20°N & 20°S

Millcreek Cacao Roasters Part 1

                       

 

 

Being a blogger comes with some very special perks. When a chocolate maker sees your blog and decides they want you to write about their product, the gratitude will never cease to happen. It's truly an awesome thing. And I only hope that I can do justice to the fine makers who deem me worthy of trying their products. 

 

I was contacted recently by Dana Brewster about trying Millcreek Cacao. She sent me a very generous package of 6 full bars. The Cube Collection. That is a lot. Each bar is about 50g. That means this review has taken place over a few days. Oh the humanity... Life is so hard.... Effort....

 

Hailing from Salt Lake City, Utah (the unofficial new Mecca of chocolate making in the US or so it seems these days), official bean-to-bar chocolate makers and roasters with a special caveat of selling cacao teas (steeped cacao nibs and husks) using Arriba Nacional beans of Ecuador. Originally coffee roasters, but both armed with a passion for chocolate, Dana, an École Chocolat school alum and Mark Delvecchio decided upon Arriba Nacional beans as their favorite taste. Traveling to Ecuador, they sourced out a local cacao farm and bought beans and cocoa butter of the same varietal to become bean-to-bar makers. 

More on Heirloom Cacao Preservation with Arriba Nacional beans from Millcreek's blog. 

Heirloom Cacao Preservation for the farmers.

Hacienda Limon, Ecuador

 

 

                                

 

                      

                                   

 

           


Chuno 78% 

 

Type: Unreleased bar from Nicaragua. Bittersweet dark chocolate 78%

Bean Varietal: Chuno, Trinitario. 

Ingredients: Cacao, cane sugar, and unsure of cocoa butter content.

Sample Size: 50g

 

Quick reading on Nicaraguan beans from Confectionary News: 

New World of cocoa: Artisan chocolatiers marvel at origin Nicaragua

By Oliver Nieburg+, 14-Jan-2015

Artisan chocolate makers are welcoming Nicaragua as a rare and blossoming cocoa origin, according to supplier Ingemann.

http://www.confectionerynews.com/Commodities/US-chocolate-makers-drawn-to-Nicaraguan-cocoa

 

Appearance:  Large square monogrammed tablet. Deep brown color, large crack on one corner, a bit dusty with particles. Slight bubbles in the molding, but flat smooth filling on the back side. Slightly shiny. 

Score: 72

Snap: Good clean snap, lighter snap feel, but clean and crisp sound. 

Score: 93

Aroma: Bright full sharp aroma. Tangy with citrus fruits. Deep fruits and deeper floral aromas. Sweet aroma with sugars and some slight char. 

Score: 94

Taste: Bready first tastes, full bitter roast, acidic, slightly tangy, deep berries and dark fruits, cereal grains, softer and extremely subtle flowery notes on the second taste, as well as inky char notes. 

Score: 96

Texture: Slightly drying and chalky. Creamy melt but by dry finish on the palate. A tiny bit grainy to the palate. Medium long melt time. 

Score: 83

 

Great flavors. This is extremely complex with lots of different factors coming into play at different moments on the palate allowing for each taste to present itself individually. Loved the cereal grains and bready flavors mixed with the soft floral tones and big fruity berries. It's deep and rich and has the right amount of tangy acids. It gives off a mix of delicate but grainy earth tones and big berries. This is great tasting chocolate. Loved it.

The aroma is nice and strong too. Big profiles presenting right off the bat and some softer subtleties, just like the taste, come out later. Nice and full. 

The texture is a mixed bag. It's creamy and good melt but grainy and dry finish at the same time. A little chalky because of that dryness. 

The appearance has a big crack in it which is the reason for the low score. Slightly covered in particles too. and not as shiny. But over all the molding is great. Simple monogram pattern, and smooth fill on the back.

It's times like this where I say skip the appearance and the small details of a review because it's not a typical thing to have happen and really the taste of this bar is phenomenal. I really enjoyed this and think any chocolate purist will enjoy this. It was really great chocolate. Ignore the technical score and go right for the taste of this chocolate. 

 

Total score: 87.6

 

score
B

 

 

                               

 

         

Pure 70%

 

Type: Bittersweet, dark chocolate.

Bean Varietal: Arriba Nacional

Ingredients: Cacao beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter.  

Sample size: 50g

 

Appearance: Deep Dark brown color, single large square tablet, monogrammed, smooth back fill surface, particles, very minor bubbles on the monogram, slightly shiny surface. 

Score: 88

Snap: Light but firm crisp snap. Good snapping sound. Clean break lines. 

Score: 91

Aroma: Very fruity, complex aroma with a light tangy aroma, sugary notes, berries, soft wood, light tar undertones, and some smokiness and soft vanilla.

Score: 92

Taste: Nice deep full flavors of wood and berries, big flowery perfume tastes, tangy and little sharp with acidity right up front but mellows out very quickly, a pop of bright green unripened fruits. Good inky bitterness, and more cereal grains.

Score: 95

Texture: Nice and creamy, smooth texture, a tiny bit of grit in there but very slight. Medium melt time.

Score: 91

 

Really great flavors on this bar too. Cereal grains are present here as well, signs of the fermentation. But big classic Ecuador bean flavors of jasmine, woods, and tangy berries. A little hint of some green, unripened fruits. 

This smells nice and full with really great aromas. Lots of details in the aroma. It tastes amazing. Nice and robust flavors. And the texture comes a long nicely. Good creamy melt time. No need for a lot of descriptions here other than it's classic or what I have have come to know as classic flavors of Ecuador beans and super delicious. Really liked this chocolate. 

 

Final Score: 91.4

score
B+

 

 

                                  

 

     

Himalayan Pink Salt 70%

 

Type: Flavored bittersweet, dark chocolate.

Bean Varietal: Arriba Nacional

Ingredients: Cacao beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter, Himalayan pink salt.

Sample Size: 50g

 

Appearance: Dark Brown square monogrammed tablet, smooth slightly shiny surface, flat and smooth back fill, coarse salt crystals.

Score: 92

Snap: Good and hard snap. Clean break lines with nice good snap sound.

Score: 93

Aroma: Big robust aroma with fruits and dry roasted aromas, nutty, sweet sugars, inky tar notes, soft vanilla, slight smokiness. 

Score: 92

Taste: Nice salt balance, big sweet tangy flavors of berries, tart acidic notes, bright green unripened fruit undertones, woody, earthy, nutty flavors. 

Score: 96

Texture: Medium hard, medium fast melt time. Creamy texture, very slight graininess, and coarse grain salt crystals.

Score: 90

 

Same aroma as the Pure 70% but dryer with a more pronounced nutty aroma. 

The salt brings out a few more flavors than the Pure 70%. A more pronounced nutty flavor same with the aroma. But the same flavors of the unripened fruit, berries, and tangy citrus flavors almost like pineapple, are all there with the earthiness and cereal grains. The salt also brings out a nice leathery flavor during retro-olfaction. Not as pronounced are the flowery jasmine flavors. But more straight up inky bitter flavors with earthy wood and berries. It's funny how a little pinch of salt will change the game of a chocolate. 

The texture is similar to the Pure, but a little harder and a little more coarse with the salt grains. Still that same medium melt and hardness and a touch of graininess. 

The salt is quite strong too. I love sweet and salty combos. But on the surface it doesn't look like it's enough salt. But it is. It balances well and is strong enough for the bold chocolate flavors.

 

Final Score: 92.6

score
B+

 

 

Really minor details noted here, but over all this is superior chocolate. A few textural issues, and minor surface issues really shouldn't be taken into account compared to the flavors of these chocolates. The taste is there and completely bold and delicious. I am very happy with them and I would definitely recommend these bars. I especially recommend that Chuno bar because the flavors are awesome. So big and so bold. 

Where the heck have I been?

Quick post. I have been taking time off from writing because frankly speaking reviewing was starting to feel like a job. I didn't want to just keep blabbing to put content out there for quick views and to keep my blog at the top of any searches. It was getting annoying to think like that and blogging felt like work. It's chocolate. It's a hobby for me. It's was supposed to be fun. It wasn't feeling like that for a while.

In the middle of taking some time off, I got pregnant! I had a beautiful little girl named Charlie Jean. Love of my life.  Being pregnant was the best time of my life. I had a phenomenal pregnancy and it was a great joy. It's okay if you want to throw daggers at me because never once got morning sickness and I lost a ton of weight not gaining weight. I will completely understand. But during that time I lost my taste for dark chocolate. Enough where I couldn't reasonably write about it. I had to chop up my entire library of chocolate bars and sadly watch my husband eat it all. I was still able to enjoy some milk chocolate and chocolate desserts. I especially loved brownies and chocolate cake. But it was not the same. The aromas and flavors of dark chocolate became too intense for me. 

