Onomea Chocolate - Salted Macadamia Nut (bar) - Jan. 1, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Onomea Chocolate
Salted Macadamia Nut (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .93 oz. (26.5 g.) / 1.86 oz. (53 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ N/A - gift  
Purchased from: N/A - gift (Thank you Susan!)

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Hawaii Theme Week.

Today's Onomea Chocolate Salted Macadamia Nut (bar) was made by Lonohana Estate Chocolate (Honolulu, HI). 

Aroma notes included: chocolate with very light fruit fermentation notes (at least when the sealed package was initially opened) and faint salted nuts (macadamia).

Flavor notes included: smooth yet flavorful, relatively sweet dark chocolate (low in bitterness) with very faint/subtle and well-balanced fermented fruit (cacao pulp, tropical fruit (light citrus, pineapple, mango)) notes. These faint, authentic fruit notes paired well with the sea salted macadamia nut pieces. 

It was great to kick-off the New Year (2024)--and a Hawaiian Chocolate Theme Week--with a chocolate that has a great Island origin story. The cacao, sea salt and mac nuts: all grown in Hawaii. 

Thank you to Lonohana founder, chocolate maker and farmer, Seneca Klassen, for continuing to create and share great Hawaiian cacao with chocolate lovers everywhere. Onomea is a relatively new(er) chocolate brand/partnership. (Loved the fun island flavors and graphic designs on these bars.)

Ingredients: "Organic cane sugar, Hawaiian cacao, organic cocoa butter, organic Hawaiian macadamia nuts, Hawaiian sea salt"

Allergen-related information: Contains nuts (macadamia). "Produced in a peanut-free environment on equipment that also processes milk and tree nuts."

Seattle Chocolate - Creme Brulee Crackle white and dark chocolate truffle bar - Dec. 31, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Seattle Chocolate
Creme Brulee Crackle white and dark chocolate truffle bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $N/A - gift from family member
Purchased from: N/A - gift from Megan (thank you!)

Happy New Year's Eve, and welcome to Day # 9 of Chocolate Truffle Bars Week.

Today's Creme Brulee Crackle white and dark chocolate truffle bar was from Seattle Chocolate Company (Seattle, WA). The company offers a wide variety of chocolates, including many truffle bars. One of the Seattle-based company's taglines: "May chocolate be your umbrella." 

Aroma notes included: smooth dark chocolate and very faint caramel.

This was a pretty winter warmer, with a smooth dark chocolate outer layer, and a white chocolate filling studded with crunchy little flecks of toffee. Had this been a milk chocolate bar, I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. (It would've been too sweet for me.) But the dark chocolate balanced the sweeter white chocolate and toffee (creme brulee-like) interior layer quite nicely.

Flavor notes included: smooth dark chocolate, creamy white chocolate and tiny accents of buttery toffee.

Ingredients: white chocolate (cane sugar, cocoa butter*, milk, soy lecithin, natural vanilla), dark chocolate (cocoa mass*, cane sugar, cocoa butter*, organic soy lecithin, natural vanilla), non-hydrogenated coconut oil, chocolate chips (cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter, natural vanilla), toffee (cane sugar, butter, rice syrup, cocoa mass, cocoa butter, salt, soy lecithin, natural flavor), sea salt, vanilla bean powder. (*Rainforest Alliance Certified. Find out more at ra.org)

Allergen-related information: Contains milk, soy, and coconut. This product is manufactured in a plant that processes milk, soy, peanuts, tree nuts, egg, and wheat products. 

Lake Champlain - Sea Salt Caramel Truffle Bars - Dec. 30, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Lake Champlain Chocolates
Sea Salt Caramel Plant-based Truffle Bars
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) in total package of 2 bars
Calories: 170 calories in 1 package of 2 bars
Cost: $3.00 for 1 package of 2 bars
Purchased from: Lake Champlain, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate Truffle Bars Week.

Today's Sea Salt Caramel Plant-Based Truffle Bars were from Lake Champlain Chocolates (Burlington, VT). 

The chocolate in these truffle bars was made with oat milk and 43% cocoa.

Aroma notes included: butterscotch, very faint grains (oat, rice), chocolate, and light salt caramel.

Texture: A soft, caramel center was surrounded by sweet, "milk"(-like) chocolate.

Flavor notes included: sweet "milk" chocolate, and sweet, relatively light butterscotch and caramel flavored filling. This 43% cocoa bar was relatively sweet. (Sometimes sea salt can help balance out sugar. The sea salt in this Sea Salt Caramel bar was very faint.) 

Those looking for non-dairy, vegan and/or gluten-free (sweeter) chocolates will appreciate this bar--and the other flavors in this relatively new line of 43% cocoa oat milk bars (made with gluten-free oat powder)--from Lake Champlain Chocolates. The company is also committed to not using palm oil or other fillers in their alternative-milk chocolates. 

Ingredients: "Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Dried Gluten-Free Oat Powder, Chocolate Liquor, Dried Rice Powder, Sunflower Lecithin, and Vanilla Extract), *Coconut Cream (*Coconut and Water), *Rice Syrup, *Sugar, Sea Salt, and *Natural Flavor." (* = Organic)

Allergen-related information: Contains Tree Nuts (Coconut). May Contain Traces of Milk, Other Tree Nuts, Peanuts, Soybean, and Wheat.