Puna Chocolate Company - Seasonal Peppermint Paradise Dark (bar) - Jan. 18, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Puna Chocolate Company
(Seasonal) Peppermint Paradise 70% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.95 for 1 bar + shipping
Purchased from Puna Chocolate, online order

Aloha, and welcome to Day #18 of Chocolate and Hawaii Theme Week(s). 

Today's Seasonal Peppermint Paradise Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Puna Chocolate Company (Kailua-Kona, HI), a family-owned, tree-to-bar company on the Big Island.

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate (dark chocolate-y brownie) and balanced, authentic peppermint (oil).

Smooth texture and melt interlaced with small flecks of crushed peppermint candy cane(s) on one side.

Flavor notes included: rich dark chocolate (rich fudge brownie, very faint, balanced earth) and peppermint.

What I liked about this bar: 1.) single origin Hawaii cacao and chocolate story; 2.) choice of a rich, dark 70% chocolate for this bar that was smoother (less acidic) than expected, and had dark brownie-like flavor; 3.) peppermint that added authentic tasting sweet mint uplift, but didn't overwhelm the chocolate; and 4.) illustration of the nene (Hawaiian goose) on the outer packaging.

Ingredients: Hawaiian cacao beans, organic cane sugar, peppermint

Allergen-related information: Manufactured in a facility that also processes milk, peanuts, tree nuts

Hawiian Wildflower Honey Dessert #4 - Mango, Pineapple, Salted Mac Nuts & Pretzel Chocolate - Jan. 17, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Hawaiian Wildflower Honey Dessert #4
Mango, Pineapple, Mac Nuts, pretzel chocolate & Hawaii honey

Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker
"Breaks" Gluten Free Pretzel + Sea Salt Bark 
Good ++
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) / 4.5 oz. (128 g.) in total package
Calories: 170 calories (275 calories with other ingredients in this dessert)
Cost: $ N/A - many sources
Purchased from: N/A - many sources

Aloha and welcome to Day #17 of Chocolate and Hawaii Theme Week(s). 

This entry represents the fourth in a series of 2 oz. chocolate desserts using Hawaiian Wildflower Honey and other Hawaii-related ingredients. The goal: fit big island flavors into a tiny, layered dessert.

Today's small dessert was made with five Hawaii-inspired items: 1.) fresh mango slices, 2.) fresh pineapple pieces; 3.) salted macadamia nuts; 4.) Scharffen Berger "Breaks" Gluten Free Pretzel + Sea Salt Bark (43% cocoa oat milk chocolate); and 5.) Hawaiian Wildflower Honey from Chico Honey* (Chico, CA). 

Results: All together, the flavors for today's blend were a little too big for each other. They each wanted their own spotlight. However, eaten sequentially (as items on a snack plate), they were a nice tribute to Hawaii vacation memories. Below is more on the chocolate.

 Scharffen Berger -"Breaks" Gluten Free Pretzel + Sea Salt Bark

These Gluten Free Pretzel + Sea Salt Bark 43% Cocoa oat milk dark chocolate pieces were manufactured by Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker (Ashland, OR).

Aroma notes included: chocolate, faint oat and honey graham cracker.

Texture: well-tempered, crunchy thin pieces of chocolate were studded with crunchy salted pretzel bits.

Flavor notes included: sweet, relatively mellow, dark chocolate; brown/coconut sugar; salty pretzel bits; oat cracker/cookie and faint oat straw.

What's the tie to Hawaii? These mildly addictive, gluten-free, pretzel chocolate bark pieces reminded me of a visit to a pretzel "shack" during a Hawaii vacation years ago. And they provided crunchy texture and salt--that helped balance the sweetness in the fruits, oat milk chocolate and honey.

Ingredients: Cacao Beans, Oat Powder (Oat Flour), Coconut Sugar, Pretzels (Cassava Flour, Potato Starch, Palm Oil, Tapioca Starch, Faba Bean Protein, Starch Syrup [Corn, Brown Rice, and/or Tapioca], Salt, Milled Flax, Sunflower Lecithin), Cocoa Butter, Sea Salt, Sunflower Lecithin, Vanilla Bean. 

Allergen-related information: Contains Coconut. Processed in a Facility that Processes Tree Nuts and Dairy.

*Chico Honey sources honey from their own hives in California, Hawaii and Montana.