ChocolateBet: June 5, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1/6 bar
chocri (mein schokolade)
"Surprise Chocolate Bar"
Very Good
Weight: .583 oz. (16.5 g.) in 1/6 bar/ 3.5 oz. (100 g.) total bar
Calories: 85 calories (estimate)
Cost: $ n/a - buy some, get one surprise bar free offer (approximately $11.79 value)
Purchased from: chocri (bars made in Berlin, Germany)

At last, my shipment of create-your-own chocolate bars from chocri arrived today. This novel company started in Germany, and expanded to the U.S. in early 2010. Through an easy-to-use, online chocri ordering system, customers can design (and name) their own chocolate bars. I first decided on a chocolate base (milk, dark or white). Chocri uses organic, fair trade chocolate from Belgium. I then moved on to toppings.

Customers can choose from a  long list of possible (up to five different, additional) ingredients -- including spices, dried fruits, nuts, and other confections. If you order a certain number of bars, you may get a surprise bar like this for free.

The ingredients I could identify in my surprise chocolate bar were: dark chocolate (64% cacao) base, with candied (pink) lilac, ginger, and ground coffee beans. 

Today was Day #1 of Create Your Own Chocolate Theme Week. More chocri bar flavors will follow this week.

ChocolateBet: June 4, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
2 pieces
V Chocolates
Sea Salt Caramels
Very Good
Weight:  1.125 oz. (31.8 g.) for 2 pieces/4.5 oz. (127.5 g.) total box of 8 pieces
Calories: 165 calories (estimate)
Cost: ($11.00 = estimate)
Purchased from: The Candy Store, in San Francisco, CA

These V Chocolates Sea Salt Caramels (without nuts) were covered in (milk and dark) chocolate, and were topped with different kinds of salts -- making them a good choice for Day #7 of Chocolate and Salt Theme Week. 

However, the main attraction was the substantial caramel filling. As recommended by the owner of The Candy Store, I had stowed these caramels in my freezer until I was ready to eat them.  I liked the hard-toffee-like (frozen) texture more than the sugary gooeyness that usually exists with large pieces of caramel. (Note: eat frozen caramels carefully to avoid a possible trip to the dentist.)