Sunday, August 31, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 31, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:
1 bottle
Odwalla
Chocolate Super Protein Drink (Soymilk based)
Very Good - Tastes a bit like banana bread (which is a good thing for me)
Wt.: 450 mL (15.2 fluid ounces) total
Calories: 340 calories for 1 whole bottle
Cost: $ 3.69
Purchased from: Safeway, in Palo Alto, CA

Note: to self: it's hard to scan and capture an image of a label on a roundish bottle. That is what digital cameras are for. It is a shame that one of the wires/cables for my newish digital camera has gone missing again. I have way too many connector cables and recharging devices. Maybe the camera cable is buried under the growing pile of (several 100) chocolate wrappers in the box under my desk.

Saturday, August 30, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 30, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving
FoodShouldTasteGood
Chocolate Tortilla Chips - Made with Dutch Cocoa, Cane Sugar, Sea Salt (also certified gluten-free)
Very Good - nice balance between sweet and savory (not too sweet or salty which is nice)
Weight: ~ 1 oz. (28 grams); 6 oz. (170 g.) total bag/pkg.
Calories: 140 calories (estimate) per serving
Cost: $2.99
Purchased from: Piazzas Fine Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

Chocolate Tortilla Chips. Not bad. I'm still wondering what you would eat with these. Do you go with something sweet (sweetened cream cheese?), something salty (chili cheese dip?), or maybe something that also is both sweet and savory - like strawberry & green chile cream cheese dip, or mango/fruit salsa? Results could go either way. I'll have to experiment.

Friday, August 29, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 29, 2008



Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Schoggi
Noisetta - milk chocolate, hazelnut w/ chopped hazelnuts
Very Good - very good for milk chocolate; I liked the crunchy hazelnut pieces
Wt.: ~.5 oz.
Calories: ~ 75 calories
Cost: ~$2.13 (approx.) Individual chocolates are weighed, and priced at $68.00/lb.
Purchased from: Schoggi store in San Francisco, CA (image of store, above right)

Oh dear. I bought a little box of Schoggi chocolates, and intended to eat just one piece today. Poof. The rest are gone. I'll have to buy more. This happens sometimes.

These chocolates are imported from Switzerland. The Schoggi ad (see image with cow - above) says the reason why their milk chocolates are so good is...the cream. OK, I'll buy it. It's definitely better than most milk chocolate I've tasted in the U.S.

Thursday, August 28, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 28, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving (1.4 oz.)
Sconza Candy Company
Chocolate Toffee Pistachios ("roasted pistachios covered in rich toffee & milk chocolate")
Very Good - nice combination of chocolate, toffee, pistachio nuts
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) serving; 5 oz. (141 g.) in total package
Calories: 210 calories in 1 (1.4 oz.) serving
Cost: $5.99 for total package
Purchased from: a shop in the Portland Airport (PDX), in Portland, OR

This tasty combination of chocolate, toffee and crunchy pistachio nuts was, I think, the last chocolate from my Portland day trip (made on a Saturday earlier this month).

I always get a kick out of hurriedly buying some chocolate in an airport right before boarding a plane, thinking it is from that town/state where the airport is based -- and then finding out the chocolate is made in my own backyard.

In this case, Portland and the San Francisco Bay Area (where I live) are quite close together, so I wasn't as surprised to find that Sconza Candy Company was based in Oakland, CA. (Part of the package label is shown above right.) I'll have to find out where else I can find Sconza chocolates/candy closer to home.

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 27, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:
4 pieces
Columbia Empire Farms
Dark Chocolate Hazelnuts
Very Good
Wt.: (~17.7 g. in 4 pcs.); 4 oz. (113 g.) in total pkg.
Calories: ~ 102 calories in 4 pcs.
Cost: $4.95/ttl pkg.
Purchased from: One of the airport gift shops at PDX, in Portland, OR

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 26, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece
Godiva
Dark Chocolate Almond Bark
Very Good
Wt: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 75 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $ ?
Purchased from: Godiva Chocolatier, in Portland, OR

It's hard to determine the exact price of each chocolate when you buy several "in bulk." Higher-end chocolatiers are charging roughly $20.00 - $70.00 per pound ($1.25 - $4.37 per ounce) of chocolate these days. (Should I be investing in some fair trade cocoa farm somewhere?)

