Fu Wan Chocolate - 62% Yuzu Oolong Tea Chocolate (bar) - Apr. 29, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Fu Wan Chocolate
62% Yuzu Oolong Chocolate (bar)

Good ++  
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) in total bar
Calories: 203 calories in 1 bar
Cost:  $17.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Oceana Market, Pacifica, CA   `

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate & Tea Theme Week.

Today's 62% Yuzu Oolong Chocolate (bar) was from Fu Wan Chocolate (Ping-Tung County, Taiwan).

Aroma and Flavor notes for this tea chocolate included: gentle dark chocolate; tiny clumps of sweetened dried citrus fruit (very slightly peppery, yuzu*, sweet citrus peel); and faint floral oolong tea.

Texture: very smooth dark chocolate with chewy candied yuzu pieces, and a barely detectable tea astringency in the finish.

I enjoyed the dried, sweet and flavorful citrus/yuzu* bits. And I appreciated the relatively short list of quality ingredients. The candied tart-sweet citrus was stronger than the more subtle chocolate and tea flavors--likely OK as many people prefer subtle chocolate flavors. And this bar was balanced enough (if you eat it slowly) that one could enjoy all three flavors.

Ingredients: Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cacao Butter, Diced Pomelo* (pomelo peel, sugar, starch syrup, brandy, alcohol flavoring) Oolong Tea Powder

Allergen-related information: "This product is manufactured in a facility that also processes mango, egg, tree nuts, soy, milk, and milk products. Not recommended for individuals with allergies to these ingredients."

*Note: Yuzu is different than pomelo. Both are citrus fruits. But, there is some linguistic overlap in terms of these fruit names. Apparently the yuzu and yuja citrus fruits (in Japan and Korea, respectively) has migrated to mean pomelo in modern China.

Fu Wan Chocolate Lychee Tie Guan Yin Tea Chocolate 62% (bar) - Apr. 28, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Fu Wan Chocolate
Lychee Tie Guan Yin Tea Chocolate 62% (bar)

Good ++  
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) in total bar
Calories: 203 calories in 1 bar
Cost:  $17.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Oceana Market, Pacifica, CA   `

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate & Tea Theme Week.

Today's Lychee Tie Guan Yin Tea Chocolate 62% (bar) was from Fu Wan Chocolate (Ping-Tung County, Taiwan).

Aroma and Flavor notes for this fruit-forward chocolate included: gentle chocolate, sweetened dried fruit (authentic lychee) and faint oolong tea.

Texture: very smooth dark chocolate with chewy lychee pieces, and a barely detectable tea astringency in the finish.

I enjoyed the dried, sweet and flavorful lychee fruits. And I appreciated the relatively short list of quality ingredients. I would have loved to have tasted a bit more of the chocolate and tea flavors, but I think most people will prefer the blend of sweet, fruity and more subtle/balanced chocolate flavors in this bar.

Ingredients: Sugar, Cocoa Mass, Cacao Butter, Dried Lychee, Tieguanyin Tea Powder

Allergen-related information: "This product is manufactured in a facility that also processes mango, egg, tree nuts, soy, milk, and milk products. Not recommended for individuals with allergies to these ingredients."

World Market - Yuzu Lemon Peel Milk Chocolate (bar) & Matcha Green Tea White Chocolate (bar) - Apr. 27, 2026

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

World Market 
Yuzu Lemon Peel Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) total bar
Calories: 150 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $4.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: World Market, San Jose, CA

World Market 

Matcha Green Tea White Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1/2 bar 
Cost: $4.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: World Market, San Jose, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate & Tea Theme Week.

Today's two attractively packaged "Chocolates of The World" bars were manufactured for Cost Plus Inc. by Astor Chocolate Corp. (Lakewood, NJ). 

Yuzu Lemon Peel Milk Chocolate

Aroma and flavor notes included: very sweet dark milk chocolate with tart-sweet citrus (lemon).

The initial aroma right after opening the wrapper had a faint artificial citrus flavor note, but it all but disappeared after leaving the package open for 5-10 minutes.

Texture: smooth dark milk chocolate with tiny bits of lemon peel

While this chocolate was a bit sweet for me, I enjoyed tasting it. This would be a fun, upbeat chocolate for those who like bright lemon and tart-sweet flavors. (It was not too bitter or acidic.) 

The concentrated lemon taste might also make this chocolate a great accent flavor in an ice cream chocolate sauce or as an accent flavor in baked goods (lemon brownies anyone?), dessert/ice cream sauces, or as chocolate pieces/chips in lemon cookies.

