Woodstock - Organic Dark Chocolate Raisins + Deux Cranes - Matcha Strawberry (bar) - Dec. 8, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Woodstock
Organic Dark Chocolate Raisins
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 3.25 oz. (92 g.) / 8.5 oz. (241 g.) in total package
Calories: 450 calories in 1/2 package (3 servings)
Cost: $9.49 for 1 package
Purchased from: Vitacost, online order 

Welcome to Day #15 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Theme Week, with a Japanese twist.

Today's Organic Dark Chocolate Raisins were from Woodstock (Edison, NJ), and distributed by UNFI (Providence, RI)* -- a day that also featured Japanese movies and snacks that included an elegant white chocolate Strawberry Matcha bar from Deux Cranes (Los Gatos, CA); Matcha, Sardine Cracker and Curry Popcorn(s);...and mentions of two treats that got away.

These raisins were paired with a virtual trip to an imaginary Tokyo theater (my living room). I had fun making Japanese popcorn flavors (Matcha, Sardine Cracker and Curry). These were joined by sweet rice crackers and sesame crackers. This snack buffet on a lacquered tray was a good match with classic Japanese films. 

There were two small disappointments: 1.) I couldn't find the Japanese gummy eels (candy) in time for this entry. 2.) Nor was I able to find the Japanese Raisin Tree (Hovenia dulcis), with fruits that taste like raisins. Both seemed perfect for the occasion. (You might see these in a future Japan-themed chocolate week.)

Some of you are asking, where are the Raisinets? A doff of the hat to our U.S. classic chocolate covered raisin brand: Raisinets.

I featured Nestle Raisinets** here on Chocolate Banquet (10/14/2009). I don't feature the same chocolate twice unless there's a new version/ingredients change. Raisinets are now owned by a different company, but they're still going strong at movie concession stands, nearly 99 years after they were invented in 1927.

I was happy to find Woodstock's organic version of the popular American movie treat, that I had not tried yet.

Woodstock Organic Dark Chocolate Raisins

Aroma and flavor notes for these glazed chocolate raisins included: smooth chocolate-y, dark chocolate  and faint dried fruit (raisin). The dark chocolate coating surrounded whole dried raisins.

I appreciated the company's long-time commitment to the use of organic and Non-GMO ingredients.

Ingredients: Organic Dark Chocolate (Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Unsweetened Chocolate, Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Soy Lecithin [An Emulsifier]), Organic Natural Flavor, Organic Sunflower Lecithin [An Emulsifier], Organic Raisins (Raisins, Sunflower Oil), Confectioner's Glaze, Organic Maltodextrin, Organic Sugar. 

Allergen-related information: "Contains Soy. Manufactured in a plant that processes peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, sesame, eggs and milk products." 

Japanese Films

I "paired" today's dark chocolate raisins with a classic Japanese film: "Rashomon" (1950); a more modern classic film "Spirited Away" (2001); and episodes from the classic animated series "Speed Racer". Popular in the 1960s-1970s in the U.S., this series featuring a talented young racer driving a "Mach 5" car in a racing world surrounded by intrigue, was part of the local Saturday cartoon line-up where I grew up. Go, Speed Racer, Go!

*Woodstock is owned by United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) based in Providence, Rhode Island. The company sources organic and Non-GMO ingredients from farms in 25 countries. Today's organic dark chocolate raisins were produced in the U.S. with domestic and imported ingredients.

**Ferrero acquired Nestle's U.S. confectionery business in 2018, which had previously bought the brand from the Bluementhal Brothers in 1984. The Blumenthal Brothers Chocolate Company "invented" Raisinets in 1927.

