Friday, July 31, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 31, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Askinosie Chocolate
Soconusco, Mexico, Dark Milk + Fleur de Sel bar
Very Good + - Yum
Weight: 3 oz. (85 grams)
Calories: 540 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $8.50
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, in San Francisco, CA

Thanks again to the helpful staff at Chocolate Covered in San Francisco who helped me pick out this Dark Milk bar from Askinosie Chocolate (Springfield, MO).

This single origin bar was made like a lot of the best chocolate, with a few select, local ingredients - that in this case included Trinitario cocoa beans from Mexico, organic cane juice, goat's milk powder, cocoa butter, and sea salt. And, this bar wasn't too sweet, which was a real plus for me.

Thursday, July 30, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 30, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:

2/3 bar
Original Beans
Cru Virunga, D.R. Congo - 70% cacao: 20-hour conch
Very Good +
Weight: 2.37 oz. (66.6 g.)/3.57 oz. (100 g.) total bar
Calories: ~ 357 calories (estimate)
Cost: $16.00
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, in San Francisco, CA

Original Beans bars represent an example of chocolate for a good cause. If you buy a bar, you get information on a (cacao) tree that will be planted, possibly in an area that is being reforested (or restored, after the land has been clear cut).

I'm guessing the company's relationships with farmers (co-ops) in various countries, the tree planting (and the use of small batches and rarer beans) help explain the high price; although the chocolate is rich and smooth, and appears to be very high-quality chocolate.

The bean-to-bar makers carefully process their cacao beans to arrive at "a crisp snap and a luscious melt with vivid fruit notes."

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 29, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Torn Ranch
Tea Infused Chocolate - Masala Chai with Black Tea
Very Good
Weight: "1 oz. (28.5 grams)"
Calories: 174 calories
Cost: $2.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered in San Francisco, CA

This milk chocolate bar from Torn Ranch (Novato, CA) was a bit sweet (I think I've gotten used to eating mostly dark chocolates this past week); however it was infused with very nice, well balanced chai tea flavor. And, while I couldn't taste black tea specifically, I'm guessing the tea taste (and maybe the tannic acid in tea) blended well with and balanced the milk in the milk chocolate. 

ChocolateBet: July 28, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
MarieBelle
Apricot - Dark Chocolate Bar, 70%
Very Good
Weight: 3.1 oz. (90 grams)
Calories: 428 calories (estimate) in total bar
Cost: $8.50
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, in San Francisco, CA

Very nice dark chocolate; and I liked the crunchy pieces (potato starch?). I couldn't really taste the apricot pieces, but I enjoyed the bar -- enough to eat the whole thing. Whoops. High rate of chocolate evaporation in my house.

I loved the packaging, design too. It reminded me of my visit to Mariebelle in New York City, a place with a very attractive and inviting interior space, with a combined shop and cafe/tea area.

Monday, July 27, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 27, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Gnosis Chocolate
Fleur de Sel (bar)
Very Good
Weight: 2 oz. (56 grams) in 1 bar
Calories: 300 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $ ?
Purchased from: Gnosis Chocolate website

This handmade, raw, organic and vegan chocolate Fleur de Sel bar from Gnosis Chocolate (NYC, NY) was flavored with Fleur de Sel and Pink Himalayan Salt, and was also made with agave nectar instead of refined white sugar.

Gnosis Chocolate donates part of their profits to The Fruit Tree Planting Foundation (www.ftpt.org).

Sunday, July 26, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 26, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Zotter
Cheese-Walnuts-Grapes bar
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: 2.47 oz. (70 grams)
Calories: 370 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $6.48 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Fog City News, in San Francisco, CA

The English translation printed on the label of this organic and fair trade Cheese, Walnuts and Grapes bar (from Austria) stated the bar contained "Milk Chocolate filled with cheese cream." This unusual combination -- perhaps more commonly associated with a salad than a chocolate bar -- was great.

Filling ingredients include: cheese, raisins, almonds, apple balsamic vinegar, Grappa, salt and chili. Works for me. I ate this bar for lunch with a little lettuce and chicken on the side.

And, yes, if I had known about this bar earlier, I probably would have included it in "Chocolate and Cheese Theme Week" awhile back.

