Ara Chocolat - Almonds & Roses 70% El Salvador (bar) - Apr. 24, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Ara Chocolat
Almonds & Roses 70% El Salvador (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 174 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $24.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Dispensary, online order

Welcome to Day #16 of Chocolate & Flowers Theme Week, and Day #2 of Chocolate & Tea Theme Week.

Today's Almonds & Roses 70% El Salvador (bar) was from Ara Chocolat (Paris, France).

Aroma and flavor notes for this attractive, single origin bar included: relatively bold but balanced dark chocolate (very faint roasted, earth); and redolent rose. 

Texture: smooth dark chocolate, gently textured rose petals, and softly crunchy almond bits 

I was very happy to taste the rose flower notes in this bar. They often get lost, especially when infused into a bolder dark chocolate or a chocolate with a lot of sugar and cocoa butter. The rose was authentic, very slightly astringent (and reminiscent of heritage rose gardens filled with scents). And that rose, happily, lingered into the finish. 

I enjoyed this with a floral (saffron) tea.

Ingredients: "cocoa nibs, sugar, almonds, cocoa butter, roses"

Allergen-related information: Contains Almonds. "May contain traces of nuts."

 

Fine & Raw Chocolate - 4-piece Truffle Giftset + Matcha bar - Apr. 23, 2026

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Fine & Raw Chocolate
4-piece Truffle Giftset
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (56.6 g.) in total box of 4
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 2 pieces
Cost: $N/A - gift from family (Thank you Megan!)
Purchased from: N/A - gift from family

Nanao Artisan Bars
Vegan Matcha Chocolate Bar
Good +
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 240 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $10.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Xocolatl Garden, Carmel, CA

Welcome to Day #15 of Chocolate & Flowers Theme Week; and Day #1 of Chocolate & Tea Theme Week, featuring two items. (Both truffles and bar were sweetened without white/cane sugar.)

Fine & Raw - Truffle Giftset

Today's 4-piece Truffle Giftset was made by Fine & Raw LLC (Brooklyn, NY).

I paired two of these chocolate truffles with a beautiful green matcha bar topped with rose petals. And after tasting this duo, I enjoyed  a cup of blue floral tea (damiana, butterfly pea flower, rose, lavender) from Numi Tea.

Aroma and flavor notes included: smooth, dark chocolate ganache; coconut (meat, oil, sugar); and faint earth.

Texture: smooth, soft and relatively creamy.

I enjoyed the cowgirl logo and the note printed on an inside sheet: "...suitable for truffle aficionados, dabblers, experts, adventurers, dreamers, the intrepid, dancers, vegans and unicorns. enjoy!"

And I appreciated the authentic cacao bean (and coconut) flavors and ingredients, and the lack of a sugar buzz (thank you). 

Ingredients: Cacao bean*, cacao powder*, cacao butter,* coconut oil*, coconut sugar,* agave* (* = Organic)

Allergen-related information: Made in a factory that processes tree nuts.

Nanao - Vegan Matcha Chocolate Bar

This visually stunning, rose (petals and hips) and almond adorned deep sea green chocolate bar was from Nanao Artisan Bars ("Processed in GoDark Chocolate, Miami, FL"). 

Aroma and flavor notes in this vegan and "sugar free" bar included: matcha green tea, very faint coconut and vanilla, and a strange sweetness.

I liked the rich, creamy and authentic matcha tea flavor. And that this bar wasn't too sweet. (Rather than cane sugar, the makers chose to use allulose and monk fruit to sweeten this bar.)

However, despite this bar's amazingly appealing appearance, there was something a little "off" in the finish for me (likely the sweetener blend but it could also have been due to another ingredient(s)). 

Even though this bar contained cocoa butter (and no cocoa solids), I was happy to pair this piece highly edible art bar with some chocolate truffles and a floral tea flight.

Ingredients: "white chocolate (cacao butter, allulose, organic dry coconut milk, vanilla, salt, monk fruit), almonds, rose hips, wild (northern plains Indiana), matcha green tea." 

Allergen-related information: Contains coconut milk. Manufactured in a facility that uses nuts and milk.

River-Sea Chocolate - Peach IPA dark chocolate 60% (mountain peaches & hops) - Apr. 22, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

River-Sea Chocolate Factory
Peach IPA dark chocolate 60% (mountain peaches & hops) bar
Good ++
Weight: 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 360 calories in 1 bar
Cost:  $12.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Xocolatl Garden, Carmel, CA

Welcome to Day #14 of Chocolate & Flowers Theme Week. 

Hops used to make beer are made using the female flowers of this plant, and I was delighted to find a bar that contained Centennial* hops for this floral-themed week. 

Today's Peach IPA dark chocolate 60% (mountain peaches & hops) was created by River-Sea Chocolate Factory (Chantilly, VA). 

The cacao used to make this bar was from Haiti.

I really enjoyed this creamy, flavorful chocolate. Soft cacao (milk chocolate-y) notes flowed into authentic peach fruit/peach floral notes, followed by very faint flash of berry/pink peppercorn; and finishing with balanced and authentic, balanced hop notes. 

And I appreciated the short list of authentic, quality and organic ingredients.

I eat my daily chocolate for breakfast; and this addicting dark milk bar was gone before lunch. 

Ingredients: Cacao Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Fragrant Cacao Butter, Organic Whole Cow Milk, Palisade Peaches, Peach Extract, Pure Centennial Hop Oil 

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk. "Made in a facility that uses nuts, cow milk, and coconut" "Gluten-Free; Soy Free"

*Centennial (aka Super Cascade) hops have citrus, pine and floral notes and are versatile. They can be used for brewing or for culinary purposes.

