Eating the Chocolate Alphabet

Bonus A – Anzac Crunch

From the moment I saw the packaging on Instagram, I knew I *had* to have “The Great War” bar from Wellington Chocolate Factory! The flavor didn’t matter to me since the hand-painted illustration of the soldier eating a chocolate bar from his ration pack while hunkered down in the trenches with his buddy and some animal friends had captured my heart.

Thanks to Josh Rubin from Chocexchange in Canada for being the intermediary between New Zealand and Southern California to make my dream a reality! [Originally I was going to feature this bar during “round 1” of the Eating the Chocolate Alphabet blog during “W” week, which would have coincided closely with Canadian Remembrance day in November; however, fate intervened so that I could instead showcase it as a bonus “A” bar for “round 2” of the blog!]

The top surface of the outer paper wrapper must somehow be lightly coated because the informational label & Cuisine Artisan Award Winner sticker were easily removed to reveal a ~200mm x ~250mm image.

Each time I look at the artwork by Auckland-based Misery (aka Tanja Jade), I see some new detail that I had previously overlooked: the mountain in the distance that is crying, the birds wearing tiny helmets dodging cannon fire to carry ration packs to the soldiers on the front lines, the serene faces in the poppies. Despite the folds and creases, this will soon be framed and displayed proudly in my home!

On the 25^th of April each year, Anzac Day commemorates the anniversary of the 1915 landing at the Gallipoli Peninsula in Turkey, where thousands of Australian and New Zealander soldiers fought and died during World War I. In case you’re unfamiliar, Anzac stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Like Veterans’ Day in the US and Remembrance Day in Canada, Anzac Day honors past and present AUS & NZ servicemen and women from all wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. Though some believe that Anzac biscuits were sent to the soldiers on the front lines in Europe, the truth is that Anzac cakes were sold at the “homefront” to raise money for the war effort. Anzac biscuits are traditionally made with rolled oats, flour, sugar, butter, golden syrup, baking soda, boiling water and (optionally) desiccated coconut. The “Anzac crunch” used for this bar was inspired by those ingredients, with some modern-day updates.

The “back” of the bar is completely covered in crispy, crunchy, toasted rolled oats and coconut chips that it’s easy to forget that there is a smooth and creamy 52% coconut milk chocolate hiding underneath.

This bar, made from a house blend of Criollo and Trinitario beans, is as delicious as it is photogenic. Modernizing the traditional recipe, coconut flour and coconut sugar were used (though raw sugar and golden syrup still added to the sweetness of the bar). There is an unusual, almost sour, tang to the chocolate itself. I assume this is from the golden syrup since I just now tasted coconut flour and coconut sugar from my kitchen pantry and the flavor note does not seem to originate from those ingredients. Upon research, I discovered that golden syrup is an acidic sugar solution that adds a smoky warmth. I was also fascinated to learn that golden syrup was used as a “binder” (getting ingredients to stick together) when there was a shortage of eggs during wartime.

Honestly, it was impossible not to “chomp” this bar and quickly has become one of my new favorites. As I sit here with only a few morsels left, a trip to New Zealand to get more in person (and avoid winter) seems like a perfectly reasonable solution! 😉

From the label: A portion of the profit from this bar of chocolate will be donated to the Great War Exhibition to assist with making the compelling history of the First World War available to all.

To learn more about their entire line of organic ethically traded bean-to-bar chocolates, check out: http://www.wcf.co.nz/

A is for Amaranth

With the New Year comes a new “theme” for the Eating the Chocolate Alphabet blog. In 2017, I plan to alphabetically feature unusual or unique “inclusion” ingredients (meaning stuff that gets included with the chocolate). Last year I limited myself to only new-to-me chocolatiers and chocolate makers, but this year all brands are fair game! While I might not be able to stick to the “one post a week” schedule due to the availability of some letters (I’m currently stumped with “X” – so let me know if you have any recommendations), I’ll still try to post as often as possible.

To start off the alphabet, I’m featuring an Amaranth Crunch 70% La Red Dominican Republic dark chocolate bar made by LetterPress Chocolate from my hometown of Los Angeles, California.

According to Wikipedia, it is thought that amaranth represented 80% the Aztecs’ caloric consumption prior to the Spanish conquest. Even though this seed has been around for thousands of years, it’s only started to recently gain popularity since it can be eaten by those with gluten intolerance. Additionally, it’s an excellent source of protein, vitamin C, calcium, fiber, iron and more.

David and Corey Menkes started a chocolate blog in 2012 called “Little Brown Squares” where they would feature bean-to-bar makers. According to their website, after they attended the Northwest Chocolate Festival and discovered that there were no bean-to-bar makers in the Los Angeles area, they made it their mission to change that and founded LetterPress Chocolate in 2014. Since they launched their company, I’ve had the opportunity to meet them at different pop-up events + at the 2016 Northwest Chocolate Festival in Seattle, WA. They are passionate about sourcing the best cacao beans from around the world and are very friendly and knowledgeable. Here is an article from April 2016 that provides more information about their small batch production set-up at that time: http://www.laweekly.com/restaurants/some-of-las-best-chocolate-comes-from-a-living-room-in-beverlywood-6806732

One of the first things that you notice about their bars is the distinctive logo which was inspired by vintage air mail stamps.

Their custom-designed logo features an airplane and some cacao pods.

This particular paper label is an older version since they have recently switched to a much more eye-catching gold foil stamped and letterpress embossed thicker packaging. My only complaint was that the paper “sleeve” seemed to be affixed to the silver foil and I was unable to simply slip the hand-wrapped bar out easily…akin to being thwarted in quickly opening a present due to the item being taped to the wrapping paper. I’m glad that the adhesive was minimal and flexible so that I could open the wrapper without damaging the label or the foil.

Even before fully unwrapping the bar, I could already smell the darkly roasted cacao which made me think of coffee, which isn’t a flavor that I particularly enjoy.

The 24-rectangle bar had a flawless finish on the front, neither shiny/glossy nor dull matte (not sure if the correct term for that would be “satin”?)

Flipping the bar over, you can see that the entire back surface is covered in tiny bumps from the air-puffed amaranth seeds.

Segmenting a couple of tasting morsels, there is a sharp snap and an earthy aroma.

While most people suggest savoring chocolate by melting it on your tongue, I’m a proponent of “chomping” (chewing) this bar, otherwise you would completely miss the fun and enjoyment of hearing the crackling of the amaranth and the crunch of the delicate fleur de sel!

However, if you do choose to melt, you will be rewarded with a creamy mouthfeel and red berry sweetness with a slight back-of-the-throat tangy aftertaste. According to their website, it’s a grown up (and healthier) version of that certain crunch bar remembered from childhood.

To learn more and find where you can locate some of their bars for yourself, check out: http://www.letterpresschocolate.com/

How I Counted Down the Days Until Christmas

Remember those “what I did on my summer vacation” back-to-school essays when you were a kid? This is just like that, only different 😉

A couple of posts back (wow, has it really been more than a month already?!), I mentioned that I had purchased a Zotter mini hand-scooped bar advent calendar. Here is a shot of the pristine, just opened box.

