Unreal - Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds - Nov. 28, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Unreal
Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds 
Good ++ 
Weight: 2 oz. (56.5 g.) / 4 oz. (113 g.) in total package
Calories: 300 calories in 1/2 package
Cost: $5.89 for 1 package
Purchased from: Vitacost, online order 

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate, Movies and Entertainment Theme Week. Some of my most favorite confections in movie theaters were candy-coated almonds (Jordan Almonds); chocolate-covered almonds; or chocolate candy with almonds (Almond Roca).

Today's Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds were made in the USA for Unreal Brands, Inc. (Boston, MA).

Unreal founders started the company to create snacks "made with simple, real ingredients" that everyone might enjoy.

Aroma notes for these almonds included: warm, authentic cocoa; faint warm spice (vanilla); and very faint nut (almond).

What I liked: the authentic dark chocolate coating that was just thick enough to add balanced, chocolate-y flavor, but the coasting wasn't so thick that I couldn't taste the perfectly toasted/crunchy, whole California almonds inside. Despite my first guess that they'd been rolled in dark cocoa powder, my hands were left completely clean (in cool weather at least) after holding and eating them.

I also appreciated the thoughtful execution/creation behind this brand and their short list of fair trade and Non-GMO ingredients. When the founders first unveiled their products years ago, this was a novel and refreshing concept. So glad they're still delivering simple, tasty and arguably much healthier, snacks at a relatively reasonable price.

Ingredients: Almonds, Dark Chocolate (chocolate liquor*, cane sugar*, cocoa butter*, vanilla) (* = Fair Trade Certified by Fair Trade USA.)

Allergen-related information: Contains Almonds. "Made in a facility that handles other tree nuts, milk, peanuts, soy and wheat. Made on equipment that processes milk chocolate."

Compartes - The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows Deep Milk Chocolate (bar) - Nov. 27, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Compartes Chocolatier
The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows Deep Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 240 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Compartes Chocolatier, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Theme Week on Chocolate Banquet. Also, Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating and feeling grateful today.

Today's The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows Deep Milk Chocolate (bar) was from Compartes Chocolatier (Los Angeles, CA). 

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 Beverly Hills Hotel-themed bar included: sweet milk chocolate. 

This sweet, creamy and rich 46% cacao milk chocolate was also addictive. It was gone all too quickly--just like the Hollywood stars who've visited The Beverly Hills Hotel since it opened in 1912.

I enjoyed the bar's attractive packaging--with lush greenery and flowers inspired by the hotel grounds (and the wallpaper inside) this pink- and green-tinged Beverly Hills resort. (The hotel may even carry Compartes Chocolatier Beverly Hills Hotel-themed bars. After stopping at the gift shop to check, I'd head to the Polo Lounge for a chocolate souffle.)

I "paired" this chocolate with a classic film: "Designing Woman" (1957) starring Lauren Bacall and Gregory Peck. (Their characters in this film met at the famed hotel.) I also enjoyed a documentary called "The Beverly Hills Hotel: A Red Carpet Glamour House" -- a fitting tribute to the Pink Palace.*

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

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

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

 

Droste - Milk-Dark Pastilles - Nov. 26, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Droste
Milk-Dark Pastilles
Good ++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) (9 pastilles) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total package
Calories: 255 calories (estimate) in 1/2 package
Cost: $N/A - gift from a family
Purchased from: N/A - gift; thank you friends!

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Week.

Today's Milk-Dark Pastilles were from Droste BV (The Netherlands). The company was founded in 1863 in Haarlem, Netherlands. They began selling their famous chocolate pastilles in 1890, five years before movies began to be widely shown in theaters. (Movie houses opened in 1895 in Paris and Berlin, soon followed by movie theaters in the U.S.)

Today's pastilles reminded me of an old art house movie theater in California that stocked European chocolates behind their shiny chrome and glass-covered snack case.

That theater is long gone, but the memories of the independent films, slightly squeaky theater seats, and the special European chocolates they sold--that seemed pretty exotic at the time--live on. And one of those chocolate brands was Droste.

Today's well-tempered, milk-dark chocolate discs broke with a hard snap (in a cold room). The milk chocolate half and the dark chocolate half (of each pastille) were merged neatly together, right down the middle.

Was it better to eat the milk chocolate or the dark chocolate first? (Spoiler alert: the results were smooth, chocolate-y and delicious either way. But, eating the sweeter, creamier milk chocolate side first, followed by the slightly darker side squeaked out the win. 

These smooth chocolate pastilles had enough warm vanilla and milk to serve as comfort food while watching an old film classic at home.

Ingredients: sugar, chocolate liquor processed with alkali, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, milk fat, soy lecithin, natural vanilla flavor. 

Allergen-related information: Contains: Milk, Soy. "May contain traces of hazelnuts."

Raaka Chocolate - Popcorn Unroasted Dark Chocolate 64% Cacao (bar) - Nov. 25, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Raaka Chocolate
Popcorn Unroasted Dark Chocolate 64% Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 275 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Raaka Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Theme Week--where chocolates intersect with film, animation and other forms of entertainment.

Following on the heels of yesterday's Cherry Licorice bar, we're enjoying another movie snack bar item reimagined with chocolate. 

Today's Popcorn Unroasted Dark Chocolate 64% Cacao (bar) was created by Raaka Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY). The makers "crushed salted popcorn and blended it into our (Semuliki Forest, Uganda cacao) dark chocolate, crafting a thrillingly chunky, buttery, and adventurous treat."

Aroma and flavor notes included: pleasing dark chocolate with faint diffuse fruit (stone fruit, dark berry, green/floral banana) and slightly savory (buttery).

Texture: the base dark chocolate was smooth with a relatively creamy melt. There were bites with very tiny pieces of popcorn hull (but it wasn't overwhelming). Raaka's description for this bar read: "Chunky, Crunchy, Buttery!" I found the tiny ivory-colored clouds (popcorn) floating in the dark chocolate to be pleasantly soft and pillow-like.

A digression about salt and chocolate...

My first impression: "This dark chocolate contained popcorn and salt, but the bar tasted surprisingly sweet, and not salty enough to taste like popcorn." Well, that was incorrect. At one point I added salt; and it did not work. Too much salt obscured the fruity, chocolate-y Ugandan (unroasted) cacao chocolate. 

The makers were right in holding back on the salt. Instead they tickled sweet movie theater memories of multiple concession stand snacks, including: dark, slightly fruity chocolate bars; dark hot chocolate/cocoa; fruit (cherry, red raspberry, banana) drinks and candies (even candied popcorn); and a wee bit of my all time favorite: salted, very lightly buttered popcorn. 

This was a fun and educational bar to taste and retaste, and retaste again. 

Movie and dark chocolate fans will appreciate this balanced, flavorful blend; the short list of authentic and organic ingredients; the gentle, fruity and chocoate-y complexity in the unroasted dark chocolate; the incorporation of popcorn (with minimal hulls); and the fact this elevated movie snack wasn't too sweet.

 A perfect bar to watch with a movie, or to savor slowly all by itself.

Maker's tasting notes: " The makers are using unroasted cacao to "capture the "brighter, bolder, and fruitier" side of cacao."

Ingredients: "organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic popcorn, organic extra virgin coconut oil, organic nutritional yeast, salt"

Allergen-related information: "Vegan, Gluten-Free, Soy Free, Nut Free"

 

Raaka Chocolate - Cherry Licorice Unroasted Dark Chocolate 67% Cacao (bar) - Nov. 24, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Raaka Chocolate
Cherry Licorice Unroasted Dark Chocolate 67% Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 275 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Raaka Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Week, and the first day of Chocolate & Entertainment Theme Week--where chocolates intersect with film, animation and other forms of entertainment.

Let's start with film...What happens when you elevate movie snack bar items with chocolate? Let's find out.

Today's Cherry Licorice Unroasted Dark Chocolate 67% Cacao (bar) from Raaka Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY), was "an ode to the twisty, cherry-flavored concession stand favorite...". It was crafted with unroasted cacao from Kokoa Kamili, Tanzania.

Aroma and flavor notes included: deep dark chocolate (faint sweet green botanical), bittersweet cherry/almond and chocolate cookie/cake. 