Thankfully I got it all back now. There were no lasting changes to my palate. None that I am aware of yet. Chocolate seems to be back on par. You still won't catch me writing ridiculous, overly wordy, flowery descriptions of my reviews. "The chocolate had an essence of dessert heat that reminded me of being Morocco with figs, dates, and hookas." That was never my style and it's never going to be. I taste more bluntly and more organically. I generally find wood, dirty earthy flavors, green earthy flavors, cereals and grains, and common fruit descriptors like berries. Common and repeats itself a lot I find. Also unique with me is pen ink. I mention this a lot because I taste this a lot. Certain regions, certain beans have a distinctive Bic Pen ink flavor. It might sound ridiculous, but it's there a lot for me. Plums, dark fruits, berries can all be fairly generic at times. If I note it when tasting, I will say something. But I don't plan to write or change myself to be a writer that makes up ridiculous things to say to sound like something I am not. 

I am mentioning all this stuff because I am going to change my blog around. Edit the layout, redesign maybe. Slowly but surely. I want to review more drinking chocolates. All the bars I end up buying to taste, end up melted down for drinking chocolate. I like it so much better sometimes. I prefer sampling and really savoring chocolate but in small doses. After that I want to drink it. So you will be seeing more of that. I am also toying with the idea of just talking about the chocolate instead of the classic reviews I give. Just give it a simple grade and move on. I haven't fully committed to that idea, but you might see that.  

Anyway, thank you for following me on Twitter and Facebook and thank you for having even the slightest interest in what I have to say about chocolate. It will be good to get back to it. 

 

Up next, Taste Fruition and Millcreek Cacao Roasters. 

The RuPaul Chocolate Bar

 

 

 Sweet Hollywood, a candy store in Los Angeles, has designed a chocolate candy bar in honor of the fabulous RuPaul. A portion of the proceeds of this bar go to the Jeff Griffith Youth Center for homeless LGBTQ youth. A fantastic cause that helps offer support, feed, shower, and helps employ LGBTQ youth in need of help.

 

 

Now, I am glad to help pitch in for these kinds of causes, but I am not going to lie, I bought this bar for the packaging. I don't even care what it's made of. I started seeing this pop up on twitter and bought it immediately. I love RuPaul and everything he represents. He is an icon. But admit it, look at how fierce this package is. I love Drag Culture and I couldn't be more thrilled to have my hobby life intersect with the fabulous life.

So, what does it taste like?

It's a peanut butter bar in milk chocolate and has sea salt. It has a very soft milk chocolate shell and a gooey peanut butter filling.

I can't seem to find the full list of ingredients for this bar, but the bar was made in The Chocolate Lab for Sweet Hollywood. They do a series of customizable bars, as well as an LA series of neighborhood bars dedicated to the iconic neighborhoods of of Los Angeles. I have a few of those that will be coming up for review too. But I don't know how natural the bar is or all th ingredients in it. This bar has been labeled fair trade, and is with 33% cacao content for the milk chocolate.

 

On the surface, it's a light mahogany color, it's outer milk chocolate shell is so soft there are cracks on the surface and some noticeable air bubbles. And at least we know it's a handmade product because the finger prints on the surface are not mine!

It's aroma is a rich milky butter smell of milk chocolate, and deep roasted peanuts. Great aroma. It just smells like candy, smells like Halloween.

It's very sweet and although the aroma suggests it might have a full roasted peanut butter flavor, it's not very nutty. The saltiness is only there for a second and then the milk chocolate sweetness over takes it. It's very sweet. There is salt in this bar but some bites are more sweeter and some are more salty than others. It's still pretty good though. The peanut butter is a blend and not a full peanut butter center. It's more of a gooey peanut flavored paste. But the best part is the milky characteristics of typical milk chocolate (the lingering milk after taste) don't weigh heavy on the mouth which makes it more enjoyable than most. It tastes like peanut butter bon bon's in a bar form.

All in all it's not bad but it's not high quality either. But that's not really the point. A novelty candy shop making novelty chocolate bars is fun and it serves a purpose of charity. I would eat this again and again. I would buy more to support, but I wouldn't compare it to anything artisan.

 

Too Haute Cowgirls ~ Chili con Chocolate

 

Handmade gourmet popcorn from Colorado. YEEEE HAWWWW!

 

I spied this product at Marczyk's here in Denver. I was on a mission of cheese and ended up with more chocolate bars for the library and this little product up by the register daring you to buy it. 

Too Haute Cowgirls is the brainchild of Deanna Liebl and Amy Tarrant. Via their website:

Once thought of as recession proof, the wedding industry even took a hit when the economy softened in 2008, so discovered pastry chef, Deanna Liebl, wedding cake designer extraordinaire near Aspen, Colorado. With a less-hectic wedding season in 2009, New York Culinary Institute of America-trained Liebl had more time to experiment with new products for her brides. She called on Amy Tarrant, pastry graduate of the Culinary School of the Rockies and fellow unrepentant popcorn addict, to help create a selection of unique chocolate covered popcorn flavors to offer as wedding favors.

 

And the description on the back of their packaging.

This perfect popcorn confection starts with Too Haute Cowgirls’ own special caramel corn drenched in rich dark chocolate, tossed with toasted pecans, and dusted with their own special blend of chili seasoning. Y’all better step back cuz this might hurtcha!

Montezuma drank 50 cups of chocolate per day. It was thick, dyed red and flavored with chili peppers. The first commercial chili powder was created in 1892 by a German immigrant in Texas who gave our cowgirls their first taste of the fiery red seasoning which he called “Tampico Dust”. Chili was made popular by the “Chili Queens” of the Alamo City. In Texas, prisons are ranked by the quality of their chili and even Jesse James refused to rob a bank in McKinney, Texas because that was where his favorite chili parlor was.

 

 

Chili Con Chocolate is Too Haute Cowgirls signature caramel popcorn recipe drenched in chocolate with toasted pecans and a special chili powder blend. Right out of the bag, the popcorn smells savory and salty. It's all chili powder. There is no listing of what spiced they used but I am guessing maybe a little hint of cumin, chili powder, and a smidgen of cayenne for a bit of heat.

 

 

The popcorn doesn't look as shiny as the photos on their website. But that doesn't really matter when you taste it. It's pretty much like crack. It's ridiculously good and highly addictive. It's balanced with a very good heat level. I am a wuss about all things spicy, but this has a nice slow building heat and it's delicious. It tastes sweet and salty, savory with the chili spices, and chocolaty. But also buttery from the underlying caramel coating. At first the taste is all buttery toffee and chili spices, but eating more of it it blends in all flavors meant to be there. It's an all of the above kind of flavor range. The only thing missing from my bag were the toasted pecans. In the images on the website it looks like it's balanced with the popped corn and pecans. I didn't get any. That's a real bummer. But honestly the popcorn on it's own is so damn good, I hardly noticed until I started researching Too Haute Cowgirls.

 

 

Image via Too Haute Cowgirls

 

Bottom line is, you need to buy this product stat. They offer cowboy cowgirl inspired gift sets on their website. They also offer a variety of different kinds of popcorn including a bacon one. Yes, a bacon one. And they also make brittles. I will say it's not that cheap at suggested retail price of $9.95 for a 5.5 ounce bag of it. But it is a handmade product locally made and it is as addictive as crack/cocaine, so I will probably end up selling the cat to buy more of it.

Bovetti ~ Dark Chocolate 73%

 

 

Bovetti 73%

 

A new to me chocolate bar picked up here in my new home of Denver, Colorado at a small fine foods store called Marczyk's.

Bovetti history and timeline via their website:

Native of Piedmont (Italy), Valter Bovetti created the chocolate factory in 1994 and offers to chocolate lovers a wide and creative range of exceptionnal chocolates.

Presented in fashionable and original packagings which never fail to charm customers, our chocolates are handmade with our special 'know-how' and expertise combining both modern and traditional methods.
Settled in a new production unit since 2002 at Terrasson, in the Dordogne, Walter Bovetti has invested in a very modern and productive production tool which combines both traditional handmade work with industrial rigour as the company complies with HACCP standards of sanitary safety controls and food traceability. Thus, in the chocolate factory, these modern manufacturing lines for chocolate bars, molds and spreads are just near to copper turbines, known as one of the oldest techniques in coating candy.

Wishing to offer only the best, Walter BOVETTI uses only top-grade raw materials and perpetuates the tradition of the chocolate as made in olden days.

Bovetti chocolates are made with pure cocoa butter, without any vegetable fat added.

In 2008, a new standing will be reached in the search for supreme quality as the chocolates are made without any soy lecithin now, eliminating all risks of allergy and GMOs.

