My hiatus from blog posts has been lengthier than I’ve wished or expected. However, when I woke up this morning (March 5th) & discovered that it was National Absinthe Day, I was inspired to launch my new Alphabet project even though I’m not fully prepared to do so…I just couldn’t let the perfect opportunity pass me by. In this round of Eating the Chocolate Alphabet, I plan on featuring chocolates that include or are inspired by different alcohols. So, if you have any recommendations for future letters, please leave me a comment or send an email!
You might have heard that for nearly 100 years it was illegal to import, manufacture or sell “real” absinthe in the United States. But do you know why? Well, many believe that wormwood (the bitter component to absinthe, as well as the herb responsible for its characteristic hue) contains a toxic chemical called thujone, and this was believed to be the cause of all sorts of bad things: drunkenness, hallucinations, rage, violence and even death.
With a back story like that, finding and tasting a chocolate called Absinthe intrigued me! To be clear, the following chocolate bar does NOT contain any alcohol, only botanicals which impart a licorice flavor that is similar to the beverage that inspired it!
Introducing, Endorfin Foods’ ABSINTHE 70% dark chocolate with anise & wildcrafted mugwort:
Endorfin leaves the cacao beans unroasted and uses caramelized coconut + coconut blossom sugar to sweeten their chocolate bars more naturally. Essential oils of mugwort, anise, sweet fennel and lemon balm provide the absinthe-like flavor profile without any of the bitterness.
Love the vintage font and corner illustrations on the 100% compostable packaging that makes me think of the Arts and Crafts movement / Craftsman style which is so prevalent in my hometown of Pasadena, California. If you look closely, the company logo sports a series of cacao pod cross sections, which at a glance could be mistaken for flowers.
Removing the relatively plain, conjoined 8-rectangle bar from
the packaging, you immediately see a mostly pristine/glossy dark brown surface as
well as smell a vibrant anise/licorice aroma.
Sharp snap, revealing a few tiny air bubbles at the break
point.
Slightly crumbly when chewed and not completely smooth on the tongue, I attribute these to the coconut sugar. Creamy mouthfeel during the slow/even melt; the herbal flavors mingle harmoniously with the base chocolate making for a pleasurable experience, sans hallucinations!
Since I happened to have a few bottles of absinthe at home, I decided to conduct an impromptu tasting:
If I’m being completely honest, I MUCH prefer the aroma and flavor of Endorfin’s rendition of absinthe!
For more information on Northern California-based Endorfin Foods, please visit their website: https://endorfinfoods.com/
Does the thought of a LONG flight to India make you cringe? Well, I’ve discovered a company in New York making chocolate treats that will bring the taste of India right to your doorstep! Look no further than Xocolatti, whose tagline is “CHOCOLATE reimagined.”
Thanks to Namrata (co-founder of Xocolatti, with her chocolatier-husband Shaineal) for reaching out so that I could sample three of their unique “slates” (the term they use to describe what might otherwise be called a “bark” by other makers). Honestly, I prefer the word “slate” since it calls to mind a painter’s pristine canvas, waiting to receive layers of flavors, textures, and colors that are a feast for both the eyes and the tastebuds.
Each of the thin rectangular slates, that are roughly the size of a large Post-it™ Note, arrived individually packaged within its own be-ribboned envelope. Inside the envelope was a clear, re-sealable pouch kept closed with a double sided informational sticker: the description/name of the item on one side and the ingredient list on the other. My only complaint is that I couldn’t open the pouch without damaging the informational sticker; so, I ended up cutting the bottom of the pouches, rendering them no longer re-sealable 😢 Now that I think about it, you really shouldn’t expect to have any leftovers to re-seal anyway 😲
First up is the Masala Milk:
The first thing you see is a generous blanketing of nuts covering the surface of the white chocolate layer. Try as I might, I was unable to photograph the green pistachios in a way that truly showcased the metallic lustre dust (is it gold or is it silver? 🤔)
The pistachios fall off easily, so I was able to pop several into my mouth separately from all the other ingredients. I was surprised by how much they tasted like saffron first and THEN like pistachio, leading me to assume that the lustre dust must also have contained some saffron! Sadly, the almond pieces looked dusty/chalky white and didn’t impart any flavor.
Even before I segmented the slate with a medium-to-dull snap, I noticed that the bottom, dark chocolate, layer had grooves and the white chocolate filled in the gaps. This cross-section photo helps explain what I mean:
While this slate was a little too sweet for my taste and I wish that I could have detected the cardamom, which was listed as an ingredient; I did enjoy the creamy, lightly refreshing mouthfeel during the melt.
Next, the Saffron Nut Chikki:
How could anyone resist the enticing and generous amount of nuts (almond, pistachio, cashew and pecan) that are embedded in the eye-catching, glossy, mosaic-like brittle?
