U. Chocolate Corp. - "Ginger Experience" 72% Organic Tree-to-Bar Dark (bar) - Jan. 7, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

U. Chocolate Corp.
"Ginger Experience" 72% Organic Tree-to-Bar (bar)
Good ++ 

Weight: 1.58 oz. (45 g.) / 15.8 oz. (450 g.) total variety pack of 5 flavors (10 bars)
Calories: 257 calories in 1 bar

Cost: $29.99 for 1 variety pack of 10 bars (2 each of 5 flavors)
Purchased from: U Chocolate, online order

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

Today's "Ginger Experience" 72% Organic, Premium Tree-to-Bar, Dark Chocolate (bar) from U. Chocolate Corp. (Orlando, FL), and was made in Peru. It was also part of a larger chocolate variety pack (box), and one of five Peruvian cacao bars featured this week.

The cacao used to make U Chocolate bars was crafted at the company's "organic farm in the Amazonia with a selection of...fine aroma cocoa varieties..." This bar was "Grown, Harvested and Crafted with 100% plant-based ingredients by El Mejor Cacao del Mundo S.A.C....at Hacienda Umbelina, in the Peruvian Amazonia.")

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate and spicy, authentic ginger, with very faint green floral (orchid); very faint, diffuse fruit (spiced pear); and faint, rich, dark chocolate gingerbread and/or dark chocolate ginger molasses cookies.

Texture: well-tempered (broke with a snap) and almost creamy smooth.

Flavor notes included: smooth but nuanced dark chocolate and (completely incorporated) ginger, with some faint, slightly green floral/botanical/ginger spice nuances. 

There was a very subtle, balanced, slight bitterness in this ginger + cacao blend that will appeal to some and not to others (those who aren't ginger fans perhaps). I enjoyed the full ginger experience.

What I liked about this attractively packaged 72% dark chocolate: 1.) high-quality blend of single origin dark chocolate and authentic ginger; 2.) part of a variety pack that let one appreciate the range of flavors from Peru and what different cacao varieties have to offer; and 3.) this flavorful (organic, gluten-free) chocolate was made with just three ingredients.

Ingredients: "Cacao and coconut blossom sugar and ginger."

Allergen-related information: "Made Without Major Food Allergen Ingredients" 

  

U. Chocolate Corp. - "Coffee Experience" 78% Organic Dark (bar) - Feb. 6, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

U. Chocolate Corp.
"Coffee Experience" - 78% Organic Tree-to-Bar (bar)
Good + - Good ++ 

Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 15.8 oz. (450 g.) total variety pack of 5 flavors (10 bars)
Calories: 163 calories in 2/3 bar

Cost: $29.99 for 1 variety pack of 10 bars (2 each of 5 flavors)
Purchased from: U Chocolate, online order

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

Today's "Coffee Experience" 78% Organic, Premium Tree-to-Bar, Dark Chocolate (bar) was made in Peru and distributed by U. Chocolate Corp. (Orlando, FL).* This was part of a larger (10-bar) chocolate variety pack that included four other Peruvian (Amazonia) cacao bars featured this week.**

The cacao used to make U Chocolate bars is crafted "at our organic farm in the Amazonia with a selection of our fine aroma cocoa varieties..." ("Grown, Harvested and Crafted with 100% plant-based ingredients by El Mejor Cacao del Mundo S.A.C. in our all-in-one facilities at Hacienda Umbelina, in the Peruvian Amazonia.")

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate (bold, spicy cacao), with initial pepper (green pepper, very faint pickled capers), faint coffee, and aromatic pipe tobacco notes. 

As with all five bars in this Amazonian variety pack, savor these chocolate(s) slowly, and leave freshly opened chocolates out to breathe, and re-taste them later, to enjoy intricate and often mellower and more delicate flavors. Unique (and balanced) vegetal notes (pepper, capers in today's bar) dissipated fairly quickly after opening, allowing other flavors to unfold (coffee, tropical fruit, spice and faint floral notes in today's bar).

Flavor notes included: bold dark and spicy 78% chocolate that was made darker with (fully incorporated) coffee, tobacco (pipe tobacco with very faint, fleeting, floral/inferred vanilla). Lighter flickers of spice (cardamom) and tropical fruit (banana, passion fruit) emerged after the package had been opened for several minutes.

This flavorful, bold chocolate reminded me of a smoky scotch whiskey. That doesn't mean it will automatically pair with a whiskey, but if I were going to investigate possible beverage pairings, I might start there. This would also make for one heckuva mocha. Hang on to your hat. 