Ingredients: Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Chocolate Liquor, Whole Milk Powder, Soy Lecithin, Natural Vanilla Flavor), Dehydrated Lemon Peel, Freeze-Dried Lemon Powder (Organic Lemon, Silica Dioxide), Citric Acid, Yuzu Oil Extract (Natural Flavor, Vegetable Oil), Natural Lemon Flavor.

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

Matcha Green Tea White Chocolate 

Aroma and flavor notes for this attractively green (the color of a whipped, light green tea latte) bar included: sweet white chocolate, green tea, and very faint sweet herbal.

Texture: smooth, milky, with a very slight (tea) astringency in the melt, toward the finish.

There was some interesting, balanced and relatively authentic matcha green tea complexity in this white chocolate. White chocolate (made with the cocoa butter portion of the cacao bean) does allow some floral, tea and fruit flavors to shine (without the stronger cocoa solids present).

This bar was a bit too sweet for me; but those who like lighter, sweet tea and matcha flavors will like this. Also, like its Lemon and Yuzu milk chocolate sibling above, I could see using this bar with (or in) desserts or other culinary purposes.

Ingredients: White Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Whole Milk Powder, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla Flavor), Matcha Green Tea Powder, Natural Green Tea Flavor, Green Coloring (Sunflower And/Or Fractionated Coconut Oil, Trehalose, Spirulina Extract, Turmeric, Sunflower Lecithin, Trisodium Citrate). 

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

Lonohana Chocolate - 55% Cacao Jasmine Tea Milk Chocolate (bar) - Apr. 26, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Lonohana Chocolate
55% Cacao Jasmine Tea Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) total bar
Calories: 184 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: Missing information
Purchased from: Missing information

Welcome to Day #18 of Chocolate & Flowers Theme Week and Day #4 of Chocolate & Tea Theme Week.

Today's 55% Cacao Jasmine Tea Milk Chocolate (bar) was from Lonohana Chocolate (Honolulu, Oahu, HI).

Lonohana bars and confections are produced at the company's chocolate factory in Honolulu "using cacao that is 100% Hawaii-grown."

Aroma notes included: sweet, dark milk chocolate with dried fruit (ripe, white grape), very faint floral, and faint nut. (Note: there were no nut ingredients listed.) When I re-tasted this chocolate later, I also tasted light caramel and faint tea notes.

Texture: creamy, rich milk chocolate

I liked the creamy texture; subtle, balanced complexity; short list of quality and organic ingredients; and the single origin Hawaii chocolate. A bit on the sweet side, this bar will please those with a sweet tooth who enjoy some authentic cacao flavor but without any rough edges.

Ingredients: Hawaii-grown cacao, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter infused with organic jasmine tea & organic whole milk powder. 

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk. Soy and Gluten Free. "Made on equipment that also processes milk and tree nuts. Produced in a facility that handles coconut, eggs, macadamia, peanuts, sesame, soy & wheat."

Eight Treasures - Osmanthus Chocolate 72% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Apr. 25, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Eight Treasures 
Osmanthus Chocolate 72% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $15.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Oceana Market, Pacifica, CA

Welcome to Day #17 of Chocolate & Flowers Theme Week, and Day #3 of Chocolate & Tea Theme Week.

Today's Osmanthus Chocolate 72% Dark Chocolate (bar) was manufactured and distributed by Eight Treasures, LLC (San Francisco, CA).

This chocolate contained osmanthus flowers; oolong tea grown and ground in Taiwan; and "toasted quinoa for added crunch."

Aroma and flavor notes included: sweet and smooth dark chocolate, sweet tea cookie/candy and faint fruit-floral.

Texture: smooth chocolate, with a slight crunchiness (quinoa).  

I've long been a fan of osmanthus and oolong tea. There is a hedge of osmanthus flowers in my neighborhood with a beautiful apricot scent--especially appreciated in late summer and early fall (when most blooms are gone). So I was very happy to find this osmanthus and tea chocolate--relatively nearby where I live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I appreciated the sweet floral tea concept, and the crunchy quinoa bits worked well. The gentler, ground oolong tea and the osmanthus flavors lingered in the finish and became clearer after the smooth dark chocolate flavors subsided.

I appreciated the maker's choices of a single origin (Carenero Superior Venezuela) cacao and organic ingredients.

Makers Tasting Notes: Peachy Apricot Flowers

Ingredients: Single-origin Carenero Superior cacao from Venezuela, coconut sugar*, oolong tea*, quinoa*, osmanthus* (* Organic)

Allergen-related information: None listed.

 

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.