Schar - Double Chocolate Cookies + Rick's Choco Cherry Ice Cream - Dec. 7, 2025

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Schar 
Double Chocolate Soft Baked Cookies 
Good ++
Weight: 2.4 oz. (70 g.) / 7.4 oz. (210 g.) in total box of 6 cookies
Calories: 320 calories in 2 cookies
Cost: N/A - gift from family member
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Rick's Ice Cream
Choco Cherry Ice Cream
Good ++
Weight: 1/2 cup serving / 1 Quart total container
Calories: unknown
Cost: $19.50 for 1 quart of ice cream
Purchased from: Rick's Ice Cream, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #14 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Theme Week, featuring an excellent two-product pairing--that resulted in a delicious ice cream sandwich.

I loved ice cream sandwiches as a child--outdoors in warm weather, indoors in the winter. It was dark and cold today, so I tucked into this tasty chocolate and cherry sandwich while watching the Job Switching (1952) episode from the "I Love Lucy" (TV) show--where Lucy and Ethel (in their newly found jobs at a candy factory) were bested by a rapidly moving chocolate conveyor belt. One of the top classic chocolate comedic moments on film.

Also enjoyed: a variety of cartoon shorts from the Ice Cream Sandwich (YouTube) channel. 

Double Chocolate Soft Baked Cookies

These gluten-free, chocolate cookies with chocolate chips came individually wrapped in a box of six. They were good by themselves. And the cookies' texture and relatively mild, smooth chocolate flavor made them perfect for ice cream sandwiches. 

Texture: soft and perfectly cohesive (not too crumbly, dry or starchy) with a pleasing chew.

I don't know how they would fare over time in frozen form; but they were just right when used fresh.

Ingredients: "Corn starch, Chocolate chips (sugar, cocoa mass**, cocoa butter**, soy lecithin, natural flavor), Brown sugar, Rice flour, Blend of vegetable fats and oils (coconut fat, sunflower oil), Butter (milk), Chocolate (Cocoa mass**, sugar, cocoa butter**, soy lecithin), Corn syrup, Sorbitol syrup, Eggs, Fructose, Cocoa powder**, Dextrose, Xanthan gum, Baking soda, Ammonium bicarbonate, Salt, Soy lecithin, Natural flavor."

Allergen-related information: "Contains: Soy, Egg, Milk, Tree nuts (coconut). May contain: Tree nuts."

Choco Cherry Ice Cream (and sandwich filling)

Aroma and flavor notes for this Chocolate Cherry ice cream included: Light colored, Burgandy cherry-style ice cream aroma and flavor with flecks of dark chocolate.

Texture: Light and creamy in texture, easy to scoop, and enjoyable to eat. Also perfect for ice cream sandwich making. A denser ice cream would have been more challenging to scoop/shape.

Ingredients: (Not listed on container)

Allergen-related information: (Not listed on container.) Contained Milk.

Hu - Vanilla Crunch Organic 70% Dark Chocolate (Bar) + Built - Puff Coconut with Dark Chocolaty Coating (protein bar) - Dec. 6, 2025

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Hu
Vanilla Crunch - Organic 70% Cacao Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.05 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $2.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Built Brands, LLC 
Puff Coconut with Dark Chocolaty Coating (protein bar) 
Good +
Weight: 3.25 oz. (92 g.) / 1.23 lbs. (560 g.) in total package/box
Calories: 140 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $19.99 for a box of 14 bars (2 different flavors)
Purchased from: Costco, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to Day #13 of Chocolate, Movies and Entertainment Theme Week, featuring two bars--used to re-create a "Charlie Chaplin" chocolate (chocolate, marshmallow, coconut and cashews) made popular in Buffalo, New York, over a century ago. 

Buffalo was a candy hot spot in the late 1800s to early 1900s. Confectioners created promotions around their products, including an event when they invited Charlie Chaplin to open his film "The Adventurer" (1917) there. 

Chaplin was said to like marshmallow, chocolate, coconut and cashews. Buffalo responded with chocolates containing these ingredients for the occasion.

I was born in upstate New York and watched Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton films as a child. I felt moved to create a version of this confection with these four flavors. I did. And I enjoyed the results very much while watching Chaplin's "The Adventurer" (1917) and "The Circus" (1928).

