Mindo Chocolate Makers - Pure 77% Chocolate with Panela (bar) - Aug. 2, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Mindo Chocolate Makers
Pure 77% Chocolate with Panela (bar)
Good +
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 116 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Mindo Chocolate Makers, online order

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

Today's Pure 77% Chocolate with Panela (bar) was from Mindo Chocolate Makers (Dexter, MI) and was made in-country (in Mindo, Ecuador)--using organic, shade-grown Nacional cocoa beans grown near the production facility. This is rare, as most chocolate is manufactured in cities thousands of miles away from where the cacao originated.

This bar had a dark chocolate and brown sugar aroma and a smooth melt and texture (and it got creamier as it warmed up more than 20 degrees during the tasting process--from the first bite to the last).

The relatively deep, dark chocolate had a well-executed , even flavor profile (well-tempered, no off flavors or odd spikes) with hints of brown and maple sugar. (The bar did not contain any actual maple sugar.)

Surprisingly, for a bar with "panela" (raw sugar*) in its title, it wasn't that sweet (thank you). The relatively high cacao content (77 percent) allowed the even, solid dark chocolate flavor to run the show and take a bow into a pleasant finish without being too strong or bitter.

Ingredients: cocoa beans, raw sugar (panela)

*The compostable packaging (paper) was made from sugar cane pulp.

Sol Cacao Craft Chocolate - 70% Ecuador (Cedeno Farm) (bar) - Aug. 1, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Sol Cacao Craft Chocolate
70% Ecuador (Cedeno Farm) (bar)
Good +
Weight:  1.86 oz. (52.7 g.) in total bar
Calories: 279 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $7.75 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's 70% Ecuador (Cedeno Farm*) (bar) was from Sol Cacao Craft Chocolate (Bronx, NY).

This ultra dark chocolate had delicate aroma notes: roasted green, spice, and floral and very light umami (leather). In tasting the bar, flavor notes were similar: dark chocolate, green, floral, light fermented fruit and dairy, and nicely balanced acidity.

The texture was smooth and uniform with a wee bit of balanced astringency.

This chocolate was full of flavor and was not too sweet (thank you!).

Ingredients: Cacao, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter, Vanilla Bean

*Cacao beans used to make this dark chocolate bar were grown on the Cedeno family farm in Santa Domingo De Los Tsachilas, Ecuador--an area known for Arriba Nacional variety cacao. (This bar was labeled as Sol Cacao Batch #6A.)

Taste Artisan Chocolate - Limited Edition Palo Santo 75% Ecuador (bar) - July 31, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Taste Artisan Chocolate
Limited Edition Palo Santo 75% Ecuador (bar)
Good 
Weight:  1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 225 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's Limited Edition Palo Santo 75% Ecuador (bar) was crafted by Taste Artisan Chocolate (Provo, UT).

This well-tempered, 75 percent cacao bar had a subtle aroma with polite dark chocolate notes and a hint of green forest. The chocolate had a uniformly smooth, almost creamy melt and texture. Flavor notes included a faint sour milk note, even fainter, green (green tea), marshmallow and light floral (vanilla) notes, muted true chocolate, and a very fleeting uptick of earth. 

There were no strong bitter or sour notes; so this might appeal to those who like a smoother dark chocolate that still has some identifiable flavor notes.

The finish was relatively mild with an almost undetectable amount of astringency (very mild throat tickle), and the bar was not overly sweet (thank you).

Ingredients: Cacao, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter, Vanilla Bean

Cemoi - Ecuador 50% cocoa rich milk chocolate (bar) - July 30, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Distributed by Cemoi Inc. 

Ecuador 50% cocoa rich milk chocolate (bar)

Good +

Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar

Calories: 210 calories in 4 squares (1 serving) of bar

Cost: $1.49 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Bonjour (good day) and welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's Ecuador 50% cocoa bar was produced in France and distributed by Cemoi Inc. (Pittsburgh, PA).

The aroma in this gluten-free and Non-GMO Project Verified chocolate featured earthy, fermented fruit (grapes being made into brandy) notes. The melt and texture were creamy, with a very slight gummy caramel chew.

