Blue Stripes - Chocolate Covered Whole Cacao Beans Hazelnut Butter - Aug. 19, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Blue Stripes Urban Cacao
Chocolate Covered Whole Cacao Beans Hazelnut Butter
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 4 oz. (113 g.) in total package
Calories: 150 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $ N/A - part of a multi-item ($31.99) gift box order
Purchased from: Blue Stripes, online order (part of a larger gift box order)

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Nuts Theme Week.

Today's Chocolate Covered Whole Cacao Beans Hazelnut Butter offering was distributed by Blue Stripes LLC (New York, NY). The company offers a variety of products that use the whole cacao pod ("shell + fruit + beans").

Aroma notes for this whole cacao confection included: subtle chocolate and dried fruit (raisin, mango, citrus), gently roasted cacao and faint nuts/nut butter.

These generously sized rounds offered a high-contrast creamy (chocolate and hazelnut butter) and crunchy (whole cacao beans) experience--as I enjoyed tasting the "whole" cacao pod: cacao shell, cacao fruit and cacao bean, in layered form.

Flavor notes for the sweeter outer layer(s) included relatively subtle chocolate, very faint fruit, and hazelnut butter. This relatively thick, creamy outer layer(s) melted away fairly quickly.

Soon I was biting into the crunchy whole, unsweetened cacao bean center. It was slightly fibrous (cacao nib-like texture), nutty and seedy, with subtle (balanced) bitter flavor notes. If you like cacao nibs, you'll appreciate the opportunity to taste the whole, cacao bean.

You also may feel a theobromine buzz if you eat too many pieces. Theobromine, a close cousin to caffeine, is the stimulant present in cacao beans--and to lesser extent in other plants like tea and kola nuts.*

Ingredients: Whole Cacao Blend (70% Chocolate [Cacao Mass, Coconut Sugar, Cacao Butter], Cacao Shell Fiber, Cacao Fruit Sugar), Hazelnut Butter, Whole Cacao Beans, Sea Salt.

Allergen-related information: Contains Hazelnut, Coconut.

*Theobromine is a naturally-occurring plant alkaloid and stimulant. (Bitter tasting plant alkaloids evolved as a defense mechanism for plants, to help to deter would be "predators"/consumers in the wild.)

Just as some people have a lower tolerance for caffeine-containing plants (coffee, guarana), be aware that some people may be more affected by theobromine than others. And for 9-10% of humans (and many other species) who may have problems processing this alkaloid, too much theobromine may not feel so great. 

Blue Stripes Cacao - Whole Cacao Chocolate Bar - Hazelnut Butter 70% Cacao - Aug. 18, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Blue Stripes Urban Cacao
Whole Cacao Chocolate Bar Hazelnut Butter 70% Cacao
Good ++
Weight: 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories; 380 calories in 1 bar
Cost: (Part of $31.99 multiple item gift box order)
Purchased from: Blue Stripes, online order 

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Nuts Theme Week.

Today's Whole Cacao Chocolate Bar - Hazelnut Butter (bar) was distributed by Blue Stripes Cacao LLC (New York, NY). 

Aroma notes included: light chocolate, diffuse fruit (light mango, sweet citrus, berry jam), nuts (hazelnuts, roasted peanuts, hazelnut paste).

This chocolate bar had two layers. The base 70% dark chocolate layer was smooth in texture and taste, with mild to moderate chocolate-y (ganache), nut and faint faint flavor. It was not too sweet or acidic, and it was low in bitterness. 

The other layer was softer and nut-buttery (hazelnut butter, gianduja-like) and with a generous amount of hazelnut pieces adding enjoyable crunchy and ultra-creamy textural contrast.

This was a satisfying blend of very creamy chocolate and crunchy hazelnut pieces--and, I'm imagining, tiny bits of cocoa pod/fruit, as this was "100% upcycled chocolate" made with not only cacao (beans), but also cacao shell flour and cacao fruit sugar.

The sweetness level seemed about right. And it tasted authentically (fruit/coconut) sweet, rather than processed sugar sweetened.

Ingredients: Whole Cacao Blend (100% Chocolate*, Cacao Shell Flour, Cacao Butter*, Cacao Sugar), Hazelnut Butter*, Hazelnuts*, Coconut Sugar*, Sea Salt. (*Organic)

Allergen-related information: Contains Hazelnuts, Coconut. "...product is produced in a facility that also processes tree nuts, soy, peanuts, and wheat."