This blog post marks the beginning of my series on single-origin chocolates from Trader Joe’s Chocolate Passport variety pack.

Each week I will review one of these country of origin chocolates: Peru 60%, Ecuador 66%, Ghana 70%, Venezuela 70%, Dominican Republic 70%, Papua New Guinea 70%, Sao Tome 70%, and Tanzania 73%.

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In the Trader Joe's Single Origin Chocolate Passport, all the chocolates are dark, ranging from 60% to 73%. I’ll be reviewing from lowest percentage to highest percentage. That means Peru 60% will be the first one showcased next week!

Until then, before diving into the tasting notes and flavor profiles, I want to introduce you to some chocolate terminology with helpful definitions...

Helpful Chocolate Definitions

Single-Origin: is chocolate made from one particular country, region or plantation.

Terroir: is the influence of soil and climate on the flavor development of chocolate. There are other influences too, such as the type of vegetation grown around the cacao tree. Terroir (French coming from terre which means "land") is the sum of all the environmental factors that affect an agricultural product’s flavor profile. This term is used to describe wine and coffee as well as chocolate.

Cocoa (or Cacao) %: is something you typically see on a dark chocolate label and refers to the total percentage of ingredients that come from the cocoa bean, including the chocolate liquor and cocoa butter.  It’s meant to be a guide for the consumer (marketing ploy?) to provide an idea of the flavor intensity of the chocolate. In general terms, it means that the higher the percentage, the stronger the chocolate impact.

NOTE: since the percent cacao deals with both the cocoa solids and cocoa butter combined, there’s going to be obvious differences in chocolates with the same percentages. Let’s take 70% chocolate as an example. If one has 40% chocolate liquor and 30% cocoa butter compared to another one with 60% liquor and 10% butter, the latter is going to have significantly more chocolate impact.

Dark/Bittersweet/Semi-Sweet Chocolate: are technically interchangeable. The FDA “standards of identity” policy requires that dark, bittersweet, or semisweet chocolate contain a minimum of 35 percent cacao. That said, there is a perception and “unwritten” acceptance that ‘bittersweet’ is more intensely chocolate and less sweet than ‘semi-sweet’. And the term ‘dark chocolate’ is a term people use to differentiate itself from milk chocolate. 

I know I made you read through nerdy stuff about chocolate, but it’s good information to tuck in the back of your brain as we go through our single-origin chocolate journey. We’re off to Peru!

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Bryn Kirk

Course Facilitator at Chocolate University Online

Bryn worked for nearly 10 years in a research and product development for Ambrosia Chocolate Company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Now she develops all of the CUO lessons and coaches the members of the Primal Chocolate Club.

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