In case you weren’t following my daily Instagram “story” posts, below is a recap of all 24 flavors that helped me count down the days until Christmas! Just a disclaimer (lest you think I was a little piggy for most of the month), each day I only ate half of the 20g bar so that my boyfriend could enjoy the other half on the weekends! [Feel sorry for him, he *had* to eat 5 or more half bars in a day, whereas I could space them out!]

But before I get to the chocolates, I wanted to share a couple of things that I learned on this project:

Cutting the bars with a knife seemed to “smoosh” the layers together and leave odd serration marks, so at some point I started breaking the bars by hand for a more “rustic” look.
Winter daylight is fleeting (if the sun appears at all), so if I wasn’t able to take a picture during the morning to early afternoon, photos under artificial light didn’t turn out as well.
More people liked when I described the bars “by voice” as part of a video instead of simply taking a photo & writing the ingredients as a caption. I can’t say that I’m a fan of the Insta-stories format, personally I think it’s a good thing the “episodes” disappear after 24 hours!
A couple of times I was so obsessed with crafting the perfect 15-second sound bite that I forgot to also keep an actual photo of the chocolate 🙁
In many cases, the advent calendar’s outer cardboard sleeve described the bars differently than the individually numbered, decorated paper wrapper.
Photographing the bar WITH the wrapper that had the date on it makes it SO much easier to later match up photos to handwritten tasting notes!

December 1 – Dark Milk Chocolate filled with hazelnut nougat and brittles

Since this was the first bar from the advent calendar, I had some learning to do! You’ll notice that I photographed it without the date wrapper and cut it with a plain edge knife. Fortunately I took the photo with natural sunlight, so I had that going for me!

I appreciate that Zotter provides exact percentages for most of the major ingredient components. For instance, this one is listed as: hazelnut nougat (29%) and brittles (22%). According to the paper label, the brittle was made with almonds. This bar was called “Thousand Layer Nougat” on the box and the website describes it as having two different layers of nougat (one almond & another hazelnut) with brittle layers in between. Honestly, I’m not certain that there were 3 distinct layers. Overall, it was crunchy, creamy and had a nice nut flavor. Two unusual ingredients that were used, but that I didn’t taste, were cardamom and star anise.

December 2 – Noble Bitter Chocolate filled with whisky cream (55%)

Note to self, if something is called “Scotch Whisky” on the outer packaging, then it’s probably boozy & might not be the best thing to taste first thing in the morning! Especially given the ratio of thin chocolate couverture to creamy filling.

As a side note, in order keep the mini bars looking as photogenic as possible, I tended to flip them over & cut from the bottom to the top (rather than from the top to the bottom). I found it difficult to cut this particular bar with a knife, but I did notice that there were interesting amoeba-like shapes on the bottom. Sadly, no photographic evidence remains of the odd shapes, but I’m glad that I remembered to take (and keep) another photo of the shapes on the 12^th bar! The above photo is an example of what happened to the bars when using a serrated knife; however, it took me a few more days to decide to cut them by hand.

December 3 – White Chocolate filled with almond hazelnut brittle

For a white chocolate, this was fairly beige in color (probably due to the cinnamon) and the couverture’s color wasn’t visually different from the filling. Even though this was cut with a knife, it wasn’t as glaringly obvious that I had done so. The bar’s wrapper lists the percentages as almond (14%) and hazelnut (5%), while the outer packaging listed it as almond hazelnut brittle (12%) – not sure which one to believe. The crunch reminded me of granola rather than brittle. Overall, this was very buttery and a little too sweet for my taste.

December 4 – Coconut Milk Couverture with raspberry coconut filling (60%)

You’ll see that this bar was cut with both a serrated knife and a plain edge knife for comparison purposes. I’m not sure why I was expecting the coconut milk couverture to be white-ish in color since I’ve had coconut milk chocolates before that looked quite brown. The filling was tart, yet sweet + I liked the tropical touch from the coconut flakes. Honestly, I wouldn’t have guessed coconut milk if it had been a blind taste test. Looking at the ingredient list right now, I’m surprised to see dried blueberries listed?!

December 5 – Mountain Milk Chocolate filled with white chocolate ganache (54%) & caramelised blue poppyseed (6%)

This was one of my favorites from the whole collection! Finally I “wised up” and cut this bar by hand. Overall, it had a creamy mouthfeel + it was nutty & crunchy due to the caramelized seeds. The ganache had a slightly yogurt-like tang. I’m definitely going to buy a full-sized bar of this soon!

December 6 – Mountain Milk Chocolate filled with orange cream (50%)

Sorry that the photo is slightly blurry, but I think it’s the ONLY photo I have of this bar! While the filling color isn’t visually distinct from the outer couverture, the creamy, mousse-like ganache was slightly boozy due to the blood orange brandy.

December 7 – Mountain Milk Chocolate with apple, honey and cinnamon filling

This one was my second favorite of the bunch. According to the ingredient list, this bar contained dried apples (14%), apple juice (8%), honey (3%), hazelnuts, apple brandy (2%), cranberries and cinnamon (0.4%). The moist layer of filling was like eating a chocolate covered apple pie. I couldn’t taste the alcohol. Sorry about the serration marks 🙁 – this one was a little gooey, so I had to use a knife in this instance!

December 8 – Dark Milk Chocolate filled with nuts

This one was called “Nut Delight” on the outer packaging sleeve since it contains hazelnuts (18%), almonds (5%) & cashews (5%). Again, this one had cardamom & anise seeds even though I didn’t taste them. Creamy and hazelnut was the stand-out flavor for me.

December 9 – Noble Bitter Chocolate with plum brandy (55%)

The chocolate “shell” on this bar cracked easily when I tried to break off a chunk, so that the filling came away from the couverture rather than staying together as a cohesive unit like the other bars. The ganache was creamy/mousse-like, but not too boozy.

December 10 – Mountain Milk Chocolate filled butter caramel cream (45%)

When I broke this apart, the caramel was stretchy (as shown below):

This time it was useful to cut the bar with a knife to reveal all the layers!

You can see the top layer was a chewy caramel and the next (thicker) layer was buttery and creamy as well as crunchy due to the caramel crisps (brittle) and almonds. One unusual ingredient was rose petals, though I didn’t taste them.

December 11 – Noble Bitter Chocolate filled with chocolate-red wine ganache (55%) and raisins (2%)

Also called “Red Wine Rush.” This one was creamy and tasted of red wine; however, I would not have guessed that there were raisins included. The alcohol used was Olivin Red Wine and Olivin pomace brandy. Just now, I discovered that “pomace” is a liquor distilled from the discarded seeds, stems and skins of grapes that were pressed for juice or oil. This type of brandy will make another appearance later in the calendar.

