US chocolate – Page 9 – Eating the Chocolate Alphabet

F is for French Broad Chocolates

Why is it that some great bean-to-bar chocolates never make it west of the Mississippi River?! Southern California/Los Angeles might seem like the “wild west” to some, but we deserve to experience all the craft chocolates that are out there too! Fellow Angelenos, please talk to your local purveyors of fine chocolate & urge them to carry more diverse brands…who’s with me on this?!

One of those brands that I’d love to see out here on the West Coast is French Broad Chocolates run by husband and wife team, Dan & Jael Rattigan. Their Instagram feed is full of delectable goodies: truffles, ice cream, baked goods – not to mention their chocolate bars. Just look at their new packaging! Everything about it is so photogenic (and sustainable too)!

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The outer box looks like a fancy cloth-bound / gold-leaf tooled hardcover book…similar to the kind that people once would buy to show off as an indication that they had “arrived” in terms of wealth & status. I love the detailed gold accents of berries, leaves and cacao pods, as well as the textured weave pattern. They thought about every detail in designing this box, since even the “spine” looks like something you would want to display on your library bookshelf. It’s hard to believe that this was made from 100% recycled paper. As you open the box, five more elements of the “story” are revealed on the inside panels as well as the folded insert. My favorite parts were learning about how Dan & Jael met and started their business, as well as the origin of the cacao beans that were used in the bar itself.

Personally, I like being able to see the bar upon opening the outer packaging. An added bonus is that the cellophane used is plant-based and compostable. The 20-rectangle bar has a rich/deep color and feels dense/substantial in your hands. Each of the rectangles have the company logo embossed into them and appear virtually imperfection free.

The aroma was so enticing as I was taking photos, I almost didn’t see the unique swirls on the back of the bar.

After looking more closely at this photo, I could almost see faces in the swirls (the phenomenon of seeing images where none actually exist is called pareidolia). I assume these were an unintentional, happy accident… but they have a natural beauty, nonetheless.

I’m always amazed when just two ingredients (cacao & sugar) can produce such a complex result. This is a 70% dark chocolate bar made by blending beans from 3 different partner cooperatives from Norandino, Peru. Norandino is in the upper Amazon basin, where it is believed that the Theobroma cacao originates from. This blend, which is greater than the sum of its individual parts, honors the unique characteristics of both the genetics of the beans themselves, as well as the post-harvest practices/techniques of the farmers.

Try as I might, I can never fully melt a piece of chocolate in my mouth – the urge to “chomp” always wins. For me, “chomping” is when the true essence/flavor of the chocolate comes through. What started as bright red berries, evolved into a pleasant tart cherry flavor for me. The texture was smooth and the flavor was rich and long-lasting.

With this introduction to French Broad Chocolates, I can’t wait to try more of their flavors! My mission now is to convince some of my local shops to try this wholesome and delicious chocolate so that it is more accessible to me than shipping from North Carolina 😉 As a side note, they seem to be experts at shipping to warm weather climates. My chocolates arrived in a “cocoon of coolness” (packed with multiple forms of insulated materials).

To learn more about French Broad Chocolates (including their commitment to the natural habitat of the French Broad River near them), check out: https://frenchbroadchocolates.com/

E is for Ethereal Confections

From Merriam-Webster – Ethereal (adj.): resembling heaven; seeming to belong to another world.

About three months ago, I purchased this handcrafted inclusion bar at a local natural foods store that strives to sell only pure, ethical and sustainable products.

While I realize that the “best by” date expired already (Ethereal recommends consuming the bar within a month of purchase), I was willing to take a risk and wait to consume it as part of the Eating the Chocolate Alphabet series. Even though the chocolate did experience some temperature fluctuations, it did not disappoint in terms of taste and overall appearance.

The foil wrapped bar bulged within its paper outer wrapper, giving me an indication of the generous amount of premium ingredients that were just bursting to be tasted.

The two sisters who run Ethereal use their own unique recipes and craft each bar by hand to create the perfect balance of chocolate and nuanced fusion flavor combinations. This 66% dark chocolate paired with Macadamia nuts, dried raspberries and Kaffir lime leaves takes you on a multi-sensory journey. First you see & smell the nuts and berries; then you sink your teeth into those two crunchy main ingredients and lastly you taste the citrusy lime leaves that must have infused the chocolate itself.

Can’t wait to try the rest of their heavenly flavor combinations, though (to be honest) I’m afraid that their scorpion chile/bourbon/sea salt/pecan bar might pack a little too much heat to be considered “ethereal” for me 😉

Check out their website for all the details about their quaint Victorian storefront café in the heart of the bucolic/serene town of Woodstock, IL (better known as the setting for the “Groundhog Day” movie): https://www.etherealconfections.com/

D is for Dandelion Chocolate

Next time I visit San Francisco, I’m going straight to the Dandelion Chocolate Factory & Café in the Mission District to get my own single-origin chef’s tasting menu or a brownie bite flight paired with European drinking chocolate! I’m envious of all the photos I’ve seen posted on Instagram recently!

When I was putting together the list of bars that I wanted to try for the Eating the Chocolate Alphabet series, I knew that I had to include Dandelion based on all the information I had read about them. As an added bonus, they are located in my home state of California!

As is the case with many small-batch bean-to-bar chocolate makers, Dandelion had to be inventive with the machinery and equipment that they would be using. Fortunate for us, the two founders are “technology nerds” who seem to have a talent for re-tooling electronics. What started as a garage or basement experiment for the fun of it has turned into a booming business where sometimes they simply can’t produce enough chocolate bars to satisfy the demand. To learn more, check out this article from Chocolate Noise: http://www.chocolatenoise.com/dandelion-chocolate/

So, until I have the chance to visit them in person, I’ll just have to make do with this 2014 harvest 70% bar from San Francisco de Macorís in the Dominican Republic which only has 2 ingredients: cocoa beans & cane sugar. Dandelion avoids extraneous ingredients so that the unique flavors and characteristics of the bean can be highlighted.

I love the thick and rustic cream colored hand-made paper from India that they use for the outer wrapper, which I believe are also hand silk-screened with gold colored accents. My only wish is that the pasted on labels were easier to remove so that the wrapper could be recycled in a creative way…it’s just too pretty to throw out!

One thing that caught my eye is that the wrapper featured the names of two employees who helped with this particular bar: Kaleb was recognized for writing the roast profile description and Greg received kudos for directly sourcing the organic beans. I was fascinated with the unique fermentation and drying technique used for these beans: http://www.dandelionchocolate.com/our-beans/oko/

Am I alone in feeling like a klutz when opening the carefully hand-folded foil wrappers? If only I could re-create the crisp, neat origami-esque folds after sampling the bar. Maybe the solution is to eat the entire bar in one sitting so that I don’t need to worry about wrapping the leftovers?! 😉

The simplicity in design is also evident in the mold that they use, which produces a bar with 18 rectangles, each with 5 squiggly lines that make me think of ocean waves.

The squares were easy to break apart (I blame the current heatwave for the lack of sharp snap). This released a pleasant roasty aroma that gave me a hint of what the chocolate would taste like. To me, the chocolate had tart, fruity notes (like cranberries) in addition to an earthy flavor. While it wasn’t gritty, there was definitely a thicker (less smooth) mouthfeel.

I just had to laugh when I read a recent post from the Dandelion blog about the challenges of chocolate “fatigue” when tasting chocolate day in and day out…but someone has to do it & I’m glad they are “sacrificing” themselves to ensure continued quality 🙂

If you’re like me & want to plan your San Francisco culinary “wish list” in advance, check out: https://www.dandelionchocolate.com/

Bonus “C” bar – Cacao Atlanta Chocolate Company

Before you judge me too harshly for still eating Christmas chocolate in June…in my defense, I only received this Cacao Atlanta Limited Edition 60% dark chocolate crushed peppermint bar when Projet Chocolat stopped by during a visit in early May. It’s only been in my stash for just a little over a month, I think I should be applauded for my restraint! 😉

Love the classic copper foil stamped & embossed label + logo as well as the mouth-watering peppermint candy photo from the outside of the box.

Upon opening the inner wrapper, I was instantly transported back to the time that I toured Celestial Seasonings’ tea factory in Colorado and we visited the peppermint oil storage room…ah, what a brisk and refreshing aroma! It was all I could do to maintain concentration while taking photos & not immediately bite into the bar!

What a pleasant surprise to find that the crushed peppermint candy pieces were mixed in with their signature Cacao Blend 29 (made from 2 different bean varietals).

I could have eaten the entire 1.5 oz. bar in one sitting! The combination of the dark chocolate and the crunchy mint was heavenly…so, maybe, those are angel wings on the four mini cacao pods on the front of their epiphany bars?!

Along with chocolate bars, Cacao Atlanta also creates truffles, confections and more. Check out http://cacaoatlanta.com/ for details!

C is for Charm School Chocolate

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/

Bonus “B” Bar – Black Mountain Chocolate

When you worry that the “B” of your dreams might actually be a “C” (and aren’t sure you can acquire said “B” in time), you hedge your bets and buy a backup “B” (as if I *really* need an excuse to buy more chocolates!) 😉

Black Mountain Chocolates from the Southern Appalachians was the first bean-to-bar chocolate maker in the Carolinas and has been around since 2007, but I was unfamiliar with them here in California since they seem to be sold mostly on the East Coast and primarily in North Carolina.

I love that when they wrapped the bar in gold foil, they opted to position the bar with the logo facing up, so that this is the first thing that you see instead of the back of the bar with the sea salt inclusion.

The logo of the bear climbing a tree to reach cacao pods is so cute!

