Friday, December 30, 2016

Dark Matters Blog Chocolate Awards 2016

I think I might be in shock if I actually added up all the different chocolates I've tasted this year. (I have 3 large bags of wrappers waiting to be put into a scrapbook!). 

So many of the chocolate bars I've tried have been rather amazing, so I thought I'd end 2016 by handing out some awards!  My very top favorite chocolate will be listed at the end of this post. (Tasting descriptions for most of these bars may be located in other posts from this blog). Not all of these bars are new to this year, however, this year is the first time I've personally tried them. 

Best white chocolate bar award goes to Chocolat Madagascar 34% white chocolate bar. A wonderful combo of high quality cocoa butter, and vanilla bean!


Best high percentage bar (80 - 100% range) award goes to Zotter for their 90% Labooko Bolivia bar.  The touch of salt in this bar makes this so smooth, and not bitter.  


Best mixed cocoa bean chocolate bar award goes to Amedei 9. Never underestimate the power of a well balanced mixed bean bar.  


Best holiday bar award goes to Dick Taylor Bunches & Bunches Ginger Snaps bar.  Of all the holiday bars I've had this year, this one showed the most complex amount of flavors.  Well done!


Most enjoyable port and chocolate pairing award goes to Lillie Belle Farms Stella Blue with Victoria Tawny Port. A bit of salt from the blue cheese chocolate pairs perfect with the sweetness in the port. 


Best Porcelana bar award ended up being a tie between Valrhona and The Smooth Chocolator Porcelana bars.  The Valrhona Porcelana bar has notes of cream, toffee, orange, and a touch more sweetness than other bars I've had made with this bean variety, and The Smooth Chocolator bar has notes of oak, earth, espresso, orange oil, and malt syrup.



The best Chuao bar award goes to Domori 70% Chuao dark chocolate bar. Extremely smooth texture with notes of red fruit, cream, oak, and a hint of mint.


The award for best casual daily eating chocolate bar goes to Chocolove for their Salted Almond 55% bar.  This bar isn't overly complex, but it hits the chocolate/nut butter craving button, especially on stressful work days. 


Best drinking chocolate award goes to Soma Chocolatemaker's Dark Side of the Mug.  A little sweet, a little dark, thick, and yummy!


And the Dark Matters Fine Chocolate Review Blog best overall chocolate bar of the year award goes to a tie between Marou's 55% Coconut Milk, and Soma Chocolatemaker's Milk Old School.  These bars win top marks for both flavor, and because these are the two bars I crave the most time, and time again above all other bars I've tried this past year.  I picked the Marou Coconut Milk bar up at the NW Chocolate Festival in Seattle, and I purchased Soma's Milk Old School from their online store, and once from The Chocolate Project in Victoria B.C.  Hope you get a chance to try both these bars! 























Now that you know my very top favorite chocolates of the year please comment on your own personal top chocolate picks.

Have a very Happy New Year!  I can't wait to review more bars, and conduct more chocolate related interviews in 2017!  Thanks for reading!

Victoria Cooksey

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/victoria.cooksey/?hl=en
Watch my cooking, and chocolate review videos at:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm-lp-lF_wB2oX_592jK9UQ
Twitter:  https://twitter.com/VictoriaCRandom









Friday, December 16, 2016

Amedei 9 Dark Chocolate Bar Review with Victoria Cooksey

So often it's all about single-origin bars, and I do enjoy them immensely, but I think bars of mixed beans are also worth trying.  This Amedei 9 Bar is a combination of cacao from 9 different plantations, and is so well balanced.

Color:  Medium/dark brown.

Nose:  Dark chocolate pudding, cocoa powder, vanilla.

Texture:  Very silky.

Taste:  Mild acidity, red fruit, vanilla, dark chocolate brownie batter.

Finish:  Medium

This is definitely the bar I'd recommended when needing a major chocolate fix.  It's like the ultimate brownie in chocolate bar form.

What's your favorite bar by Amedei?

