Chocolate paired with wine is popular…but, how about a chocolate that TASTES like wine?! Yep, Brooklyn’s Raaka Chocolate has that covered with their 68% CAC Pangoa, Peru dark chocolate Cabernet Sauvignon bar!
According to the description on the back of the outer packaging: “This chocolate is tipsy. You don’t even need a glass!”
Unroasted cocoa nibs are steamed over a simmering big/bold
California cabernet wine to infuse juicy, grapey flavors with a raisin-like
finish.
You wouldn’t know it, but this bar is almost a year old (it was part of the July 2018 First Nibs subscription shipment). I love that the detailed mold design mimics the abstract illustration on the paper wrapper.
Tasting morsels segment easily with a sharp snap, releasing a raisin/dried fruit aroma. Starting off subtle, there were bursts of bright red fruit during the slow/even melt & the mouthfeel was, surprisingly, not completely smooth. It seemed like the grape/wine flavor was more vibrant when chewing the chocolate rather than just letting it melt on the tongue. Maybe it’s my imagination (or my palate becoming acclimated to the taste), but I swear the intensity of the fruit flavors are cumulative since my second “chomp” was like eating wine in solid form! Lightly tannic and long lasting finish mostly on the tip of the tongue and back of the throat.
Normally I have so much more to say in my posts; but, honestly, bold red wine is not my favorite spirit. Give me a late harvest or dessert wine & I’ll ooh and aah. Give me a gin and I’ll wax poetically.
I’ve been told by friends who are wine drinkers, that this bar is one of their favorites! So if the taste of California red wine is your thing, check out Raaka’s website for more details!
Sorry that it’s been a while since my last post! This round of Eating the Chocolate Alphabet has been more difficult than the other ones. 😢 Yes, I’m struggling to find alcohol-related chocolates; but, honestly, I’ve had this bar since mid-January {well, to be honest, I bought 2 bars that day for photographic purposes & ended up eating one, so I had to buy a backup “prop” late last month!}
What I didn’t realize when starting this round of the Alphabet was a little thing called timing. While I tend to get great natural lighting for photos in the morning & early afternoon, tasting alcoholic chocolates that early makes me loopy and not very productive for the rest of the day. 😲 I really need to figure out a better system and stop rationalizing that it’s “5 o’clock somewhere” in the world! 🤷♀️
Anyway, back to the chocolate!
When I announced my new theme on Instagram, one of the first people to reply was Diana Malouf from Ococoa telling me that she makes a caramel bar with Bärenjäger (honey liqueur). Well, no arm twisting needed…I had found my “B” bar!
The 6-rectangle bar made with milk chocolate, white chocolate, cream, sugar, honey liqueur, butter and salt sports a cute honeycomb transfer pattern on the back. Each crisp rectangular shell is generously filled with a creamy/smooth, sweet & lightly boozy caramel filling that reminds me of dulce de leche or cajeta. 😋
During yesterday’s photo shoot, I ended up eating ALL 6 RECTANGLES! 🐷My advice when ordering this bar is to get AT LEAST two of them!
Looking online, I see that Bärenjäger translates to “Bear Hunter” in German. According to the manufacturer’s website, the beehive-to-bottle recipe dates back to 18th Century Germany and was formulated to lure bears out of their dwellings by hunters (who also ended up consuming this drinkable honey).
Diana showed me the bottle of honey liqueur at her shop (though I didn’t taste it since I was driving),
But, now I realize that what I found at BevMo was a different formulation: Honey & Bourbon
Don’t you just love the little beehive bottle topper!
In case you’re curious, the Honey & Bourbon has a warming, but short lived “burn” and a vibrant honey aroma. Now I need to try the Honey Liqueur version…for research purposes, of course! {hey Diana, I’m coming over}
Ococoa is best known for their nut butter cup collection + other seasonal confections, one of which is their Smokey Scotch Truffles, just in time for Fathers’ Day. If your Dad (or you) enjoys a peaty Scotch, those truffles are a MUST HAVE! Visit their website for more information & let them know that Trish from Eating the Chocolate Alphabet sent you! ❤️
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.
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/
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” 🙂
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!
Learning experiences can manifest themselves from even the most casual conversations! Let me explain…
As I was leaving my parents’ house tonight, I noticed that the TV station was showing Pope Francis’ visit to Peru, so I mentioned to my dad that I was going home to write about a chocolate made from Peruvian beans and took out my phone to show him the pictures that I had taken earlier in the morning. I zoomed in to the front of the packaging and said, “See…Río Tambo, Peru.” My dad loves quizzing me on esoteric words, so I shouldn’t have been surprised when he asked, “Do you know what ‘tambo’ means?” I didn’t. By his definition, it refers to a place where you can get milk from cows, which left me a little perplexed, so I did some research once I got home. According to online dictionaries, there are various meanings depending on which country you come from! In Paraguay (and apparently Argentina), it means a dairy farm or a milking yard (ah, NOW my dad’s explanation made sense!) In Bolivia or Ecuador, it means a wayside inn (for reference, the entry said that a tambo was an Incan structure that could be found along the roadside to store supplies or serve as lodging for itinerant military personnel). In Mexico, it’s the slang term for “jail”! I cannot begin to tell you how excited I am to discover alternate meanings of the word; I plan to “challenge” my dad to a rematch the next time I see him! 😉
When my dad looked at the packaging a second time and said, “What does Parliament have to do with this?” it was MY turn to teach him something new! Remember from last week? A group of owls is called a parliament!!
Unfortunately I didn’t find much information on the Río Tambo area. Aside from a map, a photo and some statistics, the one sentence Wikipedia entry lists that it is one of eight districts in the province of Satipo in the Junín region of Peru. Other Google searches indicate that it’s also the name of a Peruvian river on the eastern slopes of the Andes (though the name refers to only a 159 kilometer stretch!)
