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

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/

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

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:  

https://www.instagram.com/marouchocolate/?hl=en

Victoria Cooksey:

Be sure to watch my chocolate reviews, and cooking videos at:  

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm-lp-lF_wB2oX_592jK9UQ

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/victoria.cooksey/?hl=en

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:

http://www.sweets-escalier.com/

NW Chocolate Festival:

http://www.nwchocolate.com/

Victoria Cooksey:  

https://www.instagram.com/victoria.cooksey/?hl=en

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