Chocolove Chilies & Cherries in Dark Chocolate

3.2oz (90g) bar
Ingredients: Cocoa liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla, dried cherries, ancho chilies, chipotle chilies
14g sugar/30g serving (46.7% by wt.)

Corporate Info: (Copied from 3/16/13) I have a soft spot for Chocolove, having lived in near its hometown of Boulder, Colorado and enjoyed the company's samples in my local Whole Foods. It's a relatively young company (Wikipedia says 1996; Chocolove's website indicates similar), hasn't yet been bought by a giant conglomerate, and claims it has taken or is taking several steps toward "sustainability & social responsiblity." On the other hand, Chocolove produces only three organic, fair trade bars and is rated a C by the Better World folks (same as Hershey's, much better than Nestle), so I don't want to give them my unconditional Choco-love (ha ha, I crack me up). But it's cheaper than most premium chocolate—$2-2.50 a bar—and reliably tasty.

Note: Chocolove's flavored dark bars are in 55% cacao, which I know I'll find too sweet, but I can't help but be enticed by all the flavor options.

Today's Bar: Dried cherries with two types of chiles, mild ancho and smoky chipotle, in 55% cacao.

Appearance: Another purple-grey brown, in Chocolove's quilted mold, with a somewhat bumpy back.

Smell: Sweet and rich, with the nose-filling scent that is clearly the chile, though it doesn't strike me as distinctively chile-ish.

Taste: Sweet and thick, then the chew of the dried cherries, then their sweet and sour flavor, then a slow build and finally throat-prickling chile. The spice isn't at all overwhelming--either heat or smoke--more of a rounded addition that adds to the overall flavor and experience, complementing the sweet-tart cherries and mouth-coating chocolate. Really an excellent combination.

Conclusion: Chocolove Chilies & Cherries in Dark Chocolate combines thick, sweet dark chocolate and chewy, sweet-tart cherries, with the mouth-filling support of prickly, not overly hot or smoky chile.  

Trader Joe's Takes Flight: A Dark Chocolate Tasting Odyssey, Part I

Corporate Info: (Copied from 1/12/13) Quirky-gourmet grocery store Trader Joe's tends to be hit or miss, with some products being regular purchases for years, some becoming favorites and then disappearing from shelves, and some straight up disappointing. I've had similarly mixed results with their chocolate, but there's constant turnover, they contract with a whole assortment of manufacturers, and they aim for reasonable price points, so it's worth it to keep trying. There isn't much else to say aside from a fun fact: The US's beloved Trader Joe's is owned by Germany's ALDI, which operates discount supermarkets all over Europe—and that explains why we saw packages of dried fruit and nuts labeled Trader Joe's in an ALDI in Osnabrück.

Today's Bar: An assortment! This “Dark Chocolate Tasting Odyssey” is in the same line as the bar with toffee, walnuts, and pecans and the caramel-filled bar with black sea salt, but it includes seven separate and interesting bars! Two are 2oz versions of full-sized products, the salted caramel bar I've already reviewed and a coconut caramel one I still intend to review, so I won't cover them here. Further, you can buy each of those separately, and I've seen both in stores off-and-on for the last year, so you can probably find them if you want them. In contrast, I've only seen this assortment once, so I'm going to cover it in a two-part mega review rather than stretching it out over five posts.

So what, then, are today's bars? Every bar in the assortment is in 70% cacao, and aside from the two caramel-filled ones discussed above, all are regular chocolate with inclusions. Today I'm looking at Coffee & Cocoa Nib and Chili & Cinnamon.

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Chocolate Bar 70% Coffee & Cocoa Nib

2oz (57g) bar

Ingredients: Chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla, cocoa nibs, coffee beans

17g sugar/57g serving (29.8% by wt.)

Appearance: Straight brown, i.e. not reddish or orangey, and mostly matte. The back shows a few small, raised pieces of what I'm guessing is cocoa nib.

Smell: Sweet and nutty, with barely a hint of coffee.