Breaking off a tasting morsel, the brittle layer separated from the dark chocolate layer so that I could eat each component individually, as well as together!
In my opinion, the brittle had just the right level of crunch: not too soft and not tooth jarring. Eaten apart from the chocolate layer, you could really taste the bitter saffron, which isn’t surprising given that you can see a saffron thread suspended in the crystallized sugar!
The dark chocolate had a dull rather than shiny appearance, leading me to believe that it was left un-tempered. While, I would have liked the smooth and creamy dark chocolate to have some distinguishing flavor notes other than “chocolate,” this neutrality helped balance out the bitter notes.
In case it ever comes up as a trivia question…
Chikki —the classic Indian brittle—was made famous as a simple, nutritious snack for the railroad workers laying tracks through the mountain town of Lonavala.
Lastly, my favorite of the three, Mango Paprika:
I love it when something is as tasty (and creative) as it is photogenic! I can’t get over the interplay of sweet vs. lightly spicy or the stark contrast between creamy white and vibrant orangey-red!
While I’m all for “chomping” inclusion bars, this one is worth savoring! Placing a piece in my mouth, multiple textures, flavors and aromas awakened my senses: the chewy, tropical, diced jellied mango plus the creamy/milky sweetness from the white chocolate that tames the “zing” and slow burn at the back of the throat from the paprika.
Xocolatti describes my feelings perfectly on their website:
This bark is a carefully-curated journey of contradictions through your senses, a journey that always ends where you began: eager for the next bite.
Xocolatti has more than just Indian-inspired flavors! Check out their website to see their range of truffles, in addition to slates. Just a reminder that Fathers’ Day is coming up on June 17th! Xocolatti is currently running at promotion through June 13th at 12pm EDT…use the code DAD to get free ground shipping when ordering through their website: https://xocolatti.com/
And if you’d like to learn more about the creative duo behind these culinary delights, please watch this short video from 2015.
NOTE: Even though Xocolatti provided me with the samples free of charge; the above impressions, opinions, photos, and review of the products are solely my own.
The unseasonably cool days in Southern California these first few days of May lulled me into thinking that summer wouldn’t be so bad this year (granted it’s not officially summer yet, but you know what I mean!) Those erroneous thoughts must have jinxed things because now there is a heat wave predicted for this weekend (it will be 91F / 33C tomorrow). 😲
Not-ideal-for-chocolate days are right around the corner for those living in the Northern Hemisphere (or maybe it’s already HOT where you are), so perhaps you’ve been thinking about purchasing a wine fridge since you’ve heard that it’s not a good idea to store chocolates in your regular refrigerator for a variety of reasons. Buying a dedicated cooler for my chocolate stash a couple of years ago was THE BEST investment I made!
** PLEASE NOTE that the temperatures I will be quoting below are in Fahrenheit.
** KEEP IN MIND that not all wine fridges are created equal, so YOUR actual experience might differ!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means I might receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that I’ve have mentioned below. While clicking these links won’t cost you any extra money, they will help me keep this blog ad free!
FUNCTIONALITY:
Most wine fridges work based on ambient room temperature and can only cool the air inside the unit to approximately 30 degrees cooler than the room’s temperature. During a heat wave when my apartment exceeds 100F, my wine fridge struggles to maintain 70F even though set to 65F.
Conversely (since the wine fridge isn’t equipped with a heater), if your room’s temperature is COLDER than the temperature you have set for the unit, you might see that the temperature of the stored chocolates is LOWER than what you are expecting! During the winter, I set my fridge to 62F, but there are days that I wake up to see 52F (or lower) on the digital display!
THINGS TO WATCH FOR:
When there is a power outage, my wine fridge will “reset” to the lowest temperature setting available for the unit (~46-54F) and then slowly climb to sync with the room’s temperature.
Make sure to leave room for airflow at the top/bottom and/or near where the fans are located.
Invest in a small digital thermometer to determine where the coldest spots are in your fridge (sometimes the temperature displayed isn’t the *true* temperature of the unit). Once you learn which are the coolest shelves, utilize that accordingly, if you don’t already have a dual zone refrigerator.
Here you see that I’ve left plenty of space near a fan.
As you know, one of the worst things for chocolate is moisture. Condensation might collect at the bottom of the wine fridge, so add a few desiccant pellet packs and replace (as needed).
Storing chocolate bars in zip-lock freezer bags helps to avoid sugar bloom caused by moisture. This is also a great way to reduce cross-contamination of flavors and aromas. If you have a strongly scented/flavored bar (like rose or coffee), you might consider sealing that in a completely separate bag.
Some units’ shelves are curved (since the fridge was designed to store round bottles), so it’s a good idea to stack like-sized/shaped bars together as evenly as possible to create a flat base. Try not to over-pack your storage bags, otherwise bars might break/crack.