Innovation is also a permanent aim which has been rewarded many times at. Awards were won recently at international fairs for cocoa pastas and the very new concept of "apéritif" chocolates. 

Bovetti chocolates are now exported and known in more than 35 countries in the world (21 European countries, United States and Canada, Russia, China, Japan, Dubaï …)

Bovetti Timeline

 

 

Bovetti 73%

 

Type: bitter sweet, dark chocolate

Bean Varietal: Forastero

Ingredients: Cocoa solids, sugar, cocoa butter, natural flavor: vanilla.

Sample Size: 1.75oz or 50g

 

Appearance: Long,  four tab bar, thick tabs, monogrammed, shiny surface, one minor, very superficial surface blemish or spot, deep, dark brown color, minor fill lines on the back surface.

Score: 93

Snap: Good hearty snap from thickness of the tabs, clean break lines and audible crisp snapping sound.

Score: 93

Aroma: Very faint, soft, smoky, light traces of wood and almonds, slightly floral.

Score: 74

Taste: Deeply bitter, almonds, cocoa powder flavors, muted tamed flavors, no astringency or tartness.

Score: 80

Texture: Dry, hard, a little chalky, medium-slow melt time.

Score: 82

 

The surface of the bar held up extremely well considering it was a bar of chocolate dropped in a cardboard package with no cellophane to protect it. It maintained a nice shiny surface almost completely unblemished. You can't see from the top picture, but it looked like it just came off the production line and I find that impressive considering my next critique of this bar.

The lack of cellophane wrapping however, cost this bar it's vital aroma and probably lost a lot of it's original flavors on the taste as well. The aroma was all but gone from this bar and I was surprised that it wasn't further protected inside it's packaging. I am not sure how much more full this bar would have been on the nose. This is a disappointing show from Sao Tome cacao where this company pride's itself from growing cacao and working with the area on preserving plantations.

Texturally it's hard, very thick, and a little bit chalky rather than smooth and creamy. Probably meant for warmer climates. But the chalkiness is not desirable.

The flavor of this bar was very subdued as well. It's deeply bitter and dark but there is no real range of flavor for this chocolate. I think it aired out too much and took the flavors with it. You are left with soft wood and almond flavors like it's aroma, a little smoky and just the bitter cocoa powder flavors. I want to know what this bar tastes like fresher and better protected.

The silver lining is that the craftsmanship of an Italian chocolate maker is there. The non-existence of acidity and tangy astringency erased from this bar. This is the kind of chocolate for those who want to experience balanced deep dark chocolate. It's a common theme I can count on from Italian chocolate makers. Even though they are in France, this chocolate is Italian by it's rounded out sharp edges.

These bars would make for good baking chocolate. That is until a fresh sample is provided so better flavors can be experienced. It's rare when the surface and snap out rank the flavor and aroma.

 

Final Score: 84.4

score
C+

Patric Chocolate ~ Limited Edition Browned Butter Bar

 

Limited Edition Browned Butter Bar

 

A mishap on my part. The announcement for this bar went out from Patric Chocolate and sold out the next morning when I pulled out my wallet to buy. Thankfully the internet is a wondrous place where like minded folks have my back. Scott from DallasFood.org was able to send me a bar from his private stash. I am very grateful.

I am not normally a race to get on the trends kind of gal. When there is a special release I will get on it if it sounds like something I want. Browned Butter was a must for me. But apparently it was the bar for everyone else too.

 

 

Patric has new packaging that is worlds better than before. Before it was a very simple package with dark colors and cocoa pods. I didn't mind it but according to some it looked like other bars on the market. Then it was hipster postcard look with neon colors and splatter paint design on the molding. The molding is still the same but the outside packaging is much better. It suits the quality of chocolate you are about to eat. That's why I didn't like the hipster packaging before. You got get yourself out there and make your product shine, but sometimes what's in the package is so good, you don't need fancy bells and whistles. Patric doesn't need the bells and whistles at all.

 

 

Browned Butter Bar

 

Type: Flavored, dark chocolate

Bean Varietal: Blend

Ingredients: Cacao, dark brown sugar, browned butter, cocoa butter, sea salt.

Sample size: 2.3oz or 65g

 

Appearance: Signature molded bar, splatter paint logo design, shiny but muted pattern on most of the surface. Virtually blemish free. One small mark on the surface. Very minor. Cellophane covering stuck to the back of the bar leaving some matted marks but still an impressive shine on the back even with that.

Score: 93

Snap: Virtually no snap at all. It bent before breaking in two. Super soft bar but still had a little bit of a break. No snap sound.

Score: 77

Aroma: Tart fruits, rich butter, lightly woody and nutty, smells like a creamy, and fruity aroma milk chocolate. Black pepper from deeper olfaction.

Score: 93

Taste: Buttery, tangy, fruity, balanced sea salt rich and full flavored. Bitter notes, a little acidic tang, milky buttery lingering flavors. Cocoa-y aftertaste.

Score: 96

Texture: Soft, creamy, smooth, a little chewy, quick melt-time.

Score: 97

 

I am going to be completely honest here, I am not sure how much snap should be taken into consideration here. Added butter (fats and oils) to the bar it was naturally going to be softer. It has a very weak snap and bended full on before snapping. But still the break was a bit more than I expected. Also, the softness led to the adhesion of the cellophane but still there was a good shine quality left on the bar. Those beginning marks should be taken with a gain of salt. The over all score is it what it is, but pay more attention to aroma, texture, and taste.

Texturally it was fantastic on the palate. I know some reviewers out there don't like super soft  texture on chocolate but in this context, it's perfect. A butter chocolate bar with a luxurious fast melting texture that is creamy and smooth. It melts on your tongue allowing you to take in the huge range of flavors faster.

Very full flavored. First taste is that big buttery taste. Although it smells like milk chocolate and has some hints of milk chocolate on the taste, it's definitely not like milk chocolate. Rich with higher cacao percentage using Madagascar cacao for the base, it gives huge tangy and fruity flavors that balance really well with the salt and butter. Balance is the key here and the browned butter really did work so well with this bar and complex fruitiness of the Madagascar beans. Patric is one of the few chocolate makers in the US who does the best with Madagascar beans. 

I should also note the brown sugar for sweetener in this bar. It's not usual that you see brown or dark sugars in chocolate because of added flavors to the bar. I didn't get a huge molasses taste on this bar but it was more fruitier and richer than typical Patric Madagascar bars. More than just the butter.

Fantastic bar. I am so glad I got to try this. I promise never to slack if I see something I want from Patric again. Browned butter is a flavor not to be denied. It's so rich and wonderful and really lent an awesome flavor to this blended bar.

In my mind this bar should be a solid 95 in score.

Final Score: 91.2

score
B+

A Chocolate Odyssey

 

A couple of weeks ago I randomly found out about a chocolate dinner in Denver hosted by Foodscapes (Soul Cocina) and Seres appropriately held at the Denver Posner Center for international development. I went in thinking it would be primarily about chocolate, but mostly it was about ecological impacts and farming communities highlighted through chocolate. Roger Feely of Soul Cocina partnered with Seres to create a 4 course meal made with chocolate.

It was a good experience meeting new people in the Denver area but learning more about the people Seres and Foodscapes reaches out to help. Their mission is to educate the locals with better eco and farming techniques to be friendlier to the environment for sustainability. This dinner was meant to inspire actions and learn about the people of these communities.

An evening of food pairings with slide shows of the people in Guatemala who have become community leaders in their area thanks to the help of organizations like Seres. Also we got to see the influences of Chef Feely from the people whom he has helped and learned from by traveling to these areas and partnering with Seres.

Foodscapes is a project that explores the journey of ingredients from seed to table. The journey is documented in live space through creative expression at events and within workshops using culinary arts, storytelling, dance, music and theatre. The journey will also be documented in virtual space through creative expression on-line via a web-series using video, photography, poetry, sound and more. We also record snippets of the sounds created on the journey (tractors, train rides, sizzle of oil on the grill, slapping of tortillas against palms...) to use as the sound samples to build the musical score/audio collage.

SERES mission is to create a new generation of future makers, supporting the emergence of local leaders by educating and empowering young people to launch and lead environmentally sound programs. SERES work seeks to create impact by empowering vulnerable communities to address our most critical issues starting with the least likely source: the youth. As the voices of the future who will be left with a legacy of unresolved environmental, social and economic problems, SERES recognizes that engaging with and involving this generation is essential in the development of smart solutions that lead us towards healthy, thriving and sustainable societies.

SERES current focus is on youth and young adults in Guatemala and El Salvador, where there are 15 million people – more than 60% of the population – aged under 30 years of age. Our goal is to harvest this untapped potential and use it to create positive change for good.

