Seahorse Chocolate - Belize Fina Chocolat 75% (bar) - Feb. 14, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Seahorse Chocolate 
Belize Finca Chocolat 75% (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: .5 oz. (14 g.) in 1 small bar
Calories: 78 calories (estimate) in 1 small bar
Cost: $25.00 for tasting, sampler pack of 5 small bars
Purchased from: Seahorse Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate & Central America Theme Week. (For a second, bonus post for Valentines Day, see write-up on a "Beet-ing Heart" confection from Raaka Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY)).

Today's Belize Finca Chocolat* 75% bar was made by Seahorse Chocolate (Seattle, WA).

Aroma and flavor notes for this relatively intense dark chocolate included: extra-dark fudge, diffuse dried tropical fruit blend (pineapple, raisin, fig, citrus (orange, tangerine)) and a light bitterness (lemon peel in dark chocolate).

Texture: relatively smooth, with a satisfying thick and creamy melt (in a cold room). 

Maker's Tasting Notes: "Reminds us of: Fudgsicle, Dried Fruit, Ice Cream truck in winter."

Ingredients: "Cocoa Beans, Organic Sugar"

Allergen-related information: "Vegan, Gluten Free"

*Fince Chocolat is a 500+ acre (200+ hectare) cacao, timber and spice farm sitting in the shadows of the Maya Mountains in southern Belize.

Raaka - "Beet-ing Heart" with cherry & beet center chocolate - Feb. 14, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Raaka 

Beet-ing Heart - with cherry and beet center chocolate
Good ++
Weight: 1.7 oz. (48.5 g.) / 3.4 oz. (97 g.) in total piece
Calories: 285 calories in 1/2 heart
Cost: $18.00 for 1 heart
Purchased from: Raaka, online order

Happy Valentines Day! We're taking a brief pause today from Chocolate & Central America Theme Week to celebrate this heart-themed holiday.

Today's "Beet-ing Heart" chocolate confection was manufactured by Raaka Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY).

This heart-shaped confection contained single origin cacao (Kokoa Kamili, Tanzania) dark chocolate, beets and cherries (cherry and beet center).

Aroma and flavor notes included: chocolate-y dark chocolate (dark fudge brownie) and red fruit (dark red berry, cherry) and very faint coconut.

Texture: The raspberry-hued, creamy smooth ganache center was surrounded by smooth dark chocolate.

This attractive chocolate heart was a balanced blend of smooth but flavorful dark chocolate; authentic cherry, very subtle sparkles of tasty lime, and barely detectable beet thoroughly incorporated into a smooth, creamy ganache filling.

I enjoyed this tasty (and a little addictive) Beet-ing Heart. I appreciated the rich, smooth, fudge-y dark chocolate; the short list of organic ingredients; the maker's focus on transparent trade; and the use of single origin (Tanzania) cacao.

Ingredients: organic cane sugar, organic cacao beans, organic cacao butter, organic coconut oil, organic coconut milk powder, organic tapioca flour, organic beet root powder, organic cherry juice, organic sunflower lecithin, organic lime powder, organic brown rice syrup.

Allergen-related information: "gluten free, vegan"

Spinnaker Chocolate - 90% Belize Single-Origin Maya Mountain cacao (bar) - Feb. 13, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Spinnaker Chocolate
90% Belize Single-Origin Chocolate Maya Mountain Cacao (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 130 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $14.00 for 1 bar (current price)
Purchased from: Spinnaker, online order

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Central America Theme Week, including several bars crafted using Belize cacao from Maya Mountain Cacao.

Today's 90% Belize Single-Origin Chocolate Maya Mountain Cacao (bar) was from Spinnaker Chocolate (Seattle, WA).

Aroma notes for this ultra-dark chocolate included: dark chocolate with a very light, and relatively pleasant, vegetable (potato and greens) note, as well as very faint, diffuse fruit (very mild tropical fruit, berry).

Texture: relatively smooth texture with an even melt

Flavor notes included: ultra-dark chocolate but without the usual bitterness and acidity (fruit or otherwise).

I really enjoyed the uniquely easy-going, very smooth, ultra-dark aroma and flavor in this chocolate; and the lack of sugar. This was one of the least bitter 90% cacao chocolates I've ever tasted. (This belongs in a tasting flight with other high-percentage bars to illustrate the range of intensity (high-to-low) that's possible.)

The mild fruit notes were not the lively citrus, pineapple, red berry one often tastes in "fruitier" Belize cacaos; but rather softer, subtler white and blue fruits lower in acidity (blue pitaya (dragon fruit)) and very mild blueberry.

I appreciated the maker's choice of a short list of just two ingredients: cacao and organic cane sugar--with no added cocoa butter. 

Maker's Tasting Notes: "Super smooth and deliciously fruity. Even at 90% there's no bitterness from the amazing Maya Mountain Belize cacao." "You will like this if...You like our 70% Belize (bar) but just want something even less sweet. You like blue fruits and berries."

Ingredients: Cacao, Organic Cane Sugar

Allergen-related information: "Processed in a facility that uses milk powder and hazelnuts."

 

Chocolate Tree - Belize Maya Mountain 75% Bean to Bar - Feb. 12, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolate Tree
Belize 75% Dark Chocolate Bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 171.5 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate & Central America Theme Week -- a week with several dark bars crafted by small batch makers using cacao grown in Belize--sourced from Maya Mountain Cacao in Southern Belize.*

Today's Belize 75% Dark Chocolate Bar was made by Chocolate Tree (Knowes Farm, Scotland), using cacao ("Native Criollo (varieties), Upper Amazon Hybrids") from Maya Mountain Cacao.