If I am saving money by buying fewer coffee lattes and bottles of water, does this savings help justify my daily chocolate habit? Only my savings account (or the lack thereof) knows for sure...

And now, I will donate $50 to the Second Harvest Food Bank, after feeling guilty for even having this conversation with myself.

Monday, August 25, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 25, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece
Godiva
Open Oyster - hazelnut filling between two milk chocolate shells
Very Good
Weight: .6 oz. (estimate)
Calories: 90 calories (estimate)
Cost: $1.76 - $2.34? (estim.) Individual Godiva chocolates go for approx. $44.00/pound in store near where I live in SF Bay Area. (Total purchase of was $7.04; I can't remember how many (3-4?.)
Purchased from: Godiva Chocolatier, in Portland, OR

This Open Oyster from Godiva was a bit sweet, but very nice for milk chocolate. The hazelnut filling inside this chocolate oyster shell helped round out/balance the sweetness.

Sunday, August 24, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 24, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece
Godiva Chocolatier
Mango (seasonal?)
Good - Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (estimate)
Calories: 75 calories (estimate)
Cost: The cost for this chocolate was/is either ~$1.76 or ~$2.34 - (depending on whether I bought 3 or 4 bulk chocs/truffles; the total for a small bag (pictured above) of individual chocolates that I bought was $7.04.)
Purchased from: Godiva Chocolatier (shop), in Portland, OR

This Mango chocolate from Godiva Chocolatier was good, but a bit too sweet for me. (To be fair I bought this chocolate a few weeks ago, which may have diminished its flavor a bit.)

Saturday, August 23, 2008

Moonstruck Chocolatier - Grenada Truffle - August 23, 2008



Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece
Moonstruck Chocolatier
Grenada Truffle
Very Good + - very nice chocolate ganache center
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) (estimate) in 1 piece
Calories: 75 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $2.00 (estimate)
Purchased by: Moonstruck Chocolatier, in Portland, OR

Friday, August 22, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 22, 2008



Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Moonstruck Chocolatier
Golden Crown Truffle
Good + - Very Good
Wt: ~ .5 oz.
Calories: ~ 75 cals.
Cost: ~$ 2.00
Purchased from: Moonstruck Chocolatier, in Portland, OR

ChocolateBet: August 21, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

3/4 bar
Venchi
Absinthium - dark chocolate bar (75% cacao) with Absinthe flavors
Very Good + - nice rich flavor combination and finish (licorice-like taste)
Weight: 1.185 oz. (33.75 grams) for 3/4 bar/ 1.58 oz. (45 g.) for total bar
Calories: 178 calories (estimate - info not on label)
Cost: $5.75
Purchased from: Cacao Drink Chocolate, in Portland, OR

I enjoyed sharing this dark chocolate absinthe bar (made in Italy) with friends on a summer eve. (Thank you Elise for the great dinner with fresh veggies from your garden.)

About Absinthe/A. Absinthium: (See info copied and pasted from wikipedia.org entry below)

"...Absinthe originated in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. It achieved great popularity as an alcoholic drink in late 19th- and early 20th-century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers. Due in part to its association with bohemian culture, absinthe was opposed by social conservatives and prohibitionists. Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, and Aleister Crowley were all notorious "bad men" of that day who were (or were thought to be) devotees of the Green Fairy. Absinthe was portrayed as a dangerously addictive psychoactive drug.[2] The chemical thujone, present in small quantities, was blamed for its alleged harmful effects. By 1915, absinthe had been banned in the United States and in most European countries except the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although absinthe was vilified, no evidence has shown it to be any more dangerous than ordinary liquor. Its psychoactive properties, apart from those of alcohol, had been much exaggerated.[2] A revival of absinthe began in the 1990s, when countries in the European Union began to reauthorize its manufacture and sale..."

Wednesday, August 20, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 20, 2008




Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Moonstruck Chocolatier
Conquistador Hazelnut Praline
Very Good +; a bit sweet, but excellent combination of hazelnut-and-chocolate textures and flavors in this truffle
Wt.: ~ .5 oz.
Calories: ~ 75 calories
Cost: ~ $2.00
Purchased from: Moonstruck Chocolatier, in Portland, OR

This is the second truffle in a 4-piece box (box also pictured, above right).