Amedei:
http://www.amedei.it/en/
https://www.instagram.com/amedeituscany/?hl=en

Victoria Cooksey:
https://www.instagram.com/victoria.cooksey/?hl=en
Watch my chocolate reviews, and cooking videos: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm-lp-lF_wB2oX_592jK9UQ

This is another bar I picked up at the NW Chocolate Festival find out more about the festival here:
http://www.nwchocolate.com/

Saturday, December 10, 2016

Dick Taylor Ginger Snaps Holiday Chocolate Bar Review

Often holiday bars are good, but not exactly complex.  This Bunches & Bunches Gingers Snaps bar by Dick Taylor is the exception.  It's made with 70% Guatemala dark chocolate. Love it!

Color:  Medium brown, very shiny, 

Nose:  Cinnamon, candied ginger, red fruit.

Texture:  Very smooth chocolate with a cookie crunch contrast.



Taste:  Having tried pieces of this bar over five separate occasions different flavors come through depending on when I've tasted it.  The main notes I get are bright acidity, followed by ginger cookie, black pepper, red bell pepper, cayenne pepper, minerality, cocoa powder, and pumpkin pie spice.  Sometimes the cayenne in this bar really comes through, and other times not so much, and one time there was a real smokey presence, but only once.  I love that the tasting experience I get from this bar becomes more complex each time.

Finish:  Medium/long finish with the pepper, and minerality notes lingering the longest.

Have you tried this bar?  I picked mine up from the NW Chocolate Festival, and I liked it so much I sent one to my parents for the holidays.

What holiday bar do you recommend?

Dick Taylor:
http://www.dicktaylorchocolate.com/
https://www.instagram.com/dicktaylorchocolate/?hl=en

Victoria Cooksey:
https://www.instagram.com/victoria.cooksey/?hl=en
Check out my chocolate reviews, and cooking/baking videos at:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm-lp-lF_wB2oX_592jK9UQ


Friday, December 9, 2016

Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat 55% Coconut Milk Single-Origin Vietnamese Ben Tre Chocolate Bar Review

I picked up this coconut milk bar by Marou last month at the NW Chocolate Festival, and now I'm kicking myself for not buying more of them!  This is one of my top favorite bars I've tried this year. I'm also wishing it was available as a drinking chocolate.  (Hint hint Marou!!).

The coconut milk makes this a dairy-free option, but even dairy drinkers will love this bar!  (It's also gluten-free).

Color:  Medium brown.

Nose:  Cinnamon.

Texture:  Smooth, fudgy.

Taste:  Cinnamon, tang of cherries, red fruit, and caramel.

Finish:  Medium finish.  



So many bars I've had with various coconut elements in them get run over by coconut flavor, but not with this bar.  The coconut milk adds a richness that makes this bar a full on dessert!!!  Love it!


Have you tried this bar yet?  

Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat:  

Victoria Cooksey:
Be sure to watch my chocolate reviews, and cooking videos at:  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoria.cooksey/?hl=en

Friday, December 2, 2016

Sweets Escalier Bean to Bar from Japan Gianduja Cuba Chocolate Bar Review with Victoria Cooksey

Bean to bar chocolate from Japan is becoming quite the trend in the chocolate world.  In fact, Sweets Escalier, from Japan, made an appearance at the recent NW Chocolate Festival in Seattle, WA.

Pastry chef Tomomi Kaneko, owner of Sweets Escalier in the Japanese city of Niigata, recently turned towards bean to bar chocolate making.  Through chatting with an interpreter present I learned that the designs on the chocolate bar labels were also designed by the chocolatemaker, and that there are around "fifty" bean to bar makers already in Japan. 


Several selections were offered to sample including smokey, and sesame bars, however, I enjoyed (and purchased) the Gianduja Cuba bar the most.

When offered my choice of designs to pick from I choose a bar featuring a gorilla drawing as shown here:


Inside the fancier label the bar itself is contained in a resealable inner bag.



The design on the bar is gorgeous!  I almost hated to break off a piece (but I did, of course!).


Nose:  This bar has the richest, deepest, hazelnut smell I've ever gotten off of a hazelnut containing bar before.

Texture:  The chocolate is extremely smooth with the hazelnuts offering a crunchy contrast.

Taste:  Very deep hazelnut flavor with the nuts tasting roasted, fudgy chocolate taste, caramelized nut brittle, and then dark roast coffee at the end. 