Information was more plentiful about the producers of the cacao beans: CAC Pangoa (aka La Cooperativa Agraria Cafetelera Pangoa) and especially the General Manager for the past 20 years: Doña Esperanza Dionisio Castillo. After reading this article, I’m left thinking if a name can shape a person’s destiny. Esperanza means “hope” and she definitely lives up to her name, working tirelessly to ensure a better future for her 700+ member farmers who often have diversified crops of both coffee and cacao (cacao in the lower altitudes and coffee in the higher altitudes). Now I wonder whether there will be coffee notes in the chocolate bar I’m about to taste…let’s see!
Parliament Chocolate – Peru: Río Tambo 70% Dark Chocolate
As usual, the artwork on the front of the packaging is exquisitely rendered and frame-worthy! Seriously, I’m thinking about creating a collage of all the different owl illustrations!
The medium brown-colored bar made up of 24 tiny rectangles with a matte finish and some air bubbles at the corners might look unassuming, but one whiff of the deep, fruity/earthy aroma lets you know that the flavor will be unique and nuanced.
With a sharp snap, I was easily able to segment 2 rows of three rectangles; really I only wanted just one row, but fate intervened 😉 I’m still at a loss as to how to accurately describe the texture since it was not completely smooth, nor gritty either. I’m sure there a term I need to learn, maybe I should ask my dad! 😉
Melting a rectangle on my tongue was like going on a roller coaster: raisin/dessert wine sweetness; flashes of citrus, acidic/buttermilk tang; bursts of juicy red fruit, like cherries or summer berries. At the end of that ride of flavors, there was some mild astringency + a long lasting (yet pleasant) aftertaste.
If you’ve been following me for a while, you know it wouldn’t be a complete post without me showing you the back of the bar and this one reminds me of a Picasso painting or a mosaic! It also looks like letters are popping out.
Please leave me a comment to let me know what YOU see!
Would you like to experience this bar for yourself? Please visit Parliament Chocolate’s website for details: http://www.parliamentchocolate.com/
And if there are esoteric words you think could stump my dad…bring it on!
Looks like I’m “bending the rules” a bit with my definition of “origin” again this week. Honestly, I saw Guatemala: Q’eqchi on the packaging and thought “DONE!” This round of the Alphabet has been such a learning experience, making me realize that there is generally more than meets the eye when it comes to labeling!
Q’eqchî (sometimes written as Kekchi) refers to both the indigenous Maya peoples of Guatemala and Belize, as well as their Mayan language.
Since Q’eqchî isn’t a point on the map, I wanted to know more about where the cacao was grown. Luckily, the farmer (Hector A. Ruiz Chub), is quoted on the back of the Parliament Chocolate packaging: “Cacao is a valuable tradition that comes from our Mayan ancestors and has been passed from generation to generation. Q’eqchi families from the eco-region of Lachua dedicate themselves to the cultivation of cacao to produce the highest quality product, to better the economy of our families and helping at the same time to preserve the environment for our future generations.”
OK, so now I had Lachuá as a starting point for additional investigation! Flipping through the PDF version of Uncommon Cacao’s 2016 Transparency Report provided further information about the area:
“Laguna Lachuá is a large pristine cenote lake deemed a national park in 1976 and a Ramsar site in 2006.”
Wow…just one seemingly simple sentence and there were already 2 terms that I wasn’t familiar with! Cenote describes a deep natural well or sinkhole that was formed by the collapse of limestone and generally means that groundwater can be found there. The Ramsar Convention is an intergovernmental treaty which designates wetland sites of international importance, works to conserve those areas, and ensures their sustainable use. It never ceases to amaze me that a whole new world can be discovered, one chocolate bar at a time 🙂
Based on information found on Uncommon Cacao’s website, these Lachuá farmers also grow cardamom and corn in addition to cacao. Ooh, now doesn’t that sound like an awesome combination of ingredients for a chocolate bar?! Hint, hint to anyone out there reading this 😉
After all that preamble, I’m getting hungry to taste the chocolate!!
Parliament Chocolate – Guatemala: Q’eqchi 70%
One of the things that I love most about Parliament Chocolate’s thick, textured, paper outer wrapper sleeves is that they generally have a detailed and whimsical illustration of a black & white owl on the front; this one is wearing what might be the traditional dress of the Q’eqchî?!
In case you’re curious, a group of owls is called a parliament, hence this is the perfect logo for this company!
Removing the nearly 2 ounce bar, made up of 24 tiny conjoined rectangles, from the wax lined foil inner wrapper, I noticed that the top surface was lightly frosted. Not sure what caused this, maybe the chocolate was too cold or beginning to bloom?
For contrast/perspective, I used my fingertip to lightly buff the rectangle on the bottom right corner. See the difference in color/finish?
The back of the bar was also visually interesting. Is it only me, or does it look like a lunar landscape?! I used a “dramatic cool” filter for the photo.
There was a dry/brittle snap when breaking off tasting morsels from the full bar, but a sharp snap when segmenting individual rectangles.
Honey and nutty notes wafted to my nose at the break point and there was a light yogurt-like tang during the smooth, slow/even melt which ended with an astringent finish. Subsequent toothy bites, which crumbled when chewed, reminded me of juicy berries, jam or a creamy parfait!
Next time YOU pick up a bar of chocolate…just remember that hidden beneath each humble label, there are stories just waiting to be told!
For more information about bean-to-bar maker Parliament Chocolate based in Redlands, California, please visit their website: http://www.parliamentchocolate.com/
