Fine and Raw Chocolate - Sea Salt 70% bar - July 25, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Fine and Raw Chocolate
Sea Salt 70% bar
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) in total bar
Calories: 165 calories (per label) in 1 bar
Cost: $25.00 for a 5-bar set
Purchased from: Fine and Raw Chocolate, Brooklyn, NY (online order)

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Sea Salt Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Cowgirls Week.

Today's Sea Salt bar was from Fine and Raw Chocolates (Brooklyn, NY). The company operates a factory and cafe in Bushwick, Brooklyn (NY) and was founded by Daniel Sklaar.

Fine and Raw bars are sweetened with coconut sugar and made using "50% raw and 50% roasted chocolate." (Raw chocolate can be milder than roasted cacao. It sometimes lacks flavor that can be coaxed out (or lost) with roasting and processing with higher temperatures.)

The dark chocolate flavor in today's bar was well balanced with the far-flung constellation of sea salt sparkles on the back of the bar. Ingredients: "organic cacao bean(s), organic coconut sugar, organic cacao butter, organic sea salt"

Cowgirl Art and Chocolate
The company's collection of Brooklyn Bonnie bars,* including today's bar, were all adorned with illustrations of girls from the wild west, who were described on the label as"...ladies who are bold, independent, brave, sassy, eloquent and tasty." It's always interesting to hear the stories behind and inspiration for different chocolates.

The cowgirl on today's Sea Salt 70% bar wore a black cowgirl hat and cowgirl boots, and an outfit, not really suitable for roping and riding. The line drawings in the packaging were reminiscent of illustrations from the 1900s, from artists like Gil Elvgren** and other painters and illustrators.

On a slightly more wholesome note, there is also a long tradition of vaquero (cowboy) and vaquera (cowgirl) painting going back many years in Mexico (a country with a long chocolate history). And some of these artworks romanticizes the hard work done at ranches. or revolution-related narratives. Artists representing this genre include Jesus Helguera 1910 - 1971). These warm-toned works would be lovely on chocolate bar packaging should copyright owners agree. But, we digress.

*The five bars in this set included Alderwood Smoked Salt, Espresso, Ginger, Hazelnut Butter and Sea Salt.

**Gillette (Gil) Elvgren (1914 - 1980) was an American painters perhaps best known for his pin-up girls, including several cowgirl illustrations that graced magazines and advertisements.

Domori - D-Fusion LatteSal Milk Chocolate with Salt (bar) - July 24, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Domori srl

D-Fusion Latte Sal Milk Chocolate with Salt 45% (bar)

Good - Good +

Weight: .44 oz. (12.5 g.) / .88 oz. (25 g.) in total package

Calories: 75 calories in 1/2 bar 

Cost: $3.96 (sale) for 1 bar + any shipping

Purchased from:  Chocosphere.com, online order

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Sea Salt Theme Week.

Today's D-Fusion Latte Sal Milk Chocolate with Salt (bar) was from Domori srl* (None, TO, Italy), and was made with Arriba Nacional cacao.

This 45% cacao milk chocolate had a sweet, caramel (almost "candy") aroma, with some light fruit and chocolate notes. The thin bar had a creamy smooth, almost gummy texture. The sweetness masked the chocolate and salt nuances a bit, but it will have a definite appeal for some.

Maker's notes: "(the bar was made with)...sweet and aromatic Guerande** sea salt to bring forth a fresh hint of banana and citrus fruits..." ***

And speaking of the chocolate maker, the following quote was printed on the Domori website:

"I am only a humble servant to Chocolate, and my true mission is to help change the history of fine cacao." -- Gianluca Franzoni

*Domori has been part of the illy Group since 2006. The company was involved in looking at fine cacao and supply chains before the craft/artisan chocolate movement really took hold. And they were one of the first and only makers to offer a 100% Criollo bar, made using a delicious, fine heritage variety of cacao.

**The Guerande salt used in this bar was harvested from the Guerande salt marshes of France.

*** Ingredients: "Cane sugar, cocoa butter, whole powdered milk (20%), cocoa mass, Guerande salt (0.4%)"

Jelina Chocolatier - Organic Sea Salt Dark Chocolate bar - July 23, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Jelina Chocolatier
Organic Sea Salt (fleur de sel) Dark Chocolate bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 280 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $6.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Willows Market, Menlo Park, CA

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Sea Salt Theme Week.

Today's Organic Sea Salt Dark Chocolate bar was from Jelina Chocolatier (a Division of GMV Chocolates, Quebec, Canada).

This thick, 72% cacao, fair trade dark bar had a creamy texture and aroma and flavor notes of chocolate, nut butter and fruit jelly with a faint bold, balanced earthy note.

The sweet and salt ratio was close to the "addictive zone" that many snack foods seem to occupy by design. Maybe we should take another bite...to make sure we can verify this point. (Yes, still seems to be true.)