Today's two bars were:

• Vanilla Crunch - Organic 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) with coconut sugar from Hu Products LLC (Austin, TX).
• Built Puff Coconut with Dark Chocolaty Coating (protein bar) from Built Brands, LLC (American Fork, UT). 

Hu Vanilla Crunch 70% Dark Chocolate (bar)

This bar provided satisfying dark chocolate flavor (flavorful but smooth). Organic vanilla beans (fully ground into the cacao) provided sunny baked goods warmth--perfect for long, snowy winters in Buffalo--and anywhere else.

This Vanilla Crunch bar was sweetened with just the right amount of organic, unrefined coconut sugar. Tiny crunchy bits of quinoa added a little texture. And the small dose of sea salt was very satisfying. 

I appreciate the makers' thoughtful sourcing and the short list of quality, organic ingredients.

Ingredients: "organic cacao*, organic unrefined coconut sugar*, organic cocoa butter*, organic quinoa*, organic vanilla bean*, sea salt" (* = Certified Fairtrade ingredients)

Allergen-related ingredients: "Contains coconut. May contain almond, cashew, hazelnut, pistachio, & dairy. Allergen cleans made prior to production, but beware that product is produced using equipment that also processes tree nuts, soy, dairy & wheat."

Built Puff Coconut Bar

This protein bar provided the marshmallow-like (and coconut flavored) filling (with a thin dark coating) that paired well with the Hu Vanilla Crunch bar and the roasted cashews in olive oil and sea salt.

The pillowy, chewy "puff" (marshmallow-like) center was infused with a gentle coconut aroma and flavor.  

Texture: fairly light and fluffy, slightly whipped, gelatin with a thin coating of smooth dark chocolate ("chocolatey coating"). 

I appreciated the 17 grams of protein. But, I prefer a bit more dark chocolate and less sweetness. But, as one of three ingredients in the Charlie Chaplin chocolate, this flavored protein bar complemented the Hu dark chocolate bar and the cashews very nicely 

I also appreciated that this bar was gluten free, and despite the fairly long list of ingredients, there were no potentially gut-disrupting vegetable gums, or artificial sweeteners. (Not wild about Natural Flavors or cultured dextrose; but there are trade-offs in life.)

Ingredients: Premium Collagen Protein Blend (Partially Hydrolyzed Whey Protein Isolate, Collagen), Glycerin, Sugar, Water, Palm and Palm Kernel Oil, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Gelatin, Natural Flavors, Cultured Dextrose, Nonfat Milk Powder, Soy Lecithin.

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk, Soy. May Contain: Peanuts and Tree Nuts

Filoli - World's Best Hot Chocolate with Rumple Minze - Dec. 5, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Filoli 
"World's Best Hot Chocolate" with Rumple Minze
Good ++
Weight: 10 fl. oz. (296 mL) (estimate) in 1 cup
Calories: calories in 1 cup (unknown)
Cost: $10.00 + spike $10
Purchased from: Filoli beverage trailer

Welcome to Day #12 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Theme Week. Movies have been hogging the spotlight so far this week, so today the focus was on chocolate enjoyed at a holiday-related event at the Filoli Estate (Woodside, CA).

The featured "World's Best Hot Chocolate" with Rumple Minze (think Peppermint Schnapps) was obtained after a short walk into the redwoods and while admiring a several model trains chugging around an excellent set-up of tracks among towering redwood trees. Trimmings included: several tiny little forest houses and strings of lights, and one giant wooden troll figure--who recently took up residency in the woods at Filoli. 

And more new chocolates were found at the "Train Depot" (gift shop in a cabin) on the way out. What could be better?

The toasty warm, creamy and rich hot chocolate was topped with a very generous dollop of whipped cream and a shot of Rumple Minze. It was a delicious hot chocolate in a magical forest setting. 

This outdoor winter holiday event was entertaining in the best possible way.