 

Each table was presented with little wrap packs of Sees chocolates donated to the events. As well as wines and a specially made Horchata stations. Samples of chocolates were made available too from TCHO, Endangered Species, Poco Dolce, Mast Brothers, and others.

This meal was also entirely vegan with the exception of the Horchata made with white chocolate.

**Bare with my cell phone pictures taken with low-lights settings. I didn't bring my Nikon for this event.

 

MENU

Crispy Cumin Cacao Garbanzo Beans (not pictured).

Easily the most addicting little treats present on the table. Cumin is highly addicting and the crunchy beans made for an awesome snack.

 

Citrus Salad with Cacao vinaigrette

Grapefruits, oranges, fennel, pomegranate seeds, radishes and hazelnuts with a pomegranate molasses smear and cacao nib vinaigrette.

They came around and poured the vinaigrette on the salad so it's not pictured. Very bright and refreshing salad. The plate could have done without the pomegranate molasses since it had the seeds already on the plate. The molasses was way to tart, but a liberal dousing of cacao nib vinaigrette helped tone it down. Very bright and palate awakening.

 

Red Beet Fritters • Oaxacan Molé • Confetti Squash • Radish Leaf Rice

Awesome course. Delicious red beet fluffy fritters smothered with an amazing molé. About a billion roasted seeds and nuts are in it with rich spices and cacao. It was a deeply spicy mole but one that I could actually eat for a change. I have a super sensitive palate that doesn't allow for too much heat. But a slow building complex heat isn't out of bounds. Smoky and rich. It was served with pickled veg, spaghetti squash, avocados, latin rice, and purple potatoes. An extremely colorful plate, hearty, filling, and delicious. The color of those beet fritters were just fantastic. Hopefully emails will go out soon for the recipes. Everyone wanted the molé and beets recipe.

 

 

Dark Chocolate Almond Pot De Creme • Persimmon • Pomegranate

A rich pot de creme made with almond milk accented by tangy pomegranate seeds and persimmon. Smooth, creamy, and rich. A heavy ending that didn't tip us over the edge. Although it looks like it could be runny from the picture, it was nice and thick.

 

This evening was not only educational and informative but cheap as well. The event only cost $40. And even though it was all vegan food, it was delicious, filling, and well executed. We had a great time and were unexpectedly taught something about the world. As I mentioned before, we thought it was going to be a tasting. Thankfully it was much more than that.I encourage anyone reading this to read up about Seres and their future projects. Help fund them.

The Chocolate Tree, Scotland

 

 

In the name of all things generous, the fine folks at The Chocolate Tree in Edinburgh, Scotland are right up there. In announcing the end of my writing hiatus, The Chocolate Tree reached out to me about sampling their products. They managed to ship me some products all the way from Scotland to Denver, Colorado. I am floored anytime this happens. Not only am I grateful but I truly thank them for sending products all the way out here. Thank you, Ali! Thank you forever.

The Chocolate Tree are small-batch Bean-to-Bar chocolate makers, Alastair Gower and Friederike Matthis, in Edinburgh, Scotland. They specialize in organic bars and handmade bean-to-bar chocolate bars. As well as hot chocolates, spreads, truffles, and macaroons. They also retail Marou Chocolate. Fantastic Vietnam bean-to-bar artisanal chocolate. I personally love Marou and love their packaging. Good company to keep.

The package that arrived to me contained 3 products. Two bean-to-bar chocolate bars and an organic signature bar.

 

Via their website:

We are proud to be one of the first UK chocolatiers to not only produce fine chocolate work, but also make chocolate from bean. We work directly with growers of cacao to encourage growing of heirloom cacao which will sustain biodiversity and fine flavour chocolate into the future, as well as providing the growers with the best possible deal; cutting out the middle men.

In December 2009 we opened a classical yet contemporary chocolaterie at 123 Bruntsfield Place, in the boutique shopping district and much loved residential area of Edinburgh. We aim to provide a unique and comfortable atmosphere for you to explore the delights of fine flavour chocolate.

Organic farming on small plantations is in fact the best way to grow the cacao plants. The pesticide free farming allows midges to thrive and fertilize the cacao flowers, thus helping the plants to create the cacao beans from which the chocolate is made. Not only is this organic technique the best way to farm cacao, it is the only good use for a midge we have ever heard of!

 

Read about their trip to Peru sourcing cacao. Trip To Peru 2013

And here is a good interview with Ali Gower for Ragged Online. This deals with fair trade, organic and coops. It's long but well worth listening to.

 

Nibs & Salt Peru 70%

 

Type: Filled and flavored dark.

Bean Varietal: Nacional

Ingredients: Cacao beans, cane sugar, nacional nibs, sea salt.

Sample Size: 90g

60 hour Conch.

 

Appearance: Two textured bars with raised tiles and signature patterned molding. A few surface nicks, but nothing major, smooth surface, muted matte surface not ultra shiny, a lighter brown color, and larger nibs leaving a larger raised surface on the backside.

Score: 89

Snap: Clean crisp snap, light snapping sound, slightly crumbly in it's break.

Score: 90

Aroma: Roasted cacao, citrus, inky, dried wood.

Score: 92

Taste: Bold, bitter, inky, fairly tangy, slightly acidic, berries, roasted nibs, good balance of sugars, then a later salt hit in the taste.

Score: 94

Texture: Good crunchy nibs, smooth creamy chocolate texture, medium-fast melt time.

Score: 94

 

Just a couple of surface marks, I judged it accordingly but it must be noted that this chocolate traveled all the way from Scotland to Denver. I don't expect perfect condition considering any number of factors that may have contributed to surface issues. Really it's a small detail but one that must be counted.

I like the molding and raised tiles. It' gives a nice unique look. And it's signature is cacao leaves and flowers. It's snap was good because of the thickness of the bar but a little crumbly. That could be because it's filled. But big lovely pieces of nibs. I really hate it when bars give very fine chopped up nibs. I like bigger pieces for a fuller crunch and better nib flavor.

It's aroma is very straight forward. Sometimes you get lots of descriptors on chocolate and sometimes it's fairly basic. But that doesn't mean it isn't good. It's a nice strong aroma of wood and citrus and big inky notes. Simple but good.

The flavor bounces all over the place but in a good way. Each taste presents itself individually and then lets the other tastes come through. It opens up very bold and bitter. Nice for 70%. And then it's sharp and tangy and very fruity with good berry flavors. Then the crunchy roasted nibs come out with full roasted and dried woody flavors. Then it's finished with the salt. Really good bar. It's the full real flavor of the Peruvian cacao and then playful with nibs and salt. Nothing is really dominating except it's natural flavor. Even though it's technically a flavored bar because of it's salt, the salt is not on the main stage. Very good balance. Great flavors.

A few minor surface issues gives it this score, but I say ignore the technical part of the score and go for how it tastes which is great.

 

Final Score: 91.8

score
B+

 

 

Bergamot & Raspberry Ecuador 55%

 

Type: Flavored Milk

Bean Varietal: Arriba Nacional

Ingredients: Cacao beans, cane sugar, milk powder, cacao butter, bergamot and raspberry oils.

Sample Size: 90g

 

Appearance: Same patterned molding and raised tiles, muted matte surface, lighter brown color in a darker chestnut color, no real major surface nicks or matted marks, slight damage with a broken piece, but surface appearance still intact.

Score: 91

Snap: Good hard snap, nice snapping sound, and clean break lines.

Score: 94

Aroma: A full savory aroma. Tart, buttery milk notes, black pepper, orange-y bergamot notes, and a subdued raspberry aroma.

Score: 93

Taste: Spicy, peppery and orange bergamot right up front, creamy buttery flavor, the raspberry is not very apparent. Dominating bergamot. Lingering cacao flavors with milky finish.

Score: 90

Texture: Smooth, creamy, medium-fast melt time.

Score: 94

Again with the traveling, I am not taking major points off here for a slightly broken bar. Just one piece broke and it's really no big deal considering how far it came. I have been known in the past to be tough about this sort of thing but the surface of this bar held up better than the unbroken Nib & Salt bar. I think that's more important. It is an issue if you get it broken from the store. But in this case, I am not reviewing that aspect harshly.

Great snap. Very full and strong with a nice popping sound and no crumbles.

Interesting aroma. You expect a bigger Earl Grey tea smell but it's toned down and not too big. Neither is the raspberry. There is a tartness on the aroma but the raspberries are subdued. It's interesting because it's a savory kind of smell. It has orange notes and bergamot but also a buttery milky aroma.

The bergamot dominates the flavor of this bar. It's primarily a milky, buttery, creamy bar with orange and peppery bergamot flavors. The raspberry is completely lost. There are some remnants of it's presence in the finish but it's muddled with the milky after taste. It leaves a milky aftertaste similar to eating white chocolate. The cacao flavors are present at the finish. Slightly rich and bitter and also savory on the flavor as well as the aroma. It does have those drying qualities that Arriba Nacional beans tend to have but it's not as noticeable with the lingering milky finish.