Finish:  Medium finish length.

I walked away from the Sweets Escalier booth feeling happy from all the good energy surrounding them, and from the excitement of trying bars from a maker I hadn't come across before. I really hope Sweets Escalier returns to the  NW Chocolate Festival in 2017! 

Did you get to try one of their bars at the festival?  What did you think?

Victoria 

Sweets Escalier:

NW Chocolate Festival:

Victoria Cooksey:  
Watch my chocolate reviews, and cooking videos here:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm-lp-lF_wB2oX_592jK9UQ


Saturday, November 19, 2016

Dick Taylor Solomon Islands Exclusive Release Dark Chocolate Bar Review

I hope you were among the lucky ones to score this Dick Taylor Solomon Islands Exclusive Release dark chocolate bar last weekend at the NW Chocolate Festival.  When purchasing an exclusive release, or limited edition bar, I'm always hopeful the bar will live up to my expectations, and this one definitely delivers!


Basically, to improve the fine chocolate industry in the Solomon Islands they had a contest with over 80 entries, and this bar is made form the winning cocoa beans. The beans are from Elsie Vota's farm on the island of Guadalcanal.  Dick Taylor only had 25 kilos of these bean in which to make this bar, hence the exclusive release.

Color:  Dark brown.
Nose:  Apricot, honey suckle.


Texture:  Insanely snappy, so a wonderful temper! Starts of light, and then transitions into a medium-bodied mouth feel. 
Tastes:  Minerality/slate, cocoa powder, red fruit, brown butter, dried mango, and a touch of cayenne pepper heat at the end.
Finish:  Very long with the dried mango, and cayenne lingering the longest. 



Check out my YouTube review video of this bar:


Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate:
http://www.dicktaylorchocolate.com/
https://www.instagram.com/dicktaylorchocolate/?hl=en

NW Chocolate Festival:
https://www.instagram.com/nwchocolate/?hl=en

Victoria Cooksey:
https://www.instagram.com/victoria.cooksey/?hl=en
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm-lp-lF_wB2oX_592jK9UQ

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

NW Chocolate Festival 2016: Chocolate Trends with Victoria Cooksey

This past weekend I attended the NW Chocolate Festival in Seattle, WA.  Luckily, for me, it's just a bit over a hours drive, plus a short ferry ride away.  (I reside in Port Townsend, WA).  With the topic of trends I'm looking at both what I found to be different from last year's festival, and what is trending in general in the wonderful world of bean to bar chocolate.  

These trends are listed in no particular order.

1. Coconut.  Both coconut milk, and coconut sugar (along with other non-dairy ingredients) are being utilized more frequently in chocolate bars.  I like coconut ingredients in bars as long as the coconut flavor doesn't take over.  Here are two bars I loved that use coconut in some fashion.  (I just may have got The Chocolate Journalist, Sharon Terenzi, to try, and buy, Marou's coconut milk bar as her first purchase of the festival.  Love her!).


2. Dark, dark, dark chocolate.  The consumer demand for 80%, 90%, and 100% bars continues to rise. Some makers I talked to at the festival really seem to enjoy experimenting with higher percentage bars, while others indicated that they only made them due to consumers wanting them.  Either way, makers are getting better, and better at making very palatable high percentage bars.  The higher the percentage the more skill a chocolate maker needs. Here are two of my favorites from the festival:


3.  Showing exact percentages of ingredients on the label.  This one is still a fairly fresh trend.  While many bars list the overall percentage of cocoa (chocolate, and cocoa butter), very few actually break it down with all ingredients so a big high five to Firefly for being a trend setter!


4.  Unusual flavors. For example: Firefly's bay nut bar, Gusto's rosemary white chocolate, Raaka's apple pie (also got to try their bananas fosters bar), Milk Boy's essential pine tree oil (leaves a peppermint feel in the mouth), and Zotter's coffee & grits, and chestnut & rum.  


 5.  Japan.  Japan's artisan chocolate makers scene is on the rise. According to Sweet Escalier, Japan has around "fifty" artisan makers, and growing.  Hope they come back to next year's event!


