Ritual Chocolate - Ecuador Camino Verde 85% Cacao (bar) - July 1, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Ritual Chocolate
Ecuador Camino Verde 85% Cacao (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.95 for 1 bar (+ shipping)
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's Ecuador Camino Verde 85% Cacao (bar) was from Ritual Chocolate (Park City, UT).

Aroma notes that unfolded sequentially included: bread, light warm spice (cinnamon), fruit (light raisin, peach), dark chocolate (fudge brownie).

Like many ultra-dark bars, be ready to brace yourself before tasting. The flavor was different (darker) than the aroma.

This 85% bar had deep, almost unsweetened, dark chocolate flavor with hints of moldy bread/cheese, dark chocolate (unsweetened brownie), faint herb (licorice), a fleeting sour milk and fruit note (unsweetened tart cherry and orange peel in plain yogurt) and a faint charcoal roasted note.

These slightly funky bean flavors were more common in craft chocolate bars years ago. Now it's more unusual to taste them. But, as with all chocolates (and some red wines) leave them open for awhile and re-taste, and some of these flavors settle down a little.

This chocolate mellowed a bit. A long finish yielded a very faint nutty, buttery aged cheese (fontina, gouda) note--a few minutes after the first bites. 

And re-tasting this bar a few minutes later, was more pleasing (or less surprising perhaps). In fact, I plan to pair this chocolate with cheese or perhaps stir in an ounce (28 g.) or so into a cheese fondue. (If you can't "fix" it, feature it.)

Some of these flavor notes mentioned above can be traced back to fermentation of cacao that happened in Ecuador. These notes will be interesting and educational for cacao addicts and culinary adventurers, but may not be the preferred choice for those who enjoy light, uniform, sweet chocolates.

These interesting flavor notes were more exposed with lower sugar levels, which is to say that added sugar can dull/neutralize stronger flavors. With two-ingredient chocolates, like today's bar, chocolate makers make daring leaps; there is nothing to hide behind. And I am grateful to all craft makers who share the results with us.

The cacao (2019 harvest) used to make this bar (Batch 03) came from Camino Verde, Ecuador, not far from the city of Guayaquil on the Pacific coast. "Made with cacao that is carefully fermented and dried by Vicente Norero of Camino Verde in Ecuador. Vicente's unique fermentation techniques, along with Nacional cacao from a multitude of growers, give this chocolate its distinguishable, rich, chocolatey flavor."

The maker's tasting notes read: "Honey and fudge" 

Ingredients: Cacao, Organic cane sugar

Allergen-related information: May contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat.

Puchero - 55% Ecuador Finca Garyth (bar) - June 30, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Puchero 
55% Ecuador Finca Garyth (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order 

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

Today's Puchero* 55% Ecuador Finca Garyth (bar) was made from bean-to-bar in Valladolid, Spain. 

This relatively sweet (55%), dark chocolate had a subtle, yet complex, shifting aroma notes that included: balanced faint, fleeting green (ranging from sour grass/oxalis/sorrel to a very brief green latex), dark chocolate (light fudge brownie, cake), faint fleeting light leather and licorice, and caramel cashew cookie notes.

The bar had a smooth melt and texture with a very faint green fruit stringency toward the end.

The chocolate had a relatively mild taste, but with a fair amount of enjoyable complexity. Flavor notes included: chocolate (cake, fudge brownie), sweet, slightly tart fruit (golden raisin, green plum, light kumquat), very faint spice (licorice), chocolate malt, and nut (cashew, jaguar cacao seed) and faint green (sour grass/oxalis/sorrel).

The maker's tasting notes read: "This mild chocolate with nutty notes is made with (100% Arriba Nacional) cacao grown by the Cedeno Aguilar family in northwest Ecuador."

Ingredients: "Cacao (55% minimum), sugar, cocoa butter."

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of nuts, milk and gluten."

*Puchero focuses on roasting and making high-quality, specialty coffees and chocolates from select origins, in Valladolid, a city in the autonomous community of Castile-Leon, in northwest Spain. (The Puchero brand is part of/produced by Tostarix, S.L.)