Taste: That's pretty good! The texture is more chalky than waxy, but with the intriguing grit of coffee grounds and crushed cocoa nibs. Flavor is sweet (note: I haven't been eating much sugar lately) and nutty, not especially complex, with the fatty flavor of cocoa butter and and a light, lingering coffee taste. More latte than espresso.

Conclusion: Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Chocolate Bar 70% Coffee & Cocoa Nib offers some grit for texture and a light, creamy coffee flavor.

Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Chocolate Bar 70% Chili & Cinnamon

2oz (57g) bar

Ingredients: Chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla, ancho chili powder, cinnamon, guajillo chili powder, cayenne pepper

18g sugar/57g serving (31.6% by wt.)

Appearance: As with the coffee bar, the base used for this chocolate is a deeper, more purply brown than the also-common reddish or orangey, and has little gloss. The back surface is mottled with very small raised bumps.

Smell: Ooh, I totally get both chili and cinnamon! Not strongly, but still. Again, the chocolate is light and nutty.

Taste: Again, a little chalky, with chew. Then I get the prickle of the cayenne, a low level of the other chilis (I'm not sure I could tease out the flavors), and finally a surprising amount of cinnamon compared with other, similar bars I've tried. I don't know if they used ground cinnamon or if it's just the chalkiness of the chocolate itself, but overall it's a little too powdery for my taste. On the other hand, it's still pretty neat to taste serious cinnamon flavor in my chocolate, and along with the lasting heat of chili in the back of my throat.

Conclusion: Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Chocolate Bar 70% Chili & Cinnamon has prickly, lingering heat, significant cinnamon flavor, and a texture that's a bit too powdery for me.

Chuao Chocolatier Firecracker

2.8oz (80g) bar

Ingredients: 60% cacao, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla, chipotle chile, pasilla chile, sea salt, candy (sugar, corn glucose, lactose, carbon dioxide)

Corporate Info: According to its stylish website, Chuao Chocolatier is a San Diego-based company founded by two brothers from Venezuela, who named the company after a region of their homeland. Chuao's whole deal is interesting chocolate combinations, in bars like maple bacon and potato chip (see the production here), and in confections like smoky macadamia and goat cheese & pear. You can buy Chuao's products at its well-regarded retail locations in Southern California, at other select stores, or at large chains like Whole Foods and Target.

Note: The site calls Chuao the “first Venezuelan Chocolatier based in the United States,” but aside from this pricey bar I can't find a claim that their cacao is sourced in the region of Chuao or in Venezuela generally, so I won't be labeling the company single-origin.

 

Today's Bar: Chuao's Firecracker Bar, 60% cacao with sea salt, chipotle, and Pop-Rocks-type popping candy. Hm.

Appearance: Shiny, not especially red/orange/yellow medium brown, in an interesting mold (as you can see above). The back surface is pebbled with the candy pieces and possibly also the salt.

Smell: I mostly get a fresh/raw, sour, bitter (in a beany way, not acrid) chocolate smell, with perhaps a touch of smokiness from the chipotle but nothing obvious.

Taste: Ooh, that's fun. The chocolate is decent quality, with the beany, fresh flavor I got from the aroma. Depending on what hits your tongue first, you either get saltiness or the popping candies, which have little flavor but add a Nestle Crunch sort of crispiness that morphs into the crackle of Pop Rocks that fill your mouth as you chew but never threaten to explode—this isn't candy you'd have to eat on a dare. Chipotle is slow to arrive after the sweet-salty chocolate, mostly resulting in a slow but prominent burn in the back of the throat; a co-taster says he also feels the heat on the back of his tongue. I think I find the 60% cacao a tad too sweet for my taste, though that's after having eaten a good quarter of the bar.

Conclusion: Chuao Chocolatier Firecracker is likably crackly, smoky-burny, and sweet, a novel if not necessary combination.