ChocolateBet: August 19, 2008




Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Moonstruck Chocolatier
Clear Creek Pear Brandy Truffle
Good + - Very Good; nice chocolate, but I can't really taste any brandy or pear flavors.
Wt.: ~ .5 oz.
Calories: ~ 75 cals.
Cost: ~$2.00
Purchased from: Moonstruck Chocolatier, in Portland, OR

I'm still working from my chocolate stash from a vacation day trip to Portland earlier this month. While visiting one of Moonstruck's (smaller) Portland locations in a mall, I found out that the company has expanded to other states, including: California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Virginia and New Jersey. So, I may be stopping by their San Francisco (Marina area) store to try a few other truffles, and also to try their chocolate "animals." (Stay tuned for chocolate animal theme week later this year.)

Monday, August 18, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 18, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

2 small squares
Dolfin
Earl Grey - dark chocolate
Very Good
Weight: ~.313 oz. (9 grams) for 2 pieces; 3.76 oz. (108 grams) total package of 24 pieces (variety pack with 2 pieces each of 12 different Dolfin flavors)
Calories: 46 calories (estimate) for 2 small squares
Cost: $11.00 total package of 24 pieces
Purchased from: Cacao Drink Chocolate, in Portland, OR

These Earl Grey chocolate squares from Dolfin (Belgium) were lightly crunchy. (Perhaps they contained bits of ground cocoa nibs?)

I was concerned that the dark chocolate might overwhelm the lighter, floral flavor notes present in Earl Grey tea, but I needn't have worried.

ChocolateBet: August 17, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving (1/8 of cake)
Dowd and Rogers
Dutch Chocolate Cake Mix - Made with Italian Chestnut Flour (Gluten- and Wheat-free)
Very Good
Wt: ~100 g? for one piece cake; total box of dry cake mix = 14 oz. (408 g.)
Calories: 340 cals for 1/8 cake (+ 100 additional cals for coconut frosting, pecan chips = ~ 440 total)
Cost: $0 - gift (Alec bought earlier)
Purchased from: (Alec thought this was from Whole Foods?)

Saturday, August 16, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 16, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

2 small bars
Waialua Estate (Dole)
Extra Dark Chocolate - 70% cacao
Very Good
Weight: 20 grams (.70 oz.) in 2 small bars; small box comes with 5 bars - for a total package weight of 50 grams (1.75 oz.)
Calories: 104 calories (estimate) in 2 small bars
Purchased from: Cacao Drink Chocolate, in Portland, OR

This Dole Wailua Estate bar was the first chocolate I've seen made from all Hawaiian-grown cacao/beans.* Hawaii is the only state in the U.S. (with the possible exception of small areas of Florida) where you can really grow cacao. While others are starting to make chocolate in Hawaii, it was exciting to see and taste my first U.S.-grown bar.

The 70% cacao chocolate tasted pleasant, with a smooth taste, and no strong distinctive or acidic flavor spikes.

*This small dark chocolate bar was labeled as "Single origin, from the north shore of O'ahu, Hawai'i." I'm guessing that the Waialua Estate area was part of an old Dole (pineapple) plantation. 

ChocolateBet: August 15, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1/2 bar
Canada True/Heart Industries
Maple Cream - Milk Chocolate Maple Cream filled
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .875 oz. ( 25 grams) for 1/2 bar; 1.75 oz. (50 grams) total
Calories: 125 calories for 1/2 bar
Cost: $0 (gift) - Thank you Jasmin!
Purchased from: ? (somewhere near Niagra Falls where Jasmin was on vacation?)

ChocolateBet: August 14, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Canada True/Heart Industries
Dark Chocolate Icewine* Cream filled
Very Good
Weight: 50 grams (1.75 oz.)
Calories: 250 calories for 1 bar
Cost: $0 (gift) - Thank you Jasmin!
Purchased from: (? - perhaps somewhere near Niagra Falls? while Jasmin was on vacation)

*Icewine is a dessert wine made from grapes that are left on the vines late enough in the year/season that they may be frozen when they are picked, before they are fermented.