Depending on the width of your storage unit, some bars (like Pump Street or Smooth Chocolator, for example) won’t fit horizontally (East/West orientation) & will need to be stored vertically (North/South).
I’ll admit this is a little sloppy, but it’s a well utilized 8-bottle wine fridge!
Notice the desiccant pack at the bottom.
I love it when I can neatly stack 2 rows of bars “tetris-style”!
Another advantage of storing your bars in a controlled wine fridge is that the chocolate will come up to room temperature more quickly than if you were to store them in a regular refrigerator or freezer!
While you might not be as obsessive as I am, I can’t live without my spreadsheet telling me on which shelf I’ve stored a particular chocolate bar! This handy list now allows me to avoid keeping the fridge door open for extended periods of time while removing each bag in search of an elusive bar of out of an inventory of 150+ options.
One thing that I cannot stress enough is to buy a bigger size than you *think* you might need. Would you believe that I was certain that I could make do with a countertop-sized, 4-bottle unit? My boyfriend convinced me to buy an 8-bottle fridge which quickly became “maxed out” such that I now have TWO wine fridges in constant use: an 8-bottle fridge that sits atop a coffee table and a dual zone 12-bottle fridge 😲
If YOU own a wine fridge (or two) and have helpful practical hints you’d like to share, please leave me a message below!
May all your chocolates stay cool and comfortable even though you might roast this summer!
In the northern mountains of the Dominican Republic, there is a 1019-acre bird sanctuary where about 70% of the land is set aside to remain forever wild! On the rest of the acreage, they grow macadamias, bananas and grafted varietals of shade-grown cacao trees that have been carefully selected for their nuanced flavors and intense aromas. What is this place? It’s Reserva Zorzal, the Dominican Republic’s first private preserve which acts as a model for other landowners to create conservation solutions!
Chocolate makers who buy the meticulously fermented and sundried Reserva Zorzal cacao beans are willing to pay an additional value for each pound to invest in “Plan Vivo,” a project which focuses on habitat restoration and climate change mitigation. Reserva Zorzal strives to create a better habitat for their signature bird species, Bicknell’s Thrush (or Zorzal de Bicknell in Spanish), a rare migratory songbird which spends the winter at the preserve and then breeds in the northeastern United States and parts of Canada. In partnership with a couple of other Dominican organizations, there is a 50-year goal to increase the Bicknell Thrush population by 25%. Additionally (from the Reserva Zorzal website), by planting trees in the Dominican Republic, they aim to offset carbon emissions from chocolate producers and other manufacturers in North America.
One of the chocolate makers using Zorzal beans is Madison Butler from Piedmont Bleus in North Carolina.
Like the unassuming Bicknell’s Thrush which has a complex flute-like song, this relatively plain looking three-ingredient chocolate bar hides nuanced flavors and aromas.
The 12-rectange bar is medium to dark brown in color and sports a glossy shine. As always, I enjoy flipping a bar over to see if there are any interesting drip patterns. This did not disappoint! Hopefully the filter I applied to the photo below helps the image “pop” more! What do YOU see?
It’s easy to segment tasting morsels along the bar’s score lines with a sharp snap, revealing some nooks/crannies, as well as a textured shear pattern and a pleasant roasted nut aroma at the break point.
Popping a piece in my mouth, I encountered a smooth/creamy mouthfeel during the slow/even melt, vibrantly tart fruit flavors that reminded me of cherries or cranberries and little to no astringency on the finish.
Like the back of the label says (“Goes down smooth”), this bar certainly didn’t last long as there only 2 pieces remaining! I’m setting one of the pieces aside to pair with a mezcal as recommended!
Now I want to get my hands on their “Hot Minute” bar which is spicy & Mexican-inspired! Have YOU tried that yet?!
If you’d like to get bars for yourself, check out Piedmont Bleus’ website: http://piedmontbleus.com/
Can you believe that I’ve reached the end of another Alphabet series? Where does the time go?! I’ll be taking a short break from blog posts while thinking about the theme for “Round 4” – I have some ideas, but welcome hearing your suggestions too! Leave me a comment here or check out my Instagram page in the meantime! Have a delicious weekend!
Behind every chocolate bar, there is a story…this one is truly unique!
There was a time when I feared it would be impossible to feature the letter “Y” this round!
My boyfriend & I had scoured the internet for possible cacao growing cities around the globe that started with the letter Y: Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Yaoundé, Cameroon; and Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast were contenders, but then came the issue of actually finding chocolate bars from those areas.
I had issued a plea on my Instagram stories and pinned the post to my profile for WEEKS afterwards; sadly, that resulted in very few responses.
Needing to reach a bigger audience (and running out of time), I posted to a chocolate-centric Facebook group asking for suggestions. Someone with connections to a farm in Yorkin, Costa Rica replied, but then nothing ever came of it. Another person suggested a 100% bar made from Yamasa, Dominican Republic beans…but, have you ever tasted a 100% bar…ugh!
