Pinkies up 😉 It’s time to be playfully refined, yet chic at the same time…I do believe these are the perfect adjectives to describe Charm School Chocolate!
Some experts say that Belize is the “cradle of chocolate” – meaning it was first used there by the ancient Mayans. Mayan kings once used the cacao seeds both as currency as well as part of a spicy/sacred beverage. Since the cacao was revered as the drink of the gods, only the elite in the Maya society could afford to drink it. Things have certainly changed and evolved over the years. To learn more about the growing popularity of using beans from this small Central American country, check out this article: https://thechocolatejournalist.com/belize-is-the-new-black-for-chocolate-makers/
Charm School Chocolate from Maryland uses beans from the Maya Mountain region for this 3-ingredient 70% Dark bar. The beans are stone ground in small batches; but since they are roasted and refined for up to 5 days, this bar has only a hint of the gritty texture normally associated with stone-ground beans. This polished vegan chocolate is nattily dressed in a colorful argyle pattern outer wrapper.
Upon removing the outer wrapper, I could feel from the outside that the bar itself wasn’t completely flat. When removing the silver foil outer wrapper, I was surprised by their unique mold: one side is textured, while the other is smooth…meeting at a raised point on a bias.
The argyle pattern is repeated as part of their imprinted logo on the smooth side:
This chocolate reminds me of tart, sour cherries with hints of grapes (the label says that it’s reminiscent of raisins…so I’m not too far off 🙂 ). Though it may be “uncharming” to say so, there were two minor detractions for me: a slightly astringent aftertaste and the mold’s lack of scored lines to help break off pieces into manageable Miss Manners-approved morsels.
One day, I’ll aspire to describe chocolate as precisely as Chocolate Codex…in the meantime, here is a link to their very thorough review of this bar: http://chocolatecodex.com/portfolio/charm-school-chocolate-belize-70-cx65478/
To further your Charm School “education,” go to: http://www.charmschoolchocolate.com/
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