A Chocolate Conversation

Welcome to the first in a series of chocolate tasting conversations with members of our community!

One of the things I love about Chocolopolis is the friendships I’ve built over the years with many of you. Tasting chocolate together is an opportunity to remove barriers and to build deeper bonds. It’s a great way to bring the community together and to bridge divides.

While we may agree on some aspects of the chocolates we’re tasting, there are many times we won’t agree. It’s a good reminder that enjoying chocolate is a personal experience. Each of us has our own likes, dislikes and tasting biases. Some may evaluate flavor first, others may evaluate texture first. Some may prefer fruity and nutty notes, others may prefer smoky and earthy notes. Whatever your preferences, chocolate is a great jumping off point to start a conversation.

Want to join this conversation? Please post your thoughts in the Comments section at the end of each blog post. Let’s keep the conversation going!

For my first tasting conversation I reached out to one of Chocolopolis’ original customers, Marjorie Korkowski. Marjorie and I got together recently to taste chocolate made with cacao from Uganda. Here are excerpts from our conversation.

Lauren: Why did you suggest Uganda-origin cocoa as our tasting theme today?

Marjorie: When I was at your house in June I met a young man who started a cocoa sourcing company in Uganda (ed. note: Jeff Steinberg). I hadn’t thought about Uganda as a cocoa-growing origin before.  When I got home I determined that I had a bar of Uganda-sourced chocolate made by White Label.

Then, about three weeks ago, I was at Trader Joe's. I noticed that among their chocolate they had a new bar that was a Uganda 85%. It was under $2.00, which I consider a worthy investment, so I bought it. I liked it.

Lauren: When you suggested Uganda as a tasting theme, I dug into my chocolate stash and realized I had quite a few bars made with cocoa from Uganda, including two different batches of White Label 72% and Solstice’s Bundibugyo 70% bar.

Marjorie: The two White Label Uganda, are they from the same place in Uganda?

Lauren: Yes. White Label is using the beans from Jeff Steinberg’s company, Latitude Trade Company. I don’t believe Solstice is using those beans. I have no idea where the beans are coming from for your Trader Joe's bar.

Let’s get all of the bars out and plate them before we taste. After the Trader Joe’s 85% let’s try the more recent batch of White Label Uganda 72% and then we’ll taste the older batch. Solstice will be the last one because it’s a 70%.

We line up the bar samples in tasting order and look at them.

Lauren: Honestly, I do not understand this. White Label uses this textured mold that makes the bar look dull. There’s a couple of makers who do this, including Goodnow Farms, and I’m not sure why. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve done a tasting and people say, “That’s not shiny!”. They think the chocolate is not in temper but it’s just the texture of the mold.

Let’s start our tasting with the Trader Joe’s Uganda 85%.

For the aroma, I'm just getting chocolaty notes.

Marjorie: It’s not terribly distinctive. I mean, your nose is certainly more trained than mine. I cannot begin to identify origins by scent.

Lauren: As for taste, it starts out with chocolate brownie notes. Then I get a sharp hint of smoke. A very sharp hint of smoke followed by a hint of coconut towards the end and a note of cocoa powder. The texture is pretty good – there’s a little bit of powdery-ness but it's reasonably creamy. It’s definitely hitting the bitter spots of my tongue. But not unpleasantly so.

Marjorie: As you know, texture is one of the things I'm pickiest about. Texture is what I quit on any bar that's under $2.00. I was really surprised on the texture of this. The flavor is not as layered as what we would ordinarily call finer chocolate. It'll be interesting to taste it against these others.

Next we taste the White Label Uganda bar.

Lauren: Let’s start by tasting the newer batch that’s labeled “Enjoy by” February of 2023.

I don't get much aroma from this bar. I initially taste graham cracker notes. Then I get a brown sugar note towards the end. I'm not getting as much complexity as I often do from White Label.

Marjorie: We’ll call that brown sugar. I don't know what it is, but boy, it's sweet

Lauren: For me, the Trader Joe's has a pleasant bitterness, but it's an 85%, so it's going to be more bitter. I felt like it also had a heavier roast. This one is sweeter, quite a bit sweeter. Probably a lighter roast.

Marjorie:  I don’t find it unpleasant. This has two layers only. Which also surprises me a great deal with my history with White Label.

Lauren: I agree with you, usually with White Label I get a lot of complexity but on this particular batch the complexity I expect from White Label isn't there.

Marjorie: I love the texture. Not only is it smooth, it is boldly smooth. It doesn't just melt, it sits there and keeps its shape. If you make it melt with your tongue against the roof of your mouth it’s so smooth, and I love that.

Lauren: Alright, let's try the other White Label batch. This Uganda 72% has an “Enjoy by” date of November 2022, so it was an earlier batch than the February 2023 bar we just tried.

It tastes a little plasticky at the beginning. In fairness, this bar has been open for some time, and while it's in its original wrapper, I store it in plastic bins. There's always a chance it picked that up.

I get the same Graham cracker notes on this batch that I got on the batch we just tasted, followed by a hint of molasses and a hint of acidity that I didn’t get on the other batch. And then I get a chocolaty finish. Maybe this one has a little bit more complexity than the other, but not that much.

Marjorie: There is a little piece of its very final melt at the end that I like – that I actively like. But the rest of it is very nondescript other than texture, the texture being very good.

I can taste the difference between the two batches. They don't taste the same. I know it’s from the same origin, but I can tell it’s not the same bar.

Lauren: Let’s try Solstice Bundibugyo 70%.