I became resigned to the fate that I might have to “bend the rules” to achieve a blog-worthy post. Then, the most amazing series of events started to unfold!
Lauren Heineck from WKND Chocolate spotted an Instagram post of a woman roasting cacao beans in Yariguíes National Park, Colombia and tagged me in the comments! I immediately reached out to @spiralterra asking if there was ANY possibility of getting a single bar using those beans. Unfortunately no bars existed, but she had returned from the trip with a small quantity of fermented/dried beans that she could send to me. One small snag, she’s in Belize and I’m in Southern California. Oh, and that tiny (yet crucial) detail: I AM NOT A CHOCOLATE MAKER!!
The elusive “Y” was finally within my grasp! My head was spinning! What should I do?
Accessing my mental rolodex: who do I know that could transform cacao beans into chocolate for me? Over the last two years of blogging, I’ve gotten to know several chocolate makers even though I’ve never met them in real life. Map Chocolate and Violet Sky Chocolate were both instrumental in Round 2 of the Alphabet, so of course I would reach out to them for their advice. I also wanted to involve Lauren since she was the one who had first alerted me to the origin. Then, I remembered a blog post from Will Marx of Wm. Chocolate where he detailed his experience with test batch after test batch, trying to find a substitute complex & dynamic flavor profile after a favorite origin ran out.
Quickly firing off an email to these four chocolate makers, I needed a “reality check.” Should I take the risk of requesting that an “unknown quantity” be shipped internationally? Could a few bars of chocolate be made with 5 pounds (or less) of beans? What pitfalls did I need to consider?
I was thrilled to get responses back from everyone within hours of me pressing send, even though it was already late in the day! They each provided insightful advice, feedback and thoughts. Overall, my idea was met with enthusiasm and they were willing to help out. Now I worried if air mail would cost me an “arm and a leg” or if the package would somehow get lost in transit or stuck in customs limbo.
I asked Giulia (aka spiralterra) for a shipping estimate, knowing that her response would probably “make” or “break” my decision to move forward. After a couple of days of stress and anxiety on my part, she provided me a more cost-effective solution. Her partner (Sam), based in New York, had the same batch of beans and could ship me two pounds!
Cue the choir of angels singing…
During my initial fact-finding email exchange, Will from Wm. Chocolate had indicated that he had some time coming up in his schedule for a quick turnaround…this project was suddenly becoming very tangible! Fast forward about a week, now I was daily monitoring the shipment of beans from New York to Wisconsin (where Will is based); I needed to know the precise moment that the “eagle had landed.”
Part of me was curious to know everything about those beans, but another part wanted to be surprised. Staying in suspense won! Leaving things in Will’s capable hands, I didn’t learn the “backstory” or even the final cacao percentage until AFTER I had tasted the finished chocolate bar!
Thanks for reading this VERY long preamble! Now for the moment you’ve been waiting for! Insert drumroll…
This was my first time seeing Will’s custom logo mold, since the “K” bar and the “W” bar were created with completely different molds!
Despite the chocolate “dust” that clung to the front of the bar, the logo indentations were eye catching and well defined! Looking closer, I noticed tiny, reddish-brown flecks reaching the surface of the bar.
Knowing that I love the artistic “drip patterns” that often appear on the backs of bars, Will unleashed his inner Picasso and opted not to smooth out the liquid chocolate with a vibration machine after filling the molds. These are the backs of just 2 of the 6 bars that I received, but each one had its own personality and quirks. I’ve tweaked the photos below with black & white filters so that the images will “pop” better! Let me know what YOU see!
Originally I was going to wait a few days to taste the bars in the morning, when my palate was fresh; but, since half of the bars arrived cracked, I took that as a sign for an immediate, impromptu late-afternoon tasting session!
There was a sharp snap and a fruity aroma at the break point. I noticed some flecks of white and interesting shear patterns.
But OH MY! I was NOT prepared for the flavor explosion in my mouth! There was an immediate back of the throat, vibrant burst of fruit that reminded me of molasses, dried raisins, or alcohol-soaked cherries. Smooth mouthfeel, slow/even melt and a bit astringent during and after the melt.
About a week later, I was finally able to make time to taste in earnest. The partially consumed bar still had a sharp snap, but the aroma at the break point was more earthy and woody. This time the flavor was deeper and a bit subdued. Don’t get me wrong, it was still complex, robust and full-bodied. The flavor was now more tangy, like sour cherries or a fruity Greek yogurt, with a long lasting tannic finish.
No longer worried about being “pre-influenced,” I could finally contact Will to request his notes and photos from the production process!
As you can see, the beans look mostly pristine!