Saturday, July 25, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 25, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:

1 tootsie pop/sucker
Tootsie Roll Industries
Pomegranate Tootsie Roll Pop
Very Good
Weight: .6 oz. (17 grams)
Calories: 60 calories
Cost: $0 (gift)
Purchased from: (don't know; this was a gift. Thanks Megan.)

Eating this hard candy Tootsie Roll sucker with the chewy fudge center did bring back fond memories from childhood. Pomegranate must be one of the newer flavors.

Television commercials for this candy (many years ago) invited viewers to discover how many licks it took to reach the chocolate center of a Tootsie Roll Pop. However, during the commercial, one of the characters (usually the owl) would bite into the hard candy outer coating to get to the center more quickly, and then viewers were left to wonder how many licks it took to get to the center.

And, shoot, I bit into mine too, before I remembered this. Ah well, maybe next time I'll find out the answer to this important question.

Also, according to the Tootsie Roll website, Tootsie Roll Pops are gluten free. Good to know. Now I'll have to try all their flavors.

Friday, July 24, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 24, 2009



Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Bryne and Carlson (Portsmouth, NH)
Mendiant Bar - 68% cacao
Very Good +
Weight: 4.75 oz. (134.5 grams) in 1 bar
Calories: 712 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $ (?) Alas, receipt didn't break out individual items and prices
Purchased from: Fog City News, in San Francisco, CA

This lovely-to-look-at bar is the result of starting with a French (dark) chocolate base and hand-decorating the bars with "dried fruits, nuts, candied violets and mint leaves."

The taste of some of more delicate items got lost a bit in the dark chocolate. In this case, I was expecting to taste the mint and not the candied violets, but the reverse was true (which was great). The pieces of candied citrus peel and dried cranberry worked well in this mix as well.

This bar was my breakfast and lunch today.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 23, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:

1 package
ChocolateSmith
Green Chili Pistachio bark
Very Good
Weight: 2 oz. (56.6 grams)
Calories: 300 calories (estimate) in 1 package
Cost: $4.50 for 2 oz. package
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, in San Francisco, CA

I liked being able to taste the pistachio nuts in this Green Chili Pistachio Bar from ChocolateSmith (New Mexico). The pistachios were still crunchy (i.e. not too soft); and I thought the amount and distribution of the green chili powder was about right...Oops. I ate this bark before scanning an image of it.
Photo: ChocolateSmith.com

My apologies: All I have is the empty plastic bag/wrapping to show you. The chocolate was much more attractive than this. I don't usually do this, but in the interest of doing this product justice, I'm also including an image of this bark from the ChocolateSmith.com website at right. 

ChocolateBet: July 22, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Zotter
LimeHoney "Limonate" bar
(organic, fair trade, "hand scooped")
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 370 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $6.48 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Fog City News, in San Francisco, CA

This chocolate bar from Zotter (Austria) contained "dark mountain milk chocolate filled with limes and honey;" and it contains a hint of cane sugar brandy. Brazil nuts, and honey and rice flour helped create a honey crunch element in the lemon-lime flavored filling. 

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 21, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Madecasse
Madagascar Chocolate - 70% cacoa bar
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: 3 oz. (85 g.) total bar
Calories: 450 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, in San Francisco, CA

This 70% cocoa bar was grown, made (from bean to bar), and packaged in Madagascar -- from three ingredients: Madagascar cocoa beans, sugar and cocoa butter. That's all; nothing else.

Monday, July 20, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 20, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Michael Mischer Chocolates
Almonds and Murray River Salt
Single Origin - Criollo 72% Dark Chocolate
Very Good
Weight: 3 oz. (85 grams)
Calories: 450 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, in San Francisco, CA

This dark chocolate bar from Michael Mischer Chocolates (Oakland, CA) had some nice, rich complex flavors, including a very faint toasted-to-burned flavor, much like you'd taste with Turkish coffee. A touch of Murray River Salt perfectly rounded out the flavor combination.

Sunday, July 19, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 19, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

1 serving
Dreyer's (Nestle)
MAXX ice cream
Chocolate Peanut Butter Chunk
Very Good
Weight: 1/2 cup (74 g.)/1 Pint (473 mL) total
Calories: 250 calories (estimate) in 1 serving
Cost: $3.99
Purchased from: Blockbuster (video store), Palo Alto, CA

Chocolate, nuts (peanut butter) and ice cream...One of my favorite combinations. And, this Dreyer's MAXX ice cream was loaded with all three.