Ingredients: Unknown

Allergen-related information: Unknown. Contained Milk, Whipped Cream

Compartes Chocolatier - The Drive In 44% Cacao (bar) - Dec. 4, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Compartes Chocolatier
The Drive In 44% Cacao (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 360 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Compartes Chocolatier, online order

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Theme Week.

Today's "The Drive In" 44% Cacao (bar) was from Compartes Chocolatier (Los Angeles, CA).

Compartes offers a wide selection of chocolates with different flavor inclusions, including several bars with references to Hollywood, movies and/or entertainment. 

Aroma and flavor notes for today's Hollywood-themed bar included: sweet milk chocolate interspersed with embedded pieces of lightly salted, buttered popcorn.

Texture: Thick, creamy and rich milk chocolate bar with very soft, lightly crunchy popcorn pieces.

I enjoyed the popcorn and chocolate blend, and the bar's packaging--with an image of a drive-in with rows of parked cars facing a very large, elevated screen. 

This bar brought up a blend of childhood memories of being at drive-in theaters and eating snacks in the car--some homemade and some bought at concession stands). At one time in the U.S. there were more than 4,000 drive-in movie theaters (including three within a few miles of  where I grew up). Now there may be fewer than 200. 

The multi-screen Century theater that I frequent now was a former drive-in theater until the 1980s. Popcorn snacks, chocolates and other candies and soft drinks along with new additions like nachos are still available for sale.

Today's popcorn bar inspired me to re-watch an animated short film from the 1950s, with dancing refreshments reminding movie-goers (in theaters and drive-ins) to visit the snack bar. ("Let's All Go to The Lobby...").* The film is still shown at some independent theaters, and has spawned take-offs by other animators and filmmakers. I can still hear this song in my head.

Ingredients: Dark Chocolate (Cocoa Mass, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin as an emulsifier, Vanilla), Smoked Sea Salt

Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility that handles Dairy, Peanuts, Wheat, Egg, Soy, Tress Nuts"

*Over time this theater became surrounded by a succession of technology companies (many of which have come and gone). Those companies have included: Adobe, Silicon Graphics, Google, Microsoft and other tech companies involved in commercial media and entertainment. YouTube movies anyone? Wait, I'll "Google" what's playing at the theater.

**The ad/trailer/short film features four singing and dancing refreshment items getting snacks in the lobby -- including popcorn and chocolate characters. It was Directed by Dave Fleisher for the Filmack Studios. The film has inspired a few different versions (one with Covid masks) and at least one short live action horror film with the same title in 2020.

 

Woodstock - Organic Dark Chocolate Almonds - Dec. 3, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Woodstock
Organic Dark Chocolate Almonds
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 3.25 oz. (92 g.) / 6.5 oz. (184 g.) in total package
Calories: 450 calories in 1/2 package (3 servings)
Cost: $9.49 for 1 package
Purchased from: Vitacost, online order 

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Theme Week.

Today's Organic Dark Chocolate Almonds were from Woodstock (Edison, NJ), and distributed by UNFI (Providence, RI).* The Edison location caught my eye. (See below for an explanation.)

Aroma and flavor notes for these glossy, jumbo-sized dark almonds included: a generous coating of glazed, smooth, chocolate-y, dark chocolate with faint, slightly roasted cacao and dark berry and earth notes. And at the center of each piece was an authentic, crunchy, whole roasted almond.

I appreciated the more flavorful dark chocolate and the company's long-time commitment to the use of organic and Non-GMO ingredients.

Thank you Thomas Edison...

I "paired" today's almonds with 3 historic short films from the 1890s that had roots near Woodstock Foods in Edison Township, NJ--an area where famous inventor Thomas Edison's Menlo Park "idea factory" was located--where light bulbs, phonographs and a motion picture camera took shape.

Thomas Edison later open a laboratory complex (and the Black Maria film production studio) further north in West Orange, NJ--where very short moving pictures were developed that included: "Blacksmith(ing) Scene" (1893), "Washing the Baby" (1893), and "Fred Ott's Sneeze" (1894). The last one was over in a matter of seconds. Hardly enough time to tuck into a bucket of popcorn or take even a sip of an iced cherry cola.