Photo credit: Will Marx, Wm. Chocolate
Will decided that a medium roast would bring out the inherent qualities and flavors of the cacao. I can almost smell the winnowed nibs from this photo! [Note: winnowing removes the papery skin/husk from the roasted beans.]
Photo credit: Will Marx, Wm. Chocolate
Pre-grinding the nibs a bit makes them easier to process, these powdered nibs were ready to be put in the refiner/melanger to be slowly ground into a liquid state.
Photo credit: Will Marx, Wm. Chocolate
After several hours, a sweetener could be added to the chocolate liquor (Note: this has nothing to do with alcohol, but means liquified chocolate). Will chose sucanat, a whole/unrefined sugar from Costa Rica that has a flavor similar to mild wildflower honey.
Photo credit: Will Marx, Wm. Chocolate
The final formulation included just 3 ingredients: nibs, cocoa butter and wholesome sweetener; resulting in a one-of-a-kind 74% dark chocolate!
I’m very grateful to Samuel Kent Combs for sending a note with the beans to explain their “provenance.” I had never heard of FEC2 & FSV41 varieties of Trinitario beans until then! If you are interested, there are several Colombian cacao documents online (in Spanish) explaining these clones: Fedecacao El Carmen 2 (FEC2) & Fedecacao San Vicente 41 (FSV41).
Usually with these posts I have featured the origin itself rather than concentrating on the bar, but hopefully you agree that its story was too special not to be featured.
To learn more about where the cacao beans came from [Bosques de Yariguíes in the Santander department of Colombia], please visit this website: http://bosquesdecacaoyariguies.com/en/home/
How many degrees of separation are between this week’s featured chocolate bar, Ferran Adrià (the famous Spanish chef known for his molecular gastronomy restaurant El Bulli) and Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (author of the 17th Century novel Don Quixote)?! Read on to find out!
Bordering both the Pacific Ocean and Guatemala, the region of Soconusco (spelled with an “X” in the Nahuatl language) is located in the Mexican state of Chiapas. It suprised me to learn that Theobroma Cacao, the tree that grows the beans which are then used to make chocolate, has grown in this area’s fertile, volcanic soil since the Olmecs, an ancient civilization which pre-dates the Maya and Aztecs. Soconusco’s main agricultural cash crop these days is coffee. According to Wikipedia: 37% of the arable land is dedicated to coffee, another 25% to corn and the rest mostly to mango, cacao and sesame seeds (though banana, papaya, starfruit, kiwi, passion fruit, and even rambutan are grown and exported from there as well).
Also from Wikipedia, the first Spanish arrived in 1522 and Soconusco was declared a province by the Spanish crown in 1526. Because of its cacao, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra (who later wrote Don Quixote) solicited the Spanish king in the late 16th Century for the right to govern Soconusco. My guess is that this request was not granted, otherwise there would be corroborating details available online.
You’re still curious about the El Bulli connection, right? Well, Cacao Sampaka, the partnership of chocolatiers in Barcelona responsible for producing this particular bar, was co-founded by Albert Adrià, the pastry chef brother to Ferran Adrià!
Capdevila’s [one of Cacao Sampaka’s founding partners] latest discovery, Xoxomusco, a rare cacao he found in Mexico — will make a dark chocolate bar that he hopes will be as big a hit in Cacao Sampaka stores as La Joya…
Wait…did they say “Xoxomusco”? Unable to find other references to this origin, I assume it to be a typo! 😕🤔
In the past couple of weeks, two fellow chocolate bloggers have written about the disadvantages of including tasting notes on chocolate packaging since very specific flavor descriptions might be deceiving or might even be inconsistent with the particular batch you have in your hands. While I personally like seeing detailed tasting notes, maybe this “spider chart” could be a compromise. It provides both general and specific information about some of the basic flavors you might encounter with this bar.
Honestly, I was a little surprised to discover not one, but two, thin rectangular bars inside this box. In retrospect, I should have placed the two bars side-by-side rather than separated by a white box since the bars were mostly identical in color (darkish brown with some reddish flecks nearing the surface), unlike what you see below.
It was very easy to leave fingerprints on the reflective, semi-glossy finish which exhibited some scuffing/cosmetic blemishes; only the embossed company name adorned the front of the bars.
The back of the bars have six unevenly sized rectangles indicating how the chocolate molds were filled.
Straight out of the heat-sealed inner plastic wrapper, the aroma was very earthy (like wet dirt). With a high pitched and resounding snap, some air bubbles appeared at the break point.
The tasting morsels had a very smooth mouthfeel during the slow/even melt, but I was left with some tongue prickles during the lightly acidic/bitter finish.
I was “tilting at windmills” trying to decide if there were any flavor notes aside from “chocolate.” Was I merely imagining that there were fruity notes based on the expectations created by the packaging? [OK, I have to admit that my chocolate colleagues might have a point!] Overall, this bar disappointed me since I wanted more from something with a connection to a chef who was known to push culinary boundaries and expectations.