December 12 – Mountain Milk Chocolate filled with chocolate cream (55%)

While this one was visually boring, I finally remembered to capture a photo of the amoeba-like underside that I mentioned on the December 2^nd bar. The ganache was creamy & mousse-like, though I could swear that alcohol was added even though it wasn’t listed as an ingredient. Just now I discovered some ingredients that I certainly didn’t taste: honey, caramel powder, almonds, cinnamon, rose petals & lemon powder.

December 13 – Dark Milk Chocolate filled with almond and hazelnut nougat (55%)

As I mentioned earlier, some days I was so focused on perfecting my Insta-story that I forgot to retain a picture of my half of the bar before I ate it, so I ended up taking a screen shot showing the day’s caption.

Days later, before giving the other half to my boyfriend, I snapped a picture where you can again see evidence of serrated knife marks.

This one was called “Nougat Variation” on the back of the packaging. There seemed to be two layers to this bar: a slightly powdery layer of crunchy nut nougat with bits of brittle and a creamy mousse layer. Honestly, I can’t tell which was almonds (12%) and which was hazelnuts (11%), though I suspect that the almond one was the darker layer. This one also had cinnamon, rose petals and lemon powder, although I don’t remember tasting them.

December 14 – Smart Bitter Chocolate filled with coffee cream (60%)

This one was called Zotter Espresso “so dark” on the packaging. If you look closely at the morsel in the foreground (at the red arrow), it almost seems like there is a little face. I say he’s making a grimace since I’m not a fan of coffee flavors. The ganache was fluffy and the coffee was STRONG! Needless to say, my boyfriend received three-quarters of this bar instead of the usual half! I’m not sure what makes a “smart” bitter instead of a “noble” bitter – hopefully someone reading this can tell me!

December 15 – Dark Milk Chocolate filled with marzipan and amaretto

I really enjoyed the moist marzipan layer & didn’t taste any alcohol in this bar. Possibly this was due to the ratios: marzipan (23%) made with almonds and bitter almond oil vs. 3% of Amaretto. This had some ginger powder, which I didn’t taste. If you look closely at the thick top chocolate couverture toward the middle of the morsel in the foreground, I swear there is another tiny face…this one with a happy smile!

December 16 – Mountain Milk Chocolate filled with wild berries (9%) and vanilla (0.3%)

Even though it was many days ago that I posted this bar on Insta-stories, I still remember struggling to recite ALL the ingredients within the allotted 15 seconds! Visually it looked a lot like day number 4, but this one had so many berries that none of the flavors really stood out. It had strawberries, blueberries, dried raspberries, currant concentrate & cranberry concentrate. Additionally there were almonds, rose petals, lemon powder & cinnamon, though I didn’t taste those.

December 17 – White Chocolate filled with dark chocolate ganache (55%)

This one was called “Black and White” on the outer packaging. I’m generally not a fan of white chocolate, so the white to dark ratio was just perfect. Also, the couverture had more of a beige tinge, so I’m thinking that either the vanilla or the cinnamon added to the coloring. Cane sugar brandy must be mild, since the creamy mousse filling had only a slight hint of alcohol. Re-reading the ingredient list right now, I’m surprised to see Bird’s Eye chili listed!

December 18 – Mountain Milk Chocolate with hazelnut filling (55%)

If you look at the top portion of the bar in this photo (above the 18), it almost looks like there are two separate layers: a thin moist layer at the top with more coarsely ground nuts and a larger smoother and drier layer at the bottom. I wonder if the Muscat Ottonel wine contributed to the top layer’s taste and appearance. I am surprised to again see several un-tasted spices listed: cinnamon, star anise, cardamom & cloves.

December 19 – Noble Bitter Chocolate filled with mango ganache (42%) and maces (0.1%)

Here you can again see, side-by-side, what a hand broken piece looks like vs. a knife cut piece. The moist ganache certainly had a tropical fruit taste due to the dried mangos and mango puree, I’m glad that the mace was not overpowering. Some surprising ingredients (since I didn’t taste them) were: skimmed milk yoghurt powder, cashews, caramel powder, almonds, lemon juice concentrate, cinnamon & rose petals. I wonder if the turmeric added to the orange color of the ganache.

December 20 – White Caramel Chocolate filled with almond nougat (54%) and caramel crisps (6%)

Despite my not liking white chocolate, this one was another favorite. The nougat filling had the texture of a Nestle Butterfinger bar, but was much less sweet. The couverture tasted a bit like butterscotch and, again, I didn’t taste the cinnamon, rose petals or lemon powder. Maybe it’s just me, but there seemed to be an ultra thin layer between the couverture and the filling, I wonder if that was caramel!

December 21 – Noble Bitter Chocolate with Marc de Champagne (6%) filling

Marc de Champagne is a brandy made from byproducts of the winemaking process, using discarded seeds & skins (similar to the bar on day 11). The couverture was a little crumbly, but the ganache was sweet like raisins and there was a slight “bite” from the alcohol. Wish the star anise & cinnamon were more vibrant in this bar.

December 22 – Mountain Milk Chocolate with Marzipan (25%) and pistachios (7%)

Another favorite! The pistachio layer was moist, nutty & chewy, while the marzipan was light & fluffy. It said it contained alcohol (cherry brandy), but I hardly tasted it. I also didn’t taste the anise, rose petals, cinnamon or lemon powder — seems that many bars contained these same spices.

December 23 – Coffee Couverture filled with cognac cream (55%)

This was another one with a crumbly couverture and odd shapes at the bottom of the bar. While this contained coffee, it was actually more boozy than coffee flavored since ground coffee beans and coffee powder only accounted for 1.1% of the ingredients.

December 24 – Noble Bitter Chocolate with spiced filling

Last, but not least, was what could be considered a gingerbread filling made with rye flour, lemon peel, orange peel, eggs, honey, hazelnuts, walnuts, cinnamon, pimento, nutmeg, marzipan, coconut crisps, cardamom, star anise and almonds. The ingredient list was a mouthful to recite on Insta-stories, so much so that I had to post it in two “installments.” Overall, it was like having a chewy, moist fruit cake in a chocolate shell with just a hint of alcohol.

This was my very first advent calendar & based on the enjoyable experience I’m sure it will be a tradition to maintain in years to come, whether from this chocolate company or others. Let me know in the comments if there are any calendars I should try next year!

On another note, it’s hard to believe that the year is almost over. Thanks to all who have been following me on this adventure. I hope that you will stick around for the blog’s “round 2” that will be starting in early January!

Best wishes for a Happy & Healthy New Year! See you soon in 2017! 🙂

Zotter Redux

In addition to their hand-scooped bars, Zotter Chocolate also has a line of single-origin chocolates called Labooko. Typically, there are two 35g bars in one packaging. In this case, I chose a dual tasting “contest” bar containing a 72% Belize bar (which was conched for 21 hours) and a 72% Panama bar (which was conched for 22 hours).

