Wednesday, April 20, 2016

Marigold's Finest, Stoneground Chocolate Made in Toronto

Ontario is the newest hotspot for bean-to-bar chocolate start-ups. I recently told you about Toronto-based Soul Chocolate. Later this week I will tell you about another from Uxbridge and next month, I will be announcing the launch of another newbie chocolate maker elsewhere in Ontario. But today, let's take a look at Marigold's Finest, a new stoneground chocolate maker that just opened last Fall in Toronto. 

Although most craft chocolate is ground by stone rollers, products labelled as 'stoneground chocolate' are generally known to be lightly gritty, reminding us tasters of where chocolate comes from: the cacao bean. Beany and sugar bits can remain in the chocolate and add a nice crunch, and the texture can often become addictive once you get used to it (I've gone through spells where I only crave stoneground-style chocolate, rather than the smooth stuff).

Stoneground chocolate also holds more acidic flavours, because the refining process is shorter than for smooth chocolate. The acidity in the beans is not released through days and days of heat and agitation, which is what happens during the conching process that is applied to the smooth, mild-flavoured chocolate from the grocery store.

Marigold's Finest makes a stoneground chocolate that is nearly smooth, with just a light grit to it. The chocolate maker uses quality cacao grown in different regions of the world, to highlight the unique flavour characteristics of the cocoa bean and its country of origin. I tried a pack of chocolate bars from the chocolate maker's website, which turned out to be a lovely taste discovery. The range of single origin chocolate bars included Trinidad, Costa Rica, and a new one, Nicaragua. There was also a very good Dark-Milk chocolate with 60% cocoa solids, and a unique dark chocolate called Champagne and Strawberries. You can find tasting notes on some of the chocolate bars below.

Marigold's Finest has a storefront, located at 1296 Gerard St. in the East end of Toronto, and is open Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. If you can't visit the shop, don't worry, you can buy online with shipping rates of only $10 across Canada or free on orders over $50.



Tasting Notes on Marigold's Finest Chocolate:
These tasting notes are from just a few of the chocolate bars offered by Marigold's Finest.  For a detailed and current list of all products, click here.


Chocolate Made with Cacao from Nicaragua:

This one is smoother than the rest. I could taste a dark roasted cocoa bean flavour, as well as coffee and nuts (like walnuts and roasted pecans), which made it quite good. I also found a light aftertaste of something like black olives. I thoroughly enjoyed this chocolate bar.

Chocolate bar made with cacao from Costa Rica:

Bright and lightly acidic. To me, it holds the flavours of mandarin, dried apricot, toasted grains, nuts and roast. Very interesting origin.

Dark Milk 60%:

Rustic, more so than the others. Bright flavoured and sweet for a 60% dark milk, and my experience with stone ground chocolate shows that the sugar stands out a little more when the chocolate is not ultra smooth.  Maybe a bit fruity, with a slight sour cream taste.

Tastes similar to the homemade milk chocolate that I've made with home refining equipment (so of course, I really like it). 


Champagne and Strawberries:

There is no Champagne in the product, but the effect is achieved with popping candy.  Also, freeze-dried strawberries are sprinkled on the back. I thought this might have been a milk chocolate, but in fact, it is 72% dark chocolate.  The popping candy is lightly sprinkled on the back, so if you want the full effect, you must put the side with the sprinkled candy on it tongue-side down. It would be nice if there was more popping candy inside the bar of chocolate to ensure every piece 'popped', but it is a fun combination nonetheless. 

I am looking forward to tasting new creations by Marigold's Finest as they pop up, like the new Coffee & Cream bar announced on social media earlier this month.

***
Want to learn more about Ontario-based and Canadian bean-to-bar chocolate makers? View the entire list of them here.

9 comments:

  1. Thanks for bringing new chocolate makers into my life. I'm a bit behind on my research.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks For sharing such a nice blog.Dark chocolate is nutritious and a powerful source of anti-oxidants. I am loving it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I LOVE CHOCOLATE!! I consider myself the biggest chocoholic i know!! WHO ELSE carries a huge stash of dark chocolate in their purse? =) <3

    ReplyDelete
  4. لذلك افضل شركة نقل عفش بالظهران لها كل الامتيازات والخبرات من اجل ان تكون افضل شركة نقل عفش بالظهران وذلك عائد لاحترافيتنا في المجال.لذلك فالشركة تعمل وفقا لآليات معتمدة وكذلك مجربة كما انها متطابقة مع معايير السلامة،فهدفنا الاول والأخير هو رضا العميل،فا افضل شركة نقل عفش بالظهران  تعمل بشكل مرتب ومنظم وذلك كله من اجل ضمان نقل سريع، شركة نقل عفش بالخبر
    شركة نقل اثاث بالخبر
    تسعى شركة نقل اثاث بالقطيف إلى إرضاء العملاء من خلال الطاقم الذي يعمل لديهم ومن خلال الأدوات التي تستخدم في عملية نقل الأثاث من مكان إلى آخر، حيث تستخدم شركة نقل اثاث بالقطيف الأوناش الحديثة التي تستخدم في رفع العفش ووضعه في السيارات حتى لا يتعرض إلى التجريح والخدش شركة نقل اثاث بالجبيل
    شركة نقل عفش بالجبيل

    ReplyDelete
  5. نقل عفش بجده
    شركات نقل العفش والتي توفر خدمات نقل وتخزين الاثاث والعفش هنا قائمة بافضل شركات نقل العفش
    والتنظيف اهم شركات نقل العفش والاثاث

    نقل عفش بمكة
    تخزين عفش بجدة
    نقل عفش بالرياض
    نقل عفش بالقصيم
    نقل عفش بالاحساء
    نقل عفش من مكة الى الخبر

    ReplyDelete

  6. نقل عفش ابها
    شركات نقل العفش والتي توفر خدمات نقل وتخزين الاثاث والعفش هنا قائمة بافضل شركات نقل العفش ...
    والتنظيف افضل شركات نقل العفش والاثاث
    نقل عفش الدمام
    نقل عفش بجازان
    نقل عفش من مكة الى المدينة
    نقل عفش من مكة الى تبوك
    شركة نقل عفش الحوية
    نقل عفش بالسامر
    شراء اثاث مستعمل بالرياض

    ReplyDelete

  7. نقل عفش بالطائف
    شركات نقل العفش والاثاث بالدمام والخبر والجبيل اولقطيف والاحساء والرياض وجدة ومكة المدينة المنورة والخرج والطائف وخميس مشيط وبجدة افضل شركة نقل عفش بجدة نعرضها مجموعة شركات نقل العفش بمكة والخرج والقصيم والطائف وتبوك وخميس مشيط ونجران وجيزان وبريدة والمدينة المنورة وينبع افضل شركات نقل الاثاث بالجبيل والطائف وخميس مشيط وبريدة وعنيزو وابها ونجران المدينة وينبع تبوك والقصيم الخرج حفر الباطن والظهران
    نقل العفش بمكة
    نقل العفش بالرياض
    نقل العفش بالدمام
    نقل العفش بتبوك
    نقل العفش بالقصيم

    ReplyDelete