What I liked about this attractively packaged 78% dark chocolate: 1.) bold flavors and complexity--that would make for interesting beverage and food pairings; 2.) it was part of a variety pack that contained an authentic and interesting range of single origin cacao flavors from Peru; and tasting all these bars side-by-side offers a unique opportunity to experience cacao varietal flavors; and 3.) this organic, gluten-free chocolate was made with just three ingredients.

Ingredients: "Cacao, coconut blossom sugar and coffee"

Allergen-related information: "Made Without Major Food Allergen Ingredients" 

*The "U" in U Chocolate stands for Ucayali. The company describes the Ucayali as "the river that waters our cacao farm, Hacienda Umbelina, the world's first tree-to-bar farm and factory."

** The U Chocolate Variety Pack included 2 each of five different bars (Aroma Experience, Coffee Experience, Ginger Experience, Intense Experience and Wild Experience). Each of these five "Experiences" contained two individually wrapped/sealed bars). Today's "Coffee Experience" contained two separate bars (each in a sealed inner wrapper). The packaging made it easier to share with others, or save a second bar for later.

 

U. Chocolate Corp - "Aromatic Experience" 72% Organic Tree-to-Bar (bar) - Feb. 5, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

U. Chocolate Corp.
"Aromatic Experience" 72% Organic Tree-to-Bar (bar)
Good ++

Weight: 1.58 oz. (45 g.) / 15.8 oz. (450 g.) total variety pack of 5 flavors (10 bars)
Calories: 260 calories in 1 bar

Cost: $29.99 for 1 variety pack of 10 bars (2 each of 5 flavors)
Purchased from: U Chocolate, online order

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

Today's "Aromatic Experience" 72% Organic, Premium Tree-to-Bar, Dark Chocolate (bar) from U. Chocolate Corp. (Orlando, FL), and was made in Peru. It was also part of a larger chocolate variety pack (box), and the first of five Peruvian (Amazonia) cacao bars that will be featured this week.

The cacao used to make U Chocolate bars is crafted "at our organic farm in the Amazonia with a selection of our fine aroma cocoa varieties..." ("Grown, Harvested and Crafted with 100% plant-based ingredients by El Mejor Cacao del Mundo S.A.C. in our all-in-one facilities at Hacienda Umbelina, in the Peruvian Amazonia.")

Aroma notes included: a pleasant dark chocolate aroma with very faint green floral; crisp, well-managed fruit, and fleeting fruit/vegetable (juice); and very faint earth (moss, peat). (Note: most vegetable notes are not objectionable to me; almost all initial aroma notes in the vegetable range (potato, tomato, yam, etc.) will generally dissipate quickly after a package has been unsealed and left open for 20 minutes.) 

What is not typical with most bars, but I experienced here (and with other heritage variety Peru cacao bars before): if you leave chocolate out to breathe, and re-taste it later, you'll often pick up mellow caramel, mocha, mild stone fruit (e.g. peach), and herbal spice (e.g. saffron) notes that weren't immediately detectable or were temporarily obscured by other notes. All good.

Texture: well-tempered (broke with a snap) and almost creamy smooth.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate (initial light, almost floral, shifting to more bold, with well-mannered, balanced sour notes); tropical fruits (banana, papaya, soursop); dairy (very faint fleeting "sour"/yogurt with fruits); and barely detectable green (faint nut)/botanical/atmospheric notes reappearing in the relatively long finish. (After re-tasting this bar: very faint, fleeting saffron in the finish.)

What I liked about this attractively packaged 72% dark chocolate: 1.) the wonderful cacao complexity that extended from the very beginning to the tail end of the finish in this 2-ingredient bar; 2.) this was part of a variety pack that contained an authentic and interesting range of single origin cacao flavors from Peru; a great side-by-side tasting opportunity to experience what different cacao varieties have to offer; and 3.) this organic, gluten-free chocolate was made with just two ingredients.

Ingredients: "Cacao and coconut blossom sugar."

Allergen-related information: "Made Without Major Food Allergen Ingredients" 

Pump Street - La Pareja, Piura Dom Ramon's Farm Peru 72% Dark (bar) - Feb. 4, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Pump Street 
La Pareja, Piura Dom Ramon's Farm Peru 72% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 197 calories in 1/2 bar (563 kcals per 100 g.)
Cost: $10.25 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's La Pareja, Piura Dom Ramon's Farm Peru 72% Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Pump Street Bakers and Chocolate Makers (Suffolk, England).