Regarding the image of the ice cream container (lid) above, once again my scanner has produced an unintentional "motion blur" special effect. It's as if the ice cream carton is hurtling toward you; no special 3-D glasses are required.

Postscript: It looks like the image is now broken, so it was removed; and replaced with a new image.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 18, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:


1 bar
thinkproducts
thinkThin - Chocolate Fudge (high protein bar)
Good +
Weight: 2.1 oz. (60 grams)
Calories: 240 calories
Cost: $1.19 (sale price)
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Los Altos, CA

This gluten-free protein bar from thinkproducts (Ventura, CA) wasn't bad, as protein bars go. I picture these bars being eaten by healthy, skinny folks. Somehow I did not fit this description today. It was a hot summer day, and I watched a movie I rented, while doing some research sitting in front of my computer. Ah well, I'll try to take a walk or do something more befitting an active California lifestyle -- later perhaps.

ChocolateBet: July 17, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Coracao Confections
Maca Malt Cup
Good + - Very Good
Weight: ~.6 oz. (17 grams)
Calories: 90 calories (estimate)
Cost: ~$1.99 ($15.92 ttl div. by 8 pcs)
Purchased from: Whole Foods in Los Altos, CA

I'm not sure yet what maca is exactly; claims are that it is good for you. I'll have to do some research. (The image above is from the Coracao Confections website.)

ChocolateBet: July 16, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Coracao Confections
Caramel Cup
Good + - Very Good
Weight: ~ .5 oz. (14.15 grams)
Calories: ~ 75 calories (estimate)
Cost: ~$1.99 ($15.92 total divided by 8 pieces)
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Los Altos, CA

The caramel center was a bit stiffer than I was expecting, but still good. There are so many different types of caramel centers. You wouldn't think there would be so many different variations for browned sugar combinations - ranging from liquid syrup to chewy stiff. (The image above is from the Coracao Confections website.)

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 15, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Coracao Confections
Macadamia Coconut Dream
Good + - Very Good
Weight: ~.8 oz. (22.6 grams) (estimate)
Calories: ~120 calories (estimate)
Cost: ~$1.99 ($15.92 for total of 8 pieces)
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Los Altos, CA

This chocolate was similar to the Coconut Dream with almonds, only this one had macadamia nuts inside. It was dipped/covered in dark chocolate. The image above is from the Coracao Confections website.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 14, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Coracao Confections
Coconut Dream - with almonds (dipped in dark chocolate)
Very Good - Very Good+
Weight: ~.8 oz. (22.6 grams)
Calories: ~120 calories (estimate)
Cost: ~$1.99 ($15.92 total for 8 pcs.; divided total by 8 to get cost of 1 pc.)
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Los Altos, CA

The Coracao team describes the Coconut Dream as their version of an Almond Joy (candy bar). The image above was taken from the Coracao Confections website.

Monday, July 13, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 13, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:
2 pieces
Coracao Confections
Goji Hearts - dark raw chocolate & goji berries
Very Good
Weight: 1.0 oz. (28.3 grams) in 2 pieces
Calories: ~ 150 calories in 2 pieces (estimate)
Cost: $~$3.98 ($15.92 total for 8 pieces divided by 8, x 2 pieces)
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Los Altos, CA

I enjoyed the fact that there wasn't too much sugar/sweetener in these heart-shaped chocolates. The image above is from the Coracao Confections website.

ChocolateBet: July 12, 2009



Chocolate of the Day:
2 pieces
Coracao Confections
Superberry/Acai Cup
Very Good
Weight: ~1.0 oz. (28.3 grams) for two pieces
Calories: ~ 145 calories
Cost: ~$3.98 for two pieces
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Los Altos, CA

These were very satisfying. And, from the description, it sounds like Coracao chocolates are healthier than your average chocolates as well.

I've included two images of this chocolate: one from the Coracao Confections web site, and the second is a scanned image of the cup (placed "face" down on the scanner bed). The actual pink topping color was somewhere in between these two images.

Saturday, July 11, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 11, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:

2 pieces
Reese's
Reese's Select Clusters
OK + - Good
Weight: .5 oz. (15 grams) x 2 = 1.0 oz. (29 g.) for 2
Calories: 146 calories (estimate) in 2 pieces/clusters
Cost: $4.79 for total package (sale)
Purchased from: Walgreens, in Palo Alto, CA

These individually-wrapped clusters maintained much of the classic Reese's peanut butter cup flavors; they were made from peanuts, pecans, peanut butter, caramel, and were "wrapped in milk chocolate."