Taza Chocolate Mexicano Chipotle Chili

2.7oz (77g) in two disks

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, o. cane sugar, o. chipotle chili powder

Corporate Info: (Copied from 5/5/12) Taza Chocolate is pretty lovely. The chocolate comprises only organic ingredients, sources its cocoa beans using a variation on fair trade principles called Direct Trade, was made in the U.S., and is wrapped in recycled paper (and foil) or just old-school wax paper. It's neat tasting, too: Rather than being smooth throughout, the chocolate is made from stone-ground cocoa beans and not conched, both of which make for a gritty chocolate with discernible sugar crystals. Taza produces dark bars; Chocolate Mexicano Discs that are just sugar, cacao, and flavorings; and baking chocolate and other items, including a neat Chocolate Mexicano Extract.

Today's Bar: Chipotle! And in 70% cacao.

Appearance: Virtually identical to last week's “rich, orangey-brown with slight gloss,” despite the big jump in cacao content. I should also mention that Taza's chocolate has a very slightly mottled look: tiny lighter-colored flecks in the darker chocolate around it. I wonder if that's the sugar?

Smell: Beany, rawish chocolate with a definite sweet, smoky chipotle smell. Aroma-wise they're well-balanced, with neither smell overwhelming the other.

Taste: The chipotle's roasted heat hits first, throat-filling but not painful, along with some sugar. Then the tart rawness of the chocolate. Finally, only in the aftertaste do I really get the pepper's smoky-sweet flavor along with lingering heat. I wouldn't mind a little more accessible flavor along with the heat, but if you like the particular kind of fire that chipotle provides (i.e. smoky and not searing), this delivers.

Conclusion: Taza Chocolate Mexicano Chipotle Chili is warm, tart, and beany, though it delivers more chipotle heat than chipotle flavor.

Taza Chocolate Mexicano Guajillo Chili

2.7oz (77g) in two disks

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, o. cane sugar, o. guajillo chili powder

Corporate Info: (Altered from 8/27/11) Taza Chocolate is pretty lovely. The chocolate comprises only organic ingredients, sources its cocoa beans using a variation on fair trade principles called Direct Trade, was made in the U.S., and is wrapped in recycled paper (and foil) or just old-school wax paper. It's neat tasting, too: Rather than being smooth throughout, the chocolate is made from stone-ground cocoa beans and not conched, both of which make for a gritty chocolate with discernible sugar crystals. Taza produces dark bars; Chocolate Mexicano Discs that are just sugar, cacao, and flavorings; and baking chocolate and other items, including a neat Chocolate Mexicano Extract.

This Bar: In the past I've only had Taza's plain bars, but I saw a (fairly minor) sale on the Chocolate Mexicano Discs and use it as an excuse to finally buy several. Today's “bar” contains guajillo chili, which one site says has “either a green-tea or fruity flavor, with hints of berries”; Taza claims the disk has “powerful notes of citrus and smoke, with a slow-to-develop heat that's assertive but not overwhelming.” Oh, and this bar is lower than my usual cacao requirement, only 50%.

Appearance: Rich, orangey-brown with slight gloss.

Smell: Beany, a little roasted, almost coffee-ish. I don't smell chili.

Taste: First, Taza's signature gritty, stone-ground texture. As for flavor, for me, sweetness can often get in the way of discerning other elements, and this is indeed sweet, but it still has a really dark quality, probably because of the rawness and roasted flavors. The chili is super-integrated, more like an enhancement of the chocolateyness: I do get a little tart, rounded fruit, and smokey vibe, and just a little warmth on the back of the throat—I wouldn't even call it spicy, only warm. Unless you're super sensitive to heat and chili flavors, you might not even notice the chili, just thinking of the chocolate as really complex and sour-fruity-earthy-toasty. Very cool.

Conclusion: Despite its relatively high sugar level and added chili powder, Taza Chocolate Mexicano Guajillo Chili just tastes like a super-complex, tart-fruity-earthy-roasted, close-to-the-tree chocolate.

Sahagún Palomitapapá

25g/0.9oz bar (self-weighed)

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla, corn, soy oil, fleur de sel, chile (cocoa is Ecuadorian)

Corporate Info: Sahagún (or, judging by the website, Sahagun) is a tiny little company that currently makes a few barks, a couple filled confections, and one coffee flavored bar. I must have bought funky little Palomitapapá at Cacao in Portland, drawn in by the “exploded corn” in the ingredients list. (Note: I can only find this bar as part of a bark three-pack, which I'm guessing means the company switches up its flavors from time to time.) If you're interested in Sahagún's South American names and ingredients, philosophy, or future plans, you can read an interview with owner Elizabeth Montes here.

