Cool Beans - November 4, 2024
Here are the latest exciting bars we’ve tracked down. Let us know if there are cool new bars we should know about, especially if you made them!
Photo by Primo Chocolate.
Primo Reishi Chai Latte & Forest Bath —Previous Bean to Barstool guest Oliver Holecek’s Primo Chocolate has two new bars to share this week.
Reishi Chai Latte is an oat milk white chocolate made with reishi mushroom extract and decaffeinated chai tea powder (turmeric, black tea, ginger, cardamom, black pepper, star anise, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves), and was inspired by Holecek’s first taste of real chai in a Seattle shop in 2006.
Forest Bath is a 68% dark chocolate made with Ecuadorian cacao, Chaga mushroom extract, maple candies, hickory smoke, and grape vine-smoked Seneca Lake salt.
Kasama Echague, Isabela, Philippines 70%—Kasama’s newest single origin bar is made with rare cacao beans grown in the Cagayan Valley province. The cacao beans were fermented using special boxes made of Gmelina wood, resulting in a smooth, creamy chocolate with notes of roasted chestnuts, black forest cake, and stout (soeaking our language!) The packaging design was done by Maryland-based designer and educator Ana Mengote.
Only Child Black Cat’s Eye—Inspired by the bright green eyes of the black cats Only Child’s owner and her son saw in Italy (as the owner of a black cat with green eyes, I approve), this bar is made with dried Italian plums, almond paste, toasted pistachios, and black Urfa chili flakes, all housed in 70% dark chocolate from Ranger Chocolate.
Moka Origins Cameroon—This 72% dark chocolate bar is sourced from a single Cameroonian-owned farm, and the maker says it has flavors of malted milkshake, fig, and sourdough bread.
Photo by Spinnaker Chocolate.
Dar Colombia 95%—Dar’s highest percentage bar to date, this new Colombian bar features wrapper art from Sam Bryson. The artwork was inspired by geese taking off from a pond in the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge in the San Luis Valley of Colorado.
Spinnaker 58% Dark Oat Milk with Sorghum and Salt—This bar is the result of a unique collaboration between the chocolate maker and a local video store, Scarecrow Video. The non-profit, independent store was founded in 1988 and hosts the world’s largest video library (and you can still rent by mail! The bar features puffed sorghum and salt to emulate the flavor of movie theater popcorn.
Barre Clandestine Santa Marta—This new bar from the French maker uses micro lot cacao from an agroforestry farm run by 13 families in Colombia.
Argencove Cardamom & Orange 70%—Want to taste the Best in Show winner from last month’s Northwest Chocolate Festival in Seattle? This 70% dark chocolate made with Nicaraguan cacao uses cardamom and local Naranja Agria orange peel for a fruity/spicy harmony.
Ajala Christmas bars—Ajala’s Christmas bars are now out, including Chestnuts, Coconut Flake, Vanilla Roll, and “Christmas” (cinnamon, cardamom, and ginger).