However, upon opening the uniquely folded informational outer wrapper, I came to the realization that both bars were wrapped in IDENTICAL gold foil and did not have any distinguishing labels to indicate which was which (unlike the Sirene tasting bars that I reviewed a few weeks ago).

Maybe a “blind” tasting was the intent of the packaging? Maybe I was oblivious to some crucial clue that would help to identify each bar? Feeling perplexed, I decided to call Zotter’s customer service line and had a very pleasant chat with Barbara Dolleschal, co-owner and manager of the Cape Coral, Florida location. She mentioned that, unless things had changed at headquarters in Austria, the Panama bar was on the left side and the Belize bar was on the right (when looking at the packaging as if it was an open book). Prior to my call, as I opened each chocolate individually and placed them on a plate for ease of comparing & contrasting, I tried to pay attention to which one came from the left side of the packaging and which one from the right side. In my excitement, I *may* have lost track…oops!

So, below I’ll provide my tasting notes, but will only be able to refer to the bars as “top” and “bottom” based on this photo:

Each bar is imprinted with, what looks to me, two cacao pods. The pod in the foreground is plain and the pod in the background has writing etched into it, though I can’t make out the words.

The bar on the bottom looked a little darker in color than the top bar and had a stronger roasted aroma. In segmenting the bar, it produced a sharp snap and seemed to break apart in a smooth, even chunks.

The mouthfeel was smooth and creamy (probably due to the additional cocoa butter) and had a rich, warm, nutty flavor. My guess is that this is the Panama one.

The bar on the top produced a brittle snap and broke apart in jagged, uneven pieces, sending little shards flying every which way.

This one looked a little drier in texture and had a less creamy mouthfeel. Overall the flavor was multi-layered: starting off earthy, turning to fruity (reminding me of berries) and finishing a bit like toasted bread or malt. Based on prior experiences, my guess is that this is the Belize bar.

While I enjoyed both bars, I’m still curious about which was which. I may never really know. Next time I’ll pay more attention, but it would also be helpful for Zotter to provide a label on each bar to minimize confusion. Unfortunately I haven’t been able to determine the meaning of the word “Labooko” that is imprinted on the bars and the packaging, so please let know if you have additional information!

One thing that I forgot to mention in my last Zotter post is how well the chocolates were packaged for transit. They wrapped the bars in a cocoon of silver thermal bubble wrap and added a cute ice pack just in case.

There is a warning in three languages advising people not to eat the contents of the squishy square! I love the English translation 🙂

It’s hard to believe that 26 weeks ago I embarked on this journey to alphabetically sample new-to-me chocolates A through Z. This is a proud moment for me as I post the last entry for this year. THANK YOU all for your support and encouragement throughout this process!

If you’ve come to enjoy the weekly stories, never fear, “Round 2” of Eating the Chocolate Alphabet is in the works! My goal will be to feature unique inclusion ingredients (think A is for Amaranth and B is for Bay Nut) and all brands/makers are fair game. If there is an unusual inclusion ingredient that you think I should try, please send me a note! I’m pretty sure that “X” is going to be challenging since I don’t want to feature Xanthan Gum or Xylitol. I wonder if there is a chocolate that incorporates XO sauce?! If not, hopefully this will inspire someone to do so 😉

Until the new year, I wish you all Happy Holidays starting with Thanksgiving tomorrow!

Z is for Zotter Chocolate

Honestly, I’m not sure how or why I began following the Russian Zotter Biochocolate Instagram account. Before Instagram introduced the “translate” button, I certainly couldn’t understand their Cyrillic posts, but I was always mesmerized by their mouthwatering chocolate photos. It was only recently that I discovered the U.S. (Cape Coral, Florida) version on Instagram and continue to follow both accounts to this day. In case you’re curious, there are even more Zotter accounts that I could follow: Austria, Brazil, Hawaii and Poland…each one with unique content!

According to their website: “Our bean to bar chocolate, created in-house, is spread and rolled out very thinly on 15 meter tracks while at the same time, assorted fine fillings and ganaches are prepared using over 400 organic ingredients. As soon as the chocolate has cooled down, it is topped with the filling. Before the next layer is applied, it has to rest. Depending on the recipe, this process will be repeated several times. Lastly, a thin chocolate coating is spread on top and then, this gigantic piece of chocolate is cut into our classic 70g Zotter bars.” Can you imagine a chocolate bar measuring almost 50 feet long?! Next time I visit Austria, I would LOVE to visit their factory for a tour!

As you might have guessed, based on my love of unusual inclusion ingredients, the chocolates that captured most of my attention were the “hand-scooped” (filled) bars! Frequently I see delicious close-up photos of the multi-layered bars and have lost count of all the ones I wanted to add to my wish list. Visiting their website recently didn’t make the choices any easier…if money were no object, I would have happily ordered one of each (from weird to classic, there are 300-400 to choose from)! 🙂

Alas, I narrowed down my selections to these three unique bars:

Pumpkin Seeds with Marzipan

Aside from the bars themselves, it’s hard not to be captivated by the colorful wrappers with art by Andreas H. Gratze, as well as the eye catching embossed gold foil used for the company name.

In addition to the wrapper being printed on environmentally friendly paper with environmentally friendly colors, I like being able to easily slip the wrapped bar from the outer sleeve. Minimal adhesive was used to keep the sleeve closed, so that you could easily unfold the wrapper to read what was printed on the inside and then re-close the wrapper, as needed.

Opening the lightly waxed shiny gold foil inner wrapper, I noticed some discolored patches, which I assume come from pumpkin seed oil that may have seeped out during storage. Matching the outside of the wrapper, the company name was lightly embossed into the chocolate on a diagonal at evenly spaced intervals across the entire back side of the bar.

This 60% dark milk chocolate is filled with marzipan and pumpkin seed nougat (24%), which is a Styrian classic. Slicing a thin rectangle from the bar, you easily see the distinct layers: chocolate sandwiching equal rows of thick pumpkin seed nougat & moist marzipan studded with almonds.

It was fascinating to learn that Styrian pumpkins produce hull-less (“naked”) seeds, meaning that the bright green seeds don’t need to be “shelled” like the standard pepitas that I’m familiar with. The black fleck at the top left of this close-up is part of a caramelized pumpkin seed.

The flavors were well-balanced, with no one ingredient overshadowing the other. There was the nutty sweetness of the marzipan and the earthiness of the pumpkin seeds. One ingredient that surprised me was apple brandy, though this seems to gives the bar a touch of holiday warmth. Until now, I never realized that there could be severe anaphylactic reactions to celery, so it’s a good thing that Zotter includes that their bars might have traces of the vegetable as part of their allergy warnings on the back of each label, given that they use many uncommon and unexpected flavor combinations in their hand-scooped bars.

Goji Berries in Sesame Nougat

Surprisingly, this wrapper was written mostly in German rather than English, so I had to refer to the online description. This vegan bar uses a soy couverture and is filled with goji berries and sesame nougat (25%).

