Taza Chocolate - Crispy Crunch bar - Jan. 26, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

Taza Chocolate
Crispy Crunch bar
OK+ - Good
Weight: .85 oz. (24 g.) total mini bar
Calories: 127 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $2.25 in 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate, Nuts and Rice Theme Week.

This organic, stoneground chocolate mini bar from Taza Chocolate (Somerville, MA) was embedded with brown rice crisps that were flavored with a hint of molasses.

To maximize the crunch factor, I ate this bar with nuts -- almonds from California, and cashews from Vietnam. (Lightly salted, roasted peanuts would have worked well too.) The bean-to-bar stoneground chocolate was rich in flavor, but a little less creamy than other chocolate, so the nuts (and the rice) helped balance and round out the taste profile and mouthfeel.

Due to travel, photos will be delayed. 

Romanze Rice + Hazelnut bars - Jan. 25, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

Romanze Luxury Chocolate
Milk Choco with Rice + Hazelnut (bar)
OK+ - Good
Weight: .265 oz. ( 7.5 g.) / 5.8 oz. (165 g.) total package of 15 small bars
Calories:  40 calories
Cost: 170,000 Vietnamese Dong (VD)
Purchased from:  small shop in Danang Airport, Vietnam

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate, Nuts and Rice Theme Week.

These bite-sized Romanze "Milk Choco" with Rice + Hazelnut bars were a bit like a Nestle Crunch bar, but with tiny bits of hazelnut added.

I've been trying chocolates from Vietnam this past week. Many of the ones I've found in small shops and mini marts have actually been from Malaysia.* Today's set of 22 diminutive Romanze bars were manufactured in Malaysia for LB International Ltd.

*Note: The exception so far has been Marou Chocolate (Ho Chi Minh City) single origin, bean-to-bar chocolate bars from southern Vietnam.