I ate these clusters with some chocolate ice cream and nuts; and later in the day, I read an article by Stephanie Sandoval (ABC Arizona website*), reminding readers that July is National Ice Cream month (established in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan). Her piece also included a chocolate and nut ice cream recipe that happened to look a lot like what I just ate earlier today. Hard to beat the combination of chocolate, nuts and ice cream.

*Postscript: link removed; article no longer available

Friday, July 10, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 10, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
Trail's End Company/Weaver Popcorn Co.
Chocolatey Caramel Crunch (chocolate-coated caramel popcorn)
Good +
Weight: ~ 2 oz. (56.6 grams)
Calories: ~ 250 calories (estimate)
Cost: $? (could have been a gift)
Purchased from: (was part of a popcorn gift tin); not sure where this came from

I am embarrassed to say that this round gift tin, packed with three different types of popcorn, dates back to a Christmas past. Fortunately, all three types of popcorn were nicely sealed in their own pouches, and this chocolate-coated popcorn still tasted reasonably fresh. Trail's End is part of Weaver Popcorn, a large U.S. manufacturer of popcorn. (In fact, according to Weaver Popcorn's website, they produce 30% of all popcorn sold.)

Thursday, July 9, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 9, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Brehmer's Handmade Candies
Dark Chocolate Coffee
Good + - Very Good
Weight: ~ .5 oz. (14.2 grams) (estim.)
Calories: ~ 75 calories (estim.)
Cost: ~ $1.62 (estim.)
Purchased from: Confetti, le chocolatier, in San Francisco, CA

Very pretty to look at, I felt like this flower-shaped chocolate could have been lifted from the top of a fancy cupcake. Note: the scanned image shown here is a bit washed out, i.e. it doesn't quite do the colors justice.

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 8, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 small taste piece
Escazu Artisan Chocolates
Single-Origin Dark Chocolate with Pumpkin Seeds & Guajillo Chili (bar)
74% cocoa
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: ~.15 oz. (4.245 g.) in one taste-sized piece
Calories: ~ 22.5 calories in small taste-sized piece
Cost: $0 (free sample)
Purchased from: (Fog City News, in San Francisco, CA)

Two new firsts today: 1.) I finally made it to Fog City News. (That previous time I arrived there after closing time does not count, although I did discover a great toy store on that dry-run trip.) 2.) I had the opportunity to taste chocolate from a "new" vendor: Escazu Artisan Chocolates, from North Carolina. (Thank you to Fog City for the introduction.) I liked the fact that I could taste the pumpkin seeds in this dark bar; the seeds were still a little crispy, and weren't just little mushy bits.

ChocolateBet: July 7, 2009


Chocolate(s) of the Day:

1.) 1/2 container
Whole Foods
Vegan Chocolate Mousse (with tofu)
Very Good +
Weight: 4.88 oz. (138 g.)/Net Wt. 0.61 lb. total container
Calories: 150 calories (guess) for 1/2 container
Cost: $3.65 for total container
Purchase from: Whole Foods, in Los Altos, CA
Surprisingly good I might add.

2.) 1 bar
Snickers with yellow nougat inside
("Transformers" Bits and Bytes - 4 of 4)
Very Good
Weight: 1.83 oz. (51.9 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 240 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $0.62 for 1 bar (sale)
Purchased from: Walgreens, in Palo Alto, CA

Monday, July 6, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 6, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Cowgirl Chocolates
Spicy Dark Orange Espresso Chocolate Bar
Very Good
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 grams) in 1 bar
Calories: 179 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.00
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, in San Francisco, CA

This Spicy Dark bar from Cowgirl Chocolates (Moscow, ID) was good, but a bit sweet for me. Maybe the sugar was meant to help appease those who might be intimidated by bitter and spicy flavors in this bar. I thought the robust blend of dark chocolate, cayenne pepper, orange and espresso were just fine.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 5, 2009



Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece/disc
ChocolateSmith
Rosemary Marcona Almond disc/disk
Very Good
Weight: .9 oz. (25.2 grams)
Calories: ~
Cost: $2.00
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, in San Francisco, CA

Nice blend of flavors, nice finish. 