Flavors included rich milk chocolate, fermented fruit notes present in the aroma, and unfolding caramel overtones, with a chocolate caramel finish.

I applaud the choice of going with the 50% dark milk chocolate. Anything less than 50 percent cocoa would have been too much sugar (for me); and more of the single origin (Ecuador) chocolate flavor notes would have been eclipsed by sugar. (E.g., yesterday's Cemoi 80% Ecuador bar had similar earthy fermented fruit notes. However it also had subtle floral and green notes (more delicate notes often associated with Ecuador cacao) that were absent in today's bar, or at least supplanted by sugar-related (caramel) flavor. 

The chocolate maker's tasting notes read: "Caramel, Dried Fruits, Woody Notes"

*Ingredients: whole milk powder, Ecuador unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla extract

Cemoi - Ecuador 80% cocoa (bar) - July 29, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Distributed by Cemoi

Ecuador 80% cocoa (bar)

Good +

Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar

Calories: 210 calories in 4 squares (1 serving) of bar

Cost: $1.49 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's Ecuador 80% cocoa bar was produced in France and distributed by Cemoi Inc. (Pittsburgh, PA).

The chocolate had dark, chocolate cake and frosting, very faint waxy chocolate initially, followed by wood, forest, floral (jasmine) and faint concentrated fruit (light citrus and plum) notes. Tasting the chocolate, these aroma notes continued with additional green and roasted cacao notes chiming in. 

This bar was complex and interesting. By choosing a high cacao percentage (80% cocoa), a range of flavor notes were preserved and were saved from drowning in too much sugar. (Thank you!) And the price ($1.49 USD) at an outlet store made this a very good value for an ultra-dark chocolate bar with some flavor depth and complexity.

The maker's tasting notes read: "Jasmin, Dried Fruits, Woody Notes"

Ingredients: Ecuador unsweetened chocolate, sugar, sunflower lecithins (emulsifier), vanilla extract.

Chapon Chocolatier - Equateur (Ecuador) Los Rios 70% (bar) - July 28, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chapon Chocolatier

Equateur (Ecuador), Los Rios 70% (bar)

Good +

Weight: .175 oz. (5 g.) / 6.35 oz. (180 g.) in total package of 36 mini bars

Calories; 27.7 calories (estimate) in 1 mini bar

Cost: $45.00 for 1 package of 36 mini bars 

Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's Equateur (Ecuador) Los Rios 70% (mini bar) was from Chapon Chocolatier (Paris and Chelles, France).

This bar had an aroma with rich, sweet (brown sugar/molasses) chocolate and light spice notes.

The melt was fairly creamy. The flavor profile was well-balanced with light bittersweet and true chocolate notes with a faint fruit uplift/brightness.

The outer box, and inner (bar) packaging, for this Chapon assortment box supplied enjoyable eye candy. Lush, colorful fantasies of the natural world blended landscape and animal imagery with impressions of cacao origins. This was true even with these small bars, tiny canvases for this art (that is more well developed in larger Chapon bar wrappings).

The small 70% mini bar was just the right size for a satisfying sample.

Amedei - Cru Cioccolato Fondente Extra 70% (bar) - July 27, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Amedei srl
Cru - Cioccolato Fondente Extra - Dark Chocolate Extra 70% (bar)
Good 
Weight: 87.5 oz. (25 g.) / 1.75 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Welcome to Day #10 of Italian Chocolate and Day #3 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week

Today's Cru Cioccolato Fondente Extra - Dark Chocolate Extra 70% (bar) was from Amedei srl (La Rota, Pontedera (Pisa), Italy). 

This Mono Orgine (Single Origin) Ecuador (bar) was made using trinitario (variety of) cacao grown in Ecuador. The 70% chocolate had a warm sugar/sweet (brown sugar, molasses, hint of faint spice) aroma and flavor, and a smooth, uniform melt. 

The flavor was relatively sweet, uniform dark chocolate with slightly green (breakfast cereal, cereal box packaging, mild natural adhesive (chewing gum)) notes that lingered into the finish.

Ingredients: cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter.