One of the things I thoroughly enjoy about 100% chocolate is that it gives my taste buds the opportunity to experience the natural essence of the cacao beans grown by farmers in different parts of the world. Needless to say, I was incredibly excited when a dear friend of mine blessed me with the Blanxart Organic Dark Chocolate 100% Alt Piura Peru bar for Christmas. I really enjoy coming across bars that I have never heard of, especially from regions of the world that I have not sampled, and this bar was new to me.
Here’s some information from the Spanish company’s website:
“From Alto Piura, Organic Chocolate Perú 100%.
Introducing the latest addition to the Premium Origins family by Blanxart, and one of the most daring members of it. From the green Alto Piura: Chocolate Peru 100%, made from white cocoa bean, with a bean to bar manufacturing and preserving all its purity and intensity without additives.
Its 100% organic cocoa content without added sugar or butter ensures the preservation of an artisanally roasted cocoa bean, left peacefully to release all its aromas.
The most veteran gourmets and chocolatiers will appreciate an initial explosion of flavor, followed by floral notes, regalis, leather, coffee, wood and lime. An intense and very distant experience.”
I am quite fascinated by flavor combinations that seem to clash in the mind as I am often pleasantly surprised by how they destroy my inaccurate preconceived notions. As a result, the description of this bar was right up my alley.
Upon removing the wrapper I could not help but find myself being intrigued by its rustic appearance. It reminded me of an old treasure map and whisked me into an imaginary adventure of following the map through the jungles of Peru to find the location of these precious Criollo beans. The bar was clothed in beautiful gold foil and gave off a pleasant rich nutty scent with a hint of sweet fruit when it was unwrapped.
This is an unpretentious bar that is authentic and natural, not trying to be sophisticated and ostentatious. What you see is what you get. But that should not put you off. This is a bar for those who want to experience a real adventure of going through the jungle to obtain the cacao pods to make their own bar versus taking the easy route and picking it up from a local chocolate shop. This thick bar really gives your teeth something to sink into and may be a bit hard to bite off. When you get a piece to melt in your mouth you are hit by an initial burst of bitterness similar to unroasted nuts with a tinge of sourness from lime and vegetal earthiness.
Now here’s a little digression, but stick with me as I will make my way back. I’m originally from Hawaii and one of my favorite dishes is kalua pork. The traditional way of cooking it is placing the whole pig in an underground oven called an imu, which is a fire pit you create by digging a hole that is three to five feet deep and lining it with wood, hot rocks, and banana leaves. The pig is covered in hot rocks, sand, and banana leaves and is cooked the whole day and served in the evening.
Okay, I know you are wondering what any of this has to do with the Blanxart 100% chocolate. Well, I couldn’t help but experience the oven pit taste that is imparted in the kalua pig in this bar. It has an earthy essence like volcanic rocks, as well as a woodsy and smoky taste that added to the unique rustic experience of eating it. I was left with a subtle bitter smoky flavor that lingered. That’s actually one of the things I like about kalua pig being cooked in an imu versus modern day conventional methods, and that was the nostalgic experience that this bar brought to mind for me.
If you want an outdoor campfire type experience available in the convenience of a chocolate bar you can hold in your hand, this is it! The treasure awaits you by going to Blanxart.com!