Mission Chocolate - Goiabada 70% Dark Chocolate with Guava Chunks (bar) - Oct. 12, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Mission Chocolate
Goiabada 70% Dark Chocolate with Guava Chunks (bar)
Brazil Biomes Project - Atlantic Rainforest, Fazenda Camboa
Good +++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 146 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Brazil Theme Week.

Today's Goiabada 70% Dark Chocolate with Guava Chunks (bar) was created by Arcelia Gallardo at Mission Chocolate (Sao Paolo, Brazil).

Biting into this bar at 7:00 a.m. in the cool morning air evoked an image of hunting for bright fruit in a deep, dark forest. Later in the day, after the (room, palette and chocolate) warmed up, this bar had a sweet, light earth and tropical fruit aroma. The chocolate was smooth and dark with a light earth note. The small squares of dried fruit had authentic just-harvested guava flavor, with a smoothly chewy and mixed silken and slightly granular dried fruit texture.

A short list of fresh, high-quality ingredients (cacao, organic sugar, guava and cocoa butter) were skillfully blended to make this a wonderful tasting experience.

*Fazenda Camboa, owned by two brothers, is the largest organic farm in Brazil. Located in Bahia, north of Sao Paolo, this farm offers forastero and trinitario cacao. Gallardo is (according to the Mission Chocolate website) currently using Fazenda Camboa's trinitario hybrid cacao for her bars. The cacao for this bar was part of the Atlantic Rainforest Brazil Biomes Project.

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Mission Chocolate - Baru 70% Brazil Project Cerrado (bar) - Oct. 11, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Mission Chocolate
Baru 70% Brazil Project Cerrado, Fazenda Camboa (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 178 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Brazil Theme Week.

Brazil is a very large country with several cacao growing regions; and production of cacao grown in this South American powerhouse has been on the rise in recent years.

One relatively new chocolate maker in the past several years is Mission Chocolate (Sao Paulo, Brazil).

Mission Chocolate was founded by multi-talented chocolate expert, chocolate maker and educator, Arcelia Gallardo, who was born in California and spent time on a farm before getting into chocolate, traveling throughout Latin America, and ultimately settling in Brazil. (Gallardo also spent time in the San Francisco Bay Area producing tasty chocolates in Berkeley and working with Dandelion Chocolate in San Francisco.)

This week will feature several of Mission Chocolate's bars, including today's Baru 70% Dark Chocolate with Baru Nut(s)* (bar). The cacao for this bar was from Brazil Biomes Project Cerrado, Fazenda Camboa. Fazenda Camboa is a large organic farm on the east (Atlantic) coast in the state of Bahia, Brazil.

Whole baru nuts (pressed into the back of the smooth dark chocolate bar) added visual interest, a soft crunch, and mild nut flavor.

*Baru nuts grow wild in Brazil and are usually roasted before eating. They have a mild taste that has been described as a cross between a "peanut and a cashew with a slight cacao flavor." I would describe it having a soft texture a bit like a cross between a roasted pine nut and a Brazil nut.

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TCHO - Black Lime + French Thyme 68% Cacao (bar) - Oct. 10, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

TCHO Ventures, Inc.
Maker's Series: Black Lime + French Thyme 68% Cacao (bar)
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.99 for 1 bar (plus shipping)
Purchased from: TCHO.com, online order

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

Today's Maker's Series: Black Lime + French Thyme 68% Cacao (bar) was created by Chief Chocolate Maker, Brad Kintzer,* at TCHO (Berkeley, CA).

Only 647 of these lime and thyme dark bars were made for sale; and this flavor was Number 12 in TCHO's micro batch Maker's Series. Many of the other flavors in this series have sold out before I've had the opportunity to try them. I felt lucky to obtain one of these bars—that was minted just a few weeks earlier.

Bars in this series were packaged in a luxurious outer dark navy blue box with embossed copper colored logo type, and inside the box was a dark chocolate brown colored lining and a brochure with more information. The design was reminiscent of packaging you might see with fine cigars, jewelry, wine, etc.

The aroma and flavor of this bar was weighted toward fresh thyme, an herb used in many savory dishes. Interspersed with the (dried) thyme notes were crunchy hard micro-bits of black (sun-dried, Persian) lime which yielded balanced micro-bursts of tangy citrus. Lime, like chocolate can go savory or sweet, and did so nicely here.

Your brain will be so busy trying to figure out and enjoy the savory inclusions that the nuances of the smooth dark chocolate may get a bit lost. But, that's a "risk" worth taking in discovering new chocolates.

A wee bit of sea salt further contributed to the savory profile, helping to confuse the brain for a split second. However, a very subtle hint of vanilla added a faint, warming, floral note, which (along with cane sugar) helped nudge the brain ever so gently into chocolate bar recognition territory).

The maker's notes described the inspiration for this bar read, in part, as follows:

"The combination of citrus and herbs might evoke memories of savory feasts and, honestly, that's exactly the bit of inspiration that leads to this micro batch...This may be a chocolate bar, but the pairing of Black Lime and French Thyme still has all the savory feels."

"For our 12th release, we wanted to pay homage to a classic combination with our twist by embracing the zesty "funk" from the black lime and the lighter piney, minty, and peppery French thyme. These unusual flavors layer together with the 68% dark chocolate for an herbal and tangy kick of umami.."

Plus it must be refreshing fun for the makers to do experiment a bit with high-quality limited editions after spending so much time carefully jockeying high-volume, high-quality blends from multiple sources.

*My favorite part of learning about TCHO Chief Chocolate Maker, Brad Kintzer, was hearing about his family roots in chocolate, and that an older relative (grandmother?) was buried with a Hershey's chocolate bar. 

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Trader Joe's - Milk and Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Popcorn - Oct. 9, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Trader Joe's
Milk and Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Popcorn
Good - Good +
Weight: 3 oz. (85 g.) / 6 oz. (170 g.) in total package
Calories: 420 calories in 1/2 package
Cost: $2.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate, Salt and Savory Theme Week.

Today's Milk and Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Caramel Popcorn was from Trader Joe's (based in Monrovia, CA).

This sweet and salty snack had a light, soft loft and crunch, and the combination of milk and dark chocolate coating was well balanced with the salted caramel popcorn at the core of every piece.

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Cacao Sampaka - Dark Chocolate with Ibiza Sea Salt (bar) - Oct. 8, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Cacao Sampaka
Chocolate Negro Flor de Sal de Ibiza (bar)
Good +
Weight: 2.64 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 418.7 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $7.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Village Market, Ferry Building Marketplace, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Salt and Savory Theme Week.

Today's Chocolate Negro (Dark Chocolate) Flor de Sal de Ibiza (bar) was from Cacao Sampaka (Barcelona, Spain). Imagine, if you will, eating this chocolate on a beautiful beach on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza, Spain (where the sea salt in this bar originated), about 500 km from Barcelona (where the bar was created).

This dark bar, in a beautifully designed wrapper, had a smooth texture with a creamy, rapid melt. The chocolate (no % specified) had a relatively smooth but opaque dark flavor (likely from a Forastero* variety of cacao if I had to guess), with a slightly earthy note, and with a twinkle and light crunch of Ibiza sea salt crystals.

Savory Chocolate - Chicken Mole
Switching continents from Europe to South America...We've also been enjoying cooking up different variations on chicken mole this week, using combinations of onions, spices, mesquite, chili, pepper, salt, dark chocolate, butter, nuts and seeds (almond, pumpkin, sesame) and other ingredients lightly simmered with chicken.

*Forastero cacao is quite common and is cultivated widely in West Africa, Brazil and elsewhere. The majority of chocolate bars are made using this variety of cacao. It is known for a relatively bold flavor, and for being relatively more robust (and disease resistant) than more delicate heritage varieties, e.g. Criollo cacao that may have more delicate fruit and cream notes.

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Dolfin - Milk Chocolate with Salted Butter Caramel bar - Oct. 7, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Dolfin SA
Milk Chocolate with Salted Butter Caramel bar
Good +
Weight: 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 380 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $7.00 in 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Milk Chocolate with Salted Butter Caramel bar was from Dolfin SA (Wauthier-Braine, Belgium).

This smooth, creamy milk chocolate caramel bar contained butter and Guerande sea salt. And, like yesterday's dark milk chocolate savory bar with pretzels and sea salt, this combination was a bit addictive.

Added vanilla and caramel flavorings gave the bar a distinct butterscotch flavor and finish.

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TCHO - Pretzel Crunch Dark Milk Chocolate with Pretzel and Sea Salt (bar) - Oct. 6, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

TCHO
Pretzel Crunch - Dark Milk Chocolate with Pretzel and Sea Salt 54% Cacao (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate Salt and Savory Theme Week.

Today's Pretzel Crunch Dark Milk Chocolate 54% Cacao (bar) was from TCHO (Berkeley, CA).

The bar embraced the seductive blend of dark milk chocolate and salt that offered sweet creaminess and savory crunch. Gluten free pretzel pieces contributed the soft crunchy texture and satisfying salt and carb content.

Thank you to Hannah at SweetE Organic for your great assistance/counter help—and in letting me know that this bar was gluten free.

Copyright 2019. Unauthorized use of the text and/or images from this site, www.ChocolateBanquet.com, is a copyright violation.