Bahen & Co. Chocolate Maker - Honeycomb & Hibiscus Organic Milk (bar) - April 21, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Bahen & Co Chocolate Maker
Honeycomb & Hibiscus Organic Milk (bar)
Good++

Weight: 1.32 oz. (37.5 g.) / 2.65 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Oceana Market, Pacifica, CA

Welcome to Day #13 of Chocolate & Flowers Theme Week.

Today's Honeycomb & Hibiscus Organic Milk (bar) was from Bahen & Co. Pty Ltd (made in Margaret River, Western Australia).*

Aroma and flavor notes included: dark milk chocolate with very balanced slight roasted earth; small, slightly crunchy bits of honey comb, and very gentle levels of salt and fruit/floral (hibiscus).

Texture: smooth, creamy dark milk chocolate with small bits of crunchy honeycomb.

I really enjoyed the maker's choices with this bar. It was a well-executed blend of flavors and textures ranging from smokey/umami balanced by the milk in the milk chocolate--that had a balanced, subtle cocoa complexity. 

More subtle elements included the hibiscus and salt. I enjoyed finding the tiny upticks of hibiscus. And the salt was a barely detectable accent element that rounded out the flavor blend.

I really appreciated the fact that this wasn't too sweet (thank you) or salty -- allowing enjoyment of more nuanced, quality flavors (cacao, hibiscus bits, honey) with minimally addictive salt-sugar-fat levels. Some of the best dark milk chocolates teeter on the edge of more-ish.

Maker's description: "Salted honeycomb, a combination of forest honey & ocean salt, paired with organic red hibiscus flowers. A delicious blend, complementing the creamy and rich notes of our organic milk chocolate."

I also appreciated the relatively short list of organic and quality ingredients.

Ingredients: "Organic cacao beans, organic raw sugar, organic milk, organic cacao butter, honey, bicarbonate soda, salt & hibiscus."

Allergen-related information: Contains Honey & Milk. May Contain Traces of Nuts.

*I was delighted to find a bar from Western Australia.

Sirene Chocolate - Limited Edition Rose 65% Dark Milk Chocolate (bar) - Apr. 20, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Sirene Chocolate
Limited Edition Rose 65% Dark Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 192 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $16.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Dispensary, online order

Welcome to Day #12 of Chocolate & Flowers Theme Week.

Today's Limited Edition Rose 65% Dark Milk Chocolate (bar) was made by Sirene Chocolate (Vancouver, BC, Canada). 

Sirene, a family-owned business, has been offering bean-to-bar chocolates since 2013. The cacao used to craft this bar was from Vanuatu.

Aroma notes for this small batch bar included: dark milk chocolate; faint, diffuse fruit; warm spice (cinnamon); and subtle floral (rose).

Texture: This relatively thick chocolate bar had a uniform and very smooth mouthfeel and melt.

This flavorful, balanced chocolate gently evolved in my mouth. I enjoyed the unfolding dark milk chocolate, warm spice, cookie, and the floral finish that bloomed and landed on rose geranium rose toward the end.

I appreciated that this chocolate was sweet without being cloying; the maker's choice of a single origin cacao with interesting and gentle complexity; and the short list of quality, organic ingredients.

Ingredients: Organic Cacao Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter, Whole Milk, Rose Geranium.

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk. (Information on the company website read: "All our chocolate is nut free, soy free and gluten free.") The company uses cow's milk in their milk chocolate bars. Milk chocolates are produced on different machinery than their dark chocolates/bars.

Rozsavolgyi Csokolade - Lavender Fields Forever (bar) - Apr. 19, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Rozsavolgyi Csokolade 
Lavender Fields Forever (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 172 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $22.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Dispensary, online order 

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate & Flowers Theme Week.

Today's "Lavender Fields Forever" (bar) was from Rozsavolgyi Csokolade (Budapest, Art Quarter, Hungary).*

Aroma and flavor notes for this 73% cacao dark chocolate + lavender oil bar included: relatively bold, but well-balanced dark chocolate (roasted dark chocolate cake) infused with subtle, aromatic lavender floral.

Texture: smooth, with a relatively thick, almost creamy melt (in a cool room).

I appreciated the (compostable) packaging with creative artwork and the use of a short list of (just four) ingredients.

Ingredients: dark chocolate (cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter - contains min. 73%), lavender oil

Allergen-related information: Produced in a factory that also handles nuts, sesame seed and milk powder.

*The translation of Rozsavolgyi Csokolade into English is: Valley of the Roses (Chocolate); and the name "Rozsavolgyi is a suburban part of Budapest, where the company was born." The company also offers chocolates with floral and many other interesting flavor inclusions.

Mandela Chocolate - Vanilla Orchid Raw Dark Chocolate (bar) - Apr. 18, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Mandala Chocolate
Vanilla Orchid Raw Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 162 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.80 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Xocolatl Garden, Carmel, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate & Flowers Theme Week. This week includes a variety of floral ingredients, including today's vanilla bar. Vanilla is a spice derived from a pod of a Vanilla orchid flower.

Today's Vanilla Orchid Raw Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Mandala Naturals, LLC (Barnardsville, NC).

Aroma and flavor notes for this Organic, Raw 77% dark chocolate bar included: smooth dark chocolate and warm vanilla bean.

Texture: smooth, relatively creamy, dark chocolate with no graininess

I appreciated the warm vanilla (and coconut sugar) flavors in this dark chocolate, as well as Mandala's short list of quality, authentic and organic ingredients used in this bar and their other chocolates.

Ingredients: *Cacao, *Coconut Sugar, *Raw Tahitian Vanilla Bean, Celtic Sea Salt(TM) (* Organic & Raw)

Allergen-related information: (No allergen warnings were found on packaging.)