6.  Holiday bars.  More makers are branching out to include holiday items along with their usual line.  Sirene has now started making a Winter Warmer bar with cloves, nutmeg, and cinnamon.  



7.  Dark Milk bars are on the rise.  I saw more of them than ever at this year's festival.  This bar won the NW Chocolate Festival's award for 1st place milk chocolate bar 2016:


8.  Mini bars.  The mini chocolate bar trend is starting to catch on in the U.S.



9.  Sesame seeds, toasted/crunchy rice, lavender, and hot pepper played a greater role in the bars at the show.  I made this a trend of it's own because of the large presence of these particular flavors. The hot pepper/Ghost pepper showed up in a wide range of bonbons, bars, and drinking chocolate.

10.  Smoky notes.  Smoke flavor used to be considered a flaw in the beans, but now makers are really seeking out, and playing with this flavor note.

11.  Single origin bars are in full force.  This trend is continuing. While I certainly enjoy these bars I am always happy to see a well made bar using multiple beans.  Nothing wrong with some variation in our lives!  

What chocolate trends are you enjoying?

Hope to see you next year at the NW Chocolate Festival!

NW Chocolate Festival:
http://www.nwchocolate.com/
https://www.instagram.com/nwchocolate/?hl=en
https://www.facebook.com/nwchocolate/?hc_ref=SEARCH&fref=nf
https://twitter.com/nwchocolate

Victoria Cooksey:
https://www.instagram.com/victoria.cooksey/?hl=en
https://www.facebook.com/victoriacookseysrandomdish/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
https://twitter.com/VictoriaCRandom
Check out my chocolate reviews, and cooking videos at:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm-lp-lF_wB2oX_592jK9UQ


Monday, November 14, 2016

Amedei Tuscany Chocolate Chuao 70% Dark Chocolate Bar Review by Victoria Cooksey

Visiting the Amedei Tuscany booth at the NW Chocolate Festival this past weekend reminded me that I still needed to post a review of their Chuao bar that I had awhile ago.  Chuao cacao is a rare form of Criollo that comes from Venezuela.

When I first starting eating Chuao bars it took me awhile to get use to them because they taste so different from the chocolate bars so many of us grew up eating.  I find Chuao to often be very rich, and earthy which may take you a little time to get used to eating, so I suggest eating 2 squares, wait a few days, eat two more, etc.  Keep taking notes on what you taste because I bet you'll get more each time you try one of these bars.  Enjoy!

Amedei Tuscany Chuao 70% dark chocolate bar:

Color:  Dark brown.
Nose:  Orange blossom, earthy.
Texture;  Smooth, medium bodied mouth feel, melts fairly quickly.



Taste:  Tobacco, cherry, coffee, oak, quality pie crust, touch of black pepper.
Finish:   Long finish, light acidity, tobacco, and coffee notes continue to the end.

Have you tried this, or any other Chuao bars?  What are your thoughts on them?

Follow Amedei Tuscany at:  

Victoria Cooksey:
Chocolate reviews & cooking videos on YouTube:  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm-lp-lF_wB2oX_592jK9UQ






Friday, November 11, 2016

Sirene Chocolate Dark Milk 65% Guatemala Bar & 65% Madagascar Bar Review with Victoria Cooksey

I'm feeling like a kid at holiday time because I know this time tomorrow I'll be sampling so many amazing chocolates at the NW Chocolate Festival in Seattle, WA.  This Sirene Chocolate bar is about the last of my current supply of chocolate, so I will definitely be replenishing my chocolate stash big time over the next two days.  Please feel free to say "Hello" to me if you see me at the festival!

Sirene Chocolate is an artisan, bean to bar, small batch, direct trade, chocolate company located in Victoria, B.C., Canada. 



The beauty of this chocolate bar is that you actually get chocolate from two different countries to sample as a great way to compare flavors, and improve your tasting palate.
 

I recommend starting with the 65% Lachua, Guatemala bar in the sliver wrapper because in my opinion it has more subtle flavors.

 Sirene Chocolate Lachua, Guatemala 65% bar

Sirene Chocolate Lachua, Guatemala 65% bar:

Color:  Medium brown.
Nose: Cream, white pepper, caramel.
Texture:  Silky, melts quickly.  Medium-bodied mouth feel.
Taste:  Some high quality chocolate syrup notes, dark honey.
Finish:  Medium/long with some light acidity, raspberries.

