Chocolate review: El Corte Ingles Negro Almendras Enteras

I have a backlog of chocolate reviews and I found drafts of chocolates we ate last year still unfinished. So here goes to reducing that backlog...

I was pleasantly surprised to see this bar in our cache. This is a chocolate from Spain and I don't exactly remember how we came to have this. I assume this is a souvenir or pasalubong from someone.

The translation to English is there in the label - Dark chocolate with almonds.

The detailed information about the chocolate is at the back of the package.

Nutrition information

The chocolate is Made in Spain and is Gluten Free.

The chocolate was smooth and the almonds definitely added to enjoying this. The almonds were not crushed (roasted whole as stated in the package) so there's substantial chewing involved after you bite into the bar. I don't know how much this chocolate retailed for (though I guess you can Google it) but I thought based on us consuming the bar that this had bang for the buck for a 200g bar. I wouldn't mind paying 200+ pesos for this and will surely pick it up if I see this on the grocery or store shelf.

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Chocolate review: Mayon Gold 60% Dark Chocolate

The first chocolate from Bicol that we tasted is this 60% dark chocolate from Mayon Gold.

Mayon Gold markets this as a hand crafted chocolate.

Details about the chocolate at the back of the package

There's a story behind this chocolate. That was covered by the price tag, which I removed to show the work and advocacy of the Muravah Foundation that produced this chocolate.

Nutrition information. Note the emphasis on this chocolate having only 2 ingredients: dried fermented cacao and coconut sugar. They seem to have forgotten to declare others that would have rendered this product easily spoiled?

Revenues from the chocolate will go to the improvement in the lives of people in the communities supported by the foundation.

The chocolate was okay considering they used only 2 ingredients (as they claim). We thought the use of coconut sugar as sweetener affected the overall taste and texture of the chocolate. I am not sure that this is the taste and texture desired by most chocolate lovers though. And in the end, to be honest, the chocolate will not be judged by the maker's objectives and advocacies but by its qualities as compared (or benchmarked) with other, more superior products. The chocolate retails for about 140 pesos for this 50g bar. I would not mind paying for a bar or two the first time but have to reconsider a next time. There is definitely a lot of room for improvement for this chocolate if they want to get to the level of the Auros and Malagos chocolates.

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Chocolates from Bicol

Traveling through NAIA Terminal 2, I was browsing the shelves of the duty free store there and found these chocolates from the Bicol Region. Bicol, of course, is located in the eastern part of the country and mostly is on the island of Luzon. The provinces comprising the region are Camarines Norte, Camarines Sur, Albay, Sorsogon, and the island provinces of Catanduanes and Masbate.

An assortment of dark chocolates from Mayon Gold

They also have the larger boxes featuring the pili nut, which is probably among the products Bicol is known for. The pili is supposed to be endemic to the region and is not usually found elsewhere in the country.

Variants with turmeric and ginger, and chili. Bicol is also well known for food using chili and coconut milk (gata). They also have the 100% dark chocolate but I thought these were more suitable for cooking or perhaps crushed and toppings for dessert like ice cream.

Pilinut cruch and 90% dark chocolates

I will write a review of the chocolates I bought after we've eaten them. I did not buy the turmeric and chili variants as well as the dark chocolates with more than 80% cacao (too strong or bitter from my experience). But the quality of their 60% and 76% cacao chocolates should suffice in comparing them with the Auro and Malagos chocolates that I think stand out among Philippine chocolates.

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