Obolo Chocolate SpA - Masala Chai Spicd 64% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Sept. 11, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Obolo Chocolate SpA

Masala Chai Spiced 64% Cacao Dark Chocolate (bar)

Good ++

Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar

Calories: 180 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Masala Chai Spiced (tea) 64% Cacao Dark Chocolate (bar) was made by Chilean chocolate maker, Obolo Chocolate SpA (Santiago, Chile). 

This Certified B Corporation makes bean-to-bar chocolate in Santiago, a large city with a climate similar to Los Angeles, making it a bit easier to make chocolate (vs. in the more remote regions where cacao grows in the Amazon), while at the same time affording relationships with nearby cacao producers in South America. 

Masala Chai is a blend of spices and tea (and often milk). There was masala tea infused into this sweet chocolate--that was made with organic cacao from Pangoa, Peru--but no milk (powder). Similar to yesterday's Earl Grey bar from Obolo, the aroma was very subtle, but the flavors became stronger over the course of the tasting experience, ending with a clearer taste of the spices (and the chocolate) in the finish. 

The relatively high level of sugar made it difficult to pick out the cacao flavors in the base chocolate but there seemed to be hints of balanced fruit acidity/brightness and true chocolate/cocoa notes. (There might have been a wee bit of a floral note, but there was too much going on with the tea spices to be able to be sure of that.)

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, masala chai tea. 

Obolo Chocolate SpA - Earl Grey Blend 64% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Sept. 10, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Obolo Chocolate SpA

Earl Grey Blend 64% Dark Chocolate (bar)

Good ++

Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar

Calories: 180 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Tea Theme Week. We're also celebrating Chocolate Banquet's 14th Anniversary this week. Our 14th year of sampling a different chocolate every day, visiting great chocolate makers and exploring cacao-related destinations. 

Today's Earl Grey Blend 64% Dark Chocolate (bar) was made by Chilean chocolate maker, Obolo Chocolate SpA (Santiago, Chile).

Earl Grey tea, a black tea blend flavored with oil of Bergamot (extracted from the rind of the aromatic Bergamot orange (Citrus bergamia)), was first mentioned in the early 1800s. The yellow-orange Bergamot fruit (aka sour orange) shares the tart brightness of other citrus fruits but also possesses pronounced floral and spice notes.

This Chilean-made, tea-infused chocolate (crafted with cacao from Pangoa, Peru) had a very subtle aroma with a whisper of Earl Grey tea (bergamot, aromatic light woodsy citrus and tea notes). Stronger Earl Grey and chocolate flavors unfolded during the tasting experience. The bar had balanced tea and chocolate acidity levels, and a citrus/bergamot tea flavored finish. It was difficult to pick out the flavor the cacao may have contributed (e.g. perhaps its own floral and citrus fruit notes), but the relatively sweet chocolate did add chocolate depth and richness.

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, Earl Grey tea.

Rebbl - Reishi Chocolate Immunity Elixir and Antidote Earl Grey & Orange 70% bar - Sept. 9, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Rebbl 
Rebbl Reishi Chocolate Immunity Elixir
Good ++
Weight: 12 fl. oz. in 1 bottle
Calories: 160 calories (verify) in 1 bottle
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Antidote
Earl Grey and Orange 70% Cacao (bar) (re-tasting)
Good ++
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's new chocolate was a Reishi Chocolate Immunity Elixir from Rebbl (Emeryville, CA). 

This smooth beverage was made with coconut milk and the chocolate added additional rich flavor depth. The reishi (mushroom) extract was smoothly incorporated into this blend, and there were no "off" fungi-related flavors. This well-balanced elixir was sweetened with coconut sugar and stevia.

Technically an elixir may not have been a tea, but it was a liquid botanical brew. 

The "tea" portion of today's entry came from re-tasting an Earl Grey and Orange 70% dark chocolate bar from Antidote Chocolate (Greenpoint, Brooklyn, NY)--made with Arriba Nacional cacao (Ecuador) and aromatic, chewy bits of orange peel on the back which nicely complemented the subtle infused floral tea flavor.

Siamaya Chocolate - Thai Tea Milk Chocolate (bar) - Sept. 8, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Siamaya Chocolate (aka Siamaya Craft Co., Ltd)
Thai Tea Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good 
Weight: 2.65 oz. (75 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 375 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Thai Tea Milk Chocolate (bar) from Siamaya Chocolate (Chang Mai, Thailand) had subtle and uniform, milky, sweet tea aroma and flavor notes throughout the tasting experience--with a fleeting hint of star anise and a light sweet, authentic Thai tea finish.

Ingredients: Cacao nibs, organic cane sugar, powdered milk, cocoa butter.

Fu Wan Chocolate - Taiwan Charcoal Oolong Tea Chocolate (bar) - Aug. 7, 2020

 Chocolate of the Day

Fu Wan Chocolate
62% dark Taiwan Charcoal Oolong Tea Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.59 oz. (45 g.) in total bar
Calories: 283 calories (per label) in 1 bar
Cost: $16.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Tea Theme Week.