The texture is fantastic. Soft, good melt time and smooth and creamy.

It's very good if you like spicy bergamot. It's very strong and flavorful chocolate. But my biggest issue with it is the milky aftertaste. It's a little cloying at the end. But it is a higher percentage milk chocolate with makes it richer than a typical 45%.

 

Final Score: 92.4

score
B+

 

 

 

The Chieftain

 

Type: Flavored bar 55%

Bean Varietal: Unknown, blend

Ingredients: Dark chocolate (sugar, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, vanilla powder), Pinhead oats, Haggis Spice (sea salt, coriander seed, mace, thyme).

Sample Size: 100g

 

Appearance: Smooth shiny surface with some plastic matted marks on the top surface, Deep dark brown color, standard small tabs tablet,

Score: 87

Snap: Good firm snap. Nice thickness on the bar and a good crisp snapping sound. Clean break lines.

Score: 94

Aroma: Huge spicy aroma. All mace. A little savory and herbal with thyme, oranges, black pepper aroma.

Score: 93

Taste: Big spicy taste, mace and herbal flavors. The thyme is bigger on the flavor and gives fairly big green  herbal taste, a little like pine tree sap, peppery, oranges, and red fruits from the cacao, cereal grains from the oats. Very slight spicy heat kick as well. Fruity lingering aftertaste of big rich raisins. Small pops of salt intermingled.

Score: 95

Texture: Medium hard with a slower melt time. Not as creamy as the others, but still smooth with a little crunch from the oats.

Score: 91

This bar is super fun. Love the tartan plaid wrapper and the very idea of a signature Scottish bar of chocolate with Haggis spice. While Haggis may not sound/be very appealing to the masses, the spices and aroma of this bar are awesome.

A matted surface. This is the only negative side effect from plastic packaging. I prefer plastic to hold the aromas and flavors on the bar longer. But it can lead to this kind of surface appearance. This could be from the traveling too. You never know what kind of temperature issues may affect the contents of a package in shipping. But you can see the integrity because it's still fairly shiny.

Nice thick bar with a standard mold. Clean but very film snap.

The aroma is huge. It's all mace which has a clove like aroma, oranges, black pepper, slightly herbal with the thyme. I didn't know what classic Haggis spice was, but this blend here makes for a good rich aroma on chocolate. I like it. It is really strong though. I could leave this bar out like a reed diffuser for the house.

It's pretty funky chocolate. I liked this a lot. It's interesting, it's different, and it actually works really well with the oats. It probably could have used more oats mixed in it. It has an awesome fruity aftertaste mingled with mace and spices. Not being that familiar with Haggis, I don't know how true to form it is in terms of taste, but what I get out of it is a huge holiday bar. This is something you want to pass around with friends and family.

As spicy as this chocolate is, it's still pretty balanced. You get a little bit of everything coming out. It's rich and deep for only a 55% too. But lower percentages and more sugars lend to a bigger fruity taste in chocolate. The lingering raisins and rich cacao flavors sort of halt a cloying aftereffect from something this heavily spiced. It's really wonderfully balanced and big at the same time.

It's score is another victim of technicalities. While important as a whole, I say ignore them and definitely try this bar. I loved it. It has so much going on and it was truly unique and fun. Plus you get to tell people you are eating Haggis chocolate. This is probably one of the most fun bars I have had in a while. I am so into the plain dark origin bars that I forget how fun and interesting good spice blends can be in chocolate when done properly.

 

Final Score: 92

score
B+

 

Thank you again, Ali. I appreciate the shipping and the skill shown in these bars. Deeply impressed with the Chieftain. The richness in the Nibs and Salt bar were great too. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing your chocolate passion with me.

Chocolatier Blue

 

 

Chocolatier Blue out of San Francisco with shops in downtown Denver. This was my birthday box of goodies from my husband.

Handmade truffles with seasonality as a factor in certain flavors of truffles. The bases used for the chocolate are from Domori. World class Italian chocolate.

And a little blurb about Chris Blue the chocolatier from their website:

Chris Blue spent his childhood summers on a self-sustaining family farm in Nebraska. It was on the farm that Chris learned about organic agriculture, the importance of supporting local farms, and the meaning of hard work.

In time, Chris decided that he wanted to be a chef and he asked his Mom for advice concerning what type of culinary school he should attend. His mother’s advice was to learn about what he liked eating the most: chocolate.

It was decided that the French Pastry School in Chicago, where Chris would learn the intricacies of French chocolate making, would fit the bill. Always the perfectionist, Chris threw himself into chocolate candies and spent every spare minute mastering the techniques. While learning his trade, Chris began working at Charlie Trotter’s world-renowned restaurant and was able to combine his childhood experiences with organic agriculture to craft new, innovative confections.

In pursuit of a more perfect confection, Chris traveled the country, learning as much as possible at a variety of acclaimed establishments.

This experience led to the opening of Chocolatier Blue, a creation Chris shares with his fiancé Jessica Steeve. Jessica, an art major from the University of Iowa, has honed the aesthetic appeal of each chocolate to reflect the exquisite taste of each filling. While the flavors and designs of the chocolates change frequently, Chris works diligently to maintain the highest standards of his craft.

I can't say what the shop looks like, I haven't been in yet, but I can say the truffles are not made in house. They flown in fresh from San Fransisco. A little disappointing that they are not made locally, but fresh is still important and the store person assured my husband that they are flown in either daily or every couple of days.

 

 

 

 

**Truffle descriptions via Chocolatier Blue.

 

Sugar Cookie - The Cookie of the season is baked fresh, mixed with white chocolate and encased in chocolate for a holiday bite.

I am not sure if cookie of the season means it changes for each season. But I am assuming that's what the description means. With that, I am not sure which cookie has been used for this particular truffle. It smells buttery and a little creamy. It tastes creamy and buttery but is a little dominated by the white chocolate. It's sweet and little sugary but the chocolate shell on the outside lends to a lingering milk chocolate taste. It tastes like a butter cookie.

I liked this one. I was kind of hoping for more of a cookie dough center rather than a white chocolate blend. But two bites in and the dominate white chocolate taste goes away for more of a buttery taste. First impression was ehh, but it ended up finishing strong in my opinion.

 

Mulled Wine - This tantalizing brew of the best red wine and rich spices in dark chocolate is sure to leave a lasting warmth.

 

Smells spicy but a mellow spicy kick not too strong. Big spicy flavor though. Lots of cinnamon and cardamon, a rich and very soft buttery center and sweet dark chocolate case.

Really good balance. The spice is strong right up front but all are showcased here with the rich creamy center and the sweet and sharp dark chocolate finish. The spices do dominate any real wine flavors but the combination is still perfectly balanced and superbly rich. Great truffle.

 

Sweet Potato Casserole - A classic crowd pleaser is made with fresh-roasted sweet potato caramel and layered with marshmallow wrapped in a milk chocolate shell.

 

The real reason we're here. I was looking up chocolate cake on my birthday and found this shop. When I saw they had creative truffles like my holiday favorite sweet potato casserole, Todd was sent on a mission 10 minutes later for chocolates.

It has a very mellow aroma. Mostly the milk chocolate. It tastes like a savory truffle of butter and sweet potatoes. not spiced, a little bit of the marshmallows. First bite is a little obscure, second bite is exactly like a sweet potato casserole only covered in chocolate. Very fun truffle and very holiday appropriate.

 

Cookies & Cream - No need to dunk oreos in milk when there are blended into white chocolate filling with a rich dark chocolate shell.

 

The aroma smells like the shell of the truffle. The taste is interesting. The cookie covers up the white chocolate milk taste, but the white chocolate filing tones down some of the chocolate-y cookie taste of an oreo. This truffle was okay but could have been a lot better. I am not sold on the white chocolate blended centers kind of like the sugar cookie truffle.

 

Vanilla Rum - Fresh Madagascar vanilla bean are the idea enhancement to dark spiced rum in a white chocolate filling with a dark rich shell.

Lovely vanilla aroma. Soft and pretty. Soft buttery taste without a big boozy kick. You can taste the rum and the vanilla blended up with a butter white chocolate filling. The dark chocolate did not interfere and was a very nice after finish taste. Great balance on this truffle. The alcoholic in me wished it had a bigger hit of booze to it but then the rum would be too over powering.

 

Sage Honey - Wild California sage honey is blended into white chocolate and encased in dark chocolate for a perfect harmony of flavors.

Soft nose. But sadly the rich honey flavors are lost by the white chocolate filling it's blended with. The dark chocolate at the end seems a little out of place as a last minute flavor on top of the white chocolate. Sage is a robust flavor and should have been more pronounced even from sage honey. While it's there there, it's too subtle to pay attention to and the honey flavor is also lost. White chocolate is the dominate flavor.

