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Ritual Chocolate ~ Costa Rica 75%

 

 

After spending a lovely afternoon back in October with Robbie Stout of Ritual Chocolate, and Steve DeVries, they sent me home with some goodies to review.

While I was there, I toured their factory, saw the vintage equipment they use, and really marveled at the super small operations churning some of my favorite chocolate. Newish producers on the scene, the are already winning awards and I have listed them in a recent interview as a up and coming name to look out for. I believe in them even more after I met Robbie and Anna in person. Super laid back, down to Earth, hard working, and they are not doing this for the money.

I still have dreams about their Ecuador beans being grinded. We were handed spoonfuls of cacao "butter" right out of the rollers and it was like pure floral jasmine chocolate butter. I wanted to take a bath in. I begged and pleaded for a jar of it.

Instead they kindly and most generously sent me on my way with some bars as a parting gift. And Steve sent me off with some 85% chocolate buttons for the red eye plane ride home. I selfishly saved them and melted them down for hot chocolate when I got home. It was amazing.

 

 

Costa Rica 75% 2009 Harvest

 

Type: Bittersweet, 75%

Bean Varietal: Forestaro, hybrid.

Ingredients: Cacao and cane sugar.

Sample size: 1.5oz or 42.5g

Batch #: 19

 

Appearance: Simple flat tablet with wide, long tablets. Non-monogrammed, amber medium-brown color, subdued surface.

Score: 89

Snap: Nice clean and crisp snap with a decent snapping sound.

Score: 93

Aroma: Medium roasted cacao aroma, wood and berries, and little musty with some citrus notes.

Score: 92

Taste: Cocoa-y, very bitter, woody, tart and slightly acidic, softer brown sugar notes and molasses, soft hidden floral notes, fruity berries.

Score: 91

Texture: Smooth, creamy, medium melt-time, a slightly silky texture once it opens up.

Score: 92

 

First thing I want to mention is the appearance. While visiting, they showed me their molds and how they remove the bars. Something about these molds always leaves a sort of thumb print if you will, on the top surface. You can see it in the first picture. Knowing that makes it very superficial in my scoring since they know it's an issue and are actively working to change that. It's not too shiny but then again I have held on to this bar since October. The real points for the appearance is the richness of the amber, medium-dark color on the bar.

This bar really did have a funky earthy quality to it on the aroma. It had a musty moldy tinge to it on top of bright berries and full wood notes. I know that doesn't particularly sound very appealing and the bar is not moldy. It's cool in my opinion because it lends a good balanced earthy note on top of sweet fruity citrus and berries. It makes it weird and interesting. I dig it.

Ritual uses cane sugars, and on the first bar I reviewed from them, all I could taste was big molasses flavors. Black strap molasses. I detected that a little bit on this bar but definitely not in the same capacity. It's a mild flavor hidden underneath the cacao this time and not as up front.

It's fairly bitter chocolate, slightly tangy with some citrus notes and berries. The berries are fruity and definitely present, but not dominating or overwhelming. There is a good balance of fruits and sugars, wood and earthy notes. The sugars were well balanced and not overdone with the molasses taste as mentioned above. But I will say the bitterness is a bit much. It takes over more than it should. I found a nice floral hint in the middle of this tasting and I think it would have been more dominate or more noticeable without the excessive bitterness. Clean finish despite the lingering bitters. 

Nice and bold chocolate. Big and robust, good balanced sugars and fruits. Too much bitterness for me personally in then end, but still very worthy chocolate. I think Ritual are very talented people and are the up and comers to keep watching. If you are ever in the Denver area, please contact them and visit their factory. You will learn a lot from them and be amazed at some vintage equipment and just how small their production really is. Anna is an absolute joy, and Robbie is very generous and thorough in explaining his process and passion. 

 

Final Score: 91.4

   score
  B+

Dandelion Chocolate ~ Ocumare 70%

 

 

I have been waiting to get my hands on some Dandelion for a little while now. All my hardcore chocolate fans and fellow reviews have been on to them for a little while now. They would all ask me if I have tried it yet. Finally it's my turn. My turn with a northern Venezuela bar. 

 

Small batch chocolate producers from San Francisco. Bean-to-bar to everything in between producers run by Cameron Ring and Todd Masonis. I recommend reading their blog about getting their factory opening. It's pretty detailed and cool to see how it all came together.A quick blurb here won't do it any justice.

Currently you can't shop on their site. They have had some machine issues and will be back online soon with fresh bars to order. By the looks on their Facebook, it should be any day now.

And most recently in the news, they just won a 2013 Good Food Award in the Chocolate Category for their Madagascar 70% bar.

Spied this video clip on their blog from Cat Trick Films showing handmade chocolate production at their factory in reverse.

Click to enlarge images.

