Divine Chocolate - Dark Chocolate with Cocoa Nibs 85% Sao Tome (bar) - Nov. 7, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Divine Chocolate
Rich Dark Chocolate with Cocoa Nibs 85% Cocoa Sao Tome (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.05 oz. (30 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories in 1 serving (30 g.) of bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information 

Welcome to Day #13 of Chocolate and Africa Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Cocoa Nibs Theme Week.

Today's Divine Organic Rich Dark Chocolate with Cocoa Nibs 85% Cocoa Sao Tome (bar) was made in Germany and distributed by Divine Chocolate Inc.in Washington, D.C. (Divine partners with farmers in Africa; and in fact cocoa farmers own 44% of the company. More information is available on the inside of the wrapper.)

This robust, ultra-dark chocolate was studded with earthy cocoa nibs. Nibs added crunchy texture and concentrated cocoa flavor was made using cacao from Sao Tome, part of the African island nation of Sao Tome et Principe.

What are Cocoa Nibs?
Cocoa nibs are pieces of cocoa beans. Generally these beans have been fermented and roasted first (unless they're sold as raw or unroasted), before being crushed into aromatic pieces, or nibs. These small pieces have a true, authentic, unsweetened chocolate flavor, and sometimes have nutty, fruit and/or fermented flavor notes. (Today's bar with nibs had earth and fruit notes.)

Traditionally these nibs have represented one of the first steps in chocolate making. They are ground into a paste to make chocolate, unless, like this week, we are lucky enough to get our hands on them before then.

What are they good for? Cocoa (or cacao) nibs are wonderful flavor inclusions in chocolates, adding flavor and a bit of soft, crunchy texture. Nibs are also very versatile and can also be incorporated into brownies, shakes, and many other sweet or savory edibles (roast spice rubs, filtered coffee drinks, liquor-marinated toppings for ice cream, salads, etc.) As a lesser processed form of cacao, nibs also retain relatively high anti-oxidant and nutrition levels.

*Ingredients: Cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, 6% cocoa nibs. (May contain traces of milk, wheat, almonds, hazelnuts and coconut.)

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Hands Off My Chocolate - Milk Meets Dark - Nov. 6, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Hands Off My Chocolate
Milk Meets Dark
Good +
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 277 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $6.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Missing information 

Welcome to Day #12 of Chocolate and Africa Theme Week.

Today's Milk Meets Dark chocolate was from Hands Off My Chocolate (Laren, North Holland, The Netherlands). Founders Kitty and Thomas set out in 2013 to make the best fairly traded Belgian chocolate possible.

The humorous "Hands Off My Chocolate" name for their company (recalling situations that many chocolate lovers have experienced) surfaced for the founders early on during initial trials and tastings.

Where do you hide your chocolate so that others can't find it? their website queries on one page. (Their website contains graphics that include a list of places people might choose to hide their chocolate.)

And, last but not least, each round piece that comprises the company's aggregate "bars" is printed with the word "Mine." Clever!

A blend of milk and dark chocolate resulted in a chocolate with a minimum of 39% cocoa solids, consisting of several round, bite-sized pieces fused together to make an aggregate "bar."

These thick, round pieces were fairly easy to break apart and eat. And the unique shapes created a fun tasting experience. The chocolate had a dark milk chocolate smooth texture and uniform sweet dark milk chocolate flavor with a hint of malt and vanilla.*

Belgian Chocolate - History
For many years Belgian chocolate was almost synonymous with African cacao. After all, West and Central African cacao-growing countries have been, geographically, the closest source of cacao for most European chocolate makers.

A European colonial history led to the growth of tea, coffee, cacao and other crops in many African nations in the 1800s and 1900s. For example, the former Gold Coast (now Ghana) used to be a British colony until 1959. Ivory Coast was a French colony until 1960. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) used to be the Belgian Congo (1908 - 1960), as recently as 59 years ago.

Times have changed. Today's European chocolate makers, such as Hands Off My Chocolate and many others (including some featured this week) are committed to better, more equitable relationships with farmers. Today's chocolate was made using "Fair Belgian chocolate," alluding to fair trade practices** that generally result in higher prices being paid to farmers for their crops in developing nations.

*Ingredients: Sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, emulsifier (soy lecithin), natural vanilla flavoring.

**Built in to most fair trade organizations are also goals such as better working conditions and sustainable agricultural practices.

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White Label Chocolate - Tanzania Kilombero 68% (bar) - Nov. 5, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

White Label Chocolate
Tanzania Kilombero 68% (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.14 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.29 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 171 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Mutari Chocolate, Santa Cruz, CA

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Africa Theme Week.

Today's Tanzania Kilombero 68% (bar) was from White Label Chocolate, purchased at Mutari Chocolate (Santa Cruz, CA). Mutari offers single origin drinking chocolate and bars.

The chocolate in this White Label bar was made using Trinitario variety cacao beans (Amelonado x Nacional). This cacao was grown in a relatively wet, tropical region of Tanzania about 200 meters (approximately 656 feet) above sea level.

This dark bar was well executed and interesting. It had a chocolate aroma with fruit notes, a smooth melt, and initial creamy flavor that blossomed into full, bright tropical citrus + red sweet fruit with faint, fleeting five spice/herb/balanced earth notes.

The chocolate had a subtle, complex finish that began softly, then came subtle balanced bittersweet, and almost nutty notes. Following a few seconds of calm, there was a very tiny throat tickle of delayed sweet-sour astringency.

