Domori - Cacao Criollo 70% Guasare Dark Chocolate bar - Oct. 1, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Domori
Cacao Criollo 70% Guasare Dark Chocolate bar
Very Good
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) in total bar
Calories: 132 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $6.85 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere (online order)


Time to bid adieu to Chocolate and Italy Theme Week with one last interesting bar, made by an Italian bean-to-bar maker who works with some of the best cacao in the world.

The Cacao Criollo 70% Guasare Dark Chocolate bar was from Domori (None, Italy) located outside of Turin (Torino).

Company founder, Gianluca Franzoni, started looking for great cacao in South America in the early 1990s. He founded Domori in 1997 with a mission to preserve the biodiversity of fine flavor Criollo cacao. (To help further this goal, he bought a plantation in Venezuela.) Domori offers a variety of single origin and Criollo bars and has been part of gruppo illy since 2006.

Most of Domori chocolate bars are made with Criollo or Criollo hybrid cacao beans. This Guasare bar was made from the "mother of all Criollo" cacao (beans), from Venezuela.

Yes, origin stories are interesting, but how did this bar made from this intriguing cacao taste?

Reviewers comments I'd read mentioned "...aromas of dried fruits and honey. Unique..." and
"cream, fruit, sweetness..." and "floral notes, toffee, cream..."

I found the flavor to be bolder (less subtle) than I supposed it would be after reading the above reviews. The 70% bar had a mild aroma, but had a uniformly full flavor, starting with red fruit, followed by fudge, nut, sweet cream notes. The second bite had a brief exotic floral flourish to it about halfway through, followed by a slight citrus woodsiness. I'm convinced if I kept eating a bit more of this bar during the day, the flavors would just keep unfolding. However, don't count on being able to do this. This bar, weighed less than 1 oz. (28.3 g.), and disappeared quickly.

Thank you to Domori and others who are helping to keep these strains of Criollo alive and well. It's a pleasure to taste bars like this.

*Guasare is a type of heritage or origin cacao, (re-)discovered near the Guasare River, in the Zulia state of western Venezuela surrounding Lake Maracaibo. 

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

Caffarel - Latte, Gianduia chocolates - Sept. 30, 2015

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Caffarel
- Latte chocolate
- Gianduia chocolate
Good ++
Weight: .7 oz. (19.8 g.) (estimate) in 2 pieces
Calories: 105 calories (estimate) for 2 pieces
Cost: $ ?.?? (lost info)
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

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

Today's small, egg-shaped, Latte and Gianduia chocolates from Caffarel of Torino, Italy (now part of Nestle), were swathed in cheery yellow and green paper outer wrappers. Inside each was a foil-wrapped egg.

These milk chocolates where coated with creamy chocolate and were stuffed with an even creamier, slightly buttery and flavorful ganache (filling); the latter (green) one was hazelnut flavored.

Thanks to Elana T. at SweetE Organic (Mill Valley, CA) for stocking some great Italian sweets. I picked these up at her store earlier this year.

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

Cloetta Italia - Sperlari Granperle chocolates - Sept. 29, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Cloetta Italia
Sperlari Granperle Fondente con Granella di Torrone - 60% cacao
(Extra Dark Chocolate Pralines - 60% cacao)
Good
Weight: 1.378 oz. (39 g.) / 5.6 oz. (160 g.) in total package
Calories: 210 calories in 3 pieces (approx. 1/4 package)
Cost: $6.25 in one package
Purchased from: The Greedy Ant, Belmont, CA

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

These elegantly and individually wrapped chocolate covered nougat spheres were part of the Sperlari* brand, from Cloetta Italia (Italy). The texture was both creamy smooth and softly crunchy, with some small air pockets between layers as I bit into this Granperle chocolate.

These Granperle Fondente con Granella di Torrone (Extra Dark Chocolate Pralines) were covered with 60% cacao "nel guscio."

*The Sperlari brand dates back to 1836.

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

Element - Dark Chocolate Rice Cakes - Sept. 28, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Element
Dark Chocolate Rice Cakes - Good ++
Sweet Orange Rice Cakes - Good ++ - Very Good

Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in 1 package of 6 cakes
Calories: 240 calories in 3 rice cakes
Cost: $3.99 for 1 package of rice cakes
Purchased from: Sprouts, Mountain View, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Italy Theme Week.

Life is all about managing expectations. I wasn't expecting much from these Element Dark Chocolate and Sweet Orange, gluten free, non-GMO rice cakes (distributed by Manifesto Industries (NY, NY) and Made in Italy. But they certainly over-delivered.

The dark chocolate coating was of a much higher quality than expected. I could smell the rich, dark difference within several inches of my nose.

Similarly, the orange yogurt coating on the Sweet Orange rice cakes tasted very natural, fragrant with a light touch of orange.

So nice to enjoy a natural tasting product with no artificial flavors, that wasn't over-sweetened.