 

Ocumare 70% 2011 Harvest

 

Type: Bittersweet, 70%

Bean Varietal: probably Criollo or Trinitario

Ingredients: Cocoa beans and cane sugar.

Sample Size: 2.56oz

Batch #: 3

 

Appearance: Simple, non-monogrammed molding with individual tabs. Medium dark brown color, a little bit ashy surface with some slight sugar bloom perhaps, but still has a relatively shiny surface.

Score: 83

Snap: Crumbly snap, weak at the mold lines, but strong and firm when broken from the center of a small tab.

Score: 70

Aroma: Very deep and complicated aroma. Deeply roasted cacao, berries, inky, woody, a little earthy mold aromas, note book paper aromas.

Score: 94

Taste: Bold berries and pen ink, deeply bitter, perfect balance of sugars but still intensely bitter, wood, cinnamon toast, clean finish.

Score: 95

Texture: Hard wax at first, dry, chalky and a little bit grainy, once it opens it it does have a medium melt-time, drying finish. 

Score: 65

 

What a mixed bag for my first go with Dandelion. Technically this bar is a mess. Terrible snap, the presence of slight sugar bloom, and a not so great texture. But then the aroma and flavor are fantastic. Clearly they know the flavors they want the drive out of these beans, but I am afraid they need a little help on everything else.

For now, let me just stick to the aroma and flavor. The aroma is quite complex from bold and strong berries and ink, to earthy mustiness and wood. Good hallmarks and signs from coastal Venezuelan beans. The flavor is deeply bitter, it encompasses the entire palate, but the bold berry flavors stand out and mix in with pen ink flavors and wood. There is a nice cinnamon toast flavor towards the end. Although it's incredibly bitter, it's not astringent or acidic. I liked the balance of sugars in this bar too. Not overly sweet. They really nailed the flavor and aroma.

The texture does not do this bar justice. It's drying to the palate, chalky, and starts off really hard. It does open up and have a medium creamy texture but it's sort of a little too late by the time you get there. I would rather melt down the rest of this chocolate and drink it than eat it. Say what you want, but some bars need cocoa butter in there. I would much rather have a soft waxy texture than a hard, surf wax-like texture with excessive dryness. 

I feel really bad about this review for some reason. I am really interested in these guys and I loved scrolling through the back logs of their blog to see how they got their factory together and how they got all the working pieces in place. I am just not in love with this bar. Luckily they have different offerings and I will do my best to seek out the Madagascar 70% that they just won an award for. I haven't lost faith, just a very rocky introduction.

 

Final Score: 81.4

   score
    C

Chocolat Stella ~ Organic By Nature 72% Dark Chocolate with Chili

 

 

 

***Archived notes.

 

These are notes I have been meaning to get posted for a while. I picked this chocolate up two Christmas' ago in Quebec City. Reviewed, notes taken, and then I took a break from reviewing for a while. Let's get back into it.

Chocolat Stella is Swiss chocolate company operating as part of Chocolat Bernrain. Manufactured in Giubiasco, Switzerland. A large Swiss chocolate company but with ranges focusing on bio and eco-friendly bars as part of their line up.

 

History via their website:

 

The God Quetzalcóatl, brought the cocoa to the world. That was his gift to the Aztecs.

About three thousand years later, in the year 1947, a lover of the "food of Gods" - Xocolatl - started to write a page of the Swiss chocolate history. Years of hard work in various chocolate plants taught Walter Müller to become a specialist in fine chocolate production. He decided to follow his chocolate dream and together with his wife Karin he started to produce chocolate in the 300 year old house of his parents. That particular type of chocolate was used to enrobe the typical Swiss whipes (chocolate coated egg-white mousse), which was a real consolation for the soul after a long deprivation period due to the war. It was a great success! The creative chocolatier became a businessman and posed the basis of the actual Chocolat Bernrain Group.

His eldest son Adalbert took over enthusiasm of the family. His father gave him full trust very soon and accompanied him actively for many years. In 1980 Chocolat Stella, a company based in canton Ticino, became part of the Chocolat Bernrain group.

Under Adalbert Müller the Chocolat Bernrain Group was able to build a reputation to be a reliable and a high quality manufacturer of creative chocolate specialties and sold them all over the world. 

In recent decades organic, Fair-Trade, functional and Kosher chocolate specialties completed the group assortment.

Today Monica Müller, granddaughter of the founder, runs the company into the third generation.

 

This is a dark chocolate bar with chili from their organic chocolate line.

We started producing organic chocolate more than 15 years ago, when only few raw materials were organic certified. Today we can proudly say that our competence in this field is well known world-wide. Our beautiful line "Organic by Nature" is an example of the quality level and orginality we can achieve.

