Sweet Offerings - Mexican Chocolate truffle - April 21, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Sweet Offerings
Abuelito's Mexican Hot Chocolate truffle
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) (estimate) for 1 truffle
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) for 1 truffle
Cost: $ ?
Purchased from: Sweet Offerings, Cambria, CA

Hola, y bienvenidos a dia numero uno de la semana de Chocolate Mexicano.
(Translation: Hello, and welcome to Day #1 of Mexican Chocolate Theme Week.)

During a recent trip to the Central Coast region of California (about 4 hours south of the San Francisco Bay Area), a friend and I stopped at Sweet Offerings Confections, in downtown Cambria -- a small village on the coast where the pace was a bit slower and the people seemed a bit friendlier than in the big, bustling cities.

Even the chocolate seemed friendlier, if that's possible. This Mexican Hot Chocolate truffle from Sweet Offerings was a gentle giant (close to a full ounce, or 28.3 grams each) that imparted a soft spicy glow of chili (Hatch green chilies) and cinnamon in each bite.

Bovetti Chocolats - Dark bar with dried fruits - April 20, 2014

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Bovetti Chocolats
Dark Chocolate Bar with Dried Fruits
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. (28.3 g.) piece
Cost: $9.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Draeger's Market, San Mateo, CA

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Pistachio Theme Week.

Happy Easter Sunday to those who celebrate this spring holiday that speaks of resurrection. Today we celebrated with a great lunch, colorful fruit sorbets, and pieces of this Dark Chocolate (73% cocoa) with Dried Fruits and Nuts (hazelnuts, almonds, pistachios) bar from Bovetti Artisan Chocolatier/Bovetti Chocolats (France). It was all good. I felt thankful to be able to sit down with family and enjoy a meal together.

Earlier in the day I also sampled a lovely pastel green-colored pistachio gelato (that likely had a little almond extract in it as well), with some gluten-free pistachio and cranberry biscotti, and pistachio nuts. Perhaps having three Easter Sunday desserts today was excessive, but small portions allowed for more variety.

Fiorello's - Toni Spumoni Gelato - April 19, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Fiorello's Artisan Gelato
Tony Spumoni gelato
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1/2 cup (130 g.) / 1 Pint (473 mL) container
Calories: 320 calories in 1/2 cup serving
Cost: $7.99 for 1 Pint container
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Pistachio Theme Week.

This pint container of "Tony Spumoni" gelato contained a melange of chocolate, almond and pistachio gelato(s) from Fiorello's Artisan Gelato (San Rafael, CA). A pistachio butter (with ground pistachios and almonds) provided a rich, sweet, nutty flavor to the combined flavor mixture.

I sprinkled my little dish of gelato with some green, shelled, lightly salted pistachio nuts and a spritz of rosewater, and I had one heckavu Tony Spumoni sundae.

Lindt - Milk Chocolate Pistachio bar - April 18, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Lindt
Pistachio bar
Good
Weight: .875 oz. (25 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories in 3 pieces (per label)
Cost: $3.19 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Pistachio Theme Week.

Each rectangular piece of the Lindt Pistachio bar contained an embedded capsule filled with "white almond creme" and pistachio nut(s), covered in Swiss Milk Chocolate -- giving the bar a unique and fun look.

This bar looked and tasted fresh; and freshness and previous storage and handling is important for chocolates. So, I'm always thankful for a good distribution supply chain and good practices at stores. (Thank you Piazza's!)

I admit, I thought this bar was going to be too sweet for me. As I've commented before, I generally like less sugar (and lactose) in my chocolates. However, the flavor and texture were good -- and the sugar level was consistent with what I imagined a sweeter, creme-filled milk chocolate bar should taste like.

Blue Bunny Cocoa Pistachio ice cream - April 17, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Blue Bunny
Cocoa Pistachio Ice Cream
Good
Weight: 5.5 fl. oz. (162.6 mL)(103 g.) in 1 container
Calories: 230 calories in 1 serving/container
Cost: $0.99 for 1 small container
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Pistachio Theme Week.

The weather has been getting warmer this week, so I found an ice cream that combined chocolate with pistachio nuts. The single-serving container (complete with white plastic spoon) of Blue Bunny Cocoa Pistachio Premium ice cream contained cocoa (chocolate) ice cream with bits of pistachio nuts.

I topped this ice cream with an extra handful of green pistachios, for some extra crunch and nutty flavor.

With added pistachio nuts

Blue Bunny is part of Wells* Enterprises Inc. (Le Mars, Iowa). The company has been making dozens of ice cream flavors and similar offerings for many years.

*Wells is one of the largest privately held and family-owned ice cream makers in the U.S. The business was founded in 1913. The Blue Bunny brand was born in 1935.

L'Amourette - Pistachios Chocolat Noir bar - April 16, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

L'Amourette Chocolatier/ L'Amourette LLC
"Pistachios" bar
Good +
Weight: .7 oz. (19.8 g.) in 1/5 bar / 3.5 oz. (99 g.) in total bar
Calories: 118 calories (estimate) in 1/5 bar
Cost: $5.99 in 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Pistachio Theme Week.

This 72% Dark Chocolate bar with salted pistachio nuts (Chocolat Noir Aux Pistaches Salees) from L'Amourette (San Francisco, CA) was handmade from a combination of Rio Caribe and Carenero Superior (Trinitario) cacao beans from Venezuela.

The dark chocolate was complex and interesting with faint bitter/acidic and earthy notes. A light sprinkling of crunchy, California pistachio nuts added a hint of salty, crunchy flavor and texture. Not having too many nuts allowed the chocolate to really shine. However, I do like my nuts, and I cracked open a few extra pistachio nuts to eat a la carte with my bar.  

Hedonist Chocolates - Pistachio - April 15, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Hedonist Artisan Chocolates
Pistachio
Good ++
Weight: .9 oz. (25.5 g.) (estimate) in 2 pieces
Calories: 130 calories (estimate) in 2 pieces
Cost: $ N/A - sample
Purchased from: N/A - sample from Hedonist Artisan Chocolates, Rochester, NY

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Pistachio Theme Week.

This Pistachio gem was part of the dark chocolate Fruit and Nut Cluster jewel box from Hedonist Artisan Chocolates (Rochester, NY).

This particular dark dome-shaped piece was chock full of roasted, salted California pistachio nuts that were partially submerged in/embraced by the dark (72% cacao) bittersweet chocolate.