Chocolate of the Day
Verse Chocolate
90% Original Dark Chocolate Medallion
Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 4.23 oz. (120 g.) in total box of 12
Calories: 180 calories in 3 pieces
Cost: $10.89 for 1 box of 12 medallions
Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA
Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Chai Theme Week.
Today's 90% Original Dark Chocolate Medallions were from Verse Chocolate LLC (Nixa, MO).
I enjoyed trying one of these individually-wrapped chocolates; and then paired two pieces of this ultra-dark chocolates with hot, homemade masala chai tea.
Normally, I would have picked a dark milk chocolate for a chai pairing, but at least part of the cocoa used to make these chocolate medallion-shaped pieces had been processed with alkali--a process that can neutralize acidic or bitter elements that might clash with other foods/beverages.
Aroma and flavor notes for today's 90% cacao medallions were still quite robust, and included: heavy roast, ultra-dark, deep and dense cacao (that I associate with Forastero cacao varieties).
The medallions were easy to hold on the tongue; and the shape (a relatively thin square with very rounded corners) allowed easy access to flavors. The texture was smooth with some mild graininess.
I appreciated that this 90% chocolate was organic, had relatively low acidity, wasn't too sweet, and was made with only four ingredients
However--possibly due to a relatively heavy roast/alkalizing process--there were no glimmers of naturally occurring fruit, floral, green or other notes (that I associate with more complex fine cacaos). I found myself transported to a deep, ultra-dark, very still, jungle, looking for a tiny uptick of other flavors.
In fairness to today's chocolate, most chai spice or masala chai chocolates are milk chocolates (or dark milk chocolates), because: 1.) we associate chai tea with a creamy/milky taste, 2.) people like sweet teas and milk chocolates, and 3.) ultra-dark 90%+ chocolates don't always play well with strong spices or overwhelm subtler notes in other foods/beverages.
This was true today, even though this robust ultra-dark had been tamed a bit.* (Verse's Salted Almond or 70% Sea Salt Medallions would likely have been a better choice with the chai tea that I made using original robust spices (cardamom pods, ginger, cinnamon, turmeric, black pepper, cloves, etc.)
In fairness to Verse, I didn't contact them to ask about ultra-dark pairings. And I felt I should have known the two would fight each other a bit, as the company had clearly printed on the packaging: "This chocolate is not candy." (Love that.)
The company's name (Verse) refers to their efforts to share original chocolate flavor (closer to its source and history) with a chorus of people who might then join others singing a new verse to an ancient song (about cacao).
Ingredients: Cocoa beans*, cane sugar*, cocoa processed with alkali*, cocoa butter*. (* = Organic ingredient.) Cacao: 90%.
Allergen-related: "May contain traces of tree nuts and sesame seeds."
* Ultra-dark 90%-100% cacao bars sometimes taste less bitter if chocolate makers alkalize the cocoa and add cocoa butter (yes to both today) or salt (or salty items) that can help balance bitterness.
Pairings that may work: strong spirits like whiskey; salt or savory items like aged cheeses or roasted, salted nuts; dark roast coffee; very dark beers; or grated into/over some desserts (that are layered and/or could benefit from a little pop of flavor depth/contrast).