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

Venchi - Organic Dark Chocolate 70% bar - Sept. 27, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Venchi S.p.A.
Biologico 70% Dark Chocolate bar
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 400 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.08 (sale) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere (online order)

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

I would be remiss if I didn't include at least one Venchi chocolate this week. This company had its start in the 1800s, in the Piedmont region of Italy.

Today's Venchi organic, extra dark chocolate 70% bar was made with Criollo Blanco and nacional Amendolado cacao beans from Ecuador. These beans are valued for their fine flavor and aroma, and the blend used in this 3-ingredient chocolate ("organic Ecuador cocoa mass, organic sugar cane, organic cocoa butter") yielded a wide spectrum of pleasing flavors.

The gluten free Venchi 70% bar was thick, sweet, and very creamy, and full of very subtle flavor: floral fruit, nutty, very light smoke, light earth, green olive/wood. I had to really focus to detect this incredible range of flavor notes; but other than that "effort," it was a very easy bar to eat. No real bitterness* (just a very, very balanced subtle hint in the finish); no astringency off-notes, or funky earthy molds.

Very nice and smooth, yet surprisingly complex if you pay attention.

*Polyphenols and Criollo

Plants containing certain bitter compounds and alkaloids are better able to deter insects and other would-be pests that would eat or damage plants. Interestingly, some of us omnivores (monkeys, squirrels, humans) co-evolved to tolerate, and actually benefit from, small amounts of these compounds, such as polyphenols (plant-based molecules that contain anti-oxidants). And, conveniently, monkeys, squirrels and humans helped scatter seeds to other parts of forests, benefiting plants.

Bitter and astringent flavors are present in plant-based foods and beverages such as cacao, tea, wine, berries, nuts, etc. Polyphenols, flavanol polymers, and/or tannins taste bitter or cause a sense of puckery dryness in one's mouth.

Criollo cacao beans are generally lower in polyphenols than, say, Trinitario cacao beans. As a result, chocolate made from Criollo beans tends to be less bitter and/or astringent. And, with less bitterness, subtler floral and fruit flavors can be easier to detect as well.

Amedei - Toscano Brown Cioccolato al Latte bar - Sept. 26, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Amedei
Toscano Brown Cioccolato al Latte bar
Good +
Weight: .875 oz. (25 g.) /1.75 oz. (50 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 131 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

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

This Toscano* Brown Cioccolato al Latte bar was made by Amedei (Pontedera (Pisa), Italy) in Tuscany.*

Amedei was founded in 1990, by brother and sister team, Alessio and Cecilia Tessieri. (The inside of this Latte bar's packaging contained information about Amedei single origin and other bars.)

Today's creamy milk chocolate (35% cacao) bar had slight five-spice and hazelnut notes to it but otherwise was relatively even in tone.

Fun fact I enjoyed reading in Wikipedia about Amedei chocolate:

"Amedei chocolate is used in making the world's most expensive cupcake, The Golden Phoenix, which is made by Bloomsbury's, a boutique cafe in Dubai." These cupcakes start at $1,000 apiece, and involve a lot of edible gold.

*I'm not really sure why we need to tell other people how to pronounce their name. In Italy they call the large region in their own country Toscano. We call it Tuscany. It's a beautiful region in any language. 

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

Domori - Teyuna 70% Colombia bar - Sept. 25, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Domori
Teyuna Colombia Dark Chocolate 70% bar
Good ++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) in total bar
Calories: 132 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $N/A - sample
Purchased from: N/A - sample

Today was the last day, Day #7, of Chocolate and Colombia Theme Week, and the dawning (Day #1) of Chocolate and Italy Week.

In the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta region of (Northern) Colombia, there is a lost city (Ciudad Perdida), the site of an ancient city, older than Machu Picchu. This city is also known by local indigenous people as Teyuna.

Criollo cacao grows not too far from the ruins of this lost city. Criollo is one of the oldest types of cacao, and could have become "lost" over time. This fine flavored cacao, that bears smaller fruits, and yields light-colored beans with intriguing, subtle flavors, has survived in the forest, or "up river;" and has been re-discovered, more than once, by discriminating chocolate makers.

Most chocolate is made from more robust cacao types (Forastero, Trinitario, other hybrids). Criollo cacao represents a very small fraction of what is used in chocolate at present. However, it was used to make today's Teyuna Colombia Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao bar from Domori* (None, Italy).

This slim square bar had smooth and interesting flavor that I had a hard time identifying. The following contains the closest series of descriptors I could manage: very subtle hints of cream, fruit, cherry, very mild fruitcake, and bread.

Domori's home in None, Italy is near Turin, a city in the Piedmont region of Northern Italy that is known for chocolates and blends of hazelnuts and chocolate. (Think Nutella and Gianduja.)

From the first visit Domori founder, Gianluca Franzoni, made to a cacao plantation with rare Criollo cacao back in the 1990s, he sought to "rescue" prized, fine flavored cacao in regions of South America where cacao originated. And he"sought to bridge the gap between grower and chocolate maker." After all, you can't have great single origin bar without great cacao; and great cacao starts with the farmers and the trees.

*Domori became part of Illy SpA group in 2006.

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