Review: Daniel Les Origines Sao Tome 70%

Richard's Rating: 5.5

chocolate maker (unknown) bar Les Origines Sao Tome 70% region São Tomé plantation (blend) cacao trees Forastero year (unknown) size 9g ~ 0.3oz cocoa solids 70% added fat cocoa butter sweetener sugar emulsifier soy lecithin flavoring vanilla other ingredients (none) list price N/A

color medium-dark brown PANTONE 19-1314 Seal Brown texture smooth, lined, imprint, bubbles aroma roast (coffee, cocoa), spice (anise, clove), hint of sweet snap hard taste roast (coffee, cocoa), sweet, spice (anise), tannin melt smooth length short finish slightly bitter, slightly tannin

My friend Edward supplied me with two boxes of chocolate of Les Origines line of bars from Vancouver chocolatier Daniel le Chocolat Belge: Sao Tome 70% and Trinidad 65% (Thank you Edward!). Each box contained six tiny separately wrapped bars.

Daniel makes a large variety of chocolate confections (truffles, etc.), as you can see on their website. I do not know what chocolate maker they use for these bars.

Sao Tome was made from Forastero cacao beans from São Tomé. The ingredients were cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, and vanilla, and the chocolate contained 70% cocoa solids.

Each 9.4 gram bar was lined and imprinted with the word "Chocolette" (which seems an odd spelling both for a Belgian chocolate maker and for residing in Canada). It came wrapped in gold foil-sided waxed paper inside a paper sleeve. There was no production or best before date.

The chocolate had a medium-dark Seal Brown (PANTONE 19-1314) color. The surface was smooth and looked good other than several bubbles in the raised lettering. The bar had a hard snap.

Sao Tome had a coffee roast aroma combined with a strong anise scent. The roast also contained some cocoa, and there was a subtler clove scent as well. In addition, it smelled slightly sweet to me.

The taste very much like the aroma: a coffee and cocoa roast along with sweetness and an anise spice flavor. I also experienced some tannin.

The chocolate had a smooth melt. The length was very short, with the chocolate flavor lasting only 5 to 10 seconds after the chocolate was gone. The finish was slightly bitter and slightly tannin.

There is no list price for individual chocolate bars, but the box of six tiny bars was priced at CA$5.55.