Chocolove - Ruby Chocolate 34% Cocoa (bar) - Jan. 21, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolove
Ruby Chocolate 34% Cocoa (bar)
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.03 oz. (29 g.) / 3.1 oz. (87 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories (per label) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $4.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Michael's, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate, Berries and Vanilla Theme Week. (This is the first of two posts for today: one ruby chocolate bar and one dark chocolate raspberry-flavored bar.)

Today's Ruby Chocolate* 34% Cocoa (bar) was from Chocolove (Boulder, CO). 

If I ever am able to assemble enough chocolates for a Chocolate and Poetry Theme Week, I'd have to include bars/confections from Chocolove. Inside every wrapper is printed a poem of some sort. (Today's was the aptly titled: "Ruby" by Thomas Carew.)

Aroma notes for this bar included: faint berry and even fainter vanilla.

This (Milk of Magnesia) pink-colored bar had a relatively thick cocoa butter texture, melt and mouthfeel. (This was eaten in a cool, 66 degrees F. (18.8 degrees C.) room.)

Flavor notes included white chocolate and berry. There was "no berry flavor added" (but it did contain citric acid). The finish notes: berry jam and/or berry (very faintly medicinal) syrup.

Yes, this 34% cacao bar was (as expected) quite sweet; but was reasonably balanced with the tart-sweet berry flavor. The flavor was uniform with relatively low complexity (red berry with vanilla), due primarily to high sugar (and low cocoa solids) content.

For decorative use and fun and/or pink colored confections, I can see where this might be a hit. Also, for those who like white chocolate, berry and vanilla flavors.

Ingredients: Sugar, cocoa butter, milk, cocoa liquor, soy lecithin, citric acid, vanilla. 

Allergy-related information: Contains milk, soy. "Made in a facility that also processes eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts." ("No artificial preservatives; no artificial colors")

*Swiss cocoa processor Barry Callebaut introduced the pink-hued, Ruby Chocolate in 2017.  Skeptics initially questioned whether this new chocolate contained sufficient cocoa solids to warrant the term "chocolate," and wondered if this was closer to white chocolate. The company indicated that certain compounds were extracted from cacao beans grown in Ivory Coast, Ecuador and Brazil to give it its unique rosy shade. 

Daily Harvest - Banana + Cacao Bites - Jan. 20, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Distributed by Daily Harvest
Banana + Cacao Bites 
Good +
Weight: 2 oz. (56.6 g.) / 7 oz. (198 g.) in total container
Calories: 200 calories in 2 servings
Cost: $1.99 for 1 serving
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA 

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate, Berries and Vanilla Theme Week. 

Today's Banana + Cacao Bites were distributed by Daily Harvest Inc. (New York, NY). These bites were a blend of banana,* cashew, oats, almond, dark chocolate, chaga, and vanilla bean. 

Aroma notes for these frozen snack bites (made with mostly organic ingredients) included: banana, cocoa, light floral (vanilla), and a very faint nutty/savory note.

These frozen treats had the texture of soft, frozen cookie dough. The banana (the number two ingredient) had a nice (very mildly gooey), sweet ripe fruit, softness and acted as a pleasant, natural binder.

The complex blend of flavors (ingredients, see below) including a cocoa flavor mixed with banana and nut flavors were harmonious and each gradually emerged to take at least a small turn--including a brief flicker of mild mushroom (chaga).

I was pleased that these frozen bites easily satisfied a sweet snack craving after only two bites. (Unlike ice cream, which has a more addictive or "moreish" quality.) While not a low carb frozen dessert (date paste is the number one ingredient--although there is no white sugar), nut butter (cashew) and powder (almond) provided enough fat and protein (and added fiber) contributed to the sense of satiation.

Ingredients: Organic date paste; organic bananas; organic cashew butter; organic, gluten-free whole grain oats; organic cassava root flour; almond powder; organic 100% unsweetened dark chocolate; Himalayan sea salt; organic chaga mushroom powder; vanilla bean powder. 

Allergen-related information: Contains tree nuts (almond, cashew). Made in a facility that also processes tree nuts, soy and dairy.

* You may be asking, where are the berries in today's entry? In botanical terms, a "berry" is a fruit with seeds and pulp that develops from the ovary of a flower. Bananas are, using this classification system, considered berries.