Our customers can benefit of the many advantages of working with us:

• GMO free
• No soy lecithin
• Wide range of 100% certified organic recipes
• Various formats, shapes and weights
• OPP foil bars wrapping
• Full assistance on your Private Label projects
• Various certification possibilities: USDA-NOP, Soil Association, Bio inspecta, Biosuisse, Ecocert, etc.
• Small production lots and great flexibility
• Possibility of having Fair-Trade added value
• Traditional manufacturing systems
• Environment friendly production facilities and packaging

 

No indication on their website and pdf pages about what cacao they are using for these bars or what kind of red chili's they are using. Just stamps on the label of certified organic ingredients.They are a fair trade company working with various plantations and I believe they work with El Ceibo as listed on their fair trade page.

 

We are pioneers of the Fair-Trade concept. We started working on the first projects with our partner claro AG (at that time OS3) in the year 1991.
At that time only few visionaries dared to believe in the dream of a better life for thousands of communities around the world.

The success of the Fair-Trade concept is due to the fact that more and more consumers finally realize that Fair-Trade means equity, but also sustainability and environment preservation, resulting in a better life quality for the raw material producers, which also ends in a better quality of the products. Fair-Trade products are good for the conscience, good for the world and good for the palate.

Today, we are proud of our long-lasting partnership with different Fair-Trade and organic cooperatives in South-America, Africa and Asia. Together with them, we work on nurseries for new plantations, fermenting and drying process units for the beans, education for their personnel by teaching them quality improvement systems locally and in Switzerland. We also organize educational workshops in the fields for and with the cooperatives members.

The direct cooperation with Fair-Trade raw material producers and a close partnership with our customers, ensure us a short and clean supply chain and an accurate control on the products quality to the advantage of customers and consumers.

At the end it is a win-win situation, whereby all actors actively participate in achieving the dream of a fair World.

www.elceibo.com

 

I am curious about two of their products. Bars of chocolate using Indian grown cacao and Baobab Tree fruit chocolate bars. Interesting concepts but still mass produced Swiss chocolate.I have my reservations about a lot of long standing Swiss chocolate companies. While the bio and organic ethics are to be admired, there is a flavor that I find on most European chocolate that tends to be creamy and milky even on dark chocolate. Especially from the larger, mass produced chocolates. It's very same-y and tends to lend to a hallmark of a region or country. This is a personal observation and a larger generalization about Swiss chocolate, but it still holds true for me after all these years of learning about chocolate.I wonder what that would do to impact the flavors of such interesting creations.

 

 

Organic by Nature Dark Chocolate with Chili

 

Type: Flavored bittersweet, 72%

Bean Varietal: Unknown

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla, chili.

Sample Size: 100g or 3.5oz

 

Appearance: Medium thick tablet with individual non-monogrammed tabs. Lined tabs. Deep dark brown color, slight surface matting, muted and slightly shiny surface.

Score: 85

Snap: Nice firm snap, clean break lines, and an audible crisp snap sound.

Score: 92

Aroma: Almonds, lightly roasted, cream, cocoa butter, vanilla, and lightly smoky.

Score: 90

Taste: Almonds, sugars, a little fruity, creamy vanilla, then bitterness right up front, and mild tingle from the chili pepper heat, opens up into a nice spicier taste, roasted cacao and wood, a little earthy and musty, but very sweet at the same time.

Score: 92

Texture: Smooth texture, a little creamy, medium melt-time, nice thickness of the bar.

Score: 92

 

Kind of a boring surface. Dark chocolate color, a little flat and not too shiny, non-monogrammed surface, but great snap. Good thickness for the snap and clean break lines.

It smelled pretty good, but I thought it would not be as dynamic as it was on the flavor based on it's fairly basic aroma. Good, but basic.

Nice and spicy heat from the chili peppers. The sugars and chili pepper heat did interfere with it's cacao taste. It was very sugary for a 72%. Had a creamy vanilla taste and a little fruity up front from the sugars but I was most happy with it's heat level. Sometimes they can be too spicy, or barely any spice in it at all. For someone with a sensitive palate, I found it very spicy, yet perfectly tolerable. I am such a wuss about spicy food. But I liked this.

From what I could taste on the cacao, it's a little woody, and earthy with musty flavors. It tells me they used a South American cacao for this, but I can't pinpoint from where. The cacao flavors only lasted for a minute before the spice over takes the palate. It was pretty rich and sweet but not anything too spectacular. It had a nice bitterness and a creamy vanilla flavor, but not at all typical of a Swiss chocolate like I noted above. Definitely better than I would have expected.

They do a good job of spelling out who they are online with their company and bio ethics, I just wish there was a touch more information about this bar in particular. Where is the cacao from, and what kind of chili did they use. More and more companies needs to list the details of their ingredients.

This is easily getting melted down for drinking chocolate. Spicy and sugary. Will make for a lovely spicy hot chocolate with nothing added but scaled milk. (I haven't melted it yet. This sentiment is from my notes, but I still have the scraps and it's still holding up remarkably well.)

 

Final Score: 90.2

   score
  B+