Appearance: Nubbly and barky, with exposed salt crystals on top.

Smell: Not too much, actually.

Taste: First chile, more than I was expecting but not to a give-me-a-glass-of-water extent. Then salt, then the relatively subtle flavor and not at all subtle texture of the corn kernels, which are more chewy-crunchy than puffy like popcorn. The spiciness lingers, and the kernels get stuck in my teeth, and all in all the chocolate is just a flavor element rather than the headliner here. Hm, there's not a lot to say except that this is a fun experience if you're into the ingredients.

Conclusion: Sahagún Palomitapapá is fun if you want chile, crunchy corn, and salt with your chocolate.

World Market Chili & Lime Dark Chocolate 64% Cacao

3oz (85g) bar

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla, chipotle powder, natural flavor

15g sugar/43g serving (34.9% by wt.)

Corporate Info: See last week.

Appearance: Lighter in color than the Sea Salt bar, smooth and thin, with a touch of red.

Smell: Almost none, very very slightly like cocoa beans, chili powder, and lime Tostitos.

Taste: Subtle, with a brief hint of lime, then just mild chocolate, then a slow, lasting, back-of-the-throat burn, then the lime Tostitos fade in and out, though they're pretty low-key. I'm not getting much actual chili flavor or lime, and I wonder if the chocolate maker uses that same powdered lime substance that Frito Lay does. Overall, I think this bar is too sweet and could use more flavor all around—lime, chili, and chocolate—but I bet it would make good hot cocoa. I'll try that tomorrow.

Conclusion: World Market Chili & Lime Dark Chocolate 64% Cacao is dull and too sweet, though the long afterburn is fun. As I said last week, I'm not sure I'd buy World Market's 64% cacao flavored chocolate again.

[Update the next day: It does indeed make good hot cocoa!]

Cocanú Picasso 72% Spicy Dark Chocolate, Coconut, Ginger, and Peppers

0.8oz (25g) bar

Ingredients: Cacao, sugar, coconut, paprika, cayenne pepper, ginger

Corporate Info: I bought this bar at Cacao in Portland, and if I recall the cashier's claim correctly, tiny Cocanú is the brainchild of one of the gentlemen who works at the shop. This bar sounded interesting to me, but it's not the only one; if you're in the area, try the Pop-Rocks-studded Moonwalk and let me know what you think. Cocanú's M.O. is to create blends using chocolate from other high-end companies. The Moonwalk, for example, is made from Michel Cluizel chocolate (I'll be reviewing one of their bars soon), and includes nibs from François Pralus (see my François Pralus reviews here). The Picasso contains chocolate from a Swiss company called Felchlin that claims to maintain strong and fair relationships with its cocoa farmers, so take from that what you will. Note: According to the Cocanú website, Picasso is 70% cacao, not 72%, which I assume means the formula was changed after I bought the bar.

Appearance: A smooth, thin, slightly glossy square with a scattering of tiny bumps the size of raspberry seeds.

Smell: Sour.

Taste: Morphing. Not sour but sweet!...Oh, okay, some sour...Hm, there's the flavor: Ginger and paprika are part of a warm ensemble rather than standouts on their own...Spiciness is starting to build in the back of the throat...Small pieces of coconut are textural, with no perfumey suntan-oil scent...sweet-sour chocolate dissipates, leaving a lingering heat and a couple tiny slivers of coconut. Fun.

Conclusion: Cocanú Picasso 72% Spicy Dark Chocolate, Coconut, Ginger, and Peppers is a fun ride.

Olive and Sinclair Mexican Style Cinnamon Chili

2.75oz bar

Ingredients: Cocoa beans (Ghana), sugar, cocoa butter, organic Ceylon cinnamon, salt, cayenne pepper

I really enjoyed Olive and Sinclair's salt and pepper bar, so when I returned an item at a local chocolate shop, I exchanged it for Olive and Sinclair's Mexican chocolate bar.

