Barlovento - 64 percent Venezuela bar with Kilauea Black salt - Sept. 5, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Barlovento Chocolates
64 percent Venezuelan bar with Kilauea Black salt
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.2 oz. (33.96 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 180 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Zombie Runner, Palo Alto, CA


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

Today's Kilauea Black salt bar from Barlovento Chocolates (Oakland, CA) was the last in a series of four different salt bars from this Bay Area-based chocolatier, that specializes in chocolate bars and confections made with cacao grown in Venezuela.

Today's black salt bar was my favorite in this series. The dark crystals of salt from Hawaii (on the back of the bar) were slightly bigger (than those on other bars this week), and had a very subtle smoky flavor.

The content and images on this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Barlovento - 64 percent Venezuelan with Himalaya Pink Salt bar - Sept. 4, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Barlovento Chocolates
64 percent Venezuelan with Himalaya Pink Salt bar
Good - Good+
Weight: 1.2 oz. (33.96 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Zombie Runner, Palo Alto, CA

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

This 64 percent Venezuelan chocolate bar with Himalaya Pink Salt was the third in a series of four bars from Barlovento Chocolates (Oakland, CA) featured this week. All of these smaller, credit-card sized sized Barlovento bars have had different types of salts sprinkled on the back side.

Barlovento focuses on chocolate and confections made with Carenero cacao grown in Barlovento, Venezuela (east of Caracas).

*"Carenero" means, if I understand correctly, "the place in a port where they careen, or lean over, the ships" (presumably to clean or maintain them). I'm afraid I know more about chocolate than I do boats. So, feel free to set me straight if I've got this wrong.

Barlovento - 64 percent Venezuelan Sel Gris bar - Sept. 3, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Barlovento Chocolates
64 percent Venezuelan Sel Gris (Grey Sea Salt) bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.2 oz. (33.96 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Zombie Runner, Palo Alto, CA

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

This small, simply packaged 64% Venezuelan cacao bar was almost identical to yesterday's bar. Both were made locally in the San Francisco Bay Area by Barlovento Chocolates (Oakland, CA).

The only difference that I could see: today's bar incorporated Sel Gris (Grey Sea Salt) on the back. (Yesterday's bar was adorned with red sea salt.)

Perfect size for a single serving of fairly smooth dark chocolate. And, like yesterday's bar, the salt crystals were just the right size and distribution, creating a pleasing flavor blend.

Salt sometimes works to balance bitterness or sweetness in a dark chocolate bar; but the base Venezuelan chocolate was fairly smooth and not overly sweet. So no balancing or over-compensating was necessary.

Barlovento Chocolates - 64 percent Venezuela Red Salt bar - Sept. 2, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Barlovento Chocolates
64 percent Venezuelan Chocolate + Haleakala Red Sea Salt bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.2 oz. (33.96 g.) (estimate) in 1 bar
Calories: 180 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Zombie Runner, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #1 of Chocolate and Venezuela Theme Week.

Last week I featured seven bars containing salt. The salt theme lingers this week with a series of four bars made from Venezuelan cacao this week, "seasoned" with different types of salt.

The first bar of this series was today's 64 percent cacao bar that had small crystals of Haleakala Red Sea Salt embedded in it. It had a relatively mild cocoa flavor. Even so, the nuances of the Hawaiian red salt flavors were hidden a bit by the chocolate (as is often the case). However, the salt crystal size and distribution was very well balanced for the bar.

This small, simply packaged bar was made locally by San Francisco Bay Area chocolatier, Barlovento Chocolates (Oakland, CA). Barlovento Chocolates makes bars, truffles and confections using chocolate from the Carenero area (East of Caracas) in Barlovento, Venezuela.

Santosha - Rhodiola and Hawaiian Red Salt bar - Sept. 1, 2015

Chocolate of the Day:

Santosha Chocolate
Rhodiola and Hawiian Red Salt bar
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (29 g.) (per label) in 1 bar
Calories: 120 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was the final day of Chocolate and Salt Theme Week.

