RAD Chocolate - Vegan Organic Creamy Coconut Chocolate made with Maple Sugar - Dec. 9, 2018

Chocolate of the Day:

RAD Chocolate
Vegan Organic Creamy Coconut Chocolate made with Maple Sugar
Good
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35.5 g.) / 2.5 oz. (71 g.) in total bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $6.50 for 1 bar
Purchased at Nibble Chocolate, Old Town, San Diego, CA location

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

Today's RAD Chocolate Vegan Organic Creamy Coconut Chocolate made with Maple Sugar was affiliated with Nibble Chocolate (San Diego, CA).

Finding new chocolates was one goal of a recent trip south to San Diego. Nibble Chocolate has a location in the Old Town historic location north of downtown San Diego. And thanks to the help of a sign (shown at right), we found this shop, among the whitewashed Spanish style buildings, red tile roofs, sounds of Folklorico dancers and smells of homemade tamales.*

Today's bar had a pleasing chocolate and coconut aroma, and a creamy initial melt one might mistake for a dark milk chocolate bar. It also had a satisfying, sweet chocolate flavor, a very subtle hint of maple sugar and a very slight fine grained texture in the finish.

*If you're unable to travel to San Diego, check out the RAD Chocolate website for information on how to obtain a bar.

Jennies - Raw Organic Coconut Bar with Cacao Nibs - Dec. 8, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Jennies Gluten Free

Raw Organic Coconut Bar with Cacao Nibs

Good

Weight: 1.5 oz. (43 g.) in 1 bar

Calories: 190 calories in 1 bar

Cost: $2.19 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

Today's Raw Organic Coconut Bar with Cacao Nibs was from Jennies Gluten Free* (Moosic, PA). The company's Jennies Organic Coconut Products line is made with organic, sulfite-free coconut, and demonstrated how the mere macaroon can be expanded to other tasty possibilities.

This bar had a soft, chewy texture and rich, coconut flavor. Traditional macaroons can be sticky sweet with corn syrup or almost prickly dry with fibrous coconut shreds. Today's bar had a balanced sweetness and texture (in the desirable middle and was not too gooey sweet or too fibrous). A delicate hint of vanilla (extract) and sea salt provided a natural lift that complemented the sweetness.

The underside of the bar was comprised of a layer semi-sweet chocolate. Organic cacao nibs blended in with and boosted the cacao quotient of this Coconut Bar. 

*Also referred to as Jennies Gluten-Free Bakery 

thinkThin - Chocolate Coconut Almond Protein Nut Bar - Dec. 7, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

thinkThin LLC
Chocolate Coconut Almond Protein Nut Bar
Good
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $1.19 for 1 bar
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

Today's Chocolate Coconut Almond Protein Nut Bar was from thinkThin LLC (Los Angeles, CA).

The bar contained 9 g. of protein (from pumpkin seeds, almonds and soy crisps) and was crunchy, nutty and and chewy—with coconut and chocolate flavor throughout.

Primal Chocolate - Midnight Coconut No Sugar, 100% Cacao dark bar - Dec. 6, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Primal Chocolate
Midnight Coconut (No Sugar Added) 100% Cacao bar
Good
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 207 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

Today's 100% cacao, three-ingredient* ultra-dark Midnight Coconut bar from Primal Chocolate (Setauket, NY) was made without added sugar.

But, wait; technically, the bar was not 100% cacao. It also included organic shredded coconut.

This Midnight Coconut bar had a pleasant, natural coconut aroma, and broke with a pleasing snap.
The coconut in this 100% cacao* bar gave the chocolate an almost crunchy texture.

The aroma of a 100% cacao bar can be deceptively (and sometimes shockingly) sweeter than its bitter flavor. That was the case here. The brain is expecting something sweet when it smells chocolate and coconut, and the actual signals it received after the first bite were anything but.

After the somewhat harsh bitterness, the finish was relatively more calm.

Ingredients: organic cacao, organic cocoa butter, organic shredded coconut

Primal Chocolate - Signature Dark 72% bar with organic coconut sugar - Dec. 5, 2018

Chocolate of the Day:

Primal Chocolate
Signature Dark 72% Cacao bar made with organic coconut sugar
Good
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35.5 g.) / 2.5 oz. (71 g.) in total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Sprouts Farmers Market, Mountain View, CA


Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

This dairy and soy free, paleo and vegan Signature Dark 72% Cacao bar from Primal Kitchen (Setauket, NY) was sweetened with organic coconut sugar.

The well-tempered chocolate (with the monkey peeking over the top of every other segment) had a slightly artificial note toward the beginning of the tasting curve, but otherwise was rich with some balanced, slight fruit/nut acidity.

Nibble Chocolate - Pina Colada Super Nibbles - Dec. 4, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Nibble Chocolate
Super Nibbles - Pina Colada
Good
Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) (estimate) for two pieces
Calories: 135 calories (estimate) for two pieces
Cost: $2.50 each x 2 = $5.00 total for two pieces
Purchased from: Nibble Chocolate, San Diego, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

We recently visited Nibble Chocolate's retail location in historic Old Town San Diego, CA. In addition to Nibble Chocolate bars, the company was also offering confections (Super Nibbles). We purchased an assortment that included four flavors, including today's featured Pina Colada.

Hanging from the ceiling above the display case were rows of carved, wooden molinillos (traditionally used to rapidly stir or "beat" hot drinking chocolate in Mexico and Central America)—giving the place an authentic, historic feel.

Out on the square, vendors were selling street tacos and champurrado (a thick, creamy hot chocolate atole beverage made with finely ground corn and cinnamon).

Today's Pina Colada Super Nibbles were uniquely shaped, cylindrical cocoa confections, wrapped in ultra-thin layers of fruit "leathers," cut on the diagonal, and topped with shredded coconut. The base chocolate had soft but substantial texture and true, robust cacao flavor.

Emmy's Organics - Coconut Cookies Dark Cacao - Dec. 3, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Emmy's Organics, Inc.
Organic Coconut Cookies - Dark Cacao
Good
Weight: 1.34 oz. (38 g.) / 6 oz. (170 g.) in total package of 9
Calories: 200 calories in 2 cookies
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information


Welcome to Day #10 of Cookies with Chocolate Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

If you love coconut and are staying away from grains, these Dark Cacao flavored Organic Coconut Cookies from Emmy's Organics, Inc.* (Ithaca, NY) may be for you.

These vegan, organic, gluten and grain-free, puck-shaped cookies had a slightly fibrous chew from the shredded coconut base that was lightly sweetened with agave syrup and suffused with cocoa flavor (organic cocoa powder). The compressed cookies also contained almond flour and organic coconut oil.

*Emmy's Organics is a Certified B Corp.