18.9 g.) / 2 oz. (56.7 g.) in total bar
Calories: 99 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Botanicals Theme Week.

Chili was an early plant-based addition to cacao, dating back to days when beans were first roasted over a fire and stone-ground by hand in Central and Latin America.

Today's Ghost Pepper 60% dark milk chocolate bar from Manoa Chocolate (Kailua, Oahu) was a hand-crafted (bean-to-bar), Hawaiian-made chocolate with some chili pepper heat.

The first few bites of this bar yielded smooth, chocolatey, dark milk chocolate flavor. Then a slight burn warmed things up in my mouth, but never to the point of being unpleasant. The chili heat hovered at a low sizzle, and then gently faded away.

Manoa chocolate maker, Dylan B., uses local ingredients when he can. Cocoa beans often come from Hawaiian cacao growers; the cane sugar is from Maui.

Ghost peppers (Naga Bhut Jolokia) are from northern India I'm told, and are rumored to be the hottest chili peppers in the world, with a Scoville rating that's hovers around 1 million Scoville Heat Units (SHUs), under ideal growing conditions. It's possible these hotter-than-hot peppers could have been Hawaiian-grown as well, but you'd have to check with Manoa. Good news, just a few small peppers could probably liven up a whole batch of bars.

Manoa - Ali'i Kula Lavender bar - June 29, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Manoa Chocolate
Ali'i Kula Lavender 60% bar
Good++ - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (56.7 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) for 1/2 bar
Cost: $10 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Botanicals Theme Week.

Lavender is a strong floral flavor often linked to soaps, perfumes, and teas. For an unlucky few, the association between these fragrant, almost pine-y purple buds and soap/perfume is so strong that the thought of eating lavender is considered odd at best. But, for lavender lovers, today's freshly minted Manoa Chocolate Ali'i Kula Lavender bar would be a special treat.

Manoa Chocolate (Kailua, Oahu) founder and chocolatemaker, Dylan Butterbaugh, was born and raised in Oahu, and makes bean-to-bar chocolate -- using local ingredients when possible. For example, the cacao beans frequently come from "a network of farmers" across Hawaii (the only U.S. state that currently grows cacao commercially). And the cane sugar is from Maui.

The dehydrated lavender buds used to flavor this 60% cacao chocolate came from Ali'i Kula Lavender Farm in the hills of Maui -- a beautiful spot. The dried buds were ground into a fine powder that imparted a uniform lavender flavor throughout this bold-flavored dark milk chocolate bar.

SOMA Chocolatemaker - Bergamot - June 28, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

SOMA Chocolatemaker
Bergamot
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: .4 oz. (11.32 g.) (estimate) in 1 piece
Calories: 62 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $N/A - part of a larger box of chocolates
Purchased from: SOMA Chocolatemaker, Toronto, Canada

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Botanicals Theme Week.

This creamy, dark Bergamot truffle from SOMA Chocolatemaker (Toronto, Canada) had subtle but clear bergamot notes.

This chocolate was flavored with Bergamot Orange oil, also used to flavor Earl Grey tea. I happen to love the aroma of this citrus-based scent, and having its essence infused into a chocolate was a special treat.

SOMA Chocolatemaker - June 27, 2015

SOMAchocolate.com

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

SOMA Chocolatemaker

Maya Dome
Good++
Weight: .4 oz. (11.32 g.) (estimate) for 1 piece
Calories: 60 calories (estimate) for 1 piece
Cost: $N/A - part of a larger box of chocolates
Purchased from: SOMA Chocolatemaker, Toronto, Canada

Blood Orange Marzipan Pinch
Good ++
Weight: .4 oz. (11.32 g.) (estimate) for 1 piece
Calories: 60 calories (estimate) for 1 piece
Cost: $N/A - part of a larger box of chocolates
Purchased from: SOMA Chocolatemaker, Toronto, Canada

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Botanicals Theme Week. This is a very easy theme week, and most everything in good chocolate has a flavorful plant origin story -- including the cacao, sugar and flavorings. Citrus peel offers a tangy sweet zing to today's two chocolates.

The glossy Maya Dome from SOMA Chocolatemaker (Toronto, Canada) was a version of the company's Maya drinking chocolate -- in domed, truffle form. The smooth ganache (filling) was infused with a tasty blend of chili, ginger, orange peel, allspice and cinnamon.