Cutting into the bar, you can see the stripes of each layer: soy/cocoa mass couverture (flavored with coriander, vanilla, star anise and cinnamon), homemade sesame nougat, a green tea ganache and a generous handful of dried whole goji berries. Goji berries have been nicknamed “happy berries” because of the sense of well-being they are said to induce.

The soy couverture had a dull whitish sheen that retained fingerprints very easily, but produced a moderate snap when broken apart. The taste of the slightly dry and dense white sesame nougat reminded me of halva without the associated grittiness. While I’m not typically a fan of green tea, the earthiness was somewhat offset by the chewy sweet goji berries.

Typically Austria

This bar is described online as Mountain Milk Chocolate (40%) filled with caramelized grey poppy cream (32%), homemade walnut nougat (28%) and a thin layer of cinnamon.

Unwrapping the bar, the aroma reminded me of an Almond Joy candy bar even though there is no coconut in Zotter’s bar. I was also intrigued by the tank tread pattern on the back of the bar, which makes sense based on the company’s description of their bar production process mentioned earlier. Since the ingredients are all part of the brown color wheel family, the straight/even layers are harder to distinguish from each other.

There was a mild snap when segmenting this bar into tasting morsels. Overall, the piece was buttery and nutty, but there was also a sour “tang” that reminded me of yogurt or sheep’s milk.

Unfortunately, this was my least favorite of the bunch, but the tiny, crunchy, caramelized poppy seeds started to win me over at the end.

One of the things that I want to learn more about (and potentially experiment with) is the “Mi-Xing bar,” an online tool that allows customers to choose from 99 different ingredients to create their very own favorite chocolate. Just imagine the endless possibilities!

As an added bonus, Zotter sent a tiny plain chocolate bar with my order. The wrapper provide me with a 20% discount coupon code for a future purchase, which I promptly used to order an advent calendar filled with mini hand-scooped bars. In December, I’ll be counting down the days until Christmas with 24 new-to-me flavors…I can’t wait for it to arrive 🙂

To learn more and order your own unique assortment, check out: https://www.zotterusa.com/

Y is for Yes I Do Love

Each time I sat down to write a blog post, I thought about the letter “Y” and dreaded that the Eating the Chocolate Alphabet project might have to settle for a York Peppermint Patty since it seemed like there were no chocolatiers/chocolate makers out there with a company name starting with “Y” making bars. Then one day in September, I happened to read a comment from Yes I Do Love on a fellow Instagrammer’s post. I was THRILLED to have finally found a “Y” company! So, I eagerly sent off an email to their headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and anxiously awaited a reply to determine if they could ship to Southern California.

Aina Osman, Founder and CEO of Yes I Do Love, wrote back quickly and agreed to send me some of her chocolates at no charge, as long as I covered the freight/shipping costs. While the $67 (USD) price tag caused some “sticker shock,” no other options seemed to be available to feature a bar for the second to last letter of the alphabet!

Aina forewarned me that, unfortunately, the package could not be shipped with any cooling/ice packs, so we all hoped for the best during the 2-day transit amidst a heat wave in late September. She generously sent me four boxes (2 of each flavor) since the freight cost was based on the dimensions rather than the weight of the UPS pouch. Monitoring the shipment from the time I received the tracking number, I was disappointed to learn that the package would be delivered after 6 PM when I would be away for the evening. Upon returning home, despite the late hour, I just HAD to check out my shipment! The boxes were very well packaged within a zip lock plastic bag and additionally padded with bubble wrap, but there seemed to be an overwhelming “industrial” odor emanating from the packaging that was off-putting. What had the shipment been subjected to during its almost 9,000 mile overseas journey to me?! At that point, I decided to open one of each of the boxes to smell the chocolate bars themselves and they too had the same odd smell. Since my “policy” is not to pre-taste any chocolates until their designated week, I simply placed the still-wrapped bars into a quart sized freezer bag and then put the bag in my wine fridge for storage until this week. My hope was that the odor would lessen or disappear. During the almost 2 months that the bars have been in storage, I have periodically checked the chocolates and thankfully the smell did lessen, but it is still present. My guess is that FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) certified recycled paper packaging printed with vegetable ink has a distinctive “wet newspaper” smell since it reminded me of Tony’s Chocolonely packaging and annual report booklet.

The hexagonal black boxes are very visually elegant and look like jewelry cases. The removable lid appears to have an intertwined heart design imprinted with glossy, textured spot UV coating so that no additional wrapping would be needed if you wanted to provide this as a hostess/party gift. The 110mm square wrapped chocolate bar is nestled in a custom holder within the 8.5” x 7.25” x 1.25” box. While, the bar itself weighs about 70g (2.5 ounces), the filled box weighs about 5.25 ounces, so there is slightly more than twice as much packaging than chocolate, something to consider when shipping.

Sorry for the long preamble, now for the chocolates themselves!

From the Single Origin Collection – Pleaser (69% Mexico Criollo Cocoa)

Opening the box, the first thing you see is a multi-page page booklet + the company motto imprinted on the inside of the lid: “For some, there is therapy. For the rest, there is Chocolate. For Goodness Goddesses, there is YES I DO LOVE.” The term Goodness Goddesses refers to women who are interested in health and well-being and choose foods that are pure and natural. Yes I Do Love caters to these women since their chocolates are free from refined sugar, soy, gluten, dairy, preservatives, artificial flavorings and colorings. Additionally, the imported cocoa mass and cocoa butter that are used to produce their bars are made from organic, unroasted beans. Coconut flower sugar, known for its low glycemic index and other health benefits, contributes to a natural sweetness while 100% pure ground vanilla beans from the Kingdom of Tonga adds even more flavor nuances.

Once you remove the booklet that is covering the chocolate bar, you immediately see the suggestive phrase “undress me” imprinted on the patterned charcoal grey outer wrapper. This sexy vibe continues with the bright red lipstick and nail polish on the model in the two-page spread on the first page of the booklet.

This outer paper wrapper is held closed with double sided tape at each of the three folds, which seems to heighten the anticipation of “undressing” the bar. Slipping off that layer, you see a pink and white gingham check wax paper wrapper held closed with a round sticker with an motivational phrase and more double sided tape.

Finally you reach the chocolate bar itself…9 squares spelling out the word chocolate in raised block letters. Yes I Do Love suggests eating one square per day of the week & 2 squares on each weekend day! It’s a pity that the chocolate bar had a dull, chalky finish since I’ve seen gorgeous glossy bar photos on Instagram and the company’s website. Additionally, chocolate “dust” and air bubbles marred the surface of several letters.

As an experiment, I rubbed gently on an “O” and the “E” – my body’s heat was able to make them shiny, turning the color to “black coffee” (as indicated on this tasting sheet from Projet Chocolat).

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However, the back looked like a starry night sky, dotted with fat bloom.