Peru is home to many varieties of cacao. The rare white piura (Piura Blanco) cacao beans (native to Peru) used to make this chocolate were from a 120-year old farm in La Pareja (Peru), a village with a population of approximately 1,000 people.

It was a stormy, rainy winter day today in California where I live; and this Peru bar was a perfect, bright and bold winter warmer.

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate; almost undetectable light floral, green, biscuit; and very faint, fleeting vegetable (ripe sweet tomato, mixed sweet vegetable juice (tomato, celery, greens)--that disappeared after the package was open for 20-30 minutes. (Note: I did not find these fleeting/initial "vegetable" notes objectionable at all. These notes often disappear fairly quickly after the opening a sealed package.)

And the aroma notes just kept unfolding; so I suggest re-tasting this bar after an hour or so. I also enjoyed rich mocha caramel, and very, very faint caramel apple, when I re-tasted this 72% Peru bar later in the day. 

Texture: smooth, with a slight astringency in the finish

Flavor notes: Dark chocolate (rich cocoa, drinking chocolate); fruit (rich ripe, sweet-tart blackberry, nectarine, cacao fruit pulp); and subtle, diffuse warm spice. Medium, balanced (fruit) acidity. Bold, bittersweet chocolate flavor, (teetering on the edge of earth (loam) and bitter notes, without fully arriving at either).

What I liked about this bar: 1.) the opportunity to taste a rare cacao with complex, bright and bold blackberry and stone fruit flavor(s); 2.) well-executed, rich (single farm) aroma and flavor notes that continued to develop after opening; 3.) warming quality - like sipping a mug of hot, single origin cocoa; and 3.) the maker's choices that let the Piura cacao/fruit nuances shine.

Maker's Tasting Notes: Blackberry, Warm Spices, Ripe Peach

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, cane sugar and cocoa butter.

Allergen-related information: "May contain milk, cereals containing gluten, eggs, nuts and sesame seeds."

Seattle Chocolate - jcoco - 85% Single Varietal Contamana Cacao Peruvian dark (bar) - Feb. 3, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Seattle Chocolate Company
jcoco - 85% Single Varietal Contamana Cacao Peruvian dark (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total package of 3 bars
Calories: 155 (estimate) calories in 1 small bar
Cost: $9.99 for 1 package of 3 smaller bars
Purchased from: Seattle Chocolate, online order 

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

Today's jcoco 85% Single Varietal Contamana Cacao Peruvian dark (bar) was from Seattle Chocolate Company, Inc. (Seattle, WA) and was one of three identical, individually-wrapped bars contained in an attractively blue-purple hued, larger package. 

The Contamana* variety cacao used to make this bar was from the central-southern area of Peru (Cuzco region) in Quillabamba, in a valley (not that far from Machu Picchu), known for "its unique fine aroma cacao trees."

Aroma notes for this chocolate included: dark chocolate (rich cocoa); faint (muffled) fruit (ripe blackberry); subtle, balanced and fleeting rich, loamy + peat/tannic earth; and very faint botanical.

Texture: This well-tempered bar broke with a snap. The texture was pleasing and creamy smooth with the exception of a few very tiny crunchy (nib) particles in one bite. There was also a very faint, fleeting and very well-balanced tannic astringency.

Flavor notes included: flavorful dark chocolate (dark cocoa) with subtle, complex fruit (dark/red berry, citrus (faint lime), tropical fruit: cacao pulp); very faint botanicals (light spice); and balanced earth/light tannins. The finish was light, lingering and clean, especially for an 85%er.

What I liked about this bar: 1.) opportunity to try a single region, single varietal (Contamana) Peru chocolate; 2.) relatively smooth and approachable 85% ultra-dark chocolate with complex, interesting and balanced aroma and flavor notes; 3.) the maker's choice of a low roast**; and 4.) attractive packaging + three smaller, individually-wrapped bars that made it easy to share with/gift to others.

Ingredients: cracked cacao beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin).

Allergen-related information: "This product is manufactured in a plant that processes milk, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg and wheat products."

*Contamana is a rare variety of cacao; and one of many varieties of cacao from South America (the birthplace of cacao). Just as there are many varieties of grapes used to make wine, there are many varieties of cacao that can be used to make chocolate.

