Monday, January 28, 2013

Review: Raaka Ecuador 85% Dark

Richard's Rating: 5.5
chocolate makerRaaka
barEcuador 85% Dark
regionEcuador
plantation(blend)
cacao trees(unknown)
year(unknown)
size34g ~ 1.2oz
cocoa solids85%
added fatcocoa butter
sweetenercane sugar
emulsifier(none)
flavoring(none)
other ingredients(none)
list price$5.00
colormedium-dark brown
PANTONE 19-1314
Seal Brown
textureuneven shape, smooth, uneven sheen, scuffing, bubble, adhered bits
aromafloral, earth (must), fruit, spice, hint of mint
snaphard
tasteearth, sour, fruit (melon, berry), wine, floral, nut (almond)
meltsmooth
lengthshort
finishtannin, somewhat sour, somewhat acidic, slightly chalky
U.S. chocolate makers Ryan Cheney and Nate Hodge established Raaka Virgin Chocolate and released their first bars in 2010. Their concept of virgin chocolate is not quite the same as raw, as they allow slightly higher temperatures. Raaka does not roast their cacao beans and processes all of their chocolate below 135 degrees Fahrenheit (57°C). They currently make two single origin bars (Ecuador and Madagascar) and five flavored bars.

Raaka buys beans from cooperatives, always paying above fair trade prices. They use only organic ingredients and make their chocolate in a nut-free environment. They purchased the cacao beans for their Ecuador 85% Dark bar from APROCA. The other ingredients were cane sugar and cocoa butter.

The bar was double-wrapped with silver foil sided wax paper and craft paper. It was sealed closed by a large product sticker on the back. There was no best before date. The batch number was 20.

Ecuador 85% had a medium-dark brown Seal Brown (PANTONE 19-1314) color. The unscored bar was uneven, with one side thicker than the other. The surface was smooth, with an uneven sheen, some scuffing, one bubble, and a some adhered bits of chocolate. The snap was hard.

The aroma of the chocolate contained floral, earth, fruit and spice scents. The earth was musty. I also smelled just a hint of mint.

The initial taste was earthy and sour before the fruit was revealed. I tasted mostly melon with a little berry. I also experienced flavors of wine, floral, and nut in form of almond. The back label listed tasting notes of "almond, melon, molasses", but I didn't taste the molasses.

The chocolate had a smooth melt. The chocolate flavor lasted 15 to 20 seconds after the chocolate was gone, giving a short length. The finish was tannin, somewhat sour, somewhat acidic, and slightly chalky.

You can purchase Ecuador 85% Dark directly from Raaka for $8.00 for a 2.5 ounce bar (or $5.00 for 1.2 ounce bar).

Saturday, January 26, 2013

Ranking: best Bolivia single origin chocolate

Here are my personal ranking results from three rounds of tasting four single origin bars made from Bolivia cacao. You can see all of our current ranking results on the Chocolate Rankings page.

El Ceibo Heritage and Rogue Silvestre were both excellent chocolates, and I found it difficult to decide between them. Ultimately, I felt Heritage slightly edged out Silvestre with a greater variety of flavors. Note that the qualities of each chocolate differ, and you might prefer the flavor, aroma, or texture of a lower ranked chocolate to that of one ranked higher. Click on a name to see a detailed review of that chocolate bar.

  1. El Ceibo Heritage
  2. Rogue Silvestre
  3. Dick Taylor Bolivia
  4. Taza Stone Ground 87%

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Chocolate Consumption Statistics By Country

The ICCO (International Cocoa Organization) released their bi-annual World Cocoa Economy report for 2012 and included in it are some great statistics about chocolate consumption in various countries around the world.

For a little historical perspective, here is our posting about consumption statistics from the 2010 report.

This first table lists per-capita consumption of chocolate confections by country, and includes products made with white chocolate. It is based on data from CAOBISCO (European Union Association of the Chocolate, Biscuit and Confectionery Industries) and the ICA (International Confectionery Association).

Per-capita Chocolate Confection Consumption
countrykg/yearlb/year
Germany11.625.4
Switzerland10.523.1
United Kingdom9.721.4
Norway9.420.8
Denmark8.518.7
Austria8.218.0
Finland7.316.0
Sweden6.414.0
France6.313.9
Estonia6.213.7
Belgium6.113.4
Lithuania5.411.9
United States5.311.6
Australia4.59.9
Italy3.78.2
Poland3.67.9
Spain3.67.9
Greece3.57.7
Hungary3.37.3
Brazil2.96.4
Portugal2.76.0
Japan2.14.6
Bulgaria1.32.8

The following tables are potentially more interesting. The next table contains estimates of per-capita consumption of cocoa by country. Unfortunately, I didn't find a clear definition by ICCO to identify the line between cocoa and chocolate confection, but here's the data they provided. If you find their definition, please email us or add it in a comment!