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Using a knife to cut off one corner of the bar, the chocolate square broke apart with uneven, jagged lines even where I wasn’t applying pressure. To make tasting sized morsels, the pieces had a satisfying sharp snap. The aroma of each piece was very earthy and reminded me of experimental samples that I tasted over the weekend at the NW Chocolate Festival that were made from under (or poorly) fermented beans. As expected with minimally processed stone ground cacao, the texture was quite gritty.

Though the pieces didn’t melt easily, my initial first tastes were bitter and nutty. In my opinion, the bar tastes better when “chomped” (chewed) since that produced caramel notes.

From the Fusion Collection – Allure (66% Mexico Criollo Cocoa + Pink Himalayan Salt)

Underneath the same “undress me” grey charcoal outer wrapper, this bar was wrapped in plain white paper with a round sticker and the folds were also held closed with sticky double sided tape.

While the flat portion of the bar looked less chalky, the letters were marred by chocolate “dust” again.

The back of the bar was much less bloomed than the first one, though there was hardly any evidence of the pink Himalayan salt inclusion which seems to have all but disappeared/dissolved into the chocolate itself.

I experimented with rubbing one of the letters and it took more effort/time to clean the surface.

This bar broke apart more cleanly, but had a brittle snap when being segmented. The smell reminded me of wet pumice stone or earthy minerals. Placing the chocolate on my tongue I could immediately taste the salt and it felt abrasive as I tried to melt the gritty morsel. Once more, this tasted better when “chomped” as it produced fruity/sweet and caramel flavors that are distinctive to coconut flower sugar.

Aina Osman’s mission to encourage women to be self-loving and to empower underprivileged children through education is admirable. Three percent of the RRP (recommended retail price) of 69 Malaysian Ringgits (equivalent to about 16 US Dollars) goes to the “Chocolate for Compassion Movement” which aims to eventually give out scholarships to learn Food Science since “education is the gateway to change one’s life.” Aina’s own backstory is also inspirational: rather than allow the auto-immune disorder of psoriasis to hold her back, she felt that natural foods could be a healing antidote. With her knowledge of Food Science (having worked for the Barry Callebaut Group for many years) and a degree in Chemical Engineering, she created the Yes I Do Love artisanal chocolate company and she was blessed with a remarkable recovery in October 2015.

It’s really too bad that international shipping was not kind to these chocolates. Hopefully next time I’ll be able to try this brand in more ideal conditions. Even though I’m not personally a fan of unroasted chocolate, the 66% with strawberry pieces + shredded coconut sounds tasty.

To learn more, please check out: http://yesidolove.com/

X is for Xocolatl de David

During the initial planning stages of the Eating the Chocolate Alphabet series, most people assumed that “X” would be a difficult letter to find. Thankfully in the Aztec language Nahuatl, “chocolate” is “Xocolatl”: the combination of the words “xococ” for sour or bitter and “atl” for water or drink, so while “X” chocolatiers and chocolate makers aren’t plentiful, it was a relatively easy letter for me!

After discovering that a friend of mine would be visiting Portland, Oregon, I immediately jumped on the opportunity to request that some Xocolatl de David bars return home with him. Knowing those bars were available at any Portland Salt and Straw artisanal ice cream shop location, I hoped that my request for 1-2 unusually flavored bars wouldn’t be too hard to accommodate. When asked to define “unusual,” I mentioned sourdough + olive oil or Parmigiano-Reggiano (in my heart, I really hoped for foie gras and would “settle” for hazelnut + black truffle or one with peppers!) Maybe those flavors weren’t available and these were the most “unusual” ones that could be obtained, though these seem pretty mainstream to me!

Bacon Caramel (72% Ecuador)

The packaging is fairly plain and simple on the front, with the company logo letterpressed toward the bottom third of the beige colored box. The informational sticker that keeps the envelope closure sealed in the back folds over the top of the box to announce the flavor, the phonetic pronunciation of “Xocolatl” + the percentage and country of origin of the cacao. My only complaint is that you can’t open the packaging without destroying the informational sticker (I’ll show you what I mean when I review the 2^nd bar later in this post).

One of the ingredients that caught my eye was “invert sugar.” I looked on Wikipedia for a definition, but that only confused me more. Thank goodness for my trusty “Food Lover’s Companion” (a Barron’s Cooking Guide) for simplifying the explanation! From the Third Edition: “Invert sugar is created by combining a sugar syrup with a small amount of acid (such as cream of tartar or lemon juice) and heating. This inverts, or breaks down, the sucrose into its two components, glucose and fructose, thereby reducing the size of the sugar crystals. Because of its fine crystal structure, invert sugar produces a smoother product…” (and some say that it’s also sweeter tasting).

Removing the bar from the foil wrapping, I was surprised to see what looked like three large shapes rising from the back of the bar, which were cracked and oozing caramel on the front. Maybe, in retrospect, buying the bar in late March and having the “best by” date expired by a month by the time I tasted it wasn’t a great idea, despite storing the bar carefully?!

Honestly, I thought I might find a wide strip of smoked bacon underneath the chocolate at each of those square/rectangular shapes, but that wasn’t the case. The bar bends more than snaps when segmented and it would appear that there were “slots” in the bar where the bacon-infused caramel was inserted.

The caramel itself was a bit chewy and amongst the portions that I tasted, I didn’t find any of crunchy caramelized bacon bits that were described online. The caramel definitely had a salty and smoky flavor.

The chocolate pieces that didn’t have any caramel were smooth, but overwhelmingly flavored with vanilla so that I didn’t detect much else.

Salted Caramel (72% Ecuador)

The Salted Caramel packaging is very similar, but this one has a Good Food Awards winner sticker – though this award was received in 2011.

Above you see what I mean about the difficulty of opening the packaging while trying to keep the informational sticker intact. Other suggestions?

Delicately peeling back the thin foil inner wrapper, three whitish (bloomed) shapes appeared on the back of the bar, with caramel oozing from the cracks, making it difficult to remove the foil in places.

The front of the bar wasn’t bloomed, but the cracks were larger.

Overall this makes for a visually “messy” and inelegant bar.

The bar had a dull snap when being segmented and at the place where I bent the bar, there appeared even less caramel than in the previous bar.

So, I decided to segment the bar at a different section to see if there was more caramel elsewhere. Seems the middle of the bar was more plentiful.

Again, the caramel was chewy rather than gooey or liquidy and seemed to have been inserted into narrow rectangular “slots” in the chocolate. The chocolate itself had a more roasted/bitter flavor than the previous bar and though smooth, didn’t melt easily. Perhaps I shouldn’t have tried two caramel bars back-to-back, but this caramel was overly salty and almost had a “gamey” aftertaste.

Next time, I’ll shop for chocolates myself closer to when I plan to consume them (and probably skip the caramel ones). As you can probably tell, most of David Briggs’ creations are on the savory side rather than sweet. Personally, I’m really intrigued by the foie gras bar (which has a “foietella” chocolate spread). Has anyone tried that one yet besides Andrew Zimmern from Bizarre Foods America?!