 

 

Lemon - Fresh local lemon zest and juice is intermingled with rich milk chocolate for a perfect balance of tart and sweet.

Apparently I didn't want to wait before cutting into this one and take it's picture so there is only one to see. But at the top of the post is a picture of the box and in the bottom right hand corner that's the surface image. Really enjoyable truffle and again good balance.

Soft lemon aroma mixed with milk chocolate on the aroma. Big bright lemon flavor. Great balance with the milk chocolate. Soft creams and bold tart lemons. Great little pop and lived up to it's description.

 

Pistachio - Highly esteemed Sicilian pistachios are slowly roasted and delicately blended into a smooth creamy filling with milk chocolate.

 

Another soft aroma, rich buttery filling nicely balanced with the milk chocolate shell. Nice truffle but to be honest, the nutty flavor wasn't as rich as I hoped it would be. It's more creamy and buttery than it is nutty with pistachios. Still the milk chocolate was a nice accompaniment to filling.

 

Grapefruit with Rosemary - Fresh rosemary is used to craft a creamy caramel with-farm cream and fresh rudy red grapefruit for a combination that is second to none.

A soft herbal aroma with citrus. The center was not a soft caramel but more of a creamy ganache filling. The grapefruit comes off more as an orange flavor with a slight hint of the rosemary. To be honest it tastes like something else entirely. As with the Sage Honey, the rosemary is offset and dominated when it was a flavor I was really hoping would come through more. Orange and chocolate is not my favorite combination and because the grapefruit tastes like oranges, it's not a winner for me.

 

White Russian - Fresh brewed Flying Goat coffee and vodka in tempting dark chocolate is a tribute to this classic drink.

 

Smells nutty and roasted. The chocolate makes the coffee smell a bit like coffee grinds. Tastes like creamy coffee and slightly like Kahlua. The coffee should be more pronounced than it is and I wish it had more vodka esters or heat on the finish. There are some esters that come later in the finish, but very slight. It's okay.

 

 

Pumpkin - Fresh sugar pie pumpkins are slow roasted with a touch of pumpkin and a bit of white chocolate for a taste that rivals any holiday dessert.

Nice spicy aroma. Spicy creamy taste. Like pumpkin pie but finishes with a white chocolate taste. There is an odd plastic taste to it. It might be from the spices and the white chocolate flavors. It completely interferes with a perfectly good truffle. I don't know what causes that kind of flavor. The spices on the first taste were a good blend and even the creaminess of the white chocolate lended a good buttery taste. But something else is interfering making this not very good and a complete plastic taste. Spices can be hard to maintain. I learned about this with pumpkin ales. If they are over spiced, they can sour a beer once it begins to warm to room temp. I suspect something similar happened here.

 

Passion Fruit Caramel - Fresh tangy New Zealand passion fruit juice is finished into a creamy decadent caramel with a touch of dark chocolate.

Nice passion fruit aroma. Very zippy little truffle here. Very bright and tart passion fruit flavors finished with nutty and almost coffee-like flavors on the dark chocolate. Nice butter caramel center on the second taste. Good flavors all around. Tart, fresh, passion fruit taste, creamy, buttery, and a nutty coffee chocolate-y finish. Nice roller coaster of flavor here.

 

75% Dark Chocolate - Single origin dark chocolate from Domori blended with cream and organic butter for a flawless chocolaty indulgence.

 

Of course you know what I am going to say here. Which origin? Nerd Alert: to chocolate geeks, it makes a huge difference knowing which origins were talking about. Madagascar is hugely different than Vietnam cacao, or Venezuelan. Let's see if I can take a gander here at which origin.

Tastes like a classic fudgy brownie truffle with a butter cream taste. I am afraid I can't tell where this comes from.  Sometimes I am that good. This time I can't tell. Fudgy brownie qualities are hallmarks of Ghana cacao. But the butter and cream could muddle it and make it something South American as well. I know I should call the shop and ask. But I don't want to out of defiance. It should be listed already. If it's from south America, it's possibly Peruvian. If it's from Africa, it tastes like Ghana cacao. I will update if I ever find out.

 

Espresso - California Flying Goat coffee is steeped in fresh-farm cream then blended with organic butter and a rich dark chocolate creating a perfect luxury.

Nutty coffee grinds aroma. More buttery than coffee. Not as rich and luxurious as mentioned. It's slightly nutty and coffee-ish but nothing really stands out here as an espresso truffle. They seem to hold back a lot on flavors or the flavors dissipate quicker than expected. It's a fine truffle just not as rich as I hoped.

 

Root Beer Float - A perfect after dinner treat of fresh vanilla root beer filling poured into a thin dark chocolate shell.

Smells like root beer and licorice root. It tastes exactly like root beer. It's more like a root beer caramel but the spices and flavors are more pronounced than the buttery notes like the other truffles and caramels. It's a good match and a good blend. If you are not into root beer you won't like this. But if you remember that taste its a great little truffle and leaves a lingering licorice taste with the dark chocolate.

 

Hazelnut - Award-winning Ennis hazelnuts are meticulously roasted with fleur de sel salt and blended into a flawless textured filling.

Really good. Gianduja is a fantastic flavor. Blended chocolate and hazelnuts. Good balance of salt and little crunchy pieces. This is simple, classic tasting, and very good.

 

PB Crunch - An over the top peanut treat created with homemade peanut brittle ground into fresh peanut butter and enclosed in milk chocolate.

You had me at peanut brittle. Not as crispy as I was expecting but the taste is everything. Good sweet candy taste of the brittle almost like pb and honey, roasted peanut butter and good salt balance. I am a big fan of peanut butter and this was a good little truffle. I just wish it was slightly more crunchy for more of that brittle texture.

 

Peanut butter and Strawberry Jam - A little milk chocolate with fresh ground peanut butter is layered with strawberry jam for an instant summer flash regardless of the time of year.

Peanut butter and strawberry jame is how I eat my sandwiches at home. I am a lover of this combo. And it tastes like pb & sj. I wish it had a slight bit more of the strawberry because the peanut butter is a big flavor. But that's a small observation. It's a nice truffle worthy of childhood memories or your favorite lunchtime sammie.

 

 

Todd gets points for being a good husband and bringing his wife fun holiday truffles. He gets negative points for failing to get a Chili truffle in the box and a Cranberry-Sage truffle to try.

Overall these are good truffles. I wish some of the flavors were bigger or more pronounced. The coffee truffles were lack luster on the coffee flavors. As were some of the more creative spicier truffles like the Sage Honey and Grapefruit Rosemary. Some of these were very original in flavors. I loved the idea of cookie dough and sweet potato casserole. I would love to try the cranberry-sage next time too. Some of them were a miss for me. I am not a big fan of white chocolate. It muddled some of the flavors in my opinion.

I'd say the Passion Fruit caramel was a big win for me. The Hazelnut, Vanilla Rum, Mulled wine, and the Lemon were the best in this box. The peanut butter truffles were great too.

 

I am back!

 

I have taken a short hiatus from writing about chocolate to reevaluate some things and to get my priorities in order. I have recently moved from Boston to Denver, Colorado. Very big change and uproot in my life. But well worth it. I am in Ritual Chocolate territory now. I am deciding what to do with my current rating system for chocolate. I may keep it, I may not. But for now I think I want to just write about products I find without scoring and just talk about the products more in depth.

New companies interested in my reviews or write ups about their products can contact me at [email protected].

Thanks for staying a fan and following me on twitter or facebook.

 

@ChocoAdvocate

 

Chocolate Advocate Facebook

Askinosie ~ Tableya

 

 

 

Askinosie Tableya

Unsweetened, roasted and milled cacao pressed into tablets and mixed with water and sugar for a Filipino hot chocolate drink.

This is a special novelty product done in good faith and charity from Askinosie that benefits children in the Philippines. Each package sold, provides meals for children.

Via Askinosie's website:

Crafted and packaged by the PTA at the Malagos Elementary School in Davao, Philippines, and shipped to our factory on the same container as our cocoa beans from Davao, this Tableya makes a very deep, rich hot chocolate. But even more importantly, this Tableya has a story.

This is the second year we are selling Tableya and this year, each package purchased will provide enough money for 70 meals. That is a total of 140,000 meals for 700 students-- lunch for every student at Malagos for one school year.

Here's the story: During a visit to Malagos Elementary School in 2011, Shawn Askinosie met with the principal and teachers and asked about their greatest needs-- hunger was the biggest issue. He learned from the school administrators that 20% of the children at Malagos were on the malnourished "watch list." So together, Shawn and the Malagos PTA created the Askinosie Chocolate University Malagos Elementary Lunch Program. The PTA makes the Tableya and ships it to the factory and 100% of the sales of this product fund the program.

