I recently watched a very cute video by one of my favorite chocolate bloggers, Estelle Tracy of 37 Chocolates, who was reviewing Mast Brothers’ Dark Goat Milk Chocolate. I’m linking to Estelle’s full video here and encourage you to watch it if you have time, as it’s quite informative. But to sum up her review, she thought the chocolate tasted a little TOO much like goat cheese for her taste. And truth be told, that’s not the first time I’ve heard negative things about that Mast Brothers bar, although I admit I haven’t tasted it myself.
That said, I DID recently try a 69% dark goat’s milk chocolate made by Hawaii-based bean-to-bar chocolate maker Manoa and LOVED it. I couldn’t put it down.
Goat cheese: what’s not to like?
Before I say anything else, it’s worth noting that, unlike Estelle, I actually love goat cheese. Be that as it may, I never thought cheese and chocolate went well together (there are exceptions, like this salty Parmesan containing dark chocolate by Portland-based chocolatier extraordinaire Xocolatl de Davíd, and this tangy blue cheese containing milk chocolate by chocolate maker Lillie Belle Farms, also from the great state of Oregon).
But back to the Manoa bar.
First, a brief description of what the Manoa bar tastes like: it has a nice snap and a surprisingly uncreamy (that really should be a word) texture for a milk chocolate bar, bordering on gritty. It did have the characteristic mouthful of a milk chocolate — that awesome milk fat creaminess that many people (including me) love. In terms of its color, this is a VERY DARK dark milk chocolate bar. Because of that, I’m guessing the percentage of goat’s milk powder in this bar is quite low. Even so, it packs quite a flavor punch!
What I LOVE about Manoa’s goat’s milk bar is that, unlike Lillie Belle Farms’ Stella Blue bar, Manoa didn’t try to camouflage the sour goat’s milk flavor by adding extra sugar. Instead, they let the natural astringency of their full-flavored chocolate balance out the lovely, funky, earthy goat’s milk. The overall effect was a sort of addictive umami deliciousness that made it hard for me to put this bar down.
I highly recommend seeking out Manoa’s 69% Goat Milk Chocolate bar, which you can buy on Manoa’s website or at specialty chocolate retailers. If not, I know you can buy it here on Chococurb. If you do end up trying it, please email me or post in the comments section of this blog and let me know what you think!
And as always, happy nibbling.
How do you feel about goat milk chocolate? Manoa's dark milk bar just changed my mind I recently watched a very cute video by one of my favorite chocolate bloggers, Estelle Tracy…