Cacao Space - Uganda Semuliki Forest 75% (bar) - Aug. 19, 2024

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Cacao Space 
Uganda Semuliki Forest 75% Dark Chocolate (bar) 
Good + 
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33 g.) / 2.33 oz. (66 g.) in total bar
Calories: 179 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar ($27 for three bars)
Purchased from: Cacao Space, online order

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

Today's Uganda Semuliki Forest 75% dark chocolate bar was from Cacao Space (Los Altos, CA). This bar was one of three Uganda 75% bars sold as a trio. The other two had flavor additions (fruits, nuts).

Aroma and flavor notes for this single origin 75% dark chocolate included: 

Aroma and flavor notes included: relatively intense, dark bittersweet dark chocolate; roasted cacao; slightly acidic, diffuse red and tropical fruit; brown sugar; and very faint herbal (black licorice and molasses); and slightly bitter bean/seed. 

Ingredients: "cacao nibs, organic coconut sugar"

Allergen-related information: (None listed on package) 

Cacao Space - Uganda Ksinga 75% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Aug. 18, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Cacao Space  
Uganda Kisinga 75% Dark Chocolate (bar) 
Weight: 1.18 oz. (33.5 g.) / 2.36 oz. (67 g.) in total bar 
Calories: 182 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Cacao Space, online order

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

Today's Uganda Kisinga 75% dark chocolate bar was from Cacao Space (Los Altos, CA).

I ordered several bars from this small-batch chocolate maker's online site, and picked them up locally (inside a restaurant).

Aroma and flavor notes for this single origin 75% dark chocolate included: dark chocolate with, faint brown sugar and molasses, and faint fruit (berry, very faint banana) and warm spice.

This balanced chocolate landed in the Goldilocks zone for me. It had a nuanced, bold, bittersweet taste--that was not too bitter, and not too sweet (thank you). And it was hearty, yet smooth, and deeply chocolate-y. The coconut sugar added a little rich, caramelized flavor depth (similar to the way brown sugar does in some desserts).

Ingredients: "cacao nibs, organic coconut sugar"

Allergen-related information: (None listed on package)

*Goldilocks zone is a reference to a European folk tale. In the U.S. retelling of this story a girl named Goldilocks enters a bear family home (when the bears are out), and finds a bowl of porridge (not too hot, not too cold), a chair and a bed (not too soft, not too hard) that are...just right. Astronomers sometimes refer to planets that can support life as being in the Goldilocks zone (not too hot, not too cold, etc.).

Solstice Chocolate - 70% Bundibugyo Dark Chocolate (Uganda) (bar) - Aug. 17, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Solstice Chocolate
70% Bundibugyo Dark Chocolate (Uganda) (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Caputo's Market, online order

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

Today's 70% Uganda (bar) (Lot 01062) was made by Solstice Chocolate, Inc. (Salt Lake City, UT), using cacao from the Semuliki Forest area of Uganda.

Aroma and flavor notes included: dark chocolate (dark ganache, torte); deep, creamy cocoa with faint red fruit (and even fainter, fleeting citrus and spice).

The luxe creamy texture and melt for this Uganda dark chocolate gave this bar a decadent, sophisticated quality. (We enjoyed it at slightly higher than room temperature. Thank you to Megan for the tasting help.)

Good news for chocolate fans with allergies, this chocolate was made in a facility that is free from many of the most common allergens.*

Maker's tasting notes: "Earthy, Fudge, Dark Cherry"

Ingredients: Cacao Bean, Organic Cane Sugar, Cocoa Butter

*Allergen-related information: "Produced in a tree nut, peanut, gluten, dairy and soybean free facility."

Spinnaker Chocolate - 70% Uganda with Bee Pollen and Salt (bar) - Aug. 16, 2024

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Spinnaker Chocolate
70% Uganda with Bee Pollen and Salt (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 130 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Missing information 

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Honey Theme Week; and Day #1 of Chocolate and Uganda Week.

Today's 70% Uganda with Bee Pollen and Salt (bar) was from Spinnaker Chocolate (Seattle, WA). It was made using cacao grown by smallholder farmers from the Semuliki Forest area in Bundibugyo, Western Uganda. (This cacao is processed and exported to the U.S. by Latitude Trade Co.)

Aroma notes: subtle, nuanced dark chocolate, faint sweet floral; and sweet and salty (cookie, saltine).

Texture: smooth dark chocolate with bee pollen granules and tiny sparkling flakes of sea salt.

Flavor notes included: chocolate-y, fudge-y, well executed 70% dark chocolate with a near perfect blend of sweet and salty flavor inclusions.

Bee pollen consists of tiny, roundish, maize-colored bee pollen grains (vs. honey's, sugary-sweet, amber syrup-like quality).* Some bee pollen grains will likely have a kind of powdery gold glow to them. These were attractively sprinkled on one side of today's bar, along with sea salt flecks. 

