K'ul Chocolate - Single Origin 70% Dark Chocolate Farm-to-Bar - Nov. 3, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

K'ul Chocolate
Single Origin 70% Dark Chocolate Hacienda Limon bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) in total bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Draeger's, Los Altos, CA

Welcome to Day #13 of South American Chocolate Theme Weeks.

Today's Single Origin 70% Dark Chocolate Farm-to-Bar dark bar was from K'ul* Foods LLC (Minneapolis, MN).

Head chocolate maker, Peter Kelsey, believes in creating simple, healthy food where every ingredient serves a purpose. One of their mottos: "Chocolate is not candy. Chocolate is food." Amen.

The sealed package was designed to be suitable for bicyclists and outdoor sports enthusiasts. And when the package is opened, one is greeted with a robust, complex aroma, of dried fruit (dried mulberries), green plant fiber (fresh green stalks, green tea), roasted coffee/espresso and brown sugar.

Tasting Notes listed on the company's website and packaging read as follows: Brown sugar, citrus/lemon,** pineapple, butter. (I tasted more dried mulberries edging into fig, green, and brown sugar flavor notes than I did lemon or pineapple.)

The bar was made of Nacional beans, a variety designated as an Heirloom bean (by the Fine Chocolate Industry Association). A handful of farms in Ecuador (including Hacienda Limon in Los Rios Province of Ecuador) apparently qualify for this designation.

Ingredients: cacao beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin

*The company name K'ul (pronounced "cool") was inspired by the Mayan word for energy.
**The cacao farm, Hacienda Limon, is so named because the cacao "tastes a little like lemon..."

Stone Grindz - Ecuador 84% Cacao bar - Nov. 2, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Stone Grindz Small Batch Chocolate
Ecuador 84% Cacao bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Stone Grindz, Scottsdale, AZ

Welcome to Day #12 of South American Chocolate Weeks.

The Ecuador 84% Cacao bar from Stone Grindz Chocolate (Scottsdale, AZ) was a darker version of yesterday's Ecuador 70% Cacao bar from the same maker.

Today's 84% bar had a more acidic, slightly bitter, earthy aroma than yesterday's 70% bar, and lots of uniformly bold dark flavor with minimal sweetness and fruit (pink grapefruit). A few squares will satisfy.

Stone Grindz Chocolate - Ecuador 70% Cacao bar - Nov. 1, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Stone Grindz Small Batch Chocolate
Ecuador 70% Cacao bar
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Stone Grindz, Scottsdale, AZ

Welcome to Day #11 of South American Chocolate Weeks.

Today's Ecuador 70% Cacao bar from Stone Grindz Chocolate (Scottsdale, AZ) had smooth, true dark chocolate flavor with balanced fruit.

Other aroma and flavor micro-notes were very faint and fleeting and not unpleasant, bitter or sharp: slight green, floral, marshmallow, roasted coffee, jungle.

Dick Taylor - Brown Butter Nibs and Sea Salt bar - Oct. 31, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Dick Taylor 

Brown Butter Nibs and Sea Salt bar

Good ++

Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar

Calories: 170 calories in 1 bar

Cost: $8.50 (plus shipping) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Dick Taylor, online order

Happy Halloween to all, and welcome to Day #10 of South American Chocolate Week.

Trick or treat...Today's Brown Butter Nibs and Sea Salt bar, made by Dick Taylor (Eureka, CA), was definitely a decadent Treat.

The makers described their handsomely-dressed bar as follows: "Browned butter from Humboldt Creamery paired with our 73% Northerner blend* (and) hand-sprinkled with roasted cacao nibs and sea salt."

The works: rich butter, crunchy cocoa nibs, a touch of sea salt, all in one bar. And best of all, it was based on the company's very well-executed Northerner blend of cacao, grown in Madagascar and Brazil.

See also last week's review of the Dick Taylor Northerner Blend bar without flavor inclusions. I'd prefer the plain version of this bar for my morning dose of dark; but this Brown Butter and Nibs bar would be great for special occasions.

Chocolat Bonnat - Kaori Bresil 75% bar - Oct. 30, 2017

Chocolate of the Day:

Chocolat Bonnat
Kaori Bresil Chocolat Noir 75% bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 301 calories (estimate per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $16.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #9 of South American Chocolate Theme Weeks.

Today's Kaori* Bresil Chocolat Noir (Dark Chocolate) 75% bar was from Chocolat Bonnat (Voiron, France).

Bonnat bars featured in the past have all had a creamy, buttery melt and texture, and this three ingredient bar (cocoa, cocoa butter and sugar) was no exception.

The chocolate had a hint of slightly green (light/bright green foliage, green tea), almost floral aroma; and it had uniform, "soft and sunny" smooth authentic chocolate flavor.

*Kaori is the name of a Japanese family that cultivates cacao in Brazil. In Japanese the name means scent or fragrance, and can also refer to fabric weaving. This definition may not be directly related to today's bar, but it fits.

L'Amourette - Trinitario Venezuela Carenero 80% bar - Oct. 29, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

L'Amourette Chocolat LLC
L'Amourette Gold - Trinitario Single Origin Venezuela Carenero Superior 80% bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 206 calories in 2/5 bar
Cost: $8.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #8 of South American Chocolate Theme Weeks.

Today's two ingredient bar was from L'Amourette Chocolat LLC in San Francisco, CA. It contained Venezuelan Trinitario cocoa beans (Carenero Superior) and cane sugar. Nothing else.

This high-percentage 80% cacao bar was part of the company's single origin L'Amourette Gold series that also included other Venezuelan and Colombian bars.

The bar had a coy dark sweet and buttery aroma, and was refreshingly mild. It did possess a bittersweet note in the first seconds of tasting, but was very smooth, slightly fudgey, and low in fruit acid for an 80% cacao bar. It left only a faint, innocent dark chocolate aftertaste.

This pure dark chocolate would be a good "daily dose" bar for those who regularly indulge yet don't want the jaw tingling acidity, bitterness, funkiness or sugar.

Arete - Brasil 64% Organic Dark Milk bar - Oct. 28, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Arete Fine Chocolate
Brasil - Fazenda Camboa 64% Organic Dark Milk Chocolate bar
Good +
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 173 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA


Welcome to Day #7 of South American Chocolate Theme Weeks.

Today's Brasil Dark Milk Chocolate bar from Arete Fine Chocolate (Milpitas, CA) was made with just three ingredients: organic cacao, organic cane sugar and organic whole milk powder.

The artful crafting of these three, high-quality ingredients resulted in a chocolate that maintained a clear tart sweet, fruity, dark chocolate complexity. At the same time the milk tamed the flavor profile enough to satisfy those who prefer a mellower chocolate.

The list of truly fine dark milk chocolate bars is short. One hopes Arete and other bean-to-bar chocolate makers will continue to offer single origin bars like this in the future.

The organic cacao for this bar was grown in Brazil, at Fazenda Camboa, a family-owned farm in Bahia, Brazil.