Break it Down

We're taking a break this week to work on a few things and catch up on our to-do lists.  See you back here next week! 

Chapter Forty: Kate Weiser Chocolate: Safari Bari

Today's tasting is a Kate Weiser Chocolate bar from Gaby's Dallas trip: the Safari Bari, 64% Pure Madagascar Chocolate bar. We are tasting another bar from this chocolatier next week and can't wait to compare the two. For this tasting, we will be using our typical tasting methods and comparing with the base bar.

Tasting No.: 38
Kate Weiser Chocolate: Safari Bari, 64% Pure Madagascar Cocao

Initial Impressions: 

This bar is lighter in color and redder than base bar. The snap is firm but softer than base bar. The bar itself appears so smooth that it is almost like a plastic toy. There is a faint blueberry aroma and the bite is firm.

Flavor Profile:

Initial – blueberry

Middle – acidic, balsamic vinegar

After – light, mild malted milk

Texture:
The texture of this bar is silky smooth, it melts easily upon our tongues and is gone almost too soon.

Overall:
This bar is sweeter than we normally like, but that is probably due to the fact that we typically taste darker bars. Gaby was quite tickled that her taste for dark chocolate has come so far in the past few years. The complex flavor profile surprised and delighted both of us, it was not what we expected at all from this bar.  We found it interesting that the ending is so mild and light. 

Rating: 7/10

*Notes:

Purchased at Kate Weiser Chocolate

Price range: under $9

Next week we'll be tasting a 72% bar from Kate Weiser Chocolate. Join us!

For now savor: "If I had to eat one kind of chocolate for the rest of my life, it would be this. The natural acidity and citrus notes have always drawn me to dark Madagascar chocolates. I find this chocolate so perfectly balanced and bold that it stands alone.  Enjoy." - Kate Weiser

Chapter Thirty-Nine: Dude, Sweet Chocolate

It's good to be back! We needed a bit of a breather since Laura has just come back from China and Gaby's been keeping busy in Texas. For the month of March we will feature bars that Gaby bought while visiting Dallas, Texas. These are local, artisanal chocolatiers with a cult following. We're excited to share what she has found with you! 

For our first post back, we will be tasting two chocolate offerings from Dude, Sweet Chocolate, one of which is a toffee fudge concoction. Dude, Sweet got its start in a dive bar in South Dallas in 2008. Since then, Chef Katherine Clapner ran with the idea and established Dude, Sweet as a leader in the Texas chocolate market. With a focus on the taste of the chocolate and a decision to keep bells and whistles minimal, Chef Clapner has excelled in creating unique sweet and savory offerings, as we will explore below.

Tasting No.: 37Dude, Sweet Chocolate: Holiday in Cambodia Chocolate BarDude, Sweet Chocolate: Fungus Amongus Soft Butter Toffee

Initial Impressions: 

The Holiday in Cambodia chocolate bar is a beautiful bar to look at; smooth and dark brown with a soft snap, which reveals the inner texture of whole black sesame seeds. The aroma is sweetly acidic and earthy, reminiscent of chocolate covered cherries. The bite is firm, leading into a surprisingly savory and delicious complexity.

The toffee fudge is soft and its appearance has many evident chunks of pepitas (pumpkin seeds) and porcini mushroom chunks. Its main chocolate ingredient is Valrhona cocoa. The aroma is rich, and almost like a gamey meat, with notes of soil and musk. There is no snap, we cut it and the outside was firm while the inside sliced easily. It melts easily once it hits the tongue. 


Chocolate Bar                                                              Chocolate Toffee

Flavor Profile:                                                             Flavor Profile:

Initial – soil, smoke                                                       Initial – sweet, maple

Middle – nutty, slight sweetness                                   Middle – toffee

After – earthy, sesame                                                 After – earthy


Texture:
The bar melts easily but is still chewy with crunchy bits of black sesame seeds rounding out the tasting, a fascinating texture that kept us wanting more.

Of course, the fudge smooth, with a pepita every once in a while that adds a surprise crunch.

Here you can see the delicious texture of the chocolate bar

Overall:
The chocolate bar was most definitely a savory bar with only a slight sweetness.  It was incredibly satiating and Laura and Gaby have both added it to their list of favorites.

The toffee fudge was cloyingly sweet, but it is a toffee fudge! We would have enjoyed it more with a strong espresso while tasting only the smallest piece. Because we don't normally try toffee fudge, we did not feel that we should rate this chocolate.

Bar Rating: 10/10
Toffee Rating: N/A

*Notes:

Purchased at Dude, Sweet Chocolate

Price range: Under $7

Next week, we'll introduce you to another Dallas local chocolatier from Gaby's trip. Join us!

For now savor: "The greatest tragedies were written by the Greeks and Shakespeare...neither knew chocolate." - Sandra Boynton

We're On A Break...

We're taking a break this week to catch our breath and sort through our HUGE pile of chocolate.  This is just a small sampling of what we've bought over the past month.

See you next week!