We taste the Solstice bar.

Marjorie: As you know, I do not often use words to describe what I'm tasting, but wood smoke doesn't begin to describe this. This was left over the campfire for, as far as I'm concerned, too long.

Lauren: This one is smoky and I also get hammy notes, like bacon, ham.

Marjorie: Wow, yes!

Lauren: It is overwhelmingly smoky. I don't like things that are smoky. Bacon is smoked, right? So is it the smoke or is it the bacon? I get some smoke and then I get this hammy, savory kind of note, so maybe a bit of both.

Marjorie: And where's the chocolate? I'm sorry, I'm eating a chocolate bar. I want chocolate.

Lauren: I do get a pleasant astringency as well. The texture is good.

Marjorie: The texture is the only redeeming feature of this bar.

Lauren: I think this is a good example of how a chocolate maker has many bars and some you're going to like more than others, right? Solstice has a Tranquilidad bar from Bolivia that I absolutely love. It's one of my favorite bars.

Was there a bar that you preferred of all of these?

Marjorie: “No” on the Solstice. Absolutely not! Of the White Label I preferred the 2nd batch to the 1st batch, the one that says “Enjoy By” November 2022.

Lauren: I'm going to go back and taste Trader Joe's again.

Marjorie: Yes, yes. I am too because I have to get the Solstice out of my mouth and water isn’t doing it.

Tasting Trader Joe’s Uganda 85% again

Lauren: It tastes chocolaty. It has some astringency, some acid, but all pleasant. My mouth feels greasy after I've had it. From a texture perspective I don’t like it as much as the others. I have to say from a flavor perspective, I'm getting a strong coconut note. But overall it tastes like chocolate.

Marjorie: It tastes like chocolate. Minimally layered, not as layered as I like to give for tastings.

What did I taste here at your house when Jeff Steinberg was here?

Lauren: That was his company’s chocolate. He sells his beans to craft chocolate makers but his company, Latitude Craft Chocolate, makes their own chocolate in Kampala. Let me get the Uganda bar from Latitude Craft Chocolate so we can try that bar, too. I was saving it for an event, but we might as well compare it.

Lauren brings the Latitude Craft Chocolate Semuliki 70% bar to the table.

Lauren: The wrapper says the cocoa came from over 1,000 certified organic farmers in Uganda. Latitude purchases face-to-face at the farms and their supplier program offers training, a premium price, insurance and microfinance to support the farm households they work with.

It's hard to read the sell by date because it's in the same spot as the barcode. It looks like it says 2028, but I'm going to assume it says 2023. This is batch #175. This is a 70%.

This bar is quite purple in color compared to the others, and it has more of an aroma.

Marjorie: Yes, it does.

Lauren: A chocolaty aroma with acid, like raspberries. In terms of taste I get some acid and milk notes, almost like Raspberry milk.

Marjorie: Yes, I was going to say there's some fruit involved in this.

Lauren: I do get a hint of smoke at the beginning. It takes some time to melt. The texture is not up to the others. It's a very slow, rough melt.

Marjorie: It's an interesting texture. It's not smooth. It's long and rough.

There is this strong fruit flavor with it. I find this flavor a much more pleasant flavor than any of these others, the Trader Joe’s included, but the production quality of the bar is not as good in texture or in melt.

Lauren: The Trader Joe's chocolate was perfectly nice. I'm sure it's a large production bar. The price is inexpensive, which doesn't help the farmers, but it’s a pleasant bar of chocolate.

The Latitude Craft Chocolate Semuliki 70% has more flavor complexity than any of the others, but it really needs work on the texture.

Marjorie: I like the flavor of it better than all of these, including the Trader Joe's. The Latitude Craft Chocolate bar is the one that I think has the most promise. I wouldn’t buy it because of its texture, but I would hold out hope. I would try it again in a year and see.

Lauren: It has the nicest story, too. It’s made in Africa by a Certified B Corporation and it’s direct trade and vegan.

So, what's your final verdict? If you had to buy one of these, what would it be?

Marjorie: Oh, I already did buy one from Trader Joe's, and I think for right now that's what it would continue to be. I would watch for the Latitude bar. I believe in what they're doing. I like to support bean-to-bar in country. Giving it some time, I would risk the purchase in a year or so to see if they've done something to improve the texture. That's the one that I would invest in.

Lauren: I think the texture needs work, but there are some really interesting flavors there and it shows a lot of promise.

So there you have it. Marjorie and I would both purchase the Trader Joe’s Uganda bar based on flavor and texture. While Marjorie would be willing to try the Latitude Craft Chocolate bar in a year, I would be willing to continue to enjoy it now based solely on flavor. The texture needs work, but the flavor was my favorite of the Uganda selections we tasted.

If you would like to taste the Latitude Craft Chocolate bars yourself, we’re hosting a virtual chocolate tasting with Jeff Steinberg, the founder of Latitude Craft Chocolate company, on Saturday, October 23 at 10am PDT. Jeff will join us live from Uganda to tell us more about Latitude Craft Chocolate’s story and to taste chocolate with us. Purchase tickets and you’ll receive a delivery of the three bars we’ll be tasting during the event.

I’m working on many more unique, virtual chocolate events with chocolate makers around the globe. The best way to stay abreast of our upcoming events is by signing up for the Chocolopolis newsletter and checking our online event calendar frequently.

If your company is looking for a team-building or client-appreciation event, I host virtual private chocolate tastings for 12 to 60 and in-person events for 15 - 100+. Click here for more information about private events.