There are many different types of edible salts. I'm closing this week with a Santosha Chocolate Rhodiola and Hawaiian Red Salt bar (produced by Raw Shakti Chocolate LLC in Asheville, NC) that contained a special salt from Hawaii.

Hawaii is known for its Red and/or Alaea salt, black lava salt, and pink salts. The cacao in today's bar came from South America, but the salt in this Rhodiola and Hawaiian Red Salt bar was all Hawaii.

Hawaiian Red Salt contains dozens of minerals and has been used by Hawaiians for years in ceremonies, and as an edible salt. The red color (iron oxide) and high mineral content comes from local red alaea volcanic clay, that is sometimes "baked" into salt.

What is Rhodiola?

The organic rhodiola root in today's raw, vegan and organic bar is sometimes referred to as "nature's anti-depressant," and some believe it supports adrenal function, improve energy and even sexual vitality.* I don't know about all that, but it's always fun to try something new paired with chocolate.

Today's certified Organic bar contained raw coconut which has a fairly distinctive flavor. Not having tasted rhodiola root before it was difficult to tell where the root flavor begun and the raw coconut left off.

The bar was free of nuts, soy, dairy and gluten, and GMO free; and it contained no emulsifiers, fillers and cane sugar. Organic coconut palm sugar was used instead of cane or beet sugar.

The stoneground raw chocolate base (plus flavor additions) had a slightly different melt and texture, but that didn't bother me that much. The chocolate was made from fairtrade, organic, raw heirloom variety beans from Peru.

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.

Simply Enjoy - Toffee & Sea Salt Dark Chocolate bar - Aug. 31, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Simply Enjoy
Toffee and Sea Salt Belgian Dark Chocolate bar
Good
Weight: 1.34 oz. (38 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 210 calories in 3 squares of bar
Cost: $1.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Simply Enjoy Toffee and Sea Salt Belgian Dark Chocolate bar (distributed by Foodhold U.S.A., LLC in Landover, MD) was made with UTZ* Certified cocoa.

This dark chocolate (57% cocoa solids) bar was filled with crispy crunchy butter toffee bits and a hint of sea salt.

*UTZ Certified is a large program (and label) for sustainable growing of coffee and cocoa that provides education to farmers on how to grow "better crops" through farm practices and management, as well as education about the environment. It was founded by Belgian-Guatamalan Nick Bocklandt, in 2002 for coffee growing and was later expanded (2007) to include cocoa. UTZ Certified is a non-profit organization based in Amsterdam (Netherlands). 

While producers don't have to pay the higher costs associated with Fairtrade and other certifications (which can be too high for farmer co-ops and smaller companies), the organization does not have as their primary goal guaranteeing of higher prices for farmers.

Cemoi - Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Crystals bar - Aug. 30, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Cemoi Chocolatier Francais
Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt Crystals bar
(Chocolat Noir Fleur de Sel)
Good
Weight: 1.413 oz. (40 g.) in 4 squares / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 210 calories in 4 squares of bar
Cost: $1.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

As a flavor addition to chocolate bar, salt can be incorporated in at least three different ways. Salt crystals can be layered on the front, or back, of a chocolate bar. Salt can be broken down and homogeneously blended with chocolate. Or, whole crystals can be embedded within a bar.

Today's 47% cocoa Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt Crystals (Chocolat Noir Fleur de Sel) bar, from the French company Cemoi* (Perpignan, France), falls into this third category.

This bar had a faint cocoa aroma and smooth texture -- punctuated with an occasional crunch from a sea salt crystal, followed by a tiny spark of intense salt flavor.

*The Cemoi brand was created in 1919 in Grenoble, France by Felix Cartier-Million. Georges Poirrier bought the company in 1981 and took the Cemoi brand as the name for the new company.