For more information on their line of products, check out: http://www.xocolatldedavid.com/#main

We interrupt the alphabet for something different

Since January 2016, I’ve been using Instagram to document “My Year in Chocolate” and I’ve reached a milestone – 300 posts!! In honor of that achievement (and because I didn’t really do anything for the 100^th or 200^th post), I decided to share something special that I recently had the opportunity to try….

Heirloom Chocolate Series D7 (Designation 7) – seven tasting tablets from the first ever officially designated heirloom chocolates produced by the C-Spot / chocolate fulfillment by Fruition Chocolate.

In searching for some chocolates on my behalf, my boyfriend came across the C-Spot website, which is an amazing “one stop shop” if you are looking to answer any questions that you might have related to chocolate. If you like to “geek out” on the science behind chocolate, they have that! If you appreciate well-organized, searchable databases with precise metrics, this is definitely the website for you! I especially like their thorough and in-depth chocolate reviews, the pithy and concise directory of “barsmiths” (aka bean-to-bar chocolate makers) and the fact that they don’t take “experts” or themselves too seriously. I’m sad that I only discovered them now, when I’m almost at the end of my Eating the Chocolate Alphabet adventure. They are bookmarked & will be a great source for “round 2” and beyond!

Mark Xian, the elusive figurehead behind C-Spot was named the Director of the Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund in 2013. From their website, the HCP is a partnership between the FCIA (Fine Chocolate Industry Association) and the USDA/ARS (United States Department of Agriculture / Agricultural Research Service) “to identify and preserve fine flavor cacao varieties for the conservation of biological diversity and the empowerment of farming communities.” Also from their website: “Heirloom cacao trees and beans are endowed with a combination of historic, cultural, botanical, geographical and most importantly flavor value. They are the foundation of the best tasting chocolate.” As the back of the box explains, “These heirloom varieties are vanishing…their botanical treasures lost forever unless we all act to protect them / saving an endangered species.”

Inside the box there were seven small bars, each wrapped in a different color metallic foil and numbered on a map & accompanying flavor sheet.

I was both excited and overwhelmed with the prospect of tasting these chocolates, so I wanted to be methodical about the process. My initial tasting was in the morning, before having anything else to eat and my second tasting was after dinner when my palate had been exposed to sweet/savory/salty/sour. During the second pass, I tasted with more intention…observing snap & texture more carefully, so I’m including that information below. Additionally, I employed Barbie Van Horn’s suggestion to use chopsticks rather than my fingers since I had sliced shallots the night before & didn’t want to introduce any lingering odors to the process.

Below are photos of each bar (generally the “back” or non-scored side) as well as a cross-section of one or two squares. What a difference several hours can make in terms of noticing nuances in flavor, though some descriptions remained very similar between the first & second try! In some cases, my palate detected the flavors listed in the notes, but often times our descriptions differed. Apologies for the lighting on some photos, I wanted to capture details and that affected the color of the chocolate itself.

Heirloom I – Alto Beni (Bolivia) 68% cacao

First tasting notes: smells & tastes nutty; tart flavor

Second tasting notes: smells earthy; reminds me of coffee; smooth texture, sharp snap

Heirloom II – Wild Beni (Bolivia) 72% cacao

First tasting notes: smells smoky; sweeter in taste + smoother than Heirloom I

Second tasting notes: sharp snap; smells floral; tasted sweet (like caramel or honey) + fruity like apples; smooth texture

Heirloom III – Orecao (Ecuador) 70% cacao

First tasting notes: felt more brittle when snapped; smells floral/earthy; gritty/grainy texture; nutty taste

Second tasting notes: brittle snap/crumbly; gritty/grainy texture; tasted like marshmallows/spices/fruity

Heirloom IV – Maunawili (Hawaii) 72% cacao

First tasting notes: more brittle snap; mineral smell; tastes like tea; smoother texture

Second tasting notes: medium snap (sounded “higher pitched” when broken apart); smells roasted/smoky; mineral taste, almost a little salty; mostly smooth texture, but doesn’t melt easily

Heirloom V – Mindo (Ecuador) 77% cacao

First tasting notes: dull snap (thinnest bar); reddish brown color; smells musty (like wet leaves); tasted buttery, though with a roasted/bitter flavor too; gritty/grainy texture

Second tasting notes: medium snap; smells floral; earthy, reminded me of olives; bitter/astringent/chalky; grainy/gritty – this was my least favorite

Heirloom VI – Terciopelo (Costa Rica) 70% cacao [FYI, “Terciopelo” translates to “velvet” in English] – this had an aqua foil that looks silver in the photos

First tasting notes: brittle snap; leather smell; smooth texture; intense/concentrated flavor; reminds me of cheese for some reason

Second tasting notes: sharp snap; mostly smooth texture; musty/earthy, like leather taste; lightly astringent – this was my 2^nd least favorite

Heirloom VII – Maya Mountain (Belize) 70% cacao

First tasting notes: soft/smooth; tastes of raisins

Second tasting notes: brittle snap; grainy/“dusty” texture; floral/honey smell; flavor disappears quickly on the melt, like wind blowing it away

I found it difficult to discern a difference in terms of color despite the range of cacao percentages. Heirlooms I and II were similar in color; Heirloom III was a little darker; Heirlooms IV, VI and VII were similar in color and Heirloom V was the darkest. Can you tell a difference?!

Since there were 6 “squares” in each bar, my boyfriend and I will be jointly tasting these seven chocolates later in the month (me for the third time and him for the first time). Maybe I’ll do a “blind” tasting next time to see if my impressions have changed over time. The box suggests consuming these by January 2017 or keeping them longer as “vintage chocolates” – does anyone know if aging chocolates is a good idea?

There were only 100 sets of these chocolates, ours was number 53. If you have a chance to try this collection, please drop me a line since I’d love to hear your thoughts on these designated heirloom varieties!

In other news…stay tuned later in the week for the continuation of the alphabet series since this is “X” week!

Bonus “W” bar – WKND Chocolate

Since the beginning of my Eating the Chocolate Alphabet project, I’ve had the privilege of “meeting” (through the virtual worlds of Instagram and Facebook) so many passionate, welcoming and thoughtful people who are either makers or fellow consumers/chocophiles.

Lauren Heineck, founder and chocolate maker at WKND Chocolate, is one of those people! In addition to being skilled at transforming cacao beans into uniquely flavored bars, she hosts “Well Tempered” (a SoundCloud podcast) where she is both storyteller and community builder to elevate the smart, creative and crafty women within the chocolate industry.

I feel very honored to have been gifted a couple of her bars and to be among the first people to taste some of her creations. By the way, it was a GREAT idea to use a strip of a jute bag that once contained cacao beans as shipping “padding” (it made for some great photos too)! Hope you don’t mind that I enjoy the “weekend” despite what the calendar says.