Sirene Chocolate Somia Plantation Madagascar 65% Bar 

Sirene Chocolate 65% Somia Plantation Madagascar Bar

This was my favorite of the 2 bars.

Color:  Medium brown with a touch of red.
Nose:  Red fruit, cocoa powder, citrus acidity.
Texture:  Good snap, full-bodied mouth feel with the sensation of eating a chocolate covered raisin, dried fruit texture.
Taste:  Blackberries, raspberry seed flavor, touch of plum.
Finish:  Medium finish, mild acidity, and a touch of lime at the end.     

Find out more about Sirene Chocolate: 

Be sure to look for Sirene Chocolate this weekend at the NW Chocolate Festival:  

Be sure to follow yours truly, Victoria Cooksey, at:

  







Friday, November 4, 2016

Interview with Pam Williams, Ecole Chocolat Founder, and Lead Instructor by Victoria Cooksey

This week's interview is with Pam Williams.  Pam is the founder of Ecole Chocolat, lead instructor, and co-author of Raising The Bar: The Future of Fine Chocolate. (Did I mention I got both my chocolate certifications from Ecole Chocolat?).  

I want to thank Pam for taking time out of her busy work schedule to answer these questions.  

Pam Williams, Ecole Chocolat Founder & Lead Instructor 

Victoria Cooksey:  What originally influenced you towards fine chocolate making?

Pam Williams:  I was a baker starting in my teens and narrowed in on chocolate as my passion as it's so creative and fun to work with - that happens with a lot of pastry chefs who become chocolatiers. 

VC:  What lead you to start Ecole Chocolat?. 

PW:  I got so many questions from people wanting to know how to become a chocolatier at a time when there were only two training facilities that focused on chocolate: ZDS in Germany and Richards Researches in California. And both taught commercial/large factory techniques for the employees of multi-store and multinational operations, not the techniques and skills you need to be an independent chocolatier. As I was developing the program, the curriculum of that knowledge and skills grew so large that offering it online was the only affordable solution for our students. And I wanted to create an educational platform that would allow people to obtain that knowledge and learn those skills anywhere, anytime.     

VC:  When deciding on making a new flavored truffle, or chocolate bar, what exercises do you recommend chocolate makers follow for finding ingredients that match well to the chocolate being used?  

PW:  When deciding on making a new flavored truffle, or chocolate bar, what exercises do you recommend chocolate makers follow for finding ingredients that match well to the chocolate being used?  If you are committed to a specific chocolate for the product, we have an exercise in the Professional Chocolatier Program that we borrowed from award-winning Pastry Chef Philippe Conticini. Basically you make ganache using that chocolate and your favorite recipe, and then measure it carefully by weight into small quantities that you flavor with your ingredient in different concentrations. During the tasting you can decide which ratio of ingredient to chocolate gives you the flavor profile you are seeking. This gets everyone thinking and then each chocolatier develops their own way of doing this as they get more and more experience with recipe development

VC:  I often see recipes on shows, or in cookbooks, that call for melting chocolate for making decorations (like chocolate curls), or dipping items into it, but with no mention of tempering the melted chocolate first.  At what point does a home cook need to consider tempering chocolate versus simply melting it, and why?     

PW:  Ok we first have to assume that your question relates to a recipe that specifically calls for real chocolate instead of chocolate coating (which doesn't have to be tempered). If the recipe calls for real chocolate then yes, you need to learn to temper the chocolate for the perfect result. We give you a more detailed explanation on our Up to Your Elbows in Chocolate page on our website. Semi-success in using un-tempered real chocolate depends how long the decoration is stored or placed before the product is consumed. If, for example, you are making curls for a cake you are eating that night or dipping strawberries you are storing in the refrigerator until serving, then if the curls or strawberries develop fat bloom over time, it won't matter as they would have already been consumed.  

VC:  What are your thoughts on deodorized, versus, non-deodorized cacao butter being used in bars?  Do you prefer the texture of bars with, or without, additional cocoa butter added? 