Both flavor inclusions were from Jacobsen Salt Co. (Portland, OR)--a company that specializes in sea salt and honey.

I enjoyed the natural sweetness of this complex bar, and being able to taste the bee-styled nuances (pollen sweet, floral, very faintly earthy).

Ingredients: Cacao, Organic Cane Sugar, Bee Pollen Granules, Sea Salt Flakes 

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

* Honey and bee pollen are both made by honeybees. Both can have complex, floral flavors. Bee pollen is fermented by bees into "bee bread" and nutrients also differ slightly from honey (including vitamins, protein(s), carotenoids, phenolic and other compounds); and sometimes also have a very faint earthy pollen taste.

  

Alec's Ice Cream - Peanut Butter Fudge Honeycomb Ice Cream; Candy Cottage - Dark Chocolate Horses + Honey Cake - Aug. 15, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Alec's Ice Cream
Peanut Butter Fudge Honeycomb Ice Cream
Good ++
Weight: 2/3 cup (122 g.) / 14 fl. oz. (414 mL) in total container
Calories: 340 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $9.29 for 1 container
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

Candy Cottage
Dark Chocolate Horses 
Good +
Weight: .53 oz. (15 g.) / 6.15 oz. (174 g.) (estimate) in total box of 24 horses
Calories: 82 calories (estimate) for 3 horses 
Cost: $38.00 for 1 box of 24 horses
Purchased from: Candy Cottage, online order

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

I'm celebrating my brother's birthday today. Good excuse for some ice cream, cake and chocolate.

Peanut Butter Fudge Honeycomb Ice Cream

Today's Organic Peanut Butter Fudge Honeycomb Ice Cream was from Alec's Ice Cream (Petaluma, CA). 

This was a satisfying, tasty blend of textures and flavors: rich, creamy  peanut butter-infused ice cream, crunchy pieces of honeycomb toffee, and hearty pieces of chocolate fudge. All the flavors tasted authentic. 

This ice cream was especially deliciously rich and refreshing, on a hot August day.

Ingredients: Cream**, Skim Milk**, Can Sugar***, Peanut Butter*; Water, Brown Rice Syrup*, Unsweetened Chocolate*, Egg Yolks*, Cocoa Butter*, Less Than 0.5% Alkalized Cocoa Powder*, Baking Soda, Molasses*, Rice Starch*, Vanilla Extract*, Soy Lecithin*, Chocolate Extract, Sea Salt, Carob Gum*, Guar Gum*. (*Organic)

Allergen-related information: "Contains Milk, Egg, Peanuts, Soy. Manufactured on Equipment That Also Handles Tree Nuts."

Chocolate Horses and Honey Cake

The small dark chocolate horses from Candy Cottage (Las Vegas, NV), had subtly sparkly golden manes and pale, shiny green eyes. They pranced across a frosted field of delicious (gluten-free) Medovik honey cake. 

These small dark chocolate horses were designed as cupcake toppers. A larger cake allowed a small herd to frolic and enjoy the extra space, blissfully unaware of their ultimate fate. Gulp.  

Candy Cottage makes several novelty and animal shaped chocolates. (Now I know where to go when I'm looking for chocolate squirrels.)

Gather Chocolate - Pomegranate Molasses & Sesame Crunch chocolates - Aug. 14, 2024

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Gather Chocolate
1.) Pomegranate Molasses - Good +
2.) Sesame Crunch - Good ++
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33 g.) / 9 1/4 oz. (262 g.) in total box of 24 pieces
Calories: 160 calories in 3 pieces
Cost: $39.00 for 1 box of 24 pieces
Purchased from: Harbor Sweets, online order

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

Today's two Gather Chocolate confections were part of a larger, 6-flavor assortment box from Harbor Sweets (Salem, MA). 

The honeycomb (hexagon)-shaped gold and brown box held six different flavors, all containing dark chocolate and "a touch of local honey."

Pomegranate Molasses 

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate (fudge brownie) with very faint, sweet fruit (red berry) and floral.

Texture: a firmer, smooth dark 70% chocolate shell contrasted with a soft, almost silken ganache center.

Flavor notes included: the dark chocolate filling with red fruit and faint honey notes that was surrounded by a firmer, chocolate-y (fudge, cocoa), smooth-flavored dark chocolate shell.

I liked that the 70% dark chocolate balanced the inherent sweetness of these confections.

Sesame Crunch 

Aroma notes for this pumpkin seed-topped confection included: dark chocolate, subtle seed and toffee. 

Texture: smooth 70% dark chocolate coating that melted to reveal a pleasing, seedy, crunchy toffee center with faint sesame.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate and rich, buttery toffee with just the right amount of salt and seeds to balance out the sweetness.

This last Sesame Crunch chocolate in the 6-flavor assortment box was my favorite.

Note: The following ingredients list applies to all 6 chocolates in this assortment box. (There weren't individual ingredients lists for different chocolates.)