We purchase the Tableya for $1 and sell it for $10; the PTA uses the $9 profit to source, purchase, and prepare local food for the students.  In other words, the project is completely sustainable, requiring zero donations. 

We monitor height, weight and arm circumference of every student, along with attendance and graduation rates to measure the success of this program.  We are in constant contact with the school administrators.  Since the program began, with your help, we have provided 185,000 meals. 90% of the students have gained weight and the school attendance rate has increased. 

Convoy of Hope, an international non-profit based in Springfield, Missouri, with children's feeding initiatives around the globe, will continue to assist us with oversight on this project.

 

Tableya production is a huge part of the Philippines and has it's own legends and myths around it. I found this, the legend of Maria Cacao, while looking into Tableya.

Via Wikipedia.

Maria Cacao is the diwata (fairy) or mountain goddess associated with Mount kanlaon in Argao, Cebu, Philippines, similar to Maria Makiling of Los Baños and Maria Sinukuan of Mount Arayat.

The basic form of the legend is that whenever rains flood the river that comes from Mount Lantoy, or a bridge is broken, this is a sign that Maria Cacao and her husband Mangao have either traveled down the river in their golden ship so that they can export their crops, or traveled up the river on their way back.^[1] She is supposed to live inside a cave in the mountain and the Cacao plants outside it are supposed to be her plantation.^[2] While the story is obviously mythical in nature, it is cited as evidence of how long the production of tableya, has been going on in the area.^[1] Tableya is Cebuano for round, unsweetened chocolate tablets made from cacao beans. It is a crucial ingredient in the Filipino delicacies sikwate (chocolate) and champorado.^[3]

 

 

 

 

I made two different sizes because while I was in the middle of making a 9oz mug with two tablets, I wasn't sure of the way it looked so I whipped up the recommended 6oz glass with one tablet. I asked the Askinosie team what was recommended. They suggested water 3 different times. You just heat the water, mix the tablet and add sugar if you like. I added a spoonful of cane sugar to the 6oz and 2 to the 9oz mug.

The tablets right out of the package had the most wonderful aroma. Hugely roasted cacao aroma, bold coffee, leather, hints of bananas and other fruits, woody, inky, and a little bit of tar. Loved this aroma.

I found it cool that it is in a tube like Necco Waffers. I live right next to the old Necco Waffer plant in Cambridge so it's a bit nostalgic for me.

As I mentioned before, I was unsure of how it was supposed to look. Thinking perhaps I screwed up and added too much water, I made the smaller one exactly as recommended. They both looked and tasted exactly the same so I assume the ratios were right for the differences.

I wasn't thrilled with how it looked. It looks like muddy water. Not very appealing on first sight. And the  tablet's contact with water destroyed it's beautiful aroma. It became like used coffee grinds and a little burnt smelling.

Surprisingly it tasted much better than I expected. I could go with less sugar next time, but overall it had a nice cocoa-y flavor and the original aromas were back on the taste. A little floral, sweet, roasted, and kind of fruity. It wasn't as full or as rich as I expected though. And I wasn't a fan of it's texture. I do not like it watery like this. I am not sure how traditional Tableya cacao is supposed to taste texturally, but this wasn't up my alley. It's fairly gritty, and too thin from the water. Virtually no viscosity which is what I like about hot chocolate. I prefer sludge-like paste for my hot chocolate.

It's a quite a mixed bag for me. I love it's aroma, hate it's aroma in water. Like it's flavor, hate it's texture. But I have a few more tablets in this roll to play with. I will try it again with milk next time. Maybe almond milk for a thicker version. With vanilla almond milk, I won't need to add sugar. And I have seen some recipes for a traditional Champorado, rice pudding made with Tableya. That needs to happen too. I will update if the results are drastically different.

All in all, it was only okay. Different and interesting, worth buying to try and to make Filipino rice pudding with. But also the charity factor makes it more appealing to give it a try. I scanned some pics of the Tableya on Askinosie's site and it's poured like tea. This could be a good chocolate tea for those who perfer tea over hot chocolate.

William Curley ~ Cinder Toffee Dark Chocolate

 

 

 

 

Cinder Toffee Dark Chocolate

Dark chocolate covered crunchy honey comb chunks. Covered in William Curley's signature use of Amedei's Toscano 70%. Yes, yes, and Yes!

 

 

What is Cinder Toffee? AKA: Honeycomb, puff candy, golden crunchers, hokey pokey, sponge candy, and sea foam depending upon where you come from.

Honeycomb toffee, sponge toffee or cinder toffee is a sugary toffee with a light, rigid, sponge-like texture. Its main ingredients are typically brown sugar, corn syrup (or molasses or golden syrup in the Commonwealth) and baking soda, sometimes with an acid such as vinegar. The baking soda and acid react to form carbon dioxide which is trapped in the highly viscous mixture. When acid is not used, thermal decomposition of the baking soda releases carbon dioxide. The lattice structure is formed while the sugar is liquid, then the toffee sets hard.

In some regions it is often made at home, and a popular recipe for children. It is also made commercially and sold in small blocks, or covered in chocolate, popular examples being the Crunchie or Violet Crumble bar.

Via Wikipedia.

 

This is by far the best use of the Toscano 70% yet. While I love Amedei, sometimes I want to see Mr. Curley branch out a bit and use different blends or cacao percentages. What I mean is 60%'s tend to be rich and sweet but draw out natural fruity tones on chocolate. That could really enhance some of his creations. Or going bolder with a 75% for some of the already sugary and sweet fillings. But right now, tasting this combination, it's the best compliment to the chocolate for a change.

Nice sweet honey, crispy and airy for the crunchy texture, not too brittle as some might expect, and some pretty floral notes from both the honey and the chocolate. The honey is also golden and lightly caramelized in the opening tastes but not overwhelming on honey. If you go too far with honey, it becomes cloying. The chocolate really balances the crispy comb. Really nice treat here. I like this a lot and may have to have it come out regularly with my annual William Curley drop off.

It's very sweet, but very delightful. I think this is the perfect accompaniment for tea. It appears to be a worldwide treat many are familiar with. I personally have not had this before. But I am very happy I tried it.

Surprises by William Curley

 

 

My yearly delivery of William Curley has arrived thanks to my mate Angelo, and this time I called ahead to see if Mr. Curley could put something together that I have never had before. Outside of having their fine pastries in their shop, I have had a good round of delicious treats from them over the years. This time he sent over some new treats.

On top of 3 boxes of truffles plus some other gems, there were two unlabeled boxes. I opened them to find candy bars! 3 treats from his Nostalgia line. A version of a Mounds Bar, A Snickers Bar, and a Jaffa Cake. Excited be thy name. All awesome and all things I like!

 

Nostaligia Coconut Bar: White chocolate and toasted coconut ganache coated in Toscano 70% dark chocolate.

A sophisticated version of a Mounds Bar. Amedei Toscano 70% dark chocolate shell with white chocolate and coconut center.

I am in love with coconut. I grew up on Mounds and Almond Joy's. They are still a favorite. But this was super rich and decadent with real dark chocolate. All coconut center. Meaning it does have white chocolate in it, but it's good and meaty with the coconut too. An Almond Joy is for a Halloween basket, this Nostalgia Bar is for a coconut lover you truly care about. It's ridiculously good. It defines rich from the dark chocolate and the insanely good coconut center.

 

Nostalgia Jaffa Cakes: Our version of a Jaffa Cake. Genoise sponge topped with homemade seville orange marmalade and chocolate ganache, coated in Toscano 70% dark chocolate.

Now, I never grew up with Jaffa Cakes. We had similar things in the US in terms of jelly rolls and things like that. But I like all the things in it. Sponge cake with jam dipped in Amedei chocolate. I am totally down with this. Also, this just looks 1000x better than the store bought ones.

Tangy and bright marmalade, bitter and perfect with the Amedei Toscano 70% shell. Soft spongy cake. It's a good balance of a lot of elements here. The tangy oranges, the bitter chocolate, sweet sugars in the marmalade and cake. I liked it.

 

 

Nostalgia Peanut Nougat Bar: Peanut and chocolate nougat topped with a salted peanut caramel and coated in Toscano 70% dark chocolate.

This would be a supped up version of a Snickers bar. Even better with it being dipped again in Amedei Tsocano 70% and with a salted caramel inside. Snickers is one of my all time favorite candy bars. It's right up there with Kit Kat bars. Previously I have tried Liddabit's version of a snickers. Handmade candy bars from Brooklyn. They set a very high bar, but didn't load it up with enough peanuts. This bar has plenty of peanuts.