Thursday, August 14, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 13, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Michel Cluizel
Forestiere
Very Good - nice mix of crunchy and smooth layers
Wt: ~.45 oz.
Calories: ~ 70 cals. (estim.)
Cost: ~ $2.00
Purchased from: Cacao Drink Chocolate, in Portland, OR

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 12, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Michel Cluizel
Florentine
Very Good -- This round and flat chocolate was slightly crispy, slightly chewy, with an almond and candied fruit layer over a chocolate base.
Wt: ~ 1 oz.
Calories: ~ 150 (estim.)
Cost: ~$2.00
Purchased from: Cacao Drink Chocolate, in Portland, OR

Monday, August 11, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 11, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Theo Chocolate
Rose Caramel
Good + - Very Good -- The quality of the individual ingredients seemed to be quite good; however, the overall taste was bitter (due to the rose?).
Wt: ~ .5 oz.
Calories: ~ 75 cals. (estimate, as information not available)
Cost: ~$2.00
Purchased from: Cacao Drink Chocolate, in Portland, Oregon

Sunday, August 10, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 10, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Theo Chocolate
Mint
Very Good + - Yum - excellent natural mint flavor, smooth dark ganache
Wt: ~.5 oz.
Calories: ~ 75 cals.
Cost: ~$2.00
Purchased from Cacao Drink Chocolate, in Portland, OR

What a difference real mint makes. Although it does make me wonder, where does all this over mint-like flavoring that I've been eating all these years come from? Do I want to know? Hmmm.

Saturday, August 9, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 9, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Theo Chocolate
"Scotch"
Very Good - Very Good + - nice smooth dark ganache, and scotch flavors
Wt: ~ .5 oz.
Calories: ~ 75 calories
Cost: $2.00
Purchased from: Cacao Drink Chocolate, in Portland, OR

Today I fly down to L.A. for a conference/tradeshow for work, after pulling an all-nighter and two almost all-nighters in the past several days. Not the smartest thing to do, but the show must go on. Thank goodness for a good stiff belt of scotch and dark chocolate. That will help! :-).

Friday, August 8, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 8, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Theo
Fig & Fennel
Very Good - nice smooth consistency and the fig and fennel flavors are well balanced.
Wt: ~ .4 oz.
Calories: ~ 65 cals. (estim.)
Cost: $ (unclear from receipt)
Purchased from: Cacao Drink Chocolate, in Portland, OR

ChocolateBet: August 7, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving ("set" of 2 pieces sold as 1)
Fran's
Ginger
Good+ - Very Good; the taste of high-quality ingredients, nice gel-like candied ginger middle surrounded by dark chocolate
Wt: ~.6 oz.
Calories: ~90 cals. (estim.)
Cost: $? (not clear from receipt)
Purchased from: Cacao Drink Chocolate, in Portland, OR

Wednesday, August 6, 2008

ChocolateBet: Aug. 6, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
Sahagun
Shards of De Vries - thin pieces of bark; Costa Rican 77% with bits of fueilletine
Very Good - crunchy, as billed
Wt: ~ .25 oz.
Calories: ~37 cals. (estim.)
Cost: $1.00 for this serving/pkg.
Purchased from: Sahagun, in Portland, OR

Tuesday, August 5, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 5, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Sahagun (Chocolate Shop)
Oregon Bark (with hazelnuts and sour cherries from Oregon) - made at Sahagun
Very Good - a bit uneven in terms of different tastes - but all but a few bitter spots are very good.
Wt: ~ 1 oz.
Calories: ~ 150 cals. (estim.)
Cost: $5.45
Purchased from: Sahagun (Chocolate Shop) in Portland, OR

Note: Only tiny flecks of chocolate left in empty wrapper (image at right/above).

Monday, August 4, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 4, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:
1 bar
Cavalier
Moka Dark (bar)
Very Good + - This bar has a soft almost fudgy center; I liked the dark/mocha flavor balance. It's just a little sweet, but smooth; and you don't feel like you're eating coffee grounds.
Wt.: 42 grams (~ 1.4 oz.)
Calories:
Cost: $2.99 (Canadian)
Purchased from: Beniamo & Co., in Montreal, Quebec

This bar is the last of my chocolate stash from Quebec. The next few weeks I'll be eating a lot of chocolates from the Portland area. (See my Aug. 2, '08, blog entry for more on my chocolate city stumble (day-trip to Portland last Saturday) ).

