Alter Eco Chocolate

Alter Eco is a local SF based producer, with a seemingly random assortment of products including quinoa, rice, sugar, and chocolate.  The basis for the company is sustainable products, all organic, fair trade, etc.  I've tried their quinoa in the past, but didn't take any notes on it, and don't recall much about it.

So today, I'm focusing on the one thing I do always take notes on: chocolate!  Their chocolates are all single origin, and do not contain any soy.  Most of the flavors have interesting textural additions, like ... quinoa.

Dark Salted Almonds.

"Almond lovers, here's something to sink your teeth into. Roasty-toasty almonds swim in deep, dark Ecuadorian chocolate, with a sprinkling of coveted fleur de sel de Guérande to heighten each and every flavor. This is how a classic standby becomes a sophisticated addiction."

The dark chocolate base to this was fine.  I loved the pop from the salt.  But ... the bits of ground almonds made the entire bar bitter, which ruined the eating experience for me.  Did not like.

Other Flavors (pre-2018):

• Dark Blackout: 60%, single origin from Ecuador.  Tasting notes: Really bitter, yet smooth at the same time.
• Dark Coconut Toffee: 14%, single origin from Peru.  Tasting notes: The coconut flakes were nice, as was the crunch from the toffee bits.
• Dark Mint:  60% dark chocolate, single origin from Ecuador, with peppermint crystals.  Tasting notes: gritty from the crystals, but nice mint flavor.
• Dark Noir:  60% dark chocolate, single origin from Ecuador.  Tasting notes: Nice smooth chocolate, good mouthfeel.  Lots of flavor in this, both fruity and spicy.  None of us could really identify specific flavors, but there was a lot going on in this.
• Dark Quinoa: 60%, single origin from Ecuador.  Tasting notes: You didn't taste quinoa exactly, just got a delightful crunch, sorta like from a crunch bar, but obviously with quinoa instead of rice.  Kinda interesting.  Dark chocolate was good.