Chocolove - Bites - Peppermint Creme in 55% Dark Chocolate - Mar. 8, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolove 
Bites - Peppermint Creme in 55% Dark Chocolate
Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 7.05 oz. (200 g.) total package of 21 bites
Calories: 130 calories in 1 serving (3 pieces)
Cost: $9.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: FarmFresh, online order 

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Outdoors Theme Week--featuring granolas, trail mixes, tree-shaped chocolates and other outdoor-related chocolate items.

Today's individually-wrapped, tree-shaped Peppermint Cremes in 55% (Belgian) Dark Chocolate were from Chocolove (Boulder, CO).

Aroma notes for these chocolates "tree" bites included: hearty, smooth dark chocolate and aromatic creme-de-menthe peppermint.

The thick dark chocolate (pine-tree shaped) outer shell was firm, almost crunchy in a cool room (64 degrees F.), and provided good protection for the soft, white, fondant center.

Flavor notes included: hearty, smooth dark chocolate (that tasted like it could've been 65% or even 70% dark chocolate) and zingy soft peppermint. 

This was a well-executed and tasty blend of authentic dark chocolate and peppermint -- two bold flavors that can stand up to, and complement, each other very nicely in the right proportions. I felt like I was up in the snow-covered Sierra mountains on a crisp, sunny day.

Ingredients: Dark Chocolate (Cocoa Liquor**, Sugar, Cocoa Butter**, Soy Lecithin and/or Sunflower Lecithin, Vanilla), Fondant (Cane Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Water), Tapioca Syrup, Cocoa Butter**, Peppermint Oil (**Rainforest Alliance Certified. Find out more at ra.org.)

Allergen-related information: "Contains Soy. Made In A Facility That Also Processes Milk, Eggs, Peanuts, and Tree Nuts."

 

Ticket Chocolate - Easter Egg Hot Chocolate Bomb - Mar. 7, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Ticket Chocolate
Easter Egg Hot Chocolate Bombs

Good ++
Weight: 1.4 oz. (39.5 g.) / 2.8 oz. (79 g.) in total package of 2
Calories: 200 calories (estimate) in 1 serving (1 egg)
Cost: $12.99 for 1 package of 2 eggs
Purchased from: FarmFresh, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Outdoors Theme Week, featuring granolas, trail mixes, tree-shaped chocolates and other outdoor-loving treats. 

Today's Easter Egg Hot Chocolate Bombs were from Ticket Chocolate (Loomis, CA). This egg came nestled in some shiny green "grass"--a great tie-in with the greener-than-green (pre-Easter/Spring) grassy hills right now in northern California.

These were pretty (Belgian) chocolate eggs, decorated with very thin stripes of white chocolate and colored dot sprinkles. 

Aroma notes included: rich hot chocolate (cocoa), marshmallow and vanilla.

When put into a cup of hot water (and gently stirred), this egg "bomb" magically transformed into a cup of hot chocolate--with (voila!) a marshmallow floating on top--in seconds. (The marshmallow was inside the egg. And, when the outer chocolate egg shell melted, the generously-sized marshmallow bobbed up to the top.) 

The texture was smooth and creamy, and the marshmallow was fresh, soft, sweet and light.

Flavor notes included: pleasing, rich, smooth and creamy hot chocolate with marshmallow, and subtle warm vanilla.

I loved the Easter egg/spring holiday themed transformational (egg to hot chocolate) aspect. It was a well-executed, clever concept; and an attractive, sweet, creamy, cocoa winter warmer. (If you want to skip the artificial colors, you can scrape off the festive round candy confetti, before blending the chocolate egg with hot water.)

Ingredients: Milk & white couverture chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, cocoa mass, soy lecithin, natural vanilla flavor), Vanilla marshmallow (cane sugar, invert sugar, water, brown rice syrup, gelatin, powdered sugar, rice starch and/or tapioca starch, natural vanilla flavor, vanilla extract, marshmallow flavor, salt, vanilla beans), Confetti sprinkles (sugar, rice flour, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, corn starch, cellulose gum, carrageenan, soy lecithin, titanium dioxide, yellow 5, red 3, yellow 6, artificial flavor, blue 1), cocoa mix powder (sugar, whey, nonfat dry milk, cocoa powder [Dutch process], creamer [coconut oil, corn syrup solids, sodium caseinate, dipotassium phosphate], natural flavors, guar gum, salt). 

Allergen-related information: Contains milk, coconut (and soy). "Crafted in facilities that also process wheat, peanuts, tree nuts and sesame."