Sunday, August 3, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 3, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Caffarel
Olympo All' Arancia
Very Good
Weight: 0.8 oz. (24 grams)
Calories: 125 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $2.45 (Canadian)
Purchased from: Beniamo and Co., in Montreal, Quebec

I really enjoy dark chocolate and citrus flavors together when they're well balanced and natural tasting. Today's "Bitter Chocolate with Orange Flavour" bar from Caffarel (Italia) was quite nice.

ChocolateBet: August 2, 2008



Chocolate(s) of the Day:
Portland Day Trip - Chocolate City Stumble

1.) 1 piece
Sahagun
Single (Hazelnut) Caramel (no corn syrup)
Yum - This is a wonderful take on a caramel; it looks like a small dark chocolate cupcake topped with a toasted hazelnut; this chocolate has an almost liquid caramel center/filling.
Weight: ~.5 oz.
Calories: ~ 75 cals. (estim.)
Cost: $?
Purchased from: Sahagun, in Portland, OR

2.) 1 serving
Cacao Drink Chocolate
Special Spicy Dark Drinking Chocolate (shot) - Ingredients include: "70% Arriba dark chocolate, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, and ginger, blended with milk, cream, coconut cream."
Yum - just bliss in a tiny cup
Weight.: 2 oz. (estimate)
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 shot
Cost: $2.00
Purchased from: Cacao drink chocolate, in Portland, OR

Today I flew up to Portland, OR, for the day, and did my first "chocolate city stumble" - for lack of a better description. The loose objective of this trip was to run around downtown Portland and see sights, and visit as many (local, unique) chocolate places/shops as possible in an afternoon.

 I spent a few minutes at Powell's books, and also had a nice lunch at Jake's Grill. And as I was walking along the Willamette river I even caught part of a "Flugtag 2008" contest where local teams "fly" their home-built crafts into the river. This event was sponsored by Red Bull (a drink that is marketed, appropriately enough, as the drink that "gives you wings") and was attended by many, many thousands of people. Even after a drop of 50+ feet off a ramp, participants emerged from the river relatively unscathed; however, their (primarily non-flying) machines did not appear to fare so well. This begs the question: Is anyone making a Red Bull Truffle yet?

So, back to chocolate hunting...It was worth the trip to visit Sahagun's - a tiny shop near the freeway, where they make all their chocolates on-premise from what I could tell.

I brought back a collection of chocolates from Sahagun's, Cacao drink chocolate and Moonstruck. I also bought a few Godiva chocolates for good measure, to try over the next few weeks.

My only regret...It was to hard to pick just one chocolate of the day today. I had two excellent chocolates today - 1.) Sahagun's caramel and 2.) a small shot of hot spicy dark drinking chocolate from Cocao drink chocolate. Both were outstanding. So, I'm listing both today. I'd like to go back to Portland again to try Cacao's cinnamon drink chocolate, and more chocolates from all these places.

Friday, August 1, 2008

ChocolateBet: August 1, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
Maltby's Restaurant
Mini-Mousse - a tiny brandy snifter-style glass of homemade frozen chocolate mousse topped with whipped cream
Very Good - I really like the small serving
Wt: ~ 4 oz.
Calories: ~ 250 cals. (guesstimate)
Cost: $3.95
Purchased from Maltby's Restaurant in Los Altos, Calif.

This dessert followed a fun dinner at Maltby's with family members visiting from out-of-town.

ChocolateBet: July 31, 2008


Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Cote d'Or
Puur Noten Fondant Noisettes (It's hard to go wrong with the combination of darkish milk chocolate with nuts, in any language.)
Very Good
Weight: 45 grams
Calories: ~ ?
Cost: $?
Purchased from Beniamo and Co., in Montreal, Quebec

I'm working my way through the last few chocolates from my Montreal trip earlier this month. Only two more bars to go after this one.

I'm excited about flying to Portland, for the day, this Saturday. I've already identified a few chocolate shops there. Love the yelp reviews for these places. One reviewer used the phrase "Wonka Crack"....to describe chocolates at one shop... Works for me.
Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...