The second chocolate, a pleasantly plump Blood Orange Marzipan Pinch truffle, was a curved beauty stuffed with classic marzipan. Said marzipan filling was flecked with tiny bits of blood orange peel throughout that helped balance the sweet marzipan.

SOMA - Jasmine truffle - June 26, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

SOMA Chocolatemaker
Jasmine truffle
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.2 oz. (33.9 g.) (estimate) for 3 pieces
Calories: 180 calories (estimate) in 3 pieces
Cost: $ N/A - part of a larger box of chocolates
Purchased from: SOMA Chocolatemaker, Toronto, Canada

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Botanicals Theme Week.

Happiness this week was receiving a box of truffles from Toronto, Canada. And several were flavored with botanicals of the floral, fruit or nut variety.

Jasmine is a lovely, romantic floral scent in a perfume, tea or chocolate. I could get lost in it. But, I also appreciate the subtler layers of balanced flavor in this Jasmine truffle from SOMA Chocolatemaker (Toronto, Canada).

This creamy square melted like butter the moment I put it in my mouth. As it did, subtle sips of jasmine tea-like flavor were revealed. And what looked to be grains of paradise carefully strewn across the top of each piece provided some crunchy almost grain-like texture that balanced the creamy texture and softened some of the jasmine flavor notes.

SOMA Chocolatemaker - Magnolia Peach - June 25, 2015

Source: SOMAChocolate.com

Chocolate of the Day: 

SOMA Chocolatemaker
Magnolia Peach
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: .4 oz. (11.32 g.) (estimate) for 1 piece
Calories: 70 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $ N/A part of a larger box of chocolates
Purchased from: SOMA Chocolatemaker, Toronto, Canada

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Botanicals Theme Week.

I was intrigued the moment I stepped into SOMA Chocolatemaker's Distillery District location in Toronto several years ago. I must have spent 2 hours there, appreciating as much chocolate as I could, including a Douglas Fir truffle, which I loved, and other wonderful items at the bar/counter areas.

Recently, I've been experimenting with magnolia flower petals (and other flowers) in my yard, only recently realizing many of them were edible. The large, creamy white flower petals that occasionally flutter down from high up in the magnolia trees in my neighborhood are enjoyed for their floral aroma; but magnolias are also pickled and/or eaten by some in the U.S. I tried a peck of pickled petals, and they were a bit like sweet pickles infused with a light floral perfume. I hope to experiment more in the future with this lovely flower.

So, when I had an opportunity to order SOMA's seasonal Spring flavor -- Magnolia and Peach, I jumped at the chance. If you like botanicals, you'll appreciate this heavenly blend. The dark chocolate ganache (made with beans from Ecuador) was rich but just mellow enough not to mask the subtle magnolia flavor. And the natural, fresh peach flavor took me back to childhood memories of peach jam on buttered toast, devoured slowly near a sunny window.

Thank you to Sandy, Cynthia and others at SOMA for all their help with this order (that required and ice pack and dodging warm weather for the journey from Toronto to California); and for their ongoing creativity.

Spicely - Sage Lavender Orange chocolate - June 24, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Spicely Organic Spices
Sage Lavender Orange chocolate
Good+
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) in 1 small box of discs
Calories: 75 calories (estimate) in 1 small box
Cost: $2.49 for 1 small box of discs
Purchased from: Piazza's Find Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Yesterday, was the conclusion of Chocolate and Orange Theme Week. But the faint warm citrus aroma of Orange Week past carried over to today's Sage Lavender and Orange chocolate, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Botanicals Theme Week.

Botanicals are substances obtained from plants used as flavor and aroma additions in drinks and foods.

Spicely Organic Spices Inc. (Fremont, CA) produces a line of organic herbs and tea, and herb and tea infused chocolates. I imagine having all those good herbs, spices and other botanicals must lead to robust creative experimentation when developing chocolate flavor inclusions.

Today's organic, kosher, thin, round discs of Sage Lavender and Orange were made with creamy 60% dark chocolate, infused with sage, lavender and orange.

I like all of these ingredients separately. Does that mean the combination will work? Not necessarily. Flavor balancing is an art. The resulting herby-floral-fruit blend did work though. Individual flavors were layered and detectable if you focused on them (or re-tasted a few times); and I found this chocolate evoked a slight rosemary-like flavor note, which upon re-tasting had morphed into sage. Go figure.