Potomac Chocolate - Upala 70% Nib

Before we talk chocolate I wanted to mention the Olympics. Only 499 days to go! Everything seemed to be going so well. Each day the various arenas and shopping centres in Stratford are looking as though they're going to be finished well before the gates open. The strange red climbing frame statue is also emerging from its muddy foundations. It looks a bit odd at the moment but I'm sure it will grow on me. Not wanting to sound pessimistic but have the first tiny cracks started to appear? Firstly the Olympic clock ground to a halt and secondly the Visa card fiasco dented the smooth start to online ticket applications. I was also surprised to hear that the main stadium might not be finished until the very last day. Will we see Boris and Seb running around the track with hoses as we saw in India recently? No, I'm sure the job will be done on time and it will be amazing but something had to slip. They're only human. To find out more visit the official 2012 Olympic website. Has anybody produced an Olympic chocolate bar yet? Ok, enough sport for one day I'm exhausted just thinking about running!


Bar#2 from Potomac Chocolate. As many of you will notice Potomac Chocolate use a 'fish' for their logo which was very intriguing.  According to Ben Rasmussen, when Potomac was just starting out, they wanted a logo that didn't take itself too seriously and that avoided the traditional symbols of chocolate like the cocoa bean or pod and dripping chocolate, which were already being used by others. After coming up with the idea of a fish, they discovered that it actually has a history in chocolate: the Mayan glyph for cacao was a fish and more recently, chocolate fish called "Fritures de Pâques" are a part of celebrating Easter in France. So, ironically they ended up using a traditional symbol, after all. Follow this link if you want to find out more about the Mayan glyph click here. Just in case you had forgotten Potomac source their single origin cocoa from Upala, Costa Rica and craft their bars from the bean.

The Chocolate and Nibs - This particular bar is covered on one side with nibs. Nibs are cocoa beans that have been roasted or toasted and cracked. If they were ground up further they would produce the chocolate liquor or cacao liquor from which chocolate is made. I have already tasted this bar and it will be interesting to see what difference this addition makes. 

2oz 7$ - Upala 70% Nib

Essentially this is the same bar of chocolate that I reviewed a few days ago but with nibs and I'm amazed that it is completely different. This bar is missing the 'zing' that I experienced before. Personally I do not appreciate the addition of the nibs. I like the crunch but the nibs bring a sourness to the bar and I preferred the bar naked! It's a bit like having a delicious cup of tea with the tea leaves left floating in the cup. Apart from that there is a good aroma of tobacco and plenty of fruit coming through with this bar but I'm not totally convinced the nibs are necessary.


As usual I have to provide a score and based on flavour and texture this bar only scores 6/10 for me. I think the work that has gone into making a great bar of chocolate has been let down by a topping that doesn't add anything. But this is only my opinion and I'm sure there are people out there that just love them. To read more about this chocolate visit Potomac now!


To buy this bar visit Chocadores who now stock this item for the UK market at £4.95 plus P&P.