PW:  Personally I prefer a higher cocoa butter content in my chocolate for velvety mouthfeel, so the addition of cocoa butter is not something that bothers me. Also as fat in any food is the carrier of flavor, I tend to find those chocolates with a higher cocoa butter content have a richer finish. And sometimes that velvety mouthfeel doesn't necessarily mean that more cocoa butter has been added to the chocolate. Some cocoa beans such as Marañón Chocolate's cocoa beans from Peru naturally have a higher cocoa butter percentage.

VC:  When chocolate bars are listed as being made from rarer cacao beans, such as Criollo, how true is that? Do you find that makers are having beans genetics checked?  


PW:  This is a very long answer that we address in our book Raising the Bar: The Future of Fine Chocolate so I will try to sum it up in a short article answer. Transparency is hard to judge unless the maker has had the trees from which they get their beans tested for their DNA and confirms that on the label. My opinion is that our reliance on overall cacao type terms such as "Criollo" to denote fine flavor, are overused and not an indication of quality. There are some not so good flavored criollo beans out there. So these terms, while interesting, aren't perfect indicators of quality or flavor. 

VC:  So many bars are being promoted, and labeled as “raw”.  Does raw chocolate really exist?  What should consumers really know when considering purchasing raw bars?

PW:  Again, to give this issue its due requires a long answer as the term is used to denote many different things, not necessarily that the beans adhere to the general requirements of the raw movement. We go over this in more detail in the book. 

My position is that consumers should stay away from chocolate that is promoted as "raw"  i.e. not having been subjected to heat over 116 degrees Fahrenheit. Cocoa beans that haven't been cleaned and debacterialized by the application of either heat or steam at 160+ degrees 
Fahrenheit can be dangerous from a health perspective as they could still contain microbes and bacteria such as salmonella or listeria, etc. There are so many "good for you" chocolate choices out there so staying away from raw won't curtail your chocolate enjoyment.

VC:  With single-origin bars being so popular, what are your thoughts on bars of mixed beans/origins? 

PW:  I like both and neither term denotes better quality and flavor than the other. Chocolate made with blended beans have a huge place in a chocolate makers, chocolatiers or pastry chefs chocolate arsenal as they provide a consistent flavor and workability. That consistency allows the maker to produce the same exact bar, bonbon, confection or dessert over and over again. Consumers love their favorite products and expect them to taste the same time after time.

VC:  How can consumers improve their tasting palette in order to further appreciate, and pick out flavors in fine chocolate?   
PW:  Easy, by simply trying and tasting. Just like we develop a liking for a certain brand or type of coffee and wine, over time as we try and taste more and more fine chocolate products, we will pick out the ones whose flavor and texture we like the best. 

VC:  When putting together Raising the Bar: The Future of Fine Chocolate what message were you most hoping for readers to take away from the book?

PW:  That if we are not careful, the biodiversity of cocoa trees will disappear - as happened to tomatoes and strawberries. In the future our chocolate could all be mediocre and taste exactly the same. Not a good future for us chocolate lovers.

The vast majority of cacao farmers live below the poverty line.
 If we want diversity in fine chocolate flavor, chocolate makers have to be willing to pay farmers a premium for good quality cocoa beans so that the farmers aren't motivated to rip out their cacao trees to grow more lucrative crops such as rubber, palm or bananas. And in turn, consumers have to support the farmer by being willing to pay more for high quality fine chocolate from those good quality beans.

VC:  What can consumers do to help ensure the survival of fine chocolate?  

PW:  The only way to keep that from happening is to support the fine chocolate makers and chocolatiers by buying those products you adore.

VC:  With so many amazing up and coming chocolate makers to choose from what bars do you currently have in your private chocolate stash?  

PW:  It depends on where I have traveled lately. Right now I have Manoa and Madre chocolate from Hawaii. Valrhona bars from France. Felchlin bars from Switzerland. Harper Macaw from DC and Dancing Lion from New Hampshire via FCIA meeting in NY in June.

To learn more about Ecole Chocolat visit:  

Raising the Bar:  The Future of Fine Chocolate:

Victoria Cooksey:  

Will I see you at the NW Chocolate Festival Nov. 12 & 13, 2016 in Seattle, WA???