Firetree Chocolate - Philippines Mindanao Island 73% Cocoa (bar) - May 7, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Firetree Chocolate Limited
Single Estate Philippines Mindanao Island 73% Cocoa (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.145 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.29 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 178.4 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and the Philippines Theme Week.

Today's Single Estate Philippines Mindanao Island 73% Cocoa (bar) was from Firetree Chocolate Limited (Peterborough, UK). 

The company highlights cacao grown on Pacific island nations with rich (volcanic) soils, and offers a line of "rich volcanic chocolates." Their attractive packaging features the fiery and dark palette of lava colors.

Aroma notes for today's 73% Single Estate dark chocolate included: dark chocolate; sweet green (botanical/floral); faint brown sugar; and faint, diffuse, dried fruit (dried peach, fig, and a few drops of rum). (There were no alcohol ingredients in this chocolate.)

Flavor notes included: rich, deep, chocolate-y flavor (ultra-dark chocolate brownie w/ cocoa nibs); faint spiced rum-soaked fruit (fig, stone fruit (plum), dark cherry, orange); and faint brown sugar. The "fruit" acidity had a mellow quality--an almost smokey, whiskey barrel aged cacao taste, but not quite. (Again this chocolate did not contain alcohol.)

All but one or two of the Philippine cacao chocolates featured recently have been 70% cacao or higher. The flavors seemed naturally sweet and less dark and dense, allowing for darker percentage bars -- i.e. a 74% chocolate might taste more like a 70% chocolate.  

Flavors were balanced and harmonious in this very tasty, sophisticated dark chocolate.

Maker's tasting notes: Cocoa, Honey, Caramel

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, unrefined sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier: sunflower lecithin.

Allergen-related information: "The product is made in a no nut factory. Dairy free."

White Label - Philippines Kablon Farms 74% (bar) - May 6, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

White Label
Philippines Kablon Farms 74% (bar)
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: $ Missing information
Purchased from: Mutari Chocolate, Santa Cruz, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and the Philippines Theme Week.

Today's Philippines Kablon Farms 74% (bar) was from White Label Chocolate (Santa Cruz, CA*). 

The chocolate maker used (Trinitario variety) cacao from Kablon Farms to make this three-ingredient dark chocolate.

Aroma notes for today's 74% cacao chocolate included: rich, deep chocolate (drinking chocolate, chocolate malt) and subtle brown sugar.

The chocolate flavors were balanced with faint, fleeting herbal; bright, diffuse, natural (fruit, light spice, brown sugar) sweetness; and last but certainly not least, satisfying true chocolate (rich hot chocolate, chocolate malt) notes--that extended into the finish.

Maker's tasting notes: "Deep rich chocolate, brown sugar, slightly nutty"

Ingredients: "Cacao Bean, Organic Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter"

Allergen-related information: (No information listed on packaging.)

*The previous Santa Cruz, CA, retail location has changed. The company is currently manufacturing chocolate in Watsonville, CA. 

Auro Chocolate - 64% Dark Chocolate (bar) - May 5, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Auro Chocolate
64% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good + 
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 168 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and the Philippines Theme Week.

Today's 64% Dark Chocolate bar was from Auro Chocolate (Calamba City, Laguna, Philippines). 

The company produces tree-to-bar chocolate using cacao grown in the Philippines. Today's bar was made with cacao sourced from farmers in the forests of Davao.

Aroma notes for this 64% cacao chocolate included: chocolate (roasted, slightly smoky cacao, ganache), molasses and faint spice, and very faint, fleeting umami (savory -- think faint mushroom soup and cheese -- which, to be fair, may have wafted in from a nearby restaurant(s).

Flavor notes included: rich and sweet drinking chocolate (with faint fermented cacao and very faint fleeting earth). 

This chocolate had flavor depth and complexity, and was reasonably well balanced. It had the expected amount of (relatively bright fruit/sugar) sweetness--a level I'd expect to find in a 64% cacao dark chocolate. This sweetness was tempered by the breadth of naturally occurring chocolate flavors.

Maker's tasting notes: "...64% dark chocolate accented with notes of raisins and berries." 

Ingredients: Cacao mass, cane sugar, cacao butter, soy lecithin (emulsifier)

Allergen-related information: Contains soy. "This product is manufactured in a facility that processes other products which may contain milk, tree nuts and peanuts."

Auro Chocolate - Saloy Single Estate 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) - May 4, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Auro Chocolate
Saloy Single Estate 70% Dark Chocolate Philippine Origin (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 168 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 the Philippines Theme Week.

Today's Saloy Single Estate 70% Dark Chocolate Philippine Origin bar was produced by Auro Chocolate (Calamba City, Laguna, Philippines). The company offers tree-to-bar chocolates made from cacao grown in the Philippines. 

Aroma notes for today's 70% cacao chocolate included: cocoa, dried fruits (honeyed fig, faint fleeting apricot and faint date), faint (mild) sweet green, almost undetectable aromatic (fruit, spice) tobacco, and brown sugar. 

Flavors included true dark chocolate (cocoa, ganache) and most of the aroma notes (listed above)--as well a touch of diffuse, tart-sweet fruit (faint cherry, light sweet citrus), and brown sugar.

