A Time to Mourn Chocolate

Your Chocolate Priestess was preparing to do an early Saturday Sacrament because I’m going to be out of town again over a weekend. As I prepared the Sacred Substances to be revealed, I looked for the company’s website again. I first reviewed Montana Tom’s chocolates on May 2, 2009 and I finally returned to them this past Saturday in the cycle of offerings The Chocolate Cult has been sent since we began February 21, 2009.

The Montana Tom’s website would not come up and a search for the company revealed it was for sale. This is our first memorial service in The Chocolate Cult. Sadly, it will not be our last, Sisters and Brothers, for a wonderful as the chocolate business is, it is still a business and profits come and go with the tastes of consumers and the flow of the economy.

Montana Tom’s was a conscientious company. The three samples they sent were in a minimal amount of packaging. The ingredients are all recognizable, no artificial addictives or flavors. Their bright simple yellow wrapping and colored foil was easy to read and unwrap. I just got a sunny feeling when I looked at it.

Today, in their memory, I will reveal the “Caramel Bomber Bar” and “Dark Chocolate Bar”. As you can see below, one is dark chocolate as advertised and the other is a milk chocolate. They are also distinguishable by their shape; the Bomber a square of 1.2 oz and the Dark a rectangle of 1.37 oz.

The “Caramel Bomber Bar” is in caramel golden foil wrapper that released milk chocolate scent as soon as I unfolded it. It has a solid weight in my hand when I pick it up, feeling more dense than a larger flatter bar does from other companies. It feels cool, smooth and a bit slick in my fingers as well but again the ingredients are all natural so this isn’t a waxyness or artificial sensation just pure oils and butters at play. Instead each square is a soft center of golden caramel that flows into my mouth when I bite. When I snap off another square, it doesn’t snap cleanly and makes very little sound, the caramel shows it’s thickness by pulling apart slowly into a long sugary line. The milk chocolate tastes fairly low cocoa content and it mixes well with the caramel, neither flavor overwhelming the other. The center is really one big piece of caramel separated by indentations of the milk chocolate so while it looks like four squares it is really just one.

The “Dark Chocolate Bar” is in a black foil wrapper which also releases the scent of it’s chocolate, a good but not overwhelming darker cocoa essence, when I open it. This makes a definite snap as I take a bite into the solid dark chocolate. Immediately I can tell this is a higher cocoa content because of the degree of bitterness and the almost instantaneous rush from my mouth up into my mind. Letting it melt only intensifies the cocoa reactions. Since I am unsure of the percentage of cocoa here I can’t say if this could be a good piece for any health reasons you might want to consume chocolate; remember those benefits start at 80% not lower so chose wisely or eat for another reason. This is just an all around excellent dark chocolate bar, Sisters and Brothers. I’d say this is easily one of the best samples of simple dark chocolate I’ve had to this point in The Chocolate Cult.

Thus I am sad that Montana Tom’s is for sale. Perhaps they will brought by someone who cares and who can continue their traditions. If not, and you didn’t get a chance to try them, you should bow your head now and feel just a touch sad that you were denied that chance. If you have had Montana Tom’s chocolates in the past please leave a comment and share your thoughts during this memorial service.

Comments

mannagod said…
While one great chocolate company passes on, another is birthed... the circle of chocolate life... contact Ted at chocolate@theworldsgreatestchocolate.com and we can introduce and welcome the world's healthiest dark chocolate. Not cooked, but cold-pressed so all the antioxidants and health benefits are preserved.
mavido79 said…
Always sad to see a quality chocolate producer go.