Corporate Info: One appealing feature of Olive and Sinclair's chocolate is that the young company is small and American—in Nashville, to be specific. They make several plain and flavored bars using stone-ground beans and brown sugar, both of which are relatively uncommon (though not unheard of) in the chocolate game. I can't find anything on the bars or website about their bean sourcing and so on, but they do seem to be making an effort with certain organic ingredients (see ingredients for this bar), some well-intended environmental initiatives, and possibly a foray into fair trade (there's a blink-and-you'll-miss-it mention in this video). All in all, at this time Olive and Sinclair is a company I'm happy to support.

Appearance: Unlike the Salt & Pepper bar, the Mexican Style has the spices mixed in, so there's no photo of the speckled back of this bar. Again it's thin, flat, and sharply molded, and the color is glossy and vivid.

Smell: Fruity, something juicy like cherry or currant. Aside: I've called a lot of chocolate “fruity” lately, which either means I've eaten a lot of fruity chocolate or I have a limited olfactory palate. Probably both, though I'm working on the latter. Anyway, whether this bar is “fruity” or not, the smell is pretty pure, not roasty or sour or sweet or in-your-face, just a fresh, slightly caramelized scent.

Taste: Whereas some “Mexican” chocolate can be one- or two-note, in this bar the chocolate, cinnamon, cayenne, and salt merge with surprising complexity. It doesn't just taste like cinnamon or overwhelming spiciness but instead is infused with warmth and flavor; I wouldn't have been surprised to have seen other spices listed in the ingredients. The chocolate itself is subtly fruity with an additional, interesting sweetness, like toasted marshmallows—perhaps from the brown sugar. Texture also helps, as stone-ground beans give the chocolate a fine, uniform grittiness that makes mouthfeel and chew intriguing but not to the point of being distractingly annoying.

Conclusion: Olive and Sinclair Mexican Style Chocolate Cinnamon Chili is balanced and complex, just excellent stuff. 

Dagoba Xocolatl Rich Dark Chocolate Chilies & Nibs

2.83oz (80g) bar

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, o. cane sugar, o. cocoa, o. cocoa butter, soy lecithin, o. cacao nibs, o. chili powder, o. maca, o. vanilla, o. nutmeg oil, o. milk

I admit I've already made up my mind about Dagoba. First, there's the history. You won't see much of it on Dagoba's website, just the founder's name and the company's sustainability goals. Let's try Wikipedia... Ah, I see: Founded in Colorado and later moved to Ashland, Oregon, Dagoba was bought by Hershey in 2006. There's still a retail store in Ashland; I've been there, and it was small, quiet, and dull, the only company presence a woman who seemed to be office staff. I can't tell if production remains there or somewhere else. The vague, minimalist website lists the retail store address with no phone number, online orders direct you to San Francisco, and a general (866-) number has Eastern Standard Time office hours. Hershey wants to elicit your organic/sustainable warm fuzzies while standing behind an opaque, soulless wall.

Second, the taste. I've tried to like Dagoba chocolate. It's organic, it's often on sale (something big companies like Hershey can afford), and it comes in lots of flavors. But in my experience, it's just not good. Take the Xocolatl bar here. It's pretty and smells like raisins, which can be nice. The texture is of dense, chalky-type chocolate rather than creamy or waxy, and there's that subtle crunch of nibs. But the flavor comes on sour and harsh, without much complexity or interest besides. In some of the bites, I taste something “off” in the back of my mouth. There is a nice afterburn in this subtly spicy chocolate, but the chocolate itself just isn't good. I ate my last piece ten minutes ago, and I'm still tasting sour.

As I've said before, I understand why small chocolatiers sell to large companies. If those large companies act transparently, and absorb the brands' standards as well as their names, it's hard to be critical of the merger. I'm certainly not seeing transparency here. What about the chocolate? To be honest, I don't remember how Dagoba chocolate tasted before 2006; maybe this is how it always was, and presumably some people like it. Personally I'd like to think it was better once upon a time, because this really isn't doing it for me.