Today's 62% dark Taiwan Charcoal Oolong Tea Chocolate (bar) was from Fu Wan Chocolate (Formosa (Taiwan)). This chocolate was flavorful, middle ground blend of cacao and tea.

Oolong teas have a flavor in between a spring green sencha and a heavier, malt-ier black Assam tea--just like a Trinitario cacao usually falls between a mild heritage Criollo cacao and a deep, dark Forastero cacao variety. In tea and chocolate, a tea master/maker or chocolate maker coaxes different notes (e.g. fruit, floral or nut) out of a batch of leaves, or cacao beans--employing different roast profiles and other steps in the process.

Fu Wan does use cacao grown in Taiwan, and cacao from other locations. (I was unable to determine the exact cacao origin(s) for this bar.) It tasted like it may have been made with Trinitario cacao.

My tasting notes are below: 

Aroma: honey, raisin toast 

Flavor: honey, raisin toast, fleeting sweet "Dragon Eye*" oolong tea notes, and a faint hint of dried fruit (date, peach, dried longan fruit) and nut. The cacao added a richness to the tea experience. 

Maker's tasting notes read as follows: "Almond, cashew, black sesame, fennel, licorice, mint"

Ingredients: Cacao bean(s), cane sugar, cacao butter, Charcoal Oolong tea.

*The tea flavors in today's Fu Wan Taiwan Charcoal Oolong bar reminded me of the "Dragon Eyes" oolong tea I've enjoyed in the San Francisco Bay Area. Dragon Eye tea is sometimes described as somewhere between a green and black tea, with light smokey and dried fruit notes. This is the closest to today's charcoal oolong tea that I've experienced here in the U.S. And, after this week's Fu Wan flavorful oolong bars, I'll be exploring more of the wonderful "middle ground" world of oolong teas soon.

Fu Wan Chocolate - 62% Taiwan Tieguanyin Tea Chocolate (bar) - Sept. 6, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Fu Wan Chocolate
62% Taiwan Tieguanyin Tea Chocolate (bar)
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.59 oz. (45 g.) in total bar
Calories: 284 calories (per label) in 1 bar
Cost: $16.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's 62% Taiwan Tieguanyin Chocolate (bar) was from Fu Wan Chocolate (Formosa (Taiwan)). The tea used in this bar is a rolled oolong made with a Tieguanyin cultivar from Fujian, China. (Many Taiwan residents came from this area in southeast China across the Taiwan Strait, which helps explain the tea's popularity in Taiwan.)

This bar was made from a blend of (Trinitario) cacao sources. (Fu Wan does use cacao grown in Taiwan, and some from other locations. The exact cacao origin(s) were not found on labeling (or at least that I could read/translate). 

The cacao added a richness in flavor and fat (cocoa butter) to the tea experience, and yet was mild enough that the cacao and sugar helped highlight the fruit notes and complemented the tea notes.

My tasting notes are below: 

Aroma: dried fruit (goji berry), guava

Flavor: dried goji berry, black oolong tea, guava and very subtle warm herbal (naturally sweet fennel, allspice, clove) and refreshing green (faint green tea, mint) notes. This bar was well balanced, with an appealing tea flavor and a mild tannic tea astringency.

Today's offering was another elegant medium-dark chocolate bar with fruit and oolong tea notes from Fu Wan Chocolate. The company's choice of a 62% cacao chocolate base (dark, but not too dark) allowed the subtle tea flavors to shine through. 

Maker's tasting notes read as follows: "Bayleaf, fennel seed, clove, mint, guava, orchid"

Ingredients: Cacao bean(s), cane sugar, cacao butter, Tieguanyin tea.

Fu Wan Chocolate - 62% Taiwan Red Jade Tea Chocolate (bar) - Aug. 5, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Fu Wan Chocolate
62% Taiwan Red Jade Tea Chocolate (bar)
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.59 oz. (45 g.) in total bar
Calories: 283 calories (per label) in 1 bar
Cost: $16.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's 62% Taiwan Red Tea Chocolate (bar) was from Fu Wan Chocolate (Formosa (Taiwan)). The tea used in this bar is a hybrid black tea developed in Taiwan that has red branches (and color), thus the name.

This bar was made from a blend of (Trinitario) cacao sources. (Fu Wan does use cacao grown in Taiwan, and some from other locations.)

My tasting notes are below: 

Aroma: dried fruit (goji berry)

Flavor: dried goji berry, delicate black oolong tea with rose petal and very subtle herbal/warm spice (star anise) notes. Well balanced, lightly layered flavor complexity. There was a faint, nicely balanced, tannic tea astringency in the finish, and perhaps a ghost of red raspberry leaf.

Please do to sit down with this chocolate and savor slowly, as one would a cup of of high quality tea. Elegant floral fruit tea notes from this blend of dark chocolate and Taiwan Red Jade Tea. The choice of a 62% cacao chocolate base (dark, but not too dark) allowed the subtle tea flavors to shine through, and yet it was not too sweet (thank you).

Maker's tasting notes read as follows: "Bayleaf, bergamot, cinnamon, star anise"

Ingredients: Cacao bean(s), cane sugar, cacao butter, Red Jade tea.