Guittard - Nocturne 91% bar - May 27, 2017

Chocolate of the Day:

Guittard
Nocturne 91 percent Blend No. 09 bar
Good +++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.65 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 168 calories in 2/5 bar
Cost: $missing information for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Dark Blends Theme Week.

Today's Nocturne 91% bar (Blend No. 09) from Guittard (Burlingame, CA) was surprisingly smooth and pleasant for an ultra-high percentage bar. It was not bitter and had very subtle red fruit and nutty notes.

The tasting notes describe the base extra dark chocolate as "elegant," and I think that fits. It wasn't brash or jarring. It had refined character. For those that think they don't like ultra-dark chocolate, you might give this one a try.

This extra dark chocolate bar was a true citizen of the world. It was made of a "multi-bean blend" of cacao (beans) that had been grown in regions across the globe, including: Central America, South America, South Pacific, West Africa, Caribbean and Indian Ocean; and it contained all three of the major varieties of beans: Forastero, Trinitario and Criollo.

This Nocturne 91% bar was part of a line of chocolate bars from Guittard, that range from 45% cacao to 100% cacao blends.

Guittard - Soleil de Autumn 45% bar - May 26, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Guittard
Soleil d' Automne 45% Cacao Blend No. 30 bar
Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.65 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 176 calories in 2/5 bar
Cost: $missing information for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Dark Blend Bars Theme Week.

Today we push the edge of the envelope for what's considered dark chocolate with this Soleil d' Automne 45% Cacao (Blend No. 30) bar from Guittard (Burlingame, CA). Technically, 45% can still be considered dark chocolate, although perhaps "dark milk" might be a better description.

If you like milk chocolate, this dark milk bar (part of a line of Guittard blend bars with cacao % content ranging from 30% to 100%) might be to your liking.

Today's bar had a pleasant milk chocolate aroma with a hint of toffee popcorn. This chocolate managed to be creamy and sweet (without being overwhelmingly so) and had more authentic fine chocolate flavor than many other similar lower percent dark milk bars*.

Tasting notes listed on the packaging read: "Milk chocolate with notes of caramel apple and creme fraiche dairy."

This Guittard bar was made with a blend of Criollo and Forastero varieties of cocoa beans that were grown in West Africa and Indian Ocean regions.

*Many popular, high-volume commercial milk chocolate bars contain less than 15% cocoa solids.

Guittard - L'Harmonie 64% Cacao bar - May 25, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Guittard
L'Harmonie 64% Cacao bar - Blend No. 29
Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.65 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 2/5 bar
Cost: $missing information for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Dark Chocolate Blends Theme Week.

Today's L'Harmonie 64% Cacao bar (Blend No. 29) from Guittard (Burlingame, CA) was an upbeat* dark bar with subtle floral and fruit (apple, banana, apricot, light tropical) and with a faint hint of floral green tea.

Tasting notes printed on the packaging read: "Semisweet chocolate with floral aromatics and tart fruit notes."

The L'Harmonie bar incorporated cacao from Central America, South America and the Caribbean. The varieties of cacao that were selected from these three regions included the three primary members of the cacao holy trinity: Forastero, Trinitario and Criollo beans.

*This dark chocolate bar was lighter, sweeter and more carefree (if dark chocolate can be carefree) than most of this week's ultra-dark bars. Stands to reason, as there was more sugar in this bar than other dark blends sampled so far this week.

Guittard - Clair de Lune 85% bar - May 24, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Guittard
Clair de Lune 85% bar - Blend No. 49
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.65 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 2/5 bar
Cost: $missing information for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA


Welcome to Day #3 of Dark Chocolate Blends Theme Week.

Today's bar was the first of several dark chocolate blends created by Guittard (Burlingame, CA). Guittard has been making chocolate in the San Francisco area* since the 1800s.

This Clair de Lune 85% bar (Blend No. 49) was described as "bittersweet chocolate with subtle cherry notes," and was prepared with no added cocoa butter. I also found this to have bittersweet, tart and sour cherry/red fruit or berry notes. For an ultra-dark bar, it was well balanced overall.

While we don't know the exact origins, we know that this Guittard blend contains Forastero, Trinitario and Criollo varieties of (non-GMO) cacao beans that were grown in Central America, South America and the Caribbean.


"The art of chocolate making begins on the farm." This sentence was printed on inside of the wrapper/packaging. So true.

Many steps are involved in making great chocolate, but without the right beans to begin with from the farmer, great chocolate is all but impossible. Blending may help tone down sharp notes or balance "flaws" but even blending techniques have their limits.

Guittard has years of experience arriving at the right flavor profile(s) for wholesale and retail chocolatiers as well as consumers; and this line of blend bars will be interesting to taste.

*Guittard has a distinguished history in the San Francisco Bay Area. The founders of Guittard—and Ghirardelli Chocolate Company (now owned by Lindt and Sprungli)—came from Europe to the Bay Area in the 1800s. Many people were drawn to San Francisco in the mid-1800s after the discovery of gold. Fortunately, company founders at both companies found it more profitable to sell chocolate than to pan for gold themselves. Wise choice. Guittard is also still being managed by descendents of 

SOMA - Blend Crazy 88 bar - May 23, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

SOMA Chocolatemaker
Blend Crazy 88 bar
Good ++
Weight: .765 oz. (21.6 g.) / 2.29 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 115 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $11.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Dark Blends Theme Week.

Today's Blend Crazy 88 bar was crafted by SOMA Chocolatemaker (Toronto, ON, Canada) using a blend of cacao beans from 5 different origins: Venezuela, Ecuador, Jamaica, Peru, and Java.

The resulting chocolate was a smooth blend of beans with a sweet, pleasing rich chocolate aroma and a very light spice and fruit note. The makers honored this five origin bar by making this chocolate "almost as a 100% bar, with no added vanilla or lecithin," and that enabled a more pure tasting experience.

The tasting notes for this dairy-free, dark chocolate, vegan, award-winning* bar suggested: "nuts, citrus, a tingle of green bananas," and that the chocolate was "creamy and strong with a floral base."

SOMA has great designs imprinted on their bars. I imagined the collection of chocolate hieroglyphics (cacao flower, cacao pod, exotic bird with high-top tennis shoe, Canadian Maple leaf, etc.) being carved into stone, and being unearthed hundreds of years from now. What will they make of our veneration of chocolate?

*The Blend Crazy 88 bar won: International Chocolate Awards: Americas 2016 - Silver

SOMA Chocolatemaker - Arcana 100% bar - May 22, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

SOMA
Arcana 100% bar
Good ++
Weight: .76 oz. (21.6 g.) / 2.29 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 115 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $13.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to the dark side, and Day #1 of Dark Chocolate Blends Theme Week.

Today's Arcana 100% bar from SOMA Chocolatemaker (Toronto, ON, Canada) was made with cocoa beans from three different origins (Madagascar, Ecuador and Venezuela).

The name "Arcana" conjures up images of mysteries that can't be readily explained, and the secrets in nature that alchemists pursued. Blending is probably a bit like this—acquainting oneself with the deep mysteries of each batch of cocoa beans, and finding just the right mix of complementary flavors.

The aroma of this ultra-dark bar had floral, marshmallow and green banana notes (reminiscent of Ecuador); and it was (as is often the case with 100% bars) almost deceptively light. Ah, the brain thought, I am about to bite into a sweet rich chocolate. Then after the first bite, the brain had to hit the re-set button. It had trouble understanding that there was no sugar in this bar.

The melt and texture were smooth (and seemed to grow creamier toward the end.) The taste was almost dull for a few seconds but incredibly deep and dark. There was no sugar or fruit (Madagascar, where are you?) to balance and brighten things up. Then there was a bitter then sour (tart berry-fig balsamic?) taste, which was interesting even if it was a bit somber. (It certainly had the depth and a complex flavor arc associated with Venezuela.)

The aftertaste, was much calmer and more subdued. It lingered for quite awhile, with the same floral notes that were present in the initial aroma. And then the brain thought, hmmm. I think I'd like to take another bite.

Baron Chocolatier - Premium Dark Chocolate 70% bar - May 21, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Baron Chocolatier, Inc.
Premium Dark Chocolate 70% bar
Good ++
Weight: .706 oz. (20 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 105 calories in 1/5 bar (2 squares)
Cost: $missing information for 1 bar
Purchased from: missing information, CA

Welcome to Day #18 of Chocolate and Africa Theme Weeks.

Today's 70% Premium Dark Chocolate bar from Baron Chocolatier* had smooth, deep dark chocolate flavor with very subtle hints of fudge brownie with walnuts, flourless dark chocolate cake, earth, nuts, and slight acidity in aftertaste.

The country of origin was not explicitly identified on the packaging for this bar; however, the company has indicated they use cacao grown in West Africa (Ivory Coast) for their chocolate in the past.

Chances are if you've eaten a dark chocolate bar, and there was no origin listed, you probably were sampling a bar made at least in part with African cacao.

Ivory Coast and Ghana (each with a coast that borders on the Atlantic Ocean) together supply almost half the world's cacao. And so we end our virtual chocolate tour we've made in the past few weeks, moving from east to west across this vast continent, in this high production zone.

Starting tomorrow, we'll explore the world of dark chocolate bars made with blends of cacao.

*Baron Chocolatier, a division of the Milano Group, was founded in Poland in 1982. This bar was a "Product of Poland."