I’m curious to seek out this origin and taste it again by a different maker!
With apologies to the “Impossible Dream” lyricist from the “Man of La Mancha” muscial: “this is my quest, to follow that [origin], no matter how hopeless, no matter how far…” 😜
As I began researching this origin earlier today, I found an online entry listing the location as “Wampusirpi, Gracias a Dios, Honduras.” My eyes glossed over those three middle words, assuming them to be a religious “thanks be to God” phrase that was casually thrown in. However, after the third time encountering those words, I suddenly realized that Gracias a Dios is a department (what we might call a state) of Honduras and that Wampusirpi is a municipality within that department!
Sources mentioned that this remote region could only be accessed by a two-day canoe trip, so it didn’t surprise me to read this description on the C-Spot website: “…Wamusirpi is about as far as one can get from civilization: no running water, electricity nor roads – accessible only via river or air. Just wilderness…which can be plenty.”
C-Spot went on to say “Biosphere sources from 100+ Miskito producers cultivating small plots typically under forest canopy along the banks of the Rio Patuca which forms the eastern border of the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve.” Intrigued, I searched for Biosphere’s website, but was re-directed to Cacao Direct’s website, which didn’t have much information. Thankfully a Map Chocolate 2017 sourcing report filled in the blanks:
“Biosphere Cacao comes from the village of Wampusirpi, a location immediately adjacent to Río Plátano Biosphere Reserve in Honduras, which has been a World Heritage site and biosphere reserve since 1982. In 2011, UNESCO placed the reserve on the List of World Heritage. Cacao Direct went to Wampusirpi with the sole intention of re-starting cocoa production as a way to create a livelihood for native Hondurans in a drug trade-ravaged country. CD financed the construction of a fermentary, provided the farmers with the tools (solar-powered weed-whackers) necessary to reclaim the cacao trees growing in the rainforest there and sustainably harvest cacao, and provided oversight of the fermentation, transport, and marketing of the beans. Farmers are paid immediately at the time of delivering the raw/unfermented cacao, a step which required special dispensation by the Honduran government. Beans are organic certified. {info source Jorge Schmidt, Cacao Direct}”
With all that build-up, my taste buds were eager to sample this Wm. Chocolate bar made with beans from the 2016 harvest and further enhanced by Hawaiian Red Salt (which gets its distinct color from the volcanic clay on the island of Kauai).
There are few frills on the front of this small cardboard box: all the text in capital letters like a newspaper headline, with certain words jumping out at you due to either the font size or the color.
The inner, heat-sealed pouch has a distinctive crackle; that sound tells me that it is compostable.
The bar is made up of 3 slender batons (that look like piano keys) with grooves between them; it just felt “right” to orient it vertically. Straight out of the packaging, the aroma was faintly herbal, with a hint of coconut.
Lately I’ve been obsessed with unexpected images that appear on the backs of bars. I was concerned that the inclusion ingredient might obscure rather than highlight; but, lo and behold, there it was as soon as I shifted the bar at an angle. I’ve tweaked the filter a bit on these two photos, hoping that what I see will be more obvious to you.
To me, there is the profile of a little girl wearing a cap-sleeved blouse and a be-ribboned, close fitting hat (or maybe she’s sporting a 1920s “bob” or Regency-era hairstyle) puckering up to wish upon a fluffy dandelion seed head. Over active imagination, I know!
But wait…there’s more! I also see a tiny smile emerging from the random sprinkling of red salt:
Don’t see it?! How about now! 😉
With a resounding sharp snap, interesting whorls, shear patterns, plus nooks and crannies appeared at the break point…
The salt added a satisfying crunch and the flavors became intensified, though fleeting, while chewing a piece. However, as you might imagine, you will be rewarded with the evolution and unfolding of flavors when you take time to savor and melt.
With the Hawaiian red salt tongue-side down, the generously-sized dense crystals rasp against your tongue and dissolve very slowly, releasing a smoky sweetness that reminds me of paprika or buttered popcorn. Once the salt is gone, I could then concentrate on the creamy, velvety smooth chocolate which melts slowly and evenly, leaving behind the taste of a slightly unripe banana. Switching things up a bit, I tasted another piece; but this time, salt palate-side up! The prickly/mineral notes hit the back of my throat as I inhaled through my mouth and it felt like an echo in a cave…something elusive that I wanted to follow and reach.
Either way, a pleasant, lingering aftertaste coated my palate like a soft and lightweight leather jacket. In the paraphrased words of John Nanci, from Chocolate Alchemy, “there was a slight astringency, but no bitterness.”
If you’d like to learn more about Will Marx, chocolate maker and owner of Wm. Chocolate, I encourage you to read his blog entries describing his foray into introducing a 100% bar, made from, you guessed it, Wampusirpi beans! Here is the link to the first of three entries.
