The Oakland Chocolate Company - Sorrel Ginger Tea Truffle, Orange Truffle - June 4, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

The Oakland Chocolate Company
Sorrel Ginger Tea Truffle
Good +++
Weight: .4 oz. (11.3 g.) (estimate) for 1 piece/truffle
Calories: 60 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $2.50 for 1 piece
Purchased from: The Oakland Chocolate Company (online order)

Orange Truffle (Vegan)
Good +++
Weight: .4 oz. (11.3 g.) (estimate) for 1 piece/truffle
Calories: 60 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $2.50 for 1 piece
Purchased from: The Oakland Chocolate Company (online order)

Welcome to the first day of Chocolate, Ginger and Citrus Theme Week.

Today's Sorrel Ginger Tea Truffle and Orange Truffle were made from bean-to-bonbon (with Jamaican cacao) by Nancy Nadel at The Oakland Chocolate Company, LLC (Oakland, CA).

The Sorrel* Ginger Tea Truffle was covered in smooth dark chocolate and filled with a light, soft, creamy and mild filling (with no chocolate solids). I enjoyed the layers of great, natural flavor. A small piece of candied ginger gave this chocolate some pizazz. Unless you were told what mild leafy vegetable might have been infused into this mix, you'd probably never guess. The sorrel added a very subtle, almost sweet, very light lemon-green/lettuce flavor.

The second chocolate, an Orange Truffle, had a very creamy, satisfying melt and texture. It was also vegan; so the smooth tasting dark chocolate ganache (filling) was not made with traditional cream. It may leave you wondering how was this texture achieved without cream? This dark confection had a natural chocolate and orange aroma and smooth chocolate flavor. A small shred of candied orange peel on top added orange accent flavor. And, this chocolate was not too sweet (thank you!). 

These are my kind of truffles. Hats off to chocolate maker Nancy Nadel for her chocolate making skills and novel, balanced flavor inclusions in her bars and bonbons year after year. (Sorry I missed the Loquat Ginger Jam truffle when I was ordering these truffles online. That would have fit nicely in this week's ginger and citrus line up as well. I am a huge loquat fan.) One can see how living in California, having neighbors with fruit trees and selling chocolates at a Farmer's Market or two over the years can light up a number of fruit and botanical possibilities. But, not every maker would take the next step and actually pursue so many successful flavor blends.

*Sorrel is a leafy vegetable often eaten in salads and used as a cooking herb. Its taste has been likened to green spinach with a hint of lemony, kiwi or wild strawberry tang. The plant's light, sour grass-like tartness is largely from oxalic acid.

Bisou Chocolate - Silk Verapaz (Guatemala) 78% (bar) - June 3, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Bisou Chocolate

Silk Verapaz (Guatemala) 78% (bar)

Good +

Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) in 1 bar

Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 bar

Cost: $6.00 (estimate) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Bisou, online order

Welcome to Day #13 of Chocolate and Maya Empire Theme Week.

Today's Silk Verapaz (Vera Paz) (Guatemala) 78% (bar) was made by Bisou Chocolate (Oakland, CA). 

Bisou has been making single origin bars and chocolate truffles in Oakland for several years. The company's current offerings are made from cacao beans grown in Brazil, Ecuador, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua.

This four-ingredient dark chocolate bar was smooth in aroma, flavor and texture. It had hot chocolate, true chocolate, tart fresh fruit (mild nectarine, berry) and very faint earth and natural vanilla notes with a pleasant lingering dark chocolate finish.

Ingredients: cocoa beans, organic whole cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic vanilla

Crow & Moss Chocolate - Honduras Wampusirpi 70% bar - June 2, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Crow and Moss Chocolate

Honduras Wampusirpi 70% bar

Good +++

Weight: 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar

Calories: 300 calories in 1 bar

Cost: $8.75 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Welcome to Day #12 of Chocolate and Maya Empire Theme Week.

Today's Honduras Wampusirpi 70% bar was made from bean-to-bar by Crow and Moss (Petoskey, MI). The Spanish word "Honduras," translated into English means "depths." 

This two-ingredient chocolate (cacao beans, organic cane sugar) had flavor depth, and evoked a romantic sense of place,* tempered with respect. The cacao used was grown in a relatively remote area of Honduras, and while likely carefully sourced, I'm guessing these beans (like almost all new cacao batches) required a few test roasts/batches at Crow and Moss.

The resulting bar was rich and satisfying. The maker's tasting notes read as follows: honey, banana, toasted walnut. 

The chocolate had a mild green jungle nut/seed aroma (found in some "white" Theobroma cacao relatives) and faint green banana with very subtle earth, smoked almond and light leather notes. 

Yes, to my delight, this chocolate was borderline savory, without any salt or potentially intrusive, actual umami** flavor inclusions. I loved that these flavors were showcased in a balanced and elegant way.

The flavor profile was similar to the aroma, with sweet, dark chocolate with toasted walnut banana bread notes. And the finish was pleasing. It lingered with a trace of honey, and very tiny sparklets of balanced not-quite-fruit (subdued, dark dried cherry/banana/coffee fruit) tartness and green tea.

*Cacao bean flavors are often associated with cacao variety, fermentation choices and even soil and other local characteristics. Honduras exports coffee, bananas, tropical fruit and sugar cane--primarily crops brought to the new world by Spanish colonizers centuries ago. Prior to their arrival, the Maya and other indigenous peoples cultivated beans, squash, maize, cacao and other native fruit trees. Wampusirpi is a small town in remote northeastern Honduras, in the department of Gracias a Dios (Thanks to God), where cacao might be one of the few cash crops. Fortunately, many bean-to-bar makers are experimenting with beans from this area, largely from native Trinitario cacao varieties. 

