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

Chapter Twenty-One: Cacao Market Mayan

Welcome back!  We took a much needed break to work on our other projects and are excited to share with you our most recent tasting adventure.  Laura recently found herself at Mayan History exhibit and decided to purchase a bar of chocolate from the museum gift shop.  It is actually a bar from the US, made in the Mayan style.  Cacao Market NYC’s Maya Honduran chocolate bar is sourced from a single origin, Honduras, and is 70% cacao.  It does not include any additional sugar.

Tasting No. :19
Cacao Market NYC Maya Honduran Chocolate

Initial Impressions:

This bar is much darker than our base bar, with a similar smell but slightly sweeter.  It is more red than the base bar, with an acidic, earthy smell.  The snap we considered more of a tear because it was so soft in comparison to the base bar and all the other bars we’ve reviewed thus far. The soft firmness was reminiscent of a warm cookie.

Flavor Profile:

Initial – overwhelming earthiness

Middle – nut, banana

After – soil

Texture:

The texture of this bar was unlike any bar before it.  It most closely resembled clay.

Overall:

It was apparent to us that there is no additional sweetener in this bar.  It tasted rustic and unrefined, like it did come from the Old World.  It is a chocolate we think would be better appreciated and highlighted if it were included in a recipe as opposed to eating it on its own.  The cacao used in this bar comes from an ancient species of cacao tree: the Honduran Cacao Trinitario which is known for its mild and distinct taste.  Ultimately, we both appreciated the opportunity to try such a unique bar with a rich history.  As always, we like that it’s fair trade, environmentally sourced, and are impressed that the company works directly with Honduran farmers to ensure a fair living wage.

                                                     Rating: 2/10

*Notes:

Price range under $7

Next week, it’s back to another Trader Joe’s bar.  Join us! 

For now savor: “I have this theory that chocolate slows down the aging process...it may not be true, but do I dare take the chance?” – Unknown

Remember, fairly traded chocolate is a responsible way to support farmers by ensuring that the chocolate that you consume has been bought for a fair price.  By choosing to purchase fair trade chocolate, you can honor the cocoa tree growers and support their way of life which in turn leads to better chocolate.