Theo and Philo - Chocolate Mango - Sept. 22, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Theo and Philo Artisan Chocolates

Chocolate Mango

Good ++ 

Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 3.18 oz. (90 g.) in total package

Calories: 132 calories in 1 serving

Cost: $13.00 for 1 package

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's attractively packaged Chocolate Mango offering was made by Theo and Philo (Manila, Philippines).

Aroma notes for these pieces included: milk chocolate integrated with fresh, naturally sweet mango* and other fruit accents (red apple, lemon).

Chewy sweet mango strips were surrounded by a thin layer of chocolate. The generously-sized pieces of authentic, bright and sunny, tart-sweet, dried mango were the stars of the show. However, the chocolate added rich, smooth texture and taste to this fruity confection. 

Yes, this was sweet. (I enjoyed eating two pieces. Two was enough to satisfy.) The ingredients were high-quality, and the flavors were appealing, complementary and well executed--saving this chocolate and mango blend from tasting like pure sugar.

Ingredients: Dried yellow mangoes (mangoes, sugar), milk chocolate (sugar, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, cocoa mass).

Allergen-related information: Contains milk ingredients. May contain traces of nuts.

*I don't know if the fruit in today's offering was a strain of Carabao mango--also known as the Philippine mango or Manila mango--or not. These yellow mangos from/grown in the Philippines are internationally known for their sweet flavor and relatively tender texture.

Carabao relatives include some mangos in Mexico, that resulted from Spanish Manila galleon (ship) trade between Mexico (Acapulco) and the Philippines (Manila) centuries ago. This same trade route enabled cacao to arrive in the Philippines in the 1600s. So the foundation for today's mango and chocolate blend was created almost 400 years ago.

Nassau Candy - "Inventive" Milk Chocolate Bar with Popping Candy + Fresh Mango - Sept. 21, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Nassau Candy 
"Inventive" Milk Chocolate Bar with Popping Candy

Good +
Weight .875 oz. (24.5 g.) / 1.75 oz. (49 g.) in total bar

Calories: 130 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $4.99 (estimate) for 1 bar

Purchased from: California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Mango Theme Week.

Today's "Inventive" Milk Chocolate Bar with Popping Candy was from Amuse Mints, a division of Nassau Candy (Hicksville, NY).

Aroma and flavor notes for this bar included sweet milk chocolate (cocoa, fudge, ganache). Smooth chocolate was punctuated with snaps and amusing crackles from embedded popping candy. 

I paired this sparkling chocolate bar with slices of delicious fresh, sweet Keitt Mango. 

Ingredients: Milk Chocolate: (sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate liquor, whole milk powder, soy lecithin [emulsifier], vanilla extract); Pop Candy: (sugar, lactose [milk], dried corn syrup, process (sic) with carbon dioxide for popping effect). 

Allergen-related information: Contains: milk, soy. May contain: peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, eggs, sesame.

Spinnaker Chocolate - 70% Madagascar with Sea Salt (bar) - Sept. 20, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Spinnaker Chocolate
70% Madagascar with Sea Salt (bar)
Good +-Good++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 120 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Spinnaker Chocolate, online order 

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

Today's 70% Madagascar with Sea Salt (bar) was made from bean-to-bar by Spinnaker Chocolate (Seattle, WA).

Aroma notes for this bar included: faint fruit (mango, tropical fruit, fruitcake), chocolate (dark chocolate ganache); sweet, subtle, honey-ed floral; and diffuse light fruit (dried melon, jackfruit, mild tangerine, dried cacao fruit/pulp). In a re-tasting (several hours later), I experienced peach-mango fruit aroma notes.

This well-tempered chocolate had a smooth, relatively slow melt (at room temperature), allowing bright fruit flavors to unfold. Tiny flakes of sea salt added a bit of texture, and an additional dimension of flavor.

Flavor notes included rich cocoa, followed by a rapid blooming of a bouquet of tart-sweet fruits (sour cherry, jackfruit (pineapple, mango), sweet citrus, tart-sweet red and dark berry, other), and sparkles of sea salt. Fruit flavors played the starring role, and these bright notes leveled off after about 10 seconds and lingered into the finish. 

After about a minute (after swallowing this chocolate) there were two fleeting, barely-there chocolate notes (very faint, balanced earth and warm spice)--revealed after the fruit flavors had receded. (After the bar had been opened for several hours, the tart-sweet fruit notes mellowed a little.)

This well-executed, 70% Madagascar dark chocolate bar--like the Spinnaker 70% Dark Madagascar and 58% Dark Milk Madagascar bars reviewed earlier this week--offered a bright and fruit-forward rocket ride with no off notes. 