Aroma and flavor notes for this bar included: dark chocolate (chocolate-y, slightly roast-y dark fudge brownie); diffuse and faint tart-sweet/tropical fruit; and very faint warm spice.

Texture: relatively smooth, dark chocolate with  a very subtle tart fruit astringency.

I appreciated the company's thoughtful sourcing; the mold/form they used to create the beautiful interlocking birds pattern on this bar (and other bars); the short list of three, organic ingredients; and the chocolate-y flavor with secondary, diffuse tropical fruit notes. (For those who don't care for the wonderful fruit, there was a little less fruit in this bar than some other Belize dark chocolates featured this week. Personally, I love balanced, naturally occurring cacao fruit notes.)

Maker's Tasting Notes: "Dried Fruit, Honey, Pineapple" 

Maker's Pairing Suggestions: "Pair With: Brownies, Granola, Dark Rum"

Ingredients: "Organic Cacao Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cacao Butter."

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that processes: milk, peanuts, soy, and tree nut ingredients." 

*When I visited Maya Mountain Cacao years ago, the Toledo district (and more broadly Southern Belize) felt like the equivalent (for cacao) of the Napa wine region in northern California. A special place. (The opportunity to discuss centuries old cacao traditions with Maya people/farmers was also very special.)

Maya Mountain Cacao purchases cacao (freshly harvested beans with pulp) from many local cacao farmers and provides high-quality, fine-flavored cacao beans to chocolate makers around the globe.

Bixby Chocolate - Guatemala 70% Dark Chocolate Bar - Feb. 11, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Bixby Chocolate
Guatemala 70% Dark Chocolate Bar
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate & Central America Theme Week. 

Today's Guatemala 70% Dark Chocolate Bar was manufactured by Bixby & Co. (Rockland, Maine).

Aroma and flavor notes for this bar included: dark chocolate (chocolate-y, very slightly roast-y); diffuse tart-sweet/tropical fruit; very faint (warm) spice and floral (cinnamon + vanilla).

Texture: smooth, dark chocolate with an even melt, with very subtle fruit astringency.

I appreciated the makers' choice of a short list of three, organic ingredients, and the subtle complexity of the chocolate and the inherent fruit notes.

Ingredients: "Organic Cacao Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cacao Butter."

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that processes: milk, peanuts, soy, and tree nut ingredients."

Moire Origin Stories - Cacao Verapaz, Guatemala 72% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Feb. 10, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Moire Cacao - Origin Stories
Cacao Verapaz, Guatemala 72% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good +++
Weight: .97 oz. (27.5 g.) / 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $18.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Dispensary, Los Angeles, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate & Central America Theme Week.

Today's Moire Cacao Verapaz, Guatemala 72% Dark Chocolate (bar) was made by Eero Fortuna, LLC (Los Angeles, CA).

Aroma notes included: pleasing dark chocolate (rich fudge brownie, dark ganache) with a touch of milk or cream (there was no dairy in this bar) and diffuse fruit/dried fruit (berries, figs, dates); and (barely detectable) flickers of well-balanced woodsy/nutty/sweet green earth/forest; a slight umami (plum, soy and ginger sauce); faint caramel and maple nut.

Texture: relatively smooth dark chocolate texture, with a very, very fine textural quality from ground-in soft, perfectly ripe dates. (The ripe, high-quality dates and careful manufacturing meant a lack of grainy, dry date texture in the melt and mouthfeel. Thank you!)

Flavor notes included: smooth, dark chocolate with smooth fruit (date and diffuse tropical fruit, berry (ripe blackberry), currant, and faint citrus); and faint nuts/peanut butter in the finish. And just when I thought the flavors had run their course, a bit more stone fruit (apricot) showed up for a few seconds, and then disappeared

I loved this delicious, addictive and well-executed 72% dark chocolate. It had smooth but very flavorful and sophisticated complexity--with a few notes making brief hide-and-seek cameo appearances. The cacao percentage, cacao quality, and the sweetness levels all seemed just right. 

This was a very tasty, chocolate-y and fruit-forward bar. It was also the best date-sweetened bar I recall ever tasting. 

Thank you to Moire/Eeero Fortuna for working with just three, organic, high-quality ingredients--and for thoughtfully sourcing the Cacao Verapaz (Cahabon, Guatemala) single origin cacao that harmonized so well with the dates.

Maker's Tasting Notes: "Chocolate Brownie, Ripe Currants"

Ingredients: Organic Cacao Beans, Organic Date Powder, Organic Cocoa Butter

Allergen-related information: Processed in a Facility That Also Processes Nuts.

Choco Del Mar - Maya Mountain 70% Cocoa (bar) - Feb. 9, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Choco Del Mar
Maya Mountain 70% Cocoa (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Choco Del Mar, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Central America Theme Week.

Today's Maya Mountain 70% Cocoa (bar) was made by Choco Del Mar (Los Altos, CA), using single origin cacao beans from Maya Mountain Cacao in Belize.

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate (drinking chocolate), fruit (red berry, red raspberry) and cream. (Note: there was no actual cream/milk in this bar.)

Texture: smooth, rich texture with a satisfying melt

Flavor notes included: rich dark chocolate (dark ganache, dark cacao with faint and well balanced bitterness); fruit (mixed berry, raspberry; dark raspberry + dark red fruit jam); and barely detectable spice (black pepper) and saltine cracker.

I enjoyed this well-executed flavorful and fruity dark chocolate with balanced complex aroma and flavor notes--all developed from just three ingredients.

Ingredients: Cocoa Nibs, Cane Sugar, Cocoa Butter

Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility that processes milk, nuts, and other common allergens."