Flavors were pleasantly complex, and relatively smooth. There was a very slight fruit acid and astringency, but it was quite smooth.

Maker's tasting notes: "Located between tropical mountain forests, Saloy (estate) has fresh spring water flowing through the lush farms, giving its chocolate very dynamic notes of herbs, bergamot (and) cherries." 

Ingredients: Cacao mass, organic muscovado sugar, cacao butter

Allergen-related information: "This product is manufactured in a facility that processes other products which may contain oats, milk, soy, tree nuts, and peanuts."

 

Ethereal Chocolate - Organic Philippines 70% Cacao (bar) - May 3, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Ethereal Confections
Organic Philippines 70% Cacao (bar)
Good+ - Good ++
Weight: 1.125 oz. (32 g.) / 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in total bar
Calories: 166.5 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Ethereal Confections, online order

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and the Philippines Theme Week.

Today's Organic Philippines 70% Cacao craft chocolate bar was made from bean-to-bar by Ethereal Confections (Woodstock, IL).

Subtly complex aroma notes for this dark chocolate included: dark chocolate, dark/dried fruits, very faint tart sweet green herb (oxalis), and very faint spice (vanilla spice cookie).

This bar had a hearty, stone-ground texture with a smooth, buttery melt and had a slight astringency.

The chocolate flavor notes for this two-ingredient chocolate included: pleasant, chocolate-y, warm cocoa (drinking chocolate) and diffuse fruit (fleeting, attractive stone fruit (apricot)). 

The flavors were likable and balanced. It was sweet, without being overly so and was relatively low in bitterness. I enjoyed the subtle complexity (fruit) and warm chocolate-y taste. There were no off notes. The texture was a bit granular, but within the range of what stone-ground chocolates taste like.

Maker's tasting notes: Single origin dark chocolate with tasting notes of deep chocolate fudge and malt.

Ingredients: Organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar. 

Allergen-related information: Made on shared equipment with peanuts and tree nuts.

Auro Chocolate - Saloy Single Estate 100% Dark Chocolate (Philippines) - May 2, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Auro Chocolate
Saloy Single Estate Philippines 100% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and the Philippines Theme Week.

Today's Saloy Single Estate 100% Dark Chocolate bar was produced by Auro Chocolate (Calamba City, Laguna, Philippines). 

The company produces tree-to-bar chocolate from cacao grown in the Philippines. Today's bar was made with cacao sourced from farmers in the forests of Davao ?

One way to support cacao farmers (and great chocolate) is to buy single origin/estate chocolate, like today's bar-- where direct sourcing has taken place, and farmers are typically paid above commodity market prices. 

Aroma notes for this Philippine origin dark chocolate included: diffuse but dark, dried fruit, faint green fruit (fleeting honeydew melon and kiwi), earth, herbs, deep, dense cacao, and very slightly sweet, "clean" mineral water.

This ultra-dark chocolate had a slow, even melt and firm, buttery texture (in a cool room).

The flavor unsweetened, buttery (muted, balanced) cacao flavor with a mellow depth--a slight but balanced, buttery slightly bitter-sour (buttered bread and stout) taste, followed by a lightly lingering finish.

Maker's tasting notes: "Located between tropical mountain forests, Saloy (estate) has fresh spring water flowing through the lush farms, giving its chocolate very dynamic notes of herbs, bergamot (and) cherries." 

Ingredients: Cacao mass

Allergen-related information: "This product is manufactured in a facility that processes other products which may contain milk, soy, tree nuts and peanuts."

 

Triangle Roasters - Philippines 70% Malah Na Bulong (bar) - May 1, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Triangle Roasters
Philippines 70% Malah Na Bulong (bar) 
Good ++
Weight: .85 oz. (24 g.) / 1.7 oz. (48 g.) in total bar
Calories: 132 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.00 (sale) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and the Philippines Theme Week.

Today's Philippines 70% Malah Na Bulong* craft chocolate bar was from Triangle Roasters (Philadelphia, PA). 

Roasting cacao is an important step in flavor development when you're making bean to bar chocolate. And, as their name implies, Triangle Roasters have considerable experience in coffee and cacao roasting.

Aroma notes included: cocoa, dried fruit (honeyed fig, dried stone fruit), faint sweet green and caramel, and even fainter molasses spice and fleeting roasted coffee (caramel mocha latte).

The texture was smooth, with a very faint fruit astringency.

Relatively gentle and complex flavors included: cocoa (leans toward Criollo/heritage cacao varieties), brown (dried) stone fruit and fig fruit flavors, a bit of red grape fruit acidity, and a pleasing, faint caramel cookie sweetness that extended into the finish. 

The complexity offered some depth and helped balance the sugar and natural, fruit sweetness. Without the complexity this bright, 70% dark chocolate may have tasted too sweet.

Maker's tasting notes: "hot cocoa, marshmallow, caramel"

Ingredients: Organic cacao, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter

Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility with nuts, dairy and wheat."

*"Malah Na Bulong is a bio diversified sustainable farm in South Cotabato, Davao, Philippines."