The addition of sea salt was interesting. I love trying umami adds and salt(s) with chocolates, especially if there are nuts or nutty notes involved. And this was high-quality sea salt.

However, in today's case, adding salt felt like salting an exotic fruit salad or fruit juice. The delicate sea salt flakes helped balance the naturally tart-sweetness; but I also wanted to taste all the very unique and prominent Madagascar cacao fruit notes in this bar without other elements competing for my attention.

Maker's tasting notes: "The always delicious Madagascar beans paired with Jacobsen Salt Co.'s Pure Flake Finishing Salt. My oh my."

Ingredients: Cacao, Organic cane sugar, sea salt flakes

Allergen-related information: "Processed in a facility that uses milk powder and nuts."

Spinnaker Chocolate - 58% Madagascar Dark Milk (bar) - Sept. 19, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Spinnaker Chocolate
58% Madagascar Dark Milk (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Spinnaker Chocolate, online order 

"Tonga soa" (welcome) to Day #7 of Chocolate and Madagascar Theme Week.

Today's 58% Madagascar Dark Milk (bar) was made by Spinnaker Chocolate (Seattle, WA).

Aroma notes for this bar included: butterscotch fruit pie; light and bright, fruity caramel; and buttered cocoa.

This chocolate had a smooth, relatively slow, creamy melt (at room temperature), allowing a bevy of bright buttery, fruity chocolate flavors to unfold.

Flavor notes included rich cocoa with a generous pat of butter, followed by a subtle blooming of tart-sweet fruits (red berry (strawberry), red currant, jackfruit (pineapple,mango, and faint sweet banana), sweet citrus (sweet, ripe tangerine), and then a warm uptick with more sweet berries--ripe red to ripe to sweet ripe blackberries--that gradually leveled off and lingered into the finish). The fruit notes were muted a bit by the milk, but were still detectable.

As with yesterday's 70% Madagascar bar (also from Spinnaker Chocolate), there were enjoyable fruit flavors. And, a few minutes later (after swallowing a few bites), there were two fleeting, barely-there chocolate notes (subtle warm spice and faint, balanced earth). And was with its 70% sibling, later in the day, after the bar had been opened for several hours, the bright tart-sweet fruit elements mellowed a little.

This 58% Dark Milk Madagascar release was a lovely rich and flavorful chocolate, offering a blend of creamy, buttery dairy with bright and fruits, and no off notes. This 58%er (along with yesterday's fruity 70% pleasure trip) would be nice adds to a chocolate tasting flight. Both bars illustrate just how much inherent flavor can be expressed with just a few ingredients.

Maker's tasting notes: "...elegant, malted caramel flavor malted milk and caramel flavor"

Ingredients: Cacao, Organic cane sugar, dried milk, cocoa butter. 

Allergen-related information: "Contains milk. Store in a cool, dry place." "Processed in a facility that uses milk powder and nuts."

Spinnaker Chocolate - 70% Madagascar (bar) - Sept. 18, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Spinnaker Chocolate
70% Madagascar (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 120 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Spinnaker Chocolate, online order 

"Tonga soa" (welcome) to Day #6 of Chocolate and Madagascar Theme Week.

Today's 70% Madagascar (bar) was made by Spinnaker Chocolate (Seattle, WA).

Aroma notes for this bar included: chocolate (ganache); sweet, subtle, honey-ed floral; and diffuse light fruit (dried melon, jackfruit, mild tangerine, dried cacao fruit/pulp). In a re-tasting (several hours later), I experienced peach-mango fruit aroma notes.

This well-tempered chocolate had a smooth, relatively slow melt (at room temperature), allowing a rainbow of bright fruit flavors to unfold.

Flavor notes included rich cocoa, followed by a rapid blooming of a bouquet of tart-sweet fruits (sour cherry, jackfruit (pineapple, mango), sweet citrus, tart-sweet red and dark berry, other), that leveled off after about 10 seconds and lingered into the finish. 

After about a minute (long after swallowing this chocolate) there were two fleeting, barely-there chocolate (very faint, balanced earth and warm spice) notes--revealed after the fruit flavors had receded. (Later in the day, after the bar had been opened for several hours, the fruit "punch" had mellowed just a little.)

This well-executed, 70% Madagascar dark chocolate bar offered a bright and fruit-forward rocket ride with no off notes. This would be fun to add to a chocolate tasting flight to illustrate naturally occurring fruit notes in a two-ingredient chocolate bar.

Maker's tasting notes: "Madagascar beans are famous for being full of bright, cherry notes. This bar packs a fruity punch."

Ingredients: Cacao, Organic cane sugar

Allergen-related information: "Processed in a facility that uses milk powder and nuts."