The bar had a long finish that ended on a mellow, sweet, upbeat cherry and chocolate note. An enjoyable journey with a happy ending -- just like the movies I chose to watch with this chocolate.

Texture: This well-tempered bar broke with a snap and had a smooth melt, and mild astringency in the middle, that tailed off in the finish.

I appreciated this thoughtful homage to cherry licorice (with chocolate); the short list of authentic, organic ingredients; the gentle, dark complexity in the unroasted dark chocolate; and the light touch of star anise.

Maker's tasting notes: "Fruity & Nostalgic...Red fruit-forward with just a hint of anise." The makers are using unroasted cacao to "capture the "brighter, bolder, and fruitier" side of cacao."

Ingredients: "organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic cherries, organic brown rice syrup, organic star anise"

Allergen-related information: "Vegan, Gluten-Free, Soy Free, Nut Free"

Mitica - Choco Cherries dark chocolate candied cherries - Nov. 23, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Mitica 
Choco Cherries dark chocolate candied cherries
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 4.94 oz. (140 g.) in total container/box
Calories: 120 calories in 2-piece serving
Cost: $N/A - gift from family member
Purchased from: - N/A - gift from family - Thank you Megan!

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate & Cherries Theme Week.

Today's Mitica Choco Cherries dark chocolate candied cherries were made in Spain and imported to the U.S. by Forever Cheese LLC (New York).

Aroma notes included: cherry, chocolate, cherry cordial/liqueur, and warm spices (star anise, faint vanilla).

Texture for these small rounded confections: dark chocolate shells surrounded pale yellow translucent, candied cherries.

Flavor notes included: very smooth dark chocolate, candied cherry and spice (star anise). 

I liked that these flavorful cherries were sweet without being overwhelmingly so. The 59% dark chocolate, liqueur and vanilla helped balance the sweetness. Cherries with dark chocolate, always, please.

Ingredients: Candied Cherries (cherry, glucose and fructose syrup, sugar, liqueur, citric acid, natural anise aroma) and Dark Chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, SOY lecithin, natural vanilla flavoring). Cocoa minimum 59%.

Allergen-related information: (Contains Soy.) "May contain traces of sulphites, peanuts, almonds, hazelnuts and milk.

Endorfin Foods - Cherry Amaretto 70% Cacao (bar) - Nov. 22, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Endorfin Foods
Cherry Amaretto 70% Cacao (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: .7 oz. (20 g.) / 1.4 oz. (40 g.) in total bar
Calories: 100 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $6.50 + shipping
Purchased from: Endorfin Foods, online order 

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate & Cherries Theme Week.

Today's Endorfin Foods Organic Cherry Amaretto 70% Cacao (bar) was manufactured by Coracao Confections (Richmond, CA).

Tasting notes for this flavorful bar included: dark chocolate, and aromatic cherry/cherry amaretto (bitter almond) liqueur. 

Texture: uniformly smooth, with a rich melt. This bar contained cocoa butter and caramelized coconut butter. (The cherries were fully incorporated into the chocolate.)

The cherry and almond flavors added sweetness. I liked that the makers used coconut sugar, to help prevent a sugar rush. The dark chocolate tasted slightly darker than 70%. But, the very faint sharpness/bitter flavor(s) also may have come from the bitter almond extract used to flavor this bar. (Any lasting aftertaste of sharpness or acidity diminished fairly quickly.)

This chocolate would be tasty in desserts: brownies, cookies and other baked goods--or as chocolate shavings in/over vanilla ice cream or custard. 

This dark chocolate was livelier and less sweet than most marzipan confections. This Ecuadorian cacao bar reminded me of higher-end European marzipan confections covered with fine flavored dark chocolate.

The bitter almond enlivened the tart cherries that had been fully ground (incorporated) into the melted chocolate.

Ingredients: Cacao+*, Coconut Sugar*, Cacao Butter+*, Caramelized Coconut Butter*, Tart Cherry* (Dried Cherries*, Dextrin*), Essential Oil of Bitter Almond (*Organic ingredients; + = Fair Trade Certified)

Allergen-related information: Contains Coconut.