Filoli - World's Best Hot Chocolate with Rumple Minze - Dec. 6, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Filoli 
"World's Best Hot Chocolate" with Rumple Minze
Good ++
Weight: 10 fr. 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.

Fujiya Co., LTD. - PekoPopo Chocolate (pops) - Dec. 1, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Fujiya Co., LTD. 
PekoPopo Chocolate (pops)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .84 oz. (24 g.) in 1 package of 2 pops
Calories: 140 calories (estimate) in 2 pops
Cost: $3.25 for 1 package of 2 pops
Purchased from: de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA

Irasshaimase (welcome) to Day #8 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Theme Week. 

How about edible cartoon characters from Japan, courtesy of a Manga exhibit in San Francisco?

Today's PekoPopo Chocolate (pops) were from Fujiya Co., LTD. (a large confectionery business based in Bunkyo-ku, Japan*). The company was founded in 1910. 

In 1950, a cute cartoon of a six-year old girl named "Peko" became the mascot for Fujiya's Milky milk candy brand. Peko-chan was later joined by a young boy named Popo-chan when the sweets (and Peko-chan) proved popular. Seventy-five years later, the smiling faces of these two famous, forever-young characters can still be seen across Japan (and beyond).

Aroma notes included: biscuit/cookie; freshly toasted bread with jelly; and milky, sweet hot chocolate. 

Texture: light, creamy, milky

Flavor notes included: sweet, mild and creamy milk chocolate--with no bitterness or acidity one might encounter with darker chocolates.

It's probably not polite to say I enjoyed eating adorable children, but these two milky chocolate cartoon kiddos were sweet and tasty (despite containing a lot of additives).

I did enjoy the Manga exhibit at the de Young Museum; and I appreciated the museum's decision to offer these Japanese chocolate pops for sale in their cafe. (And, yes, there are numerous examples of "fan-created manga" featuring Peko-chan.)

Ingredients: Sugar, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Palm, Shea, Sunflower), Unsweetened Chocolate, Whole Milk Powder, Lactose, Powdered Skim Milk, Cocoa Butter, Hydrogenated Modified Oil and Fat (Sunflower, Rapeseed), Polyglycerol, Polyricinoleate, Soy Lecithin, Artificial Flavor, Red Beet Juice.

Allergen-related information: Contains: Milk and Soybeans. May Contain Wheat, Egg and Peanuts. Contains bioengineered ingredients

*This chocolate was imported by JFC International Inc. (Los Angeles, CA).

The Organic House - Movie Night Caramel Corn 60% Cacao Nicaragua (bar) - Nov.30, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

The Organic House
Movie Night 60% Cacao Nicaragua O'Payo (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 293 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order 

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Week.

Today's Movie Night 60% Cacao Nicaragua O'Payo (bar) was from The Organic House (Burlington, ON, Canada). 

The bar was hand-crafted with care--as was the animated film "The Man Who Planted Trees" (1987) by Frederic Back* that I "paired" with this chocolate. 

The film features the story of a man who planted Oak, Birch, Linden (and possibly Maple) trees, across miles of land, over decades, completely transforming a once barren landscape. 

This hand-crafted story seemed like a good match with today's "Proudly Canadian" chocolate bean-to-bar chocolate, sweetened with sugar from maple trees. 

Aroma and flavor notes for today's bar included: dark chocolate; caramel and caramel corn; faint fruit (berry, faint date); and uplifting warm spice and maple sugar.

The caramel corn (made from scratch) was ground into the O'Payo** Nicaragua cacao beans -- resulting in a smooth, relatively creamy chocolate with no detectable popcorn texture. (A faint, pleasant popcorn flavor did surface in some bites.)

I enjoyed the dark, satisfying caramel flavors and gentle fruit and maple complexity. Some of these notes certainly came from the use of a single origin cacao. Many thanks to the creative Canadian animators and chocolate makers who made tonight's special "Movie Night" possible.

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, Ontario maple sugar, Organic popcorn, Organic cacao butter, Organic maple sugar, Organic almond butter, Sea salt, Organic coconut oil. 

Allergen-related information: "Contains Almonds. May contain: Cashews, Hazelnuts, Oats, Pistachios"

*The "Man Who Planted Trees" is an award-winning, 30-minute long, animated film created from more than 20,000 drawings. It was adapted from a French story, created and directed by Frederic Back, and narrated by actor Christopher Plummer. The team also included Academy Award winning Canadian sound editor + composer Normand Roger and several other talented folks who worked to complete this film over a five-year period. The story was (and still remains) an inspiring tale of how one person can make a difference.

**The O'Payo Nicaragua cacao used in this bar was from Ingemann, a family-owned company in Nicaragua.

 

Compartes - Old Hollywood with Smoked Salt (bar) - Nov. 29, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Compartes Chocolatier
Old Hollywood Dark Chocolate Smoked Salt 75% Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Compartes Chocolatier, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Theme Week.

Today's Old Hollywood Dark Chocolate Smoked Salt 75% Cacao (bar) was from Compartes Chocolatier (Los Angeles, CA)--a company with chocolate roots in L.A. that began in 1950.

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

Aroma and flavor notes for today's Hollywood-themed bar included: smooth, rich and relatively sweet dark chocolate; very faint, diffuse fruit (berry) and even fainter wood and smoked salt. The salt was not obvious in the aroma, but it complemented (and helped balance) the relatively sweet 75% dark chocolate.

I liked the slightly darker chocolate with a smooth, barely there bitterness and the use of smoked salt. The very faint, dark berry note rounded out the flavor profile.

I enjoyed the bar's attractive packaging--with a dark ebony wood (or marble) background adorned with slightly faded, gold, bird-like art deco shapes. A good fit with today's Old Hollywood theme + smoked salt. (While you'd be hard-pressed to find as many smokers in Hollywood venues today, I'm sure there were many smoky bars and Hollywood hang-outs back in the day.)

I "paired" this chocolate with two movies: "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" (2019) and "The Artist" (2011) as well as an animated short "Hollywood Steps Out" (1941) from Leon Schlesinger Productions (pre Warner Bros.); and Disney's "Once Upon a Studio" (2023)--a short reunion of the studio's historic range of animated characters. 

A balanced, albeit eclectic, 4-course classic movie meal to enjoy with today's Old Hollywood chocolate.

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"