Conclusion: Dagoba Xocoatl Rich Dark Chocolate Chilies & Nibs is harsh and sour, albeit with a nice chile afterburn.

P.S. That “maca” in the ingredients is a Peruvian root. Based on a quick Google search, it sounds like it has a bitter and polarizing flavor. Dunno if that made any difference in the chocolate.

B.T. McElrath Chile Limón Chocolate Bar

3.0oz (85g) bar

Ingredients: Dark chocolate (chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin), milk chocolate (cane sugar, full cream milk, cocoa butter, cacao beans, soy lecithin, vanilla beans), dried chilies, lime.

14g sugar/43g serving (32.6% by wt.)

I've mostly stopped buying chile-flavored chocolate. The trend was interesting in the Mexican-chocolate vein, but much of what I found was spicy in a way that overshadowed the chocolate and didn't have much flavor of its own, so it just didn't taste good. Thus I was wary when the clerk at a specialty chocolate shop recommended B.T. McElrath's Chile Limón bar. It seemed to be more than the usual over-cayenned bar, though, a combination of lime-flavored dark chocolate and chile-flavored milk chocolate swirled together and molded into a variegated bar. For the chance of something novel, I went ahead and ponied up $2 an ounce.

First off, this bar is actually quite beautiful, as you can see here. The taste is also new to me, in terms of both the citrus and the chile: The first element that hits me is the lime, bright but not dominant, while the subtler chile simmers instead of searing. The dark and milk chocolates form something of a mosaic, so it takes effort to distinguish the two and it's more enjoyable to enjoy them as one. This bar is light and sweet, a fun social gathering of four disparate flavors—tart, spicy, creamy, dark—that don't all know each other well but then surprisingly get along swimmingly, and the party just hums along.

Conclusion: B.T. McElrath Chile Limón bar is a good time.

[Update 7/21/12: Today I noticed that the link to this bar isn't working. When I looked at B.T. McElrath's site, I saw that the Chile Limón bar is no longer listed. I hope they start making it again!]

Theo Organic Fair Trade Spicy Chile Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao

3oz (84g) bar

Ingredients: Organic fair trade cocoa beans, oft. sugar, oft. cocoa butter, o. pasilla chili powder, o. guajillo chili pepper, o. cayenne chili powder, o. cinnamon, o. orange zest, o. orange oil, o. ground vanilla bean

11g sugar/42g serving (26.2% by wt.)

As I’ve written before, I’m a big fan of Seattle-based Theo, from its tasting room to its creative flavors to its ideals. Thus I tend to pick up any new-to-me Theo bar that fits my low sugar requirement, like this chili-flavored bar with orange and cinnamon background notes. In the last few years I’ve seen a lot of chili and cinnamon chocolate, and I’m assuming the trend has to do with food lovers’ embrace of “traditional” foods--in this case, the way the Maya, Aztecs, and later Spanish conquistadors consumed chocolate.

So how does it taste? It’s a smooth, creamy, mild bar with a nice sugar content that at first just tastes like chocolate. After a second or two the pepper begins to reveal itself slowly, until it reaches a pleasantly medium level of heat: mouth filling, but not the sort you’d only submit to on a dare. What I’m assuming are the pasilla and cayenne provide much of the spice, but there’s an interesting bit of texture from the tiny flakes of guajilla (the only chili ingredient not listed as “powder”). The orange flavor is present only upon reflection and I can’t taste the cinnamon at all, but I suspect they’re both there mainly for balance and complexity, which is why the bar isn’t called “Spicy Chile, Cinnamon, & Orange”. My personal taste would prefer a real hit of cinnamon along with the chili, so I don’t think I’ll go out of my way to buy this bar again (and at $6 it wasn’t cheap either), but the flavor profile was obviously well thought out and for lovers of chile chocolate it’s a very good bar.

Conclusion: Theo’s Spicy Chile 70% Cacao bar is well balanced, with a predominant chili flavor that is complex and neither meek nor overwhelming.