Saturday, July 4, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 4, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:

1/2 bar
Jade Chocolates
Mahal (bar) indonesian cinnamon, ylang ylang, coconut
OK + - Good
Weight: 1 oz. (29 grams)/2 oz. (58 grams) total
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.50 for total bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, in San Francisco, CA

I enjoy floral flavors; so I was surprised that I wasn't gaga over my first taste of this Mahal bar from Jade Chocolates (San Francisco, CA) with cinnamon, ylang ylang and coconut. I'm not sure why. There was a lot of fun and exciting things going on in the exotic flavor department here.

Odd how when you eat chocolate (or wine or other foods) -- and with what -- really does make a difference. (I ate the rest of this bar a few days later, and liked it quite a bit more.)

ChocolateBet: July 3, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:

1/2 bar
Patisserie Chocolaterie Pralus s.a.s.
Cuba Trinitario 75% cacao
Very Good +
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 grams)/3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 260 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for total bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, in San Francisco, CA

Nice, smooth flavors, especially if you have the discipline to warm the chocolate a bit first. Once again, I am traveling vicariously through chocolate...eating chocolate from more places than I have actually visited in this world. Maybe I'll catch up one of these days. Until now, I feel fortunate to be able to sample such a great variety of chocolate near where I live.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 2, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:

2 bars
Jer's Handmade Chocolates
Jer's Dark Toffee Break Peanut Butter Bars
Very Good
Weight: 3.5 oz. (100 grams) in 2 bars
Calories: 420 calories in 2 bars
Cost: $7.00 for box/package of 2 bars
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, in San Francisco, CA

Sweet, soft and crunchy, these Peanut Butter Bars from Jer's (Solana Beach, CA) packed a nice texture contrast. Jer's packaging says they use U.S. grown organic Valencia peanuts.

The company makes a line of bars and confections. It sounded like these peanut butter bars were created after (and as a possible follow-up to) Jer's peanut butter and chocolate balls.

Much as I love summer, and especially summer evenings, hot weather + chocolate can induce a temporary sloth-like, pre-nap-state. OK, I don't know how a sloth thinks. But if you've ever seen one crawling along the ground in a warm climate, you'll get the idea. This morning, I ate these two peanut butter chocolate bars for breakfast/lunch, and slumped into a pleasant, food-induced semi-coma: eyes fixed, staring out at the wall of bright light that is currently my patio. Fortunately, the thought of all the work I have to do snapped me right back into a productive state.

There should be a siesta warning on larger sized boxes of chocolate. Or, God forbid, I could limit my chocolate consumption to my normal level of ~1 oz. per day.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

ChocolateBet: July 1, 2009


Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Dolfin
Dark Lavender from Haute Provence
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: 1.058 oz. (30 grams)
Calories: 153 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.00
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, in San Francisco, CA

Thank you to the folks at Chocolate Covered in San Francisco, for helping me find several items during my chocolate bar shopping spree last weekend. As I told them, I've now eaten chocolates from more countries than I've actually visited in person. Seeing the world through chocolate is one way to go if you've run out of time/money to travel.

Fortunately, I live in an area where lavender grows wildly well in my own yard. So, I don't necessarily need to travel to France to stick my nose in a big lavender bush. However, I wouldn't mind traveling to Haute Provence, to visit the source of lovely floral flavor in this bar. No, I would not mind at all.

ChocolateBet: June 30, 2009


Chocolate(s) of the Day:
6 cookies + 1 wedge of cake
Natasha's Sweet Temptations

1.) Vanilla-Chocolate Chip Cookies
Weight: ~ 6 oz. (170 grams) in 6 cookies
Calories: ~840 calories in 6 cookies
Cost: $?
Purchased from: Natasha's/Sweet Temptations booth, at Mountain View (CA) Farmer's Market

2.) Chocolate! Chocolate! Chocolate! Torte
Weight: ~ 4.6 oz. (120 grams) in one wedge/piece
Calories: ~552 calories (estimate)
Cost: $5.00
Purchased from: Natasha's/Sweet Temptations booth, Mountain View (CA) Farmer's Market

It's fun to find locally made chocolate items at the Farmer's Market. I enjoyed these gluten-free "health nut" cookies a lot. They are made with almond meal, and they don't have much sugar in them; yet they are very satisfying. The chocolate torte was dense, rich and tasty - just like you'd expect a flourless chocolate hunk of love to be.
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