Friday, January 27, 2017

Durci Taino Secret 70% Dark Chocolate Bar Review

Durci is a craft chocolate maker located at the base of the Wasatch Range in Utah.  The very first time I had their chocolate was at the NW Chocolate Festival in Nov. 2016.  So I was standing there talking with Sharon Terenzi, The Chocolate Journalist, and she asked if I had tried Durci before.  Since I hadn't she grabbed my arm, and quickly got me from one end of the place to the other to Durci's table. I may have bumped into a few people on the way. Sorry!  Lol!

 Pic of Durci at the NW Chocolate Festival Seattle, WA 2016

Taino Secret is made from Dominican Republic cocoa beans. 

Color:  Medium brown.

Nose:  Quality chocolate syrup, dark chocolate chips, and sugarcane.

 Pic of Durci taken in Port Townsend, WA

Texture:  Good snap, smooth, and creamy.

Pic of Durci chocolate mold

Taste:  Milk sugars (but not very sweet), Mild acidity, no bitterness, hint of vanilla syrup, cherries, cookie taste (not texture) reminiscent of a Poilane les punitions cookie.

Finish: Slight hint of mandarin orange in the medium finish. 

Durci:

Victoria Cooksey:
Watch all my chocolate reviews, and cooking videos:

Friday, January 20, 2017

Escazu Limited Edition Piura Blanco Peru 70% Dark Chocolate Bar Review

A little over a year ago I first tried Escazu's goat's milk bar which was lovely.  A few months ago I picked up their limited edition Piura Blanco Peru 70% dark chocolate bar.  

Escazu Artisan Chocolates is a bean to bar maker located in Raleigh, NC.  On their website they mention that the Piura Blanco cocoa beans are organic, co-op sourced, and earned a 2016 Good Food Award.  

Color:  Medium brown.
Nose:  Raspberries, touch of smoke, tobacco.


Pic of Escazu bar taken at Fort Worden, Port Townsend, WA

Texture:  Thick bar, medium bodied, good temper snap.
Taste:  Acidity, blueberries, tart cherries, blackberries.  
Finish:  Medium-long, acidity, and then rye bread in the finish.

Given the fact that their bars are priced at $6.50 - $6.99 on their website makes Escasu very affordable craft chocolate bars, and they are delicious too!

Pic of Escazu bars taken at the NW Chocolate Festival, Seattle, WA, 2016

Escazu Artisan Chocolates:

Victoria Cooksey:
Watch all my chocolate bar reviews and cooking videos:

Sunday, January 15, 2017

Akesson's Single Plantation Chocolate Madagascar 43% White Chocolate Bar Review

Forget what you thought you knew about white chocolate because this Akesson's Single Plantation Chocolate Madagascar Bejofo Plantation 43% White Chocolate bar is a game changer.  If you're like me (and I know I am) I think vanilla, and tooth aching sweetness when I think of typical white chocolate.  Not so with this bar.  In fact, there isn't even any vanilla in it for starters. 

Then let's talk about cocoa butter.  Cocoa beans contain a high percentage of cocoa butter.  Some beans contain even more then 50% of the stuff.  Cocoa butter used to always be deodorized before being added to chocolate bars.  Now more, and more chocolate makers are experimenting with either pressing cocoa butter from their own cocoa beans, and/or not using deodorized cocoa butter.   Instead they let any naturally occurring flavors remain which in turn enhances the characteristics of the white chocolate. 

Akession's bar boast being the first single-estate white chocolate bar made from cocoa butter from their plantation in the Sambirano Valley in Madagascar.  This bar is made up of 43% cocoa butter, organic milk powder, and organic sugar.  


Color:  Creamy, off white.
Nose:  I actually get the same feeling in my nose if I were to sniff peppermint, but not the actual scent of mint.
Texture:  Rich, full-bodied.
Taste:  Cream, buttery, hint of spice, quality buttermilk taste, a little salty (but not salt added).
Finish:  Buttermilk, and saltiness continues in the finish.

Have you had this bar?  What is your favorite white chocolate?

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

Akesson's Chocolate:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akessons_organic/?hl=en
Website:
http://www.akessons-organic.com/

Friday, January 13, 2017

Firefly Chocolate Bay Nut Bar & Marou's Cashew Nut Praline Dark Chocolate Bar Reviews

This week I'm bringing you 2 chocolate reviews for the price of 1 (which is basically free, as usual). I purchased both the Firefly & Marou bars at the NW Chocolate Festival last Nov.  Hard to believe that was last year already!!

First up is Firefly Chocolate Bay Nut Bar made with cocoa beans from Belize. Bay nuts are indigenous to California, and Firefly harvests wild ones for this bar.  These bars are made in California as well.

Color:  Dark Brown.
Nose:  Roasted nuts, & sesame seeds. 
Texture:  Melts quickly, smooth.

I took this pic of Firefly Chocolate here in Port Townsend, WA

Taste:  Un-roasted pine nuts, chicory, espresso with 1 sugar added, endive, & amaretto.  
Finish:  Medium length finish.

Something that's cool with Firefly is that the ingredient percentage, and ingredient origin is listed on the bars as well. 

Firefly Chocolate at the NW Chocolate Festival in Seattle with ingredient % listed

Next up is Marou's Cashew Nut Praline 65% Dark Chocolate Bar.  All of Marou's chocolate bars are made in Vietnam from Vietnamese cocoa beans.  

Color:  Medium brown.
Nose:  Red fruit, cocoa powder, & graham cracker.

 I took this pic of Marou here in Port Townsend, WA

Texture:  Smooth chocolate with a crunchy, almost brittle like interior.  

Pic of the filling in Marou's Cashew Nut Praline Bar

Taste:  Un-roasted cashews, raw sugar, & toasty.
Finish:  Medium finish with some sweetness, and caramelized sugar at the end. 

For an extra chocolate fix watch my YouTube video reviewing both these bars:


Thanks for reading!

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

Firefly Chocolate:
https://www.instagram.com/firefly_chocolate/?hl=en
http://fireflychocolate.com/

Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat:
https://www.instagram.com/marouchocolate/?hl=en

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

Friday, January 6, 2017

Manoa Chocolate 75% Hawaiian Honey Chocolate Bar Review

Manoa Chocolate is a bean to bar chocolate maker located in Kailua Honolulu County, Hawaii. Hawaii is the only U.S. state with the right climate for growing cacao, however, Manoa does have to source some of their cocoa beans from other countries due to limited growing supply currently in Hawaii.  

The honey in this Hawaiian Honey dark chocolate bar is sourced from the six largest Hawaiian Islands. 


 I took this picture of Manoa Chocolate in my town of Port Townsend, WA

Color:  Dark brown.

Nose:  Cocoa nibs, cafe mocha, vanilla.  

Texture:  Smooth.  Starts off with a medium-bodied mouth feel, but soon switches to a light, almost mousse like texture as it melts. 


Taste:  Floral, cacao nibs, oak, and a shot of espresso with a twist of citrus peel.

Finish:  Acidity builds at the end, with citrus notes at the finish.

I picked this bar up at the NW Chocolate Festival in Seattle, WA.

Have you tried any bars by Manoa?

Manoa Chocolate:
http://manoachocolate.com/
https://www.instagram.com/manoachocolate/?hl=en

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