Health Lab - Cacao Sea Salt Collagen Ball - July 22, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Health Lab
Cacao Sea Salt Collagen Ball
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) for 1 package
Calories: 196 calories in 1 ball
Cost: $0.69 for 1 ball
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Sea Salt Theme Week.

Today's Cacao Sea Salt Collagen* Ball ("Beauty Snack for hair, skin and nails") was from Health Lab (Melbourne, Australia).

This chocolate had the even aroma and flavor of a fudge brownie, only chewier.
It had a thick, substantial texture and was satisfying, with a sweet cocoa aftertaste.

The added sea salt was quite subtle but was present throughout the tasting experience at about the same level.

*The company uses marine collagen for its collagen balls.

Goodio Craft Chocolate - Sea Salt 77% Cacao bar - July 21, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Goodio Craft Chocolate
Sea Salt 77% Cacao bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .85 oz. (24 g.) / 1.7 oz. (48 g.) in total bar
Calories: 112.5 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and (Sea) Salt Theme Week.

Today's four-ingredient* Sea Salt 70% Cacao bar was made from stoneground cacao (from the Congo in Africa) and sea salt (hand harvested from Icelandic fjords) by Goodio Craft Chocolate (Helsinki, Finland).

See image (right) to see this bar, and the three men behind Goodio in the background. (Picture/background shown in photo is from Goodio Craft Chocolate website.) Chief Creative Officer, Jukka Peltola, pictured at far right, founded the company in 2015.

This chocolate had a bold, earthy, slightly acidic chocolate and savory (sea salt) aroma, which in some bars might signal a very strong flavor. However, because this chocolate was made with raw cacao, it did not get roasted, or processed over a certain temperature. It did not have the heavy, acidic or slight smoky "charcoal" flavor that the aroma caused us to brace for.  (Think espresso vs. a mild coffee.)

Instead the chocolate had relatively robust cocoa flavor with a lower acidic and sharpness level than expected. It had light floral,** cocoa, fruit and coconut sugar notes, and a faint sparkle of sea salt.

The chocolate was smooth yet slightly granular in texture because it was stoneground, likely for a relatively shorter period. Larger particle size and less grinding time means more intact flavors. However, the "creamiest" mouthfeel often comes from long grinding/conching time, which, you guessed it, leads to loss in certain flavors. It's a chocolate making trade-off.

The coconut sugar—and less sugar in general with a darker, 77% cacao bar—allows one enjoy flavorful cacao, but with a gentler tasting experience in other aspects. That is, coconut palm sugar has been shown to be lower on the glycemic index than refined cane sugar. So you may experience less of a sugar buzz. (Fine by us.)

Today's bar was raw, vegan and organic.

*Ingredients: Organic Cacao beans (Congo), organic coconut sugar, organic cacao butter and sea salt
** More delicate floral notes are often the first to go when cacao is roasted or heated, so you're more likely to taste these in raw chocolate and in origins where floral flavor is commonly found, but then lost in cacao processing.

Fossa Chocolate - 70% Dark Sea Salt bar - July 20, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Fossa Chocolate Pte Ltd
70% Dark Sea Salt (bar)
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.236 oz. (35 g.) in total bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and (Sea) Salt Theme Week.

Today's 70% Dark Sea Salt bar was crafted in Singapore by Fossa Chocolate.

The texture of this bar was compact and creamy; and the aroma and flavor was very appealing and, well, yummy. You can tell when you're enjoying a bar when you want it all for yourself, even though you almost always share your chocolate with someone else.

Yes, this bar was, as the tasting notes read: "creamy and full-bodied Pak Eddy* 70% dark chocolate,  accompanied by the delicate crunch from hand-harvested sea salt."

Seeing the visible salt on the back, led me to think this might be adorned by a bit more salt that I would care for, but it did not overpower the fine flavor of the chocolate which had fruit, nut, true chocolate and great, subtle fermentation notes.

*The source of the cacao for this organic, gluten free and vegan Fossa Chocolate bar was a single estate in Indonesia run by Pak Eddy (a local term loosely translated as Uncle Eddy). Pak Eddy cultivates, ferments and dries the cacao before sending it to Fossa. The results speak to a successful relationship.

RXBAR - Chocolate Sea Salt protein bar - July 19, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chicago Bar Company LLC
RXBAR - Chocolate Sea Salt 12 g. Protein bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.83 oz. (52 g.) in total bar
Calories: 210 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $1.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Sea Salt Theme Week.

Today's RXBAR Chocolate Sea Salt* 12 g. Protein bar was distributed by Chicago Bar Company LLC (Chicago, IL).

This gluten free bar had a chewy, satisfying texture and flavor. Nut pieces (almond) were visible with each bite. The chocolate flavor was somewhat muted, but still present. The bar wasn't too sweet. (No added sugar, just 2 dates. Thank you!).

The short list of ingredients, and transparency regarding the ingredients list (highlighted on the front of the wrapper), were also much appreciated.

*While crystals of salt were visible on one side, this bar was not as salty as it looked. The salt and sweet levels were quite well balanced (also appreciated).