Chocolate pre-dated even the earliest of films,** but modern chocolate/snacks were still toddlers in the 1890s.

The very first film venues likely lacked dedicated concession stands. As films became longer, viewers might have brought dried fruits or nuts or their own candies. Hershey's chocolate bars were in their infancy in the 1890s. (They were being developed for sale in Pennsylvania.)

Chocolate almonds were being made in Virginia** as early as in the 1700s (often following European recipes), but modern concession stand chocolates like Goobers (1925) and Raisinets (1927) didn't appear until more than thirty years after the three early Black Maria short films debuted.

Happily movies and snacks of all kinds are firmly intertwined in the 21st Century...to the horror of movie viewers who cringe at the sounds of chewing and slurping next to them inside a theater.

I wonder what Thomas Edison would have thought about nachos and gummy worms? I guess we'll never know.

Ingredients: Organic Dark Chocolate (Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Unsweetened Chocolate, Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Soy Lecithin [An Emulsifier]), Organic Roasted Almonds, Confectioner's Glaze, Organic Maltodextrin, Organic Sugar. 

Allergen-related information: "Contains Tree Nut (Almond), Soy. Manufactured in a plant that processes peanuts, tree nuts, soy, wheat, sesame, eggs and milk products." 

*Woodstock is owned by United Natural Foods, Inc. (UNFI) based in Providence, Rhode Island. The company sources organic and Non-GMO ingredients from farms in 25 countries. Today's organic dark chocolate almonds were produced in the U.S. with domestic and imported ingredients.

** There are records of Virginians making chocolate in Colonial Williamsburg in the U.S. in the 1700s, primarily grinding cacao beans to make a hot chocolate beverage, often spiced. George Washington and his wife Martha, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson are all said to have enjoyed drinking hot chocolate. 

Compartes Chocolatier - Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows (pink and white striped bar) - Dec. 2, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Compartes Chocolatier
The Beverly Hills Hotel Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel 73% Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 420 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Compartes Chocolatier, online order

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Theme Week on Chocolate Banquet. 

Today's "The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows Dark Chocolate Salted Caramel 73% Cacao" (bar) was from Compartes Chocolatier (Los Angeles, CA). 

Compartes offers a creative line of chocolate bars with different flavor inclusions, including several with references to Hollywood, movies and/or entertainment -- and at least two bars that pay homage specifically to the Beverly Hills Hotel.

Aroma and flavor notes for today's Beverly Hills Hotel-themed dark chocolate, caramel and salt bar included: pleasingly smooth chocolate-y dark chocolate and light, almost buttery caramel. 

Texture: well-tempered, smooth and relatively creamy dark chocolate with slightly crunchy sparkles of sea salt.

I enjoyed the satisfying dose of sea salt and the subtle almost smokey, warm caramel notes.

Warning: This chocolate is addictive ("more-ish") if you're hungry. Indeed, this bar quickly faded to black--as have many Hollywood stars who've enjoyed Beverly Hills Hotel since it opened in 1912.

The illustrated pattern for this bar's packaging--a pink and white pin striped pattern--is part of the Hotel's overall pink* and green color palette.

The hotel may carry Compartes Chocolatier bars like this one in their gift shop. (And if you're still interested in chocolate, head to the Polo Lounge for a chocolate souffle.)

I "paired" this chocolate with the 1978 film: "California Suite" that featured a star-studded cast with drama unfolding at/inside the famed hotel involving five separate couples. I also enjoyed watching "The History of Beverly Hills," (Hilton & Hyland President) Jeff Hyland's insider account of the city's history, ties with Hollywood films, film stars...and their estates. 

Ingredients: Milk Chocolate (Cocoa Mass, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin as an emulsifier, Vanilla), Cane Sugar, Butter, Cream, Vanilla, Sea Salt

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk, Soy. "Gluten Free"

*The choice of pink was inspired by the colors in southern California sunsets.