Though the chocolate’s country of origin isn’t listed on this 70% Sea Salt Bar packaging or on their website, many other sources point to them using Hispaniola beans from the Dominican Republic, which to me has bright red fruit or berry notes. The delicate fleur de sel Celtic Sea Salt melts quickly and provides a savory counterbalance to the sweetness of the chocolate.

My favorite quote from the short video on their website was owner Brent Peters’ comment that the chocolate factory is his “little red sports car” (referring to what other men purchase when they have a mid-life crisis). I think he made the right choice buying this chocolate company instead…don’t you?! 🙂

If you are ever in the Arts District in downtown Winston-Salem, be sure to stop by the Old Winston Tobacco Warehouse on Trade Street to see BMC’s visible factory or take a guided tour!

For more information, go to: http://www.blackmountainchocolate.com/

Bonus “A” Bar – Apotheker’s Bee Sweetened Goods

Thanks to Sophia from Projet Chocolat (http://projetchocolat.com/) for introducing me to this unique confection since there are so few places where this is available on the West Coast! I was immediately impressed with the gold foil stamped & embossed outer wrapper and the vintage Victorian era looking font that was used. My only disappointment was that the gold inner foil wrapper was taped to the inside of the outer paper label, making it impossible to slide the bar out. 🙁

What makes this company unique is that they use no refined sugars, sweetening their chocolate only with organic wildflower honey (I was pleased that the wildflower flavor was not as overwhelming as I have experienced with other bars). This Classic Dark 76% Dominican bar is thin, easily bent, has a dull snap and melts quickly when touched. I love that the mold they use has a honeycomb pattern to it, echoing and honoring the bees that helped produce the sweetener.

There is a slightly thick, but pleasant, mouthfeel that reminds me of gritty stone-ground cacao, though I think this comes from the honey crystals rather than the chocolate itself. I’m a “chomper” when it comes to eating chocolate (rather than letting it melt on my tongue), so eating this chocolate was almost a juicy experience (not something I’ve ever experienced before!) I wonder if it has to do with the sunflower lecithin that was used?!

Here is a cross-section of a square showing the honey crystals shining almost like mica.

Aside from the chocolate itself, I always enjoy knowing about the “back story” of the chocolatiers. Apotheker’s has a fascinating story… Russ and Shari Apotheker are an artistic husband and wife team that started the company in 2013 to share their passion for simple, healthy living with small-batch, handcrafted goods made from all-natural ingredients. Russ comes from a long line of herbalists and pharmacists dating back to ancient Jerusalem. In fact, after the family immigrated to Austria and Poland in the 17th Century, they changed their name to Apotheker, which means “pharmacist.”

Check out http://apothekerskitchen.com/ for more information + their other products (chocolate topped marshmallows & hot cocoa).

I’m personally looking forward to finding more of their offerings, especially the Cashew and Red Sea Salt bar!

A is for Askinosie

In late 2014, I was unfamiliar with the name Askinosie. Upon entering a local chocolate & gelato shop, I had noticed a metal canister of cocoa nibs on a shelf. It wasn’t clear to me if this was for sale or just for décor, so I took a picture to research further. After that, I was more aware of their products at other shops around town. Their chocolate bars typically feature the faces and bios of different farmers around the world, but I was never really tempted to buy one. Then, I started hearing and reading about Shawn Askinosie and his commitment, dedication and passion to making a positive impact in the world by sourcing ingredients directly from farmers around the globe. If you are interested in learning more, here is one of the articles that I read: http://www.chocolatenoise.com/askinosie-chocolate/

It was after I saw an Instagram post about an inclusion bar in their collaBARation line that I knew that Askinosie would represent the first letter in my Eating the Chocolate Alphabet series!

Their simple, eco-friendly and biodegradable brown paper packaging belies the exceptional chocolate hidden within the easy to open sleeve. The rustic twine tie used to keep the package closed at the top comes from a bag of beans that was shipped to their factory, recycling at its best!

I liked that the inner packaging was clear plastic (and that it’s home compostable) so that I could immediately see both sides of the bar: the 18 shiny squares with letters spelling “askinosie chocolate” on one side and the generous inclusion side on the other. Living up to the bar’s name, there was a cascade of lightly toasted, shredded coconut that escaped upon opening the package, creating “A Beautiful Mess” seen in these photos.This is a 65% dark chocolate bar made from Mababu, Tanzania beans + coconut sugar + toasted coconut. I was drooling from the aroma while I was taking photos! The chocolate is smooth, has a nice snap, and is also sweetly complex while having a creamy mouthfeel. This all pairs well with the chewiness of the coconut flakes.

Now I’m on a mission to find a bar from their limited release “1098” line!

Check out https://www.askinosie.com/ for lots more information on the journey of this chocolate + the history behind one of Forbes’ 25 Best Small Companies in America.

What are some of YOUR favorite Askinosie bars? Let me know what you think!

Category: US chocolate