D. Barbero - Dark Milk (Ecuador cacao) 45% bar - June 29, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

D. Barbero 
Dark Milk (Ecuador cacao) 45% bar
Good +
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 227.2 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Mollie Stone's Markets, Sausalito, CA

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

Today's Dark Milk chocolate with Ecuador cacao 45% bar was from D. Barbero / Barbero Davide S.r.l. (Asti, Italy).

This smooth, sweet milk chocolate bar had notes of caramel, toffee, chocolate cake, cookie, and cinnamon sugar sprinkled buttered toast with hot cocoa with vanilla.

Ingredients: "Sugar, cocoa butter, Ecuador cocoa poste 20%, whole dried milk, cocoa paste, emulsifier: soya lecithin, natural vanilla flavour. Minimum cocoa 45%."

Allergen-related information: "Gluten free" and contained milk and soy (soy lecithin).

 

Askinosie Chocolate - Dark Chocolate + Red Raspberry (American Spoon) - June 28, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Askinosie Chocolate
Dark Chocolate + Red Raspberry (American Spoon)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Askinosie.com, online order

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

Today's Dark Chocolate + Red Raspberry CollaBARation bar from Askinosie Chocolate (Springfield, MO). It was a collaboration between Askinosie Chocolate and award-winning fruit preserve and condiment maker, American Spoon Foods (Petoskey, MI). 

Aroma notes in this chocolate included: authentic, ripe, sweet-tart red raspberries, chocolate/cocoa, and nutty (peanut butter) notes.

The melt and texture were smooth and uniform (with no raspberry seeds/seedy grit).

This well-executed bar was a successful fusion of 54% cacao dark chocolate (with balanced, faint earth flavor) and fresh-tasting, sweet red raspberry jam. 

This authentic-tasting confection was a bit sweet for me. However, it would be lovely as a dessert plate or ganache ingredient; and it will please those with a sweet tooth who love high-end, bright and flavorful chocolates.

The cacao used to make this dark bar was from the Del Tambo area in the central highlands of Ecuador.

Maker's tasting notes included the following: "...delicately sweet and fruity--like biting into a juicy chocolate-covered raspberry."

Ingredients: Del Tambo, Ecuador cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, cocoa butter ("made in our own facility with Del Tambo beans"), Organic Turbinado sugar, organic raspberries. 

Allergen-related information: "Processed in a facility that also processes milk, peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat."

 

Askinosie Chocolate - San Jose Del Tambo, Ecuador 70% Dark Chocolate + Cocoa Nibs (bar) - June 27, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Askinosie Chocolate
San Jose Del Tambo, Ecuador 70% Dark Chocolate + Cocoa Nibs (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 240 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Askinosie.com, online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's San Jose Del Tambo, Ecuador 70% Dark Chocolate + Cocoa Nibs (bar) was from Askinosie Chocolate (Springfield, MO).

Askinosie founder and CEO, Shawn Askinosie, continues to make great chocolate. Faces of cacao farmers are displayed on the company's brown paper outer wrappers. A simple, effective way to show understanding and respect for cacao origins.

I've never had an Askinosie bar I didn't like; and I've been featuring their chocolates since 2007 here on Chocolate Banquet.

Fortunately for us, after spending 20 years as a criminal defense attorney, Mr. Askinosie turned to chocolate making. 

The aroma of today's bar evoked: concentrated, sweet fermented, dried fruit (fig, date), light spice, sweet green shading into rich dark chocolate (fudge brownie, drinking chocolate/hot chocolate) notes.

The flavor notes included a sweet cola nut/drink, faint brown sugar, rich, concentrated dark chocolate (brownie, roasted cacao nibs), light woody nut (hazelnut, pecan), and a beautiful, fleeting floral note from this cacao/nibs.

Speaking of nibs...The back of this bar was jam-packed with high-quality, crunchy cacao nibs. Only a few precious crunchy cacao seed (bean) pieces rattled onto the dinner plate I'd put underneath to catch any strays. Most of the nibs were well anchored. 

The complex cacao flavors these nibs contributed was wonderful; there were no off flavors or funky bits.* And, best of all, they added extra cacao flavor depth without any sugar, giving the chocolate a "darker" flavor/feel than most 70% cacao chocolate bars. 