Maker's tasting notes: cream, nuts citrus rind

Notes about shelf life: This bar was recently expired, but seemed to have maintained good flavor and texture. I will try to re-taste a "freshly made" version of this bar in the near future. While most bars are better (less brittle, more flavorful, more attractive) before their expiration date, a few bars actually seem to benefit from some shelf time—mellowing a bit with age. 

Chocolate Storage Tips

For best results, store chocolate bars in a cool, dry place, at a consistent temperature (60-70 degrees F., or 16-21 degrees Celsius is ideal), to prevent the chocolate from going out of temper and from "bloom," which shows up as a white film or blotching on chocolates. A wine refrigerator (turned up to its higher temperature range) might also be a suitable place to store bars, as long as humidity is not too high.

Chocolate truffles and filled confections (some containing cream) have a much shorter shelf life than solid chocolate bars (often less than a week for optimal freshness), so it may be OK to refrigerate these for a short period if they are covered/well-wrapped to prevent against any condensation or absorption of other fridge flavors.

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Tony's Chocolonely - Milk Chocolate bar - Nov. 4, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Tony's Chocolonely
Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good +
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 135 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ Missing information
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Africa Theme Week.

Cacao is often grown by subsistence farmers in distant lands, making oversight in labor practices challenging.

Unfortunate consequences of this geographic schism can be poor labor conditions, low pay, and forms of slavery—conditions some chocolate makers are trying to address.

Today's Milk Chocolate (bar) was from Tony's Chocolonely (Amsterdam, The Netherlands). This company has pledged to work to help eliminate slavery (in the cacao supply chain going back to farms in Africa) by making 100% slave free chocolate.

This thick 32% cacao milk chocolate bar was a creamy, high-end milk chocolate experience.

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Domori - Trinitario 70% Tanzania Dark Chocolate bar - Nov. 3, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Domori srl
Trinitario 70% Tanzania Dark Chocolate bar
Good +
Weight: .44 oz. (12.5 g.) / .88 oz. (25 g.) in total bar
Calories: 137 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere (online order)

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Africa Theme Week.

Today's Trinitario 70% Tanzania Dark Chocolate bar was from Domori srl (None, Italy), made with cacao grown in the Morogoro region of Tanzania in Africa.

This thin 4-square bar had a wild aromatic profile: earthen jars, marinated dried fruit/raisins, grapes/sweet and sour fruit fermenting in oak casks, a cute but slightly gamey lion cub,* and a slight bitter(s) note.

The melt and texture were very civilized: smooth, creamy and uniform. They were the tamest part of this bar.

The flavor was complex and interesting with some of the some earth and fermented fruit notes described in the aroma. (However, there was no touch of lion or bitterness.) And the finish was lingering, but fairly clean.

As wild as this bar sounds, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Bean to bar chocolates are becoming more uniform in flavor in recent years, thanks to fermentation training and expertise; decisions about what is "good" cacao; and farmers getting more support and a fair price for their cacao which may, in turn, enable efforts to produce better quality cacao.

This evolution has, arguably, produced better chocolate, or at least fewer bars with off flavors, which is good. But, there are also more bars with tamed down and uniform flavor profiles that are almost dull. I miss the Wild West sometimes.

*Yes, lions are a cheap way to get your attention, aren't they? Fortunately, Tanzania (while having to take strong measures to protect elephants (like the one pictured on the packaging for this bar)) has one of the healthier populations of wild lions remaining in Africa. Lion cubs are adorable and a privilege to hold when they're young (in a zoo or approved facility, not out in the wild). Like many wild animals, they can have a faint gamey or pungent aroma, especially if they've been in an enclosed area around adults. 

Note: This chocolate was recently expired (2019) when I wrote this review (2019). Generally, bars, if stored properly, have a reasonably long shelf life. However, I believe it is unfair the maker if I write a review of an expired bar without disclosing this information.

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

Moka Origins - Gola Rainforest, Sierra Leone 85% (bar) - Nov. 2, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Moka Origins
Dark - Gola Rainforest, Sierra Leone 85% (bar)
Good
Weight: 1.2 oz. (33.9 g.) / 2.4 oz. (67.9 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Africa Theme Week.

Today's Dark Gola Rainforest, Sierra Leone 85% (bar) was made by Moka Origins (Honesdale, PA).

This bold, ultra-dark chocolate had a smooth, even texture and melt—and flickers of earth, smoke and deep, opaque chocolate flavor. Think roasted nuts over fire that includes fennel* and licorice kindling.

*I happen to like fennel, so this is not necessarily a criticism. Even the dried wood/sticks from the fennel plant (the whole plant is edible) retain a polite fennel/black licorice aroma, with a touch of light vanilla and maple.

Chocolate Bonnat - Cote d'Ivorie Chocolat Noir 75% Cocoa (bar) - Nov. 1, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolat Bonnat
Cote d'Ivorie - Chocolat Noir 75% Cocoa (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 242.42 calories in 40 g. of bar
Cost: $8.95 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com (online order)*

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Africa Theme Week.

Today's Cote d'Ivorie 75% Cocoa Dark Chocolate, gluten free bar, was from Chocolat Bonnat (Voiron, France).

Most of world's cacao used to make chocolate comes from Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivorie) and Ghana. And yet today's bar was/is one of the few (branded) single origin Ivory Coast chocolate bars to be found.

The smooth chocolate had true deep dark, uniform chocolate flavor with a hint of dairy/cream (there was no added dairy product in this bar) and very faint, fleeting green/coconut note. It had a creamy melt and texture** and was not too sweet (thank you).

*Note: This bar is currently sold out on Chocosphere.com

**Ingredients: cocoa beans, cocoa butter and sugar. Chocolat Bonnat bars are known for their creamy texture, achieved through technique and with added cocoa butter.

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