Ingredients: Chocolate (Chocolate Liquor, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla), Cream (Cream [Milk], Carrageenan, Mono and Diglycerides, Polysorbate 80), Sugar, Honey, Vegetable Glycerin, Butter, Cashews (Cashews, Salt), Semi-Sweet Chocolate (Sugar, Unsweetened Chocolate with Alkali, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Butterfat, Soy Lecithin, Natural Flavor), Coconut Milk (Coconut Milk [Water, Coconut Cream], Calcium Phosphate, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D2, Selenium, Zinc Oxide, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12), Dried Coconut Flakes, Contains Less Than 2% of Brown Sugar, Dried Tart Cherries (Cherries, Sugar, Sunflower Oil), Concentrated Pomegranate Juice, Sunflower Kernels (Sunflower Kernels, Salt), Sesame Seeds (Sesame Seeds, Salt), Natural Flavors, Peanuts (Peanuts, Salt), Pureed Dried Coconut, Pomegranate Powder, Salt, Pepitas (Pepitas, Salt), Lemon Juice, Soy Lecithin, Baking Soda.

Allergen-related information: "Contains Milk, Peanut, Soy, Coconut, Cashews and Sesame." "This product is prepared in a facility that handles soy, milk, peanuts, wheat, tree nuts and sesame."

  

Gather Chocolate - Sour Cherry & Cashew Caramel chocolates - Aug. 13, 2024

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Gather Chocolate
1.) Sour Cherry - Good +
2.) Cashew Caramel - Good - Good +
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33 g.) / 9 1/4 oz. (262 g.) in total box of 24 pieces
Calories: 160 calories in 3 pieces
Cost: $39.00 for 1 box of 24 pieces
Purchased from: Harbor Sweets, online order

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

Today's two Gather Chocolate confections were part of a larger, 6-flavor assortment box from Harbor Sweets (Salem, MA). The honeycomb (hexagon)-shaped gold and brown box held six different flavors, all containing dark chocolate and "a touch of local honey."

Sour Cherry 

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate and very faint fruit, and even fainter pie and citrus herb (oxalis*).

A smooth (textured and flavored) dark 70% chocolate shell surrounded a silken, slightly honeyed, ganache filling atop an authentic tasting sour cherry on the bottom.

I liked that the 70% dark chocolate balanced the inherent sweetness of these confections. and the layered flavors. The cherry felt and tasted like a real cherry.

Cashew Caramel 

Aroma notes included: chocolate; nutty, sweet nuanced caramel; and faint caramel and cashew shortbread cookie. 

Dark chocolate covered a dual-layered filling: crunchy cashew pieces on top and a smooth, hearty honeyed caramel layer on the bottom. There was a very faint (tart lemon-green/herbal) oxalis-like note in the otherwise, chocolate-y 70% cacao couverture.

 I also liked the smaller size of the pieces in this assortment. It made it easier to share the chocolates with others.

Note: Ingredients listed below applied to all the chocolates in this 6-flavor assortment box. (There was no separate list of ingredients for individual flavors

Ingredients: Chocolate (Chocolate Liquor, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla), Cream (Cream [Milk], Carrageenan, Mono and Diglycerides, Polysorbate 80), Sugar, Honey, Vegetable Glycerin, Butter, Cashews (Cashews, Salt), Semi-Sweet Chocolate (Sugar, Unsweetened Chocolate with Alkali, Unsweetened Chocolate, Cocoa Butter, Butterfat, Soy Lecithin, Natural Flavor), Coconut Milk (Coconut Milk [Water, Coconut Cream], Calcium Phosphate, Guar Gum, Xanthan Gum, Vitamin A Acetate, Vitamin D2, Selenium, Zinc Oxide, Folic Acid, Vitamin B12), Dried Coconut Flakes, Contains Less Than 2% of Brown Sugar, Dried Tart Cherries (Cherries, Sugar, Sunflower Oil), Concentrated Pomegranate Juice, Sunflower Kernels (Sunflower Kernels, Salt), Sesame Seeds (Sesame Seeds, Salt), Natural Flavors, Peanuts (Peanuts, Salt), Pureed Dried Coconut, Pomegranate Powder, Salt, Pepitas (Pepitas, Salt), Lemon Juice, Soy Lecithin, Baking Soda.

Allergen-related information: "Contains Milk, Peanut, Soy, Coconut, Cashews and Sesame." "This product is prepared in a facility that handles soy, milk, peanuts, wheat, tree nuts and sesame."

*Oxalic acid is present in cacao/dark chocolate (as well as other plants/greens that have a slightly lemony-green tart flavor, like oxalis (sour grass), spinach, Swiss chard, beet greens and rhubarb. You may see these produce items cited as containing high levels of oxalates, which some people (e.g. with kidney issues) may want to avoid. Typically you'd have to worry more about spinach than chocolate in this area, but moderation in all things is often good advice.