Another great article to read about Will’s background and philosophy regarding chocolate making can be found on Bar and Cocoa’s website.
After tasting this bar, the words on my lips are: “Gracias a Dios” 🙂
Chocolate daily connects me to the greater world in unimaginable ways.
A couple of months ago, I made a plea on Instagram for recommendations for some of the letters that were stumping me. Thanks to Lilla from Little Beetle Chocolates/Taste.Better.Chocolate for suggesting Virunga, otherwise I might never have known about the endangered mountain gorillas that live in Virunga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
From online sources and a 2014 documentary that can be seen on Netflix, I learned that Virunga National Park is the oldest and the largest national park on the continent of Africa. Originally established in 1925 to protect the mountain gorillas, Virunga National Park has been a UNESCO-designated World Heritage Site since 1979. There are currently less than 900 mountain gorillas left, making them a rare and critically-endangered species.
I’m pretty sure that it is illegal to explore for oil within a National Park; yet in 2013, about 80% of the Virunga National Park was allocated for oil concessions to a UK-based company. While that company demobilized in 2014, they still hold operating permits and the future of the exceptionally biodiverse National Park is uncertain. In an effort to research things for this blog post, I read that earlier this week there was more bloodshed within the Virunga National Park as five DR Congo soldiers were killed by the Rwandan army. It was truly shocking to read that during the Second Congo War between 1998 and 2003, there was upwards of 5 million human fatalities.
While I haven’t yet seen the Netflix documentary, I recently watched the companion piece called “Virunga: Gorillas in Peril.” It was heart-wrenching to watch the gorillas cower in fear each time they heard machine gun fire and I have much admiration for the individuals who have risked their lives to protect the mountain gorillas from poachers, war, and the devastating effects of oil exploration.
As mentioned on the back of the bar’s packaging, Amsterdam-based chocolate company, Original Beans, does what they can through their “one bar: one tree” program to help preserve some of the Earth’s rarest places. By entering a code from the box, I was led to a website with information on the progress made in Virunga. Additionally, this particular bar helps to protect the world’s last 800 mountain gorillas: https://originalbeans.com/cru-virunga-congo/
Now for the chocolate itself!
Original Beans: Cru Virunga 70%, Virunga Park, Congo DR
The main illustration on the front of the box pays homage to the mountain gorillas whose home is the Virunga National Park. I love the delicate gold foil stamping and embossing.
Unless you look carefully, you might miss the image at the top: a tree sprouting from the flattened image of the globe.
The back and inside panels provide more details about the efforts made by Original Beans, as I mentioned earlier in this post.
Removing the 12-rectangle bar from the biodegradable inner pouch, the chocolate itself felt silky smooth, almost a little greasy, to the touch despite the lightly frosted/bloomed appearance.
Running a fingertip over the sunburst image at the center of the rectangle seemed to smear the chocolate rather than bring back the lustre and shine.
There was an earthy, mushroom-like aroma to the chocolate. Splitting a rectangle in half with a medium snap, the aroma turned nutty, like browned butter. There were no air bubbles at the break point.
Smooth, creamy mouthfeel during the slow/even melt, punctuated by berry and citrus notes. The overall chocolate flavor lingers pleasantly on your palate with little to no astringency on the finish. This is a very easy-to-eat bar and you can support a good cause at the same time. WIN:WIN!
To learn more about Original Beans, their products and their philosophy, please visit their website: https://originalbeans.com/
As I’m nearing the end of the Alphabet, I seem to be losing enthusiasm for the last remaining letters. Somehow I just don’t have the same connection to origins as I did with company names (Round 1 of this project) or inclusion ingredients (Round 2). It probably doesn’t help when I don’t even know how to properly pronounce the name of the place I’m featuring…like this one: Udzungwa!
From online sources, the Udzungwa Mountains are the largest and most southern in a chain of eleven mountain ranges that form what is called the Eastern Arc. As the name implies, these mountains curve in a crescent shaped grouping starting in Tanzania and continuing north into Kenya toward Mount Kilimanjaro, which (I believe) is not part of the Arc.
The website of the WWF (World Wide Fund, formerly called World Wildlife Fund) describes the Udzungwa Mountains National Park as supporting a diverse community of wildlife including elephants, lions, eland, monkeys and leopards. Now it makes sense that Ocelot chose a leopard-like pattern for this particular 88% dark chocolate bar!
I love that the re-sealable, oxo-degradable plastic inner pouch calls to mind the tropical rainforest which is also found in Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains. You can almost hear the wind rustling through the leafy canopy.
Removing the thin bar from the packaging, I was mesmerized by the detailed mold that was used. Each of the 9 rectangles is etched with a different portion of the bigger image of a cacao tree with several pods in multiple stages of ripeness.