**Umami flavors are most commonly those found in savory, high-glutamate (glutamic acid/amino acid) foods such as cheeses, certain meats (think bacon, smoked meats), dried tomatoes, mushrooms, seaweed, fermented soy and other foods. Admission: I like savory flavors very much.

Nuance Chocolate - Honduras Wampusirpi 2016 70% (bar) - June 1, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Nuance Chocolate
Honduras Wampusirpi 2016 70% (bar)

Good +
Weight: 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 291 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Nuance Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Maya Empire Theme Week.

Today's Honduras Wampusirpi 2016 70% (bar) was from Nuance Chocolate (Fort Collins, CO).

This three-ingredient* chocolate had a sweet dark chocolate aroma with earthy/"dirt" notes. The bar was smooth with a few tiny bits of cacao bean. The flavor was sweet and earthy, with faint deep, dried fermented fruit, faint green/latex notes. 

Maker's tasting notes from Nuance read as follows:

Trinitario cacao from the remote Wampusirpi region of Honduras, which is only accessible by a two-day canoe trip. A luxuriously-smooth chocolate, with notes of graham crackers, oatmeal cookies, sage and soft leather. Virtually no acidity or bitterness.

*Ingredients: cacao, cane sugar, cocoa butter

Nuance Chocolate - Guatemala Lachua 2015 70% (bar) - May 31, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Nuance Chocolate
Guatemala Lachua 2015 70% (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 300 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Nuance Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Maya Empire Theme Week.

Today's Guatemala Lachua 2015 70% (bar) was from Nuance Chocolate (Fort Collins, CO).

The bar was made using "Trinitario cacao from the Alta Verapaz mountains in Coban, Guatemala."*

Made only with cacao, cane sugar and cocoa butter, this three-ingredient chocolate still conjured up its own unique impression.

It had a relatively uniform sweet grape aroma and flavor with sweet fruit (red grapes, melon, very sweet tangerine, sweet tea) acidity, a fleeting faint nuttiness and relatively low bitterness. Re-tasting multiple times revealed slightly more flavor complexity; however, I kept thinking of sangria (sweet wine and fruit beverage).

A sweet lingering finish and a slight astringency tickled the back of the throat for a short while. After re-tasting a very subtle, fleeting herbal (caraway and coriander) note appeared in the finish as well. 

This 70% cacao bar (presumably with 30% percent sugar) tasted more like a 60% cacao offering (with 40% sugar)--serving as a good example of why 70% cacao (and 30% sugar) may be a fine blend for many artisan dark bars, but some cacao beans can do with less sugar. It would have been interesting to have a side-by-side tasting with a 75% or 77% cacao version (i.e. with only 25-23% sugar) using the same Guatemala cacao. It's hard to know which would have been judged "best"--a subjective term in any case. 

The Nuance chocolate maker's tasting notes read as follows:

"A complex chocolate with juicy layers of rum, wine, raisins, and papaya. Magical things happen right at the melting point. A slightly dry finish, with moderate acidity."

*Coban is also the name of the capital city of the Department of Alta Verapaz in central Guatemala in the Chama Mountains. It was founded about 1538 near Mayan ruins and was named for the Indian chieftain Cobaou. Agricultural exports have included: coffee, tea, cacao, vanilla, orchids, livestock, lumber/hardwoods.

Chocolate Real - Ka'kow dark 99% Guatemalan Cacao (bar) - May 30, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolate Real
Ka'kow Homemade Chocolate dark (oscura) 99% Guatemalan Organic Cacao (bar)
Good +
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 138 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $N/A - gift from a friend
Purchased from: N/A - gift from a friend (thank you Dennis!)

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Maya Empire Theme Week.

Today's Ka'kow Homemade Chocolate dark (oscura) 99% Guatemalan Organic Cacao (bar) was from Chocolate Real (Sumpango Sacatepequez, Guatemala). Chocolate Real (which also translates into Royal Chocolate in English) started making chocolate in Guatemala in 2013.

This dark chocolate had a strong, pleasant, "sweet" hot chocolate aroma. A high percent of cocoa butter (50%) enabled a creamy smooth melt and texture. The flavor had strong true, bold dark chocolate flavor with balanced bitterness (and at 99% cacao total) with almost no sugar or bright fruit sweetness.

The true chocolate, and brownie flavor notes gave way to a finish with a  slightly minty/menthol note. Note the mint all but disappeared in subsequent tastings throughout the day and was replaced by a very faint spice (cinnamon) note.

Ingredients: "manteca de cacao (al menos 50%), licor de cacao, sabor a vanilla, sal"--loosely translated: cocoa butter (at least 50%), cocoa liquor, vanilla flavor, salt.

Michel Cluizel - Plantation Laguna Chocolat Lait 47% Guatemala (bar) - May 29, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Michel Cluizel
Plantation Laguna Chocolat Lait 47% Guatemala (bar)
Good +
Weight: 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 416 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $8.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Maya Empire Theme Week.

This Plantation Laguna Milk Chocolate 47% Guatemala bar was from Michel Cluizel (Damville, Normandy, France).

This chocolate had a creamy milk chocolate melt and mouthfeel, with earthy, faint dried fruit (muted fig, banana peels) and (a bit later, joined by) warm caramel aroma and flavor notes.

The maker's tasting notes read as follows: "A smooth and creamy texture, with sweet notes of cappuccino and hot chocolate, mixed with notes of hazelnuts and toasted bread, ending in a long finish of butterscotch and intense notes of cocoa."