Per-capita Cocoa Consumption
countrykg/yearlb/year
Switzerland5.8812.94
Belgium5.6912.51
Ireland4.028.84
Norway4.028.83
Germany3.968.72
Austria3.808.36
United Kingdom3.648.00
France3.627.97
Denmark3.297.23
Slovenia3.076.75
Finland3.026.65
Israel2.966.52
Australia2.876.33
Greece2.605.72
Canada2.555.61
United States2.465.40
Czech Republic2.445.37
Sweden2.295.03
Netherlands2.285.02
Spain2.285.01
Hungary1.793.94
Portugal1.713.77
Poland1.693.71
Italy1.463.21
Russian Federation1.393.06
Kazakhstan1.232.70
Japan1.222.67
Colombia0.992.18
Romania0.982.15
Chile0.972.13
Saudi Arabia0.972.12
Brazil0.922.01
Argentina0.791.73
Malaysia0.601.31
Algeria0.581.27
Mexico0.551.21
Ghana0.551.20
Republic of Korea0.501.10
Ukraine0.481.06
Cote d'Ivoire0.440.98
Venezuela0.410.90
South Africa0.390.85
Turkey0.340.74
Philippines0.320.71
Ecuador0.300.65
Nigeria0.110.25
Indonesia0.100.21
China0.040.08
India0.030.06

This last table averages per-capita consumption of cocoa by region. Of particular note is the World excluding China, India, and Indonesia. Because of the large populations of those countries with limited access to cocoa products, they otherwise skew the overall World average.
Per-capita Cocoa Consumption
regionkg/yearlb/year
World0.611.35
World
excluding China, India, Indonesia
1.092.40
Europe2.184.80
Americas1.373.01
Africa0.200.44
Asia & Oceania0.150.34

Thursday, January 3, 2013

Review: Dick Taylor Bolivia

Richard's Rating: 6.0
chocolate makerDick Taylor
barBolivia
regionBolivia
plantation(blend)
cacao trees(unknown)
year(unknown)
size57g ~ 2.0oz
cocoa solids75%
added fat(none)
sweetenercane sugar
emulsifier(none)
flavoring(none)
other ingredients(none)
list price$7.50
colordark brown
PANTONE 19-1314
Seal Brown
textureimprint, smooth
aromaearth (soil), roast (malt, smoke), sweet
snaphard
tasteearth, roast (malt), sweet, nut, fruit, bitter
meltsmooth
lengthmedium
finishbitter, slightly sour
Dick Taylor has been crafting bean to bar chocolate in small batches since 2010. They currently make chocolate from four origins: Belize, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, and Madagascar. In addition, they sell a few flavored bars, such as Black Fig, Fleur de Sel, and Maple Coconut.

Bolivia was made from 75% organic cacao beans and 25% organic cane sugar. The bar was not certified organic. The cacao beans were from a small lot of Rio Bene Wild Harvest (cacao beniano) sourced from John Nanci of Chocolate Alchemy.

Dick Taylor has an extremely detailed chocolate mold, as you can see in the photo of the bar above. The bar came wrapped in gold-sided foil inside an outer paper wrapper that was sealed on the back with a large product sticker. The best before date was September 2013.

The color of Bolivia was a dark brown Seal Brown (PANTONE 19-1314). The top surface was smooth, with just a few bits of adhered chocolate. The snap was hard.

Bolivia smelled primarily of earth and roast. The earthiness seemed to be a rich soil scent. The roast was mostly malt, with a little smokiness. The aroma also revealed sweetness.

The chocolate tasted of earth, roast, and sweetness as well. The roast contained malt. Along with those flavors were nut, fruit, and bitter.

The melt was smooth. The length was medium, with the chocolate flavor lasting 20 to 25 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The finish was bitter and slightly sour.

The Bolivia bar is not currently for sale from Dick Taylor, but you can purchase it for $8.95 from The Meadow.

Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Review: Dick Taylor Madagascar

Richard's Rating: 7.0
chocolate makerDick Taylor
barMadagascar
regionMadagascar
plantation(blend)
cacao trees(unknown)
year(unknown)
size57g ~ 2.0oz
cocoa solids72%
added fat(none)
sweetenercane sugar
emulsifier(none)
flavoring(none)
other ingredients(none)
list price$7.50
colormedium brown
PANTONE 19-1431
Fudgesickle
textureimprint, smooth, uneven sheen, bubbles
aromaearth, roast, fruit, spice, dairy (cheese), acidic
snaphard
tasteearth, fruit (citrus, lemon, berry, watermelon), roast (cocoa), acidic
meltsmooth
lengthmedium
finishsomewhat acidic, slightly sour
MORE RECENT REVIEW: Dick Taylor Madagascar Sambirano

U.S. chocolate makers Adam Dick and Dustin Taylor craft their bean to bar chocolate from only cacao beans and cane sugar. Dick Taylor currently makes four unflavored single origin chocolate bars: Belize, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, and Madagascar, as well as some flavored ones.

Madagascar contained 72% cacao beans and 28% cane sugar. Both ingredients were organic, though their bars are not certified. The cacao beans were sourced from Bertil Ã…kesson.

The bar came came wrapped in gold-sided foil inside an outer paper wrapper sealed on the back with a large product sticker. The best before date was September 2013.

Madagascar had a medium brown Fudgesickle (PANTONE 19-1431) color. As you can see in the bar photo above, Dick Taylor has a beautifully detailed chocolate mold. The top surface was smooth, with an uneven sheen and several tiny bubbles. The snap was hard.

The aroma contained earth, roast, fruit, spice, and dairy scents. The dairy scent was suggestive of cheese. I also found the aroma acidic.

The chocolate started out tasting earthy, and then revealed a wonderful collection of fruit flavors: citrus, lemon, berry, and watermelon. A cocoa roast and acidity were present along with the bonanza of fruit.

The melt was smooth. The chocolate flavor lasted about 25 to 30 seconds after the chocolate was gone, giving a medium length. The finish was somewhat acidic and slightly sour.

You can purchase Madagascar for $7.50 directly from Dick Taylor, or for $7.95 from The Meadow.