White Label Chocolate - Madagascar Bejofo Estate 68% (bar) - Sept. 17, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

White Label Chocolate 

Madagascar Bejofo Estate 68% (bar)

Good + - Good ++

Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar

Calories: 178 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar

Cost: $10.00 (estimate) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Mutari Chocolate, Santa Cruz, CA

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

I bought today's Madagascar Bejofo Estate 68% (bar) from bean-to-bar maker Mutari Chocolate shortly before they were forced to close their retail location in Santa Cruz, CA, and to move due to a multi-block urban renovation project. In this shop they offered bars, confections and drinking chocolates. (I am hoping they find a new retail space close-by soon.)

The Akesson Plantation, Bejofo Estate--located in the Sambirano Valley region in northwest Madagascar--produces Trinitario and Criollo varieties of cacao. 

Aroma notes for this bar included: very subtle, caramel, cocoa, and softly tart-sweet fruit (red berry, faint tangerine).

This bar had an even melt and smooth texture.

The flavor notes mirrored the aroma notes mentioned above (relatively smooth but subtly nuanced chocolate (cocoa), red fruit, and mild and sweet citrus). (Later re-tasting also yielded very mild and faint cream and malt notes along with more subdued red fruit.)

Toward the finish, I got a hint of red fruit jam with a dab of cream cheese on a lightly salted cracker among the chocolate notes. I experienced the rich flavor of fruit jam(s), yet, the chocolate was not too sugary sweet. (A welcome experience, particularly for a sub-70% cacao chocolate bar.)

Maker's tasting notes: Cocoa, raspberry, juicy citrus

Ingredients: Cacao bean, organic sugar, organic cocoa butter

Allergen-related information: (None found on packaging.)

Kaitxo - Madagascar Sambirano Valley 89% - Sept. 16, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Kaitxo
Txoko - Madagascar Sambirano Valley 89% Dark (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.2 oz. (35 g.) / 2.4 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order 

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

Today's Txoko Madagascar Valle del Sambirano (Sambirano Valley) 89% dark chocolate (bar) was produced by Kaitxo (Balmaseda, Spain).

The company offers specialty coffees and chocolates. This bar was made from cacao grown in the Sambirano Valley area of the island nation of Madagascar, off the east coast of Africa.

Aroma notes for this bean-to-bar Madagascar chocolate included: dark chocolate (dark deep chocolate), and dark dried fruit (prune, raisin, fig, and faint apricot).

The chocolate had an even melt and texture.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate (ultra-dark, almost unsweetened, chocolate brownie); slightly muted dried fruits (prune, raisin, faint apricot); faint earthy forest. A bit later: green (tea); very faint accent flavors of fine leather and tobacco; and very faint (partly imagined) warmed by-the-fire, tea with invisible spices.

Cacao varieties used to make this 3-ingredient chocolate included: Trinitario, Forastero and Criollo. Initially I tasted more Trinitario and Forastero varieties than I did Criollo. But, the very faint presence of bright but subtle stone fruit and some of the other lighter, top notes that surfaced later were akin to Criollo variety cacao.

The resulting chocolate flavors were well balanced and blended, and offered a surprising range of bolder chocolate and darker (almost roasted), relatively acidic fruit notes (think the caramelized edge of a well-done fruit cake that wasn't too sweet). 

The initial fruit acidity mellowed considerably after the sealed inner wrapper of this bar had been open for an hour or so to reveal more subtle notes. Do take your time with this bar and enjoy the skillful and subtle layering of flavors. 

One last observation: today's Madagascar bar (and yesterday's lower percentage sibling from the same maker) were judiciously sweetened with beet(root) sugar. This presented a very rare  opportunity to evaluate what beet sugar tasted like with fine chocolate. 

Most chocolate makers use (processed/refined) cane sugar "to avoid adding any flavor" to their chocolates. Less processed sugars (e.g. coconut palm sugar, brown sugar, honey, maple sugar and some beet sugars) retain more of their unique taste/properties, for better or worse.

 The subtle beetroot flavor used in this week's Kaitxo chocolate bars seemed to be a relatively good and interesting match with the single origin Sambirano Valley* cacao varieties. One more tiny overlay of barely detectable flavor in what was already the dance of the seven flavor veils. 

Maker's tasting notes: spices, red fruits and tobacco

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, (beetroot) sugar, cacao butter

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

*Surrounded by water, the large island nation of Madagascar has a warm, relatively moderate climate with rich volcanic soils in several areas. The northern part of the country (closer to the Equator) is well-suited for growing cacao. And the Sambirano Valley, located in northwest Madagascar not far from the coast, is known for its fine cacao.