“Spanish Gaucho” (experimental bar with Mate & Saffron)

What a daring move to create a fusion of Argentina and Spain through the use of two ingredients that are the embodiment of those countries!

The 12-rectangle bar is wrapped in a thin, clear, re-closable plastic pouch & inserted into a faux wood grain paper sleeve that is held closed by a small round sticker with an interlocked square pattern.

While I like the prototypes of the stylish new packaging as seen on Instagram recently, I’ll definitely miss the rustic touch of the handwritten description below the rubber stamped company logo.

Sliding the bar from the outer wrapper, I was immediately surprised by both the bar’s olive green color and the generous sprinkling of saffron threads on the “inclusion” side. My initial guess was that the saffron was only included on the outside (otherwise the bar might have been more yellowish) and that dried yerba mate leaves were ground into a powder before being combined with the cocoa butter to create that unique color. To satisfy my curiosity, I put a call in to Lauren to get more information. Thanks for letting me know that whole mate leaves were added to the grinder to help infuse the white chocolate…I’m surprised that adding some saffron during the melanging phase didn’t affect the green hue.

Once removed from the wrapper, there was no mistaking the sweet herbal/grassy aroma of the mate. This transported me back to childhood summers when my grandparents would visit. The smell of the brewing mate would waft from the kitchen in the morning & I would watch their curious ritual of slowly sipping mate from small hollowed out gourds with metal bombillas (straws) dipped first in sugar to take away some of the bitterness of the tea. The gourd has intricate carvings on all sides.

Saffron is one of the most expensive spices in the world and its complex flavor can be difficult to explain. Words like pungent, bitter, funky and medicinal come to mind; though I’ve seen others describe it as reminiscent of plastic and latex. Given that, I was both intrigued and apprehensive about tasting this bar; additionally I tend to stay away from caffeine and mate has moderate levels compared to coffee.

Biting into a rectangle (which had produced a nice snap when segmented from the rest of the bar), the morsel was a little grainy rather than completely smooth.

It tasted very much like it smelled, but was also surprisingly creamy/buttery during the melt. Overall, it was the right amount of sweetness vs. bitterness and the flavors were not as overwhelming as I thought they might be; however both “main” ingredients are considered acquired tastes and probably won’t appeal to most palates.

In the spirit of brainstorming, I wondered if another traditional Spanish spice might be substituted for saffron…so with apologies to Lauren, I paired it with Pimentón de la Vera (a sweet smoked paprika).

Personally, the smoky, sweet chili worked a little better than the bitter saffron…besides smokiness made me think of the parrilladas (barbecues) that the gauchos (Argentinian cowboys) are known for 😉

72% Cacao Fiji

The image on this bar’s wrapper reminds me of high school biology and looking at substances under a high powered microscope…I wonder if this one depicts dissolved salt crystals? One nice feature is the “wrapped up” (date stamp) on the reverse, letting me know the freshness this chocolate.

This would be my first taste of Fiji chocolate, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Removing the bar from the plastic inner wrapper, I noticed the glossy/shiny finish despite some air bubbles and “ghosting” that can occur when removing a tempered bar from its mold. Overall, the surface was a deep, dark brown with reddish flecks at some corners.

Is it a “cop out” to describe the taste and aroma as “chocolatey”?! Upon opening the wrapper, there was an enticing sweet (and chocolatey) aroma. Each bite produced a thick, creamy, velvety mouthfeel while melting the slightly grainy morsel. To me, the flavor was the perfect combination of fruity and nutty, with a lightly astringent, roasted bitter aftertaste.

Must seek out more Fiji chocolate soon 🙂

If you’re headed to the NW Chocolate Makers UnConference or the NW Chocolate Festival in Seattle next week, hopefully you’ll have the chance to meet Lauren in person…I know I’m looking forward to it!

For more information, check out: http://wkndchocolate.com/

W is for Willie’s Cacao

Happy Halloween! Hope your day was filled with (chocolate) treats 🙂 Honestly, I’m not sure why October 28^th is considered “National Chocolate Day” instead of October 31^st given that most trick or treaters prefer chocolate over other types of goodies. As you might imagine, my taste gravitates toward craft chocolates over mass-produced sweets.

Just when it seemed like my dream “W” bar was out of reach, Pashmina and Chris from Choco Rush came to my rescue! The timing of my inquiry was just right since they were shortly scheduled to receive a shipment of Willie’s Cacao straight from the factory in the UK! I don’t know about you, but I get excited every time chocolate is scheduled to be delivered to me by mail. Upon receiving the USPS tracking number, I set up text message alerts so that I could stay informed about the exact whereabouts of my precious cargo 😉 Rushing out the door once I received notification that the package was “left in the mailbox at its destination,” I was eager to see Choco Rush’s distinctive logo on the sealed cardboard rectangular box.

The bar was expertly packed with two mini sheets of re-usable cooling “ice cubes” to ensure that it would arrive in pristine condition despite the warmer weather that is still lingering here in SoCal despite it being Fall.

Recently I discovered “Willie’s Chocolate Revolution: Raising the Bar,” a documentary that chronicles the various ups and downs that Willie Harcourt-Cooze experienced while setting up his production of bean-to-bar dark chocolate bars as well as his attempts to “re-educate” British palates that were raised on Cadbury’s milk chocolate confections. The three episodes (each split into 4 mini episodes on YouTube) first aired in the UK in 2009 as a follow-up to the “Willie’s Wonky Chocolate Factory” series. One of the bars that was featured heavily on “Raising the Bar” is this 72% Rio Caribe Gold made with Trinitario beans from Venezuela!

There is an elegant simplicity to the black square box emblazoned with gold and white foil stamped and embossed lettering. The blue font draws your attention to the country of origin of the beans and the tasting notes. Inside the box, the bar is wrapped in an easily opened, crimped shiny gold foil wrapper that has many stylized capital “double u” letters imprinted with a contrasting opaque gold so that they will stand out.

Seems that the “W” from the outer packaging matches the company logo that appears on the chocolate bar itself (inside an indented cacao pod).

Despite the chocolate “dust” marring the surface of this bar, there is an overall matte finish on both the front and back of this deep dark brown square. With a little effort, the sturdy bar breaks apart with a sharp snap and releases a roasted/smoky aroma. I was surprised that the edge of the piece looked like mini jagged stalactites and that the color was almost like a reddish mahogany.

The flavor was a bit bitter and coffee-like to me on the first few bites; but upon allowing the morsel to melt easily on my tongue, it seemed to mellow out and become more of an earthy tang. The taste grew on me in a pleasant way. Hopefully when I visit San Francisco later in the year, I’ll be able to locate more of Willie’s bars since I’m especially interested in tasting his flavored bars (like Hazelnut Raisin or Ginger Lime)!

To learn more about Willie’s Cacao, please check out: http://www.williescacao.com/

If receiving a curated collection of craft dark chocolate bars on a monthly basis sounds good to you, check out https://chocorush.co/ to subscribe!