It's a little sugary, but the nougat was soft and packed with lots of peanuts. The salty caramel gets a bit lost, but it is in there and there is a slight peak of it when you bite down into the bar. You get more of the buttery flavor than the salt. Again it is very sweet but I'd take this any day over a snickers.

 

Why do you do this to me William Curley?!?!?!?! Why do you make everything so awesome?

Charbonnel et Walker ~ Pink Marc de Champagne Truffles

 

 

 

The London chocolate tour continues thanks to my friend Angelo bringing me just about 40 boxes of truffles on his trip to the US. From Twitter, I asked chocolate pals, what else would be good from London aside from the already requested Paul A. Young and William Curley items? One person suggested Strawberry truffles from Charbonnel et Walker. Looking at their website, I saw Banoffee truffles instead. I love bananas and Banoffee pie more than I love strawberries. I had to request those. Those will be in the next post. But with that truffle assortment came a little heart shaped box of champagne truffles.

About Charbonnel et Walker:

Founded in 1875, Charbonnel et Walker is one of Britain’s earliest chocolatiers. Encouraged by Edward VII, (then the Prince of Wales), our company first formed as a partnership between Mrs Walker and Mme. Charbonnel, the latter from the Maison Boissier chocolate house in Paris. Our original shop opened at 173 New Bond Street in Mayfair and has remained in Bond Street ever since. It is now housed in one of London’s elegant arcades, the Royal Arcade on Old Bond Street. We feel much pride and privilege to be endorsed by the Royal Warrant as chocolate manufacturers to Her Majesty The Queen.

Charbonnel et Walker chocolates are hand-made according to traditional recipes. We are particularly renowned for our dark chocolate, made from the finest dark couverture, which has a luscious richness and unforgettable silky taste. Our luxurious hand made boxes, satin ribbons and complimentary gift-wrapping complete the perfect gift for every occasion. We are certain that a beautifully presented box of Charbonnel et Walker chocolates will delight any recipient as an exquisite expression of your care and affection.

 

 

 

Pink Marc de Champagne Truffles

Pink milk chocolate truffles with butter and champagne coated in powdered sugar.

Buttery and milky truffles. Incredibly sweet and boozy flavor. The aroma is very boozy, and it has a big boozy kick on the taste. It envelops the palate with boozy esters. Soft milk chocolate center. They kind of have a strawberry-ish taste on them from the milk, butters, and thick white chocolate and powdered sugar shell around the truffle. It finished with a lingering milky taste that is cloying like white chocolate. Artificial tasting, and cloying milky flavors drown out this truffle. But the champagne is a high point.

Very rich and sugary. Too sweet for me but I do appreciate a good boozy truffle. They did not go skimpy and for that alone I give these high praise. They are not handmade quality and taste manufactured, but the strong boozy champagne in it is a winner.

These get a D+ for over all cheap tasting truffles. But they get an A on the side for good booze flavor with the milk chocolate and champagne. They say handmade on their website, but unfortunately they taste very artificial. I wouldn't recommend them for a true chocolate lover, but they are cute and packaged prettily for a nice little gift for perhaps your co-workers or the boozer in your family you want to get a gift for but not go over the top on.

 

  score
D+

Four for One Paul A. Young Post

 

 

Dark Chocolate Fudge Brownie

It's that time of year again. The time my best friend in London, sweeps through the city bringing me back some requested gems from across the pond. This post is dedicated solely to Paul A. Young. It's been a while since I have sat down with some of his products. I requested a brownie this time. Snuck in were a few extra bars including one filled with Caramel. Let's get right to it, shall we?

 

 

I requested brownies because I have spent years hearing about the famous Paul A. Young brownies. His caramel brownie inspired me to make my own. I figured if I couldn't get to London, I would have to make my own. They were amazingly good. I tried to see if they had a baking mix. Not yet. But hopefully that will come.

Thick cocoa-y brownies. Nice buttery aroma and very fudgy texture. Super rich and velvety. Nice and sweet and buttery. This is a very decadent brownie. I would prefer to be a little bit more well done, but it's flavor trumps the slightly underdone texture. It's pretty much a chewy piece of rich fudge. I would send a couple of these to someone very special you know that might be having a bad a day. This would cure even the deepest depressions.

 

 

 

 

Sea-Salted Caramel Bar

Madagascar bar with 64% cacao filled with rich salted caramel.

Rich cocoa-y aroma with all the Madagascar hallmarks. Citrus, wood, berries, pen ink, cream and butter. When I say cocoa-y, I am referring to a richer dry cocoa aroma. Like the way chocolate powders smell. So that aroma is very similar to what the aroma of the brownie had. This was all rich Madagascar aromas with added cream and butter aromas from the caramel.

This bar was a total mess to look at. Molding marks on the surface either due to the plastic or from it's molding case. Ritual Chocolate recently explained how their molds leave an unintended thumb print to their bars. This might be the same thing. A little bit of separating on this bar but it's a filled bar that sits up vertically. The center is a very soft and runny service. It won't take much to disturb this bar. But luckily it's thick enough to contain it. On one hand I love the simplicity of the packaging. But on the other hand it leaves it so susceptible to any kind of topical damage.

I cut the bar in half at first to see if it was a mou or a runny caramel. I am happy to report that it is a runny caramel bar!

The ingredients list two chocolates in it. I am not sure if there is a touch of milk chocolate in the caramel or blended into the Madagascar. He used Valrhona's Jivara Milk. I am sure the base is also Valrhona. Not sure if it's exactly the Manjari but I am sure it's Valrhona. He uses them and Amedei for his base chocolate or couverture.

Nice buttery caramel. Perfect balance with the sea salt and the cream and butters. I love the caramel. The chocolate is very rich and sharp. It's soft and sweet up front so it gives the caramel time to shine, but overall it's a bit too much for the delicacy of the caramel. The caramel is the best part. Perhaps a softer cacao origin next time. The Madagascar leaves a sharp finish of berries and acidity. Usually I suggest and acid to compete with rich creams, butters, or caramels. But in this case I found it to be too sharp and acidic for the caramel. It dominates the palate as soon it begins to open up and by the time you have swallowed it, your taste for the caramel is all but forgotten.

Verdict: I want to see a different base for this bar, but the caramel in it is perfection. It's unblanaced and a mess with it's appearance. But I want to stress how perfect the caramel is in the center. Perfectly balanced with the salt. Look at the pictures above and click on the caramel ones. It's gorgeous.

   score
  C+

 

 

 

Votesiperifrey pepper

 

Wild Madagascar black pepper with Ecuador base 66%.

This is all black pepper on the aroma. The cacao aroma is really so faint compared to the very dominating black pepper.

Same thumb print on the surface. Some surface scuffs but not as matted as the caramel filled bar. Very thick bar. Hard snap, but very clean break lines.

Up front it's all pepper, sweet sugars in the chocolate, some slight floral notes on the chocolate gives way to an almost cologne-like flavor. A little bit like aftershave. That might not sound appealing but it's odd, funky and interesting. This is the reverse of the caramel bar. The Ecuador should be used for the caramel and the bigger Madagascar should be used for this big bold black pepper. The Ecuador is lost underneath this huge pepper. It does leave some floral notes, that adds to that clean, soapy, aftershave taste. But there is not much left after that. It is fairly fruity, but it's hard to keep track of those flavors with the pepper. Some of the chocolate flavors become more apparent on the second and third taste and the pepper does seem to tame itself, but it is still too dominating in the end.

Verdict: It's a cool bar of chocolate because of that funky strong black pepper. But overall I think the base needed to be Madagascar. Something stronger to stand up to the pepper.

   score
    B

 

 

Brick House Sourdough Bar

A collaboration bar made with Brick House Artisan Sourdough Bakery from London using their Peckham Sourdough Rye. Also with blended Madagascar and Dominican Republic cacao.

Molding thumbprint and my own thumb print. Good fat snap again due to the shape and thickness of the bar.

It smelled like bold Madagascar right out of the package. Very strong with citrus, wood, and pen ink.  It mellows out a lot and softens on the aroma once it's breathed a bit. Bold pen ink and berries with faint traces of the citrus. A good balance of both cacaos.

Very fruity and a little bitter, a tiny bit tangy at first, crispy bits of bread, strong but balanced cacao blend. Very woody and bright with red fruits and berries. Not acidic but for a tiny bit of tartness up front. The bread doesn't impart too much flavor. I thought it would be a little bit more yeasty or bread-y. But I like that it's crispy bits of bread. Adds a fun texture.

Verdict: This was awesome. Good blend of cacaos and the bread acts a little bit like Rice Krispies. Not to diminish the fine bread that went into this bar. But it's crispiness is fun. Paul should consider this a signature blend and roll with it for more bars. Loved it.

   score
  B+