Honestly, I was surprised that this bar was not as dark in color as I was expecting from an 88%. You could almost be fooled into thinking this was a dark milk chocolate until you smelled and tasted it!
There was a robust, earthy and roasted aroma straight out of the packaging. Silky smooth texture to the touch while segmenting pieces with a medium snap, revealing some air bubbles at the break point.
Immediately bitter on the palate and at the back of the throat during the slow, even melt with some astringency on the finish. A second taste brought out fruity notes which reminded me of grapefruit pith and a buttermilk/yogurt tang appeared during a third taste. The astringency seemed to increase with each subsequent taste such that it quickly became somewhat not enjoyable for me. Maybe it’s just that I prefer bars in the 70-85% range?! I can think of several friends who would love this bar!
Thanks to Rachel (foodnerd4life) in the UK for having sent me three of Ocelot’s bars as part of our inaugural chocswap. Not sure why I didn’t research the chocolate makers behind this Edinburgh, Scotland brand earlier, but I really enjoyed reading this article about Matt and Ish who started their chocolate business one week after getting married!
If you are interested in buying some of their bars for yourself, please visit their website: https://ocelotchocolate.com/
Personally, the Fig & Orange bar is next on my wish list 🙂
Sometimes it’s easier to decide when you have fewer options; however, in this case, I’m grateful that I had multiple choices available for the letter “T”! I was about to start playing “rock paper scissors” to pick between two bars, but then fate intervened and made the decision for me. Then again, maybe deep down, I really wanted to feature this bar from Southern California’s Bar Au Chocolat & the opportunity manifested itself perfectly!
Prior to tasting this bar, my most recent (yet tangential) experience with chocolate maker Nicole Trutanich was about 2 years ago when we used beans from her inventory during the bean-to-bar class taught by Ruth Kennison at Santa Monica’s The Gourmandise School of Sweets and Savories. During that two-day, hands-on class we used beans from Peru, Madagascar and the Dominican Republic.
When fellow chocolate blogger Max Gandy from Dame Cacao asked for bean-to-bar chocolates from Los Angeles, I knew I had to expand the scope to include hard-to-find-in-stores Bar au Chocolat (located in Manhattan Beach, which is considered part of the Greater LA area). So, I placed an order online: one bar for Max and another bar for me!
When I opened the box, I was mesmerized by Nicole’s shipping aesthetic! The two bars were artistically wrapped in a cloth napkin, in a style that called to mind furoshiki (Japanese cloth wrapping). This bundle had a stylish knot at the back and had been expertly folded to look like an envelope or satchel on the front with the company name and a tiny cacao flower at the edge of one corner.
The handmade paper wrapping the bar is so soft, it feels almost like suede. Is it bad that I enjoyed “petting” this bar?! I love the rustic touch of a handwritten “enjoy by” date underneath the embossed man on horseback, though I’m not certain what he is holding in his hand. It almost looks like a raptor (bird of prey) that might be used for hunting.
On the back of the outer wrapper, there is a wide, rectangular, custom embroidered informational ribbon positioned such that you can easily undo the folds and remove the foil wrapped bar from within.
It’s on the back of the bar that we learn the origin of the cacao beans: Turrialba, Cartago Province, Costa Rica. Since I’m not familiar with Costa Rica, I visited Bar au Chocolat’s website for more details. There I learned that the beans were “cultivated in rich, fertile soil against the romantic backdrop of the Turrialba volcano.” Ooh, now that sounds intriguing…time for further research!
According to Wikipedia, Turrialba is the easternmost and one of the largest of Costa Rica’s active volcanoes. Through a Google search, I discovered that Turrialba was quite active last year! Here is a link to an article from May 2017 featuring a photo + a short video of the ash produced by the eruption.
Removing the 2-ingredient, 72% dark chocolate bar from the foil inner wrapper was a little anticlimactic in comparison to the outer packaging. I noticed some “ghosting” and air bubbles marring the deep brown, matte finish of the 15-rectangle bar.
There was an initial roasted aroma, which then evolved to leather or tobacco once exposed to room temperature for a while. Breaking off a row of 3 rectangles from the larger bar produced a gentle snap, but there was a sharp snap when splitting a rectangle in half, revealing lots of nooks and crannies at the break point. Bringing the halved piece up to my nose, the smell reminded me of toasted and buttered whole wheat bread.
Smooth, slow/even melt with a delicate, but concentrated, berry/fruit flavor and some roasted nut notes. Initially the flavor didn’t seem to last long once the chocolate was gone from my mouth, but after the second or third bite, the flavor lingered pleasantly on the tip and back of my tongue. Chewing a piece intensified the fruit flavor with little to no astringency on the finish.
Hopefully Nicole’s atelier will open soon, the website says Spring of 2018!