**Maker's notes: "fermentation: 6 days; drying 5 days; roast: low"

 

Dick Taylor - Limited Release 80% Dark Peru Piura Blanco (bar) - Feb. 2, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Dick Taylor
Limited Release 80% Dark Peru Piura Blanco (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Peru Week.

Today's Limited Release 80% Dark Peru Piura Blanco (bar) was made by Dick-Taylor Craft Chocolate (Eureka, CA). The cacao used to make this single origin bar was from the Puerto Pulache Community Cooperative in northeast Peru.

After tasting raw (100%) cacao White Piura (Piura Blanco) Peru cacao beans earlier this week, I was looking forward to tasting a dark chocolate made from similar cacao. I was expecting relatively delicate, nuanced flavors with red fruit/red apple notes. 

This 80% chocolate Piura Blanco bar went boldly beyond that expectation, and illustrated how significant roasting, conching and other maker choices can be.

Aroma notes included: roasted ultra-dark chocolate with medium fruit acidity and very faint green (nut, tea, wood) notes. 

I highly recommend letting this chocolate breathe a little after you open the inner wrapper, and re-tasting after it's been opened for at least 30 minutes. More subtle notes emerged in aroma and flavor. After this package was open for 30 minutes, the deep chocolate (fudge) note(s) came forward, and the heavy roast aroma seemed to recede a bit. 

And after 45 minutes there were some pleasant, faint gingerbread chocolate and other notes (botanical, sweet green) in the aroma. It's worth the wait to enjoy the complexity. The finish seemed to grow longer (or notes in the finish became more detectable) as well. Not quite a shape-shifter bar, but close!

Flavor notes included: bold 80% cacao ultra-dark (dark roast), deep chocolate-y, followed by a significant blush of tart apple (fruit acidity) and charcoal (at least initially), and ending with a relatively mellow/sweeter (floral, date, caramel) finish with smaller upticks of tart fruit (apple). (Later there were also very faint red wine notes in the finish as well.)

Maker's tasting notes: Aroma: Fudge; Flavor: Crisp Apple; Finish: Dates.

Ingredients: Cacao, Cane Sugar* (*Organic)

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

Meridian Cacao - Peru Cuzco, Cacao Beans - Feb. 1, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Meridian Cacao
Peru - Cusco Raw Cacao Beans 
Good ++
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) / 2.2 lbs. (1 KG) in total package
Calories: 78 calories (estimate) in .5 oz. serving*
Cost: $15.00 for 1 large package of cacao beans
Purchased from: Meridian Cacao, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Cacao Nibs Theme Week, and Day #3 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.

Today's Peru Cuzco Raw Cacao Beans were from Meridian Cacao (Portland, OR). 

Meridian Cacao directly sources single origin cacao beans (from several countries); and they offer beans, cacao nibs, cocoa butter, and other craft chocolate-making essentials. 

Yesterday and today, I "made" my own raw cacao nibs, from these Peru raw cacao beans. Raw cacao tastes different than roasted cacao. The beans had a more uniform, and deeper dark color once the skin/husk remnants were removed.

Aroma notes for these raw cacao beans included: fresh cacao, subtle fermentation (wine-like) that diminished after opening, and faint green floral.

Texture: satisfying; firm, nut-like crunch; even texture. Unlike yesterday's White Piura beans which were very easy to shell/break into pieces by hand, today's Cuzco beans took a little more effort. (These beans were wrapped into a towel and gently thumped with a small hammer.)

Flavor notes included: smooth, very slightly nutty cocoa flavor with light, balanced sweet green floral, and cookie (coconut oatmeal cookie, graham cracker).

Raw cacao tastes different than roasted cacao. I really enjoyed these high-quality, minimally processed cacao beans, with original flavors intact, just right out of the bag. 

Both yesterday's and today's Meridian Peru beans/nibs would make a great chocolate bar, confection, or high-end snack.  If you like dark chocolate, I highly recommend sampling different varieties (and origins) of high-quality cacao beans (side-by-side). Meridian is a great source for cacao beans.

Ingredients: Raw cacao beans

Allergen-related information: (none listed on package)

*Estimates of calorie counts (kcals) for raw cacao beans range from 130-180. I'm using 155 calories per ounce here to estimate calories. The fat content (cacao butter) varies with different growing locations (climate, latitude) as well as cacao variety and other variables. E.g., cacao grown at the cooler, outer edges of the cacao growing zone (more than 20 degrees from the Equator) may contain more fat.