The cacao used to make this bar was grown in the San Jose Del Tambo region, in Bolivar province in the highlands of central Ecuador. (Ecuador is divided into 24 provinces.)

Ingredients: "Del Tambo Ecuador cocoa beans (Arriba Nacional), Organic cane sugar, roasted cocoa nibs, cocoa butter (made in our factory with Del Tambo beans)."

Allergen-related information: "Processed in a facility that also processes milk, peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat." 

*The overall quality of cacao nibs has improved over the last few decades. A decade ago, it was not unusual to find a few nibs that were either rock hard, stale, over- or under-roasted, or a bit funky or moldy in some craft chocolate offerings. Better bean/nib sorting and quality control, higher expectations, greater experience, and availability of good bean sources seem to have solved most of these issues.

Askinosie Chocolate - The Zeke Bar - 76% Chinchipe Ecuador (bar) - June 26, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Askinosie Chocolate
The Zeke Bar - 76% Chinchipe, Ecuador Dark Chocolate (bar) 
Good ++ 
Weight: 2 oz. (56.6 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 340 calories in 2/3 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Askinosie.com, online order

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

Today's "The Zeke Bar" 76% Chinchipe, Ecuador dark chocolate (bar) was from Askinosie Chocolate (Springfield, MO).

Aroma: dark chocolate (fudge brownie), roasted coffee and faint green (orchid) notes.

The melt and texture were thick and smooth.

The flavor notes were very similar to the aroma and included dark chocolate (fudge brownie), and light roasted coffee and green notes. Well-executed, hearty, satisfying dark chocolate flavor. 

The smooth boldness was almost surprising for the cocoa variety listed (Criollo)--that is often thought to be limited to shy and delicate flavors.

"The Zeke Bar" origins

Askinosie founder and CEO, Shawn Askinosie, explained the bar's origin this way: "We partnered with Zeke Emanuel, chocolate aficionado and healthcare policy expert (and guest chocolate maker), to create this dynamic limited edition criollo chocolate bar." (The cocoa farmer was a 70-year old woman named Leonor.)

Askinosie founder and CEO, Shawn Askinosie, has been doing business with farmers in countries of origin (including Ecuador) for many years. Images of these cacao farmers on packaging and mentions of farmer(s) by name have been the rule, not the exception.

The cacao used to make this bar was grown in southeastern Ecuador.

Ingredients: Chinchipe (Ecuador) cocoa beans (Criollo), cocoa butter (made in our factory with single origin cocoa beans), Organic cane sugar, Organic Sucanat cane sugar.

Allergen-related information: "Processed in a facility that also processes milk, peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat." 

 

Askinosie Chocolate - Super Dark Blend Tanzania + Ecuador 88% (bar) - June 24, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Askinosie Chocolate
Super Dark Blend - Tanzania + Ecuador 88% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 2 oz. (56.6 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 333 calories in 2/3 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Askinosie.com, online order

Bienvenidos (welcome) to the first day of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's Super Dark Blend Tanzania + Ecuador 88% dark chocolate (bar) was made by Askinosie Chocolate (Springfield, MO).

The aroma of this 88% marriage of two bold cacaos had true chocolate (faintly savory, fudge brownie), light spice (molasses, star anise, cinnamon), light, fleeting well-balanced green, and faint leather and vanilla-tobacco notes--flavors that were all present throughout the tasting experience as well, along with deep, fudge-y, satisfying dark chocolate flavor.

This flavorful ultra-dark bar might make a good pairing with a whiskey, or the basis for brassy brownies with cocoa nibs. 

Askinosie founder and CEO, Shawn Askinosie, featured the farmers in Tanzania and Ecuador (on the bar's packaging) and expressed gratitude to them for making this blend possible.

Ingredients: Mababu, Tanzania cocoa beans (Trinitario); Del Tambo, Ecuador cocoa beans (Arriba Nacional); Organic Sucanat cane sugar; cocoa butter (made in the Askinosie factory with Mababu beans); Organic vanilla bean.

Allergen-related information: "Processed in a facility that also processes milk, peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat."