TCHO's "New American Chocolate" Delivers on Taste

On my last trip to Toronto, I picked up some TCHO chocolate, a bean-to-bar chocolate brand made in San Francisco.  In case you are wondering, the name TCHO does not stand for a four-letter phrase, but rather, it is the phonetic spelling of the first syllable of chocolate.  And this company certainly focuses on chocolate. More importantly, they focus on the flavours of cacao and its natural origins, hoping to change the way Americans experience chocolate.

I purchased two bars in TCHO's vast selection of chocolate products, both of which were delicious.

The PureNotes(TM) Ghana 70% Dark Chocolate bar has a very 'chocolatey' aroma, which matches perfectly to the description on the package. The texture is smooth, but not cocoa buttery. The flavour is strong and acidic with an upfront flavour of citrus fruit and an aftertaste of roast, which gives it a bold flavour that lingers in an unconventional way.

The TCHUNKY TCHOTELLA just melts away in your mouth and then leaves you with wonderful little crunchy pieces of nuts. Milk chocolate is already one of those melt-in-your-mouth kind of treats, but when hazelnut butter is added to it, it takes that sensation to a whole new level.

I purchased these two bars at McEwans (specialty grocer) in Toronto. They have a huge selection of imported fine chocolate.

Here are the package details from the two chocolate bars that I tasted this week:

PureNotes(TM) "Chocolatey" Dark Chocolate Extremely Rich (Ghana 70% Cacao), 58g
TCHO (San Francisco, CA)
www.tcho.com
Ingredients: Cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla beans.  May contain milk, nuts. Certified Kosher DE.

TCHUNKY TCHOTELLA Milk Chocolate Blended with Roasted Hazelnuts, Hazelnut Butter and Sea Salt, 2.1 oz (60g)
'Organic & Fair Trade'
TCHO (San Francisco, CA)
www.tcho.com
Ingredients: Cacao beans*+, cane sugar*, cocoa butter*+, whole milk*, hazelnuts*, hazelnut butter*, non-fat milk*, soy lecithin, seas salt, vanilla beans*. 
*Organic (by CCOF).
+Certified Fair Trade by Fair Trade USA.
Certified Kosher D by EarthKosher.