Venice Organics - Brain Boost - Lion's Mane & Cordyceps 70% Chocolate Bar - April 19, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Venice Organics
Brain Boost - Lion's Mane & Cordyceps 70% Chocolate Bar
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.325 oz. (37.5 g.) / 2.65 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.99 for 1 bar 
Purchased from: FarmFresh To You (online order)

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Umami Theme Week. 

Today's "Brain Boost" - Lion's Mane & Cordyceps 70% Chocolate Bar was manufactured in California for Venice Organics (Los Angeles, CA). 

Aroma and flavor notes included: hearty dark chocolate (single origin Dominican Republic cacao) with subtle, rich and balanced earth; sweet green (botanicals and coconut sugar). I really enjoyed this bar. It had a lot of bold, very well-balanced flavor.

The umami flavor(s) from the edible mushrooms were very subtle. (I'm not sure I could have identified the two mushrooms in this chocolate in a blind taste test.) Rather, evidence of these umami-rich fungi showed up as a subtle, hearty savory and very complementary background flavor that I found very appealing.

I also loved the choice of high-quality, organic ingredients in this gluten-free, vegan chocolate; as well as the lack of emulsifiers/lecithins and refined sugar.

Maker's tasting notes: "...This 70% organic chocolate is rich and creamy with an earthy, bright finish."

Ingredients: "*Chocolate (*Cocoa, *Coconut Sugar, *Cocoa Butter), *Lion's Mane, *Cordyceps (* = Organic)"

Allergen-related information: "Processed in shared equipment with products containing nuts. Box made with recycled material and lead-free ink."

Jeremiah's Pick - Chocatal BBQ Spice Rub with Coffee & Cacao - April 18, 2024

Chocolate of The Day

Jeremiah's Pick 
Chocatal BBQ Spice Rub with Coffee & Cacao
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 0.2 oz. (5.6 g.) / 4 oz. (113 g.) in total container
Calories: 11 calories in 1 serving (0.2 oz.)
Cost: $8.99 for 1 container
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Chocatal BBQ Spice Rub with Coffee and Cacao (nibs) was from Jeremiah's Pick Coffee Co. (San Francisco, CA). 

This Bay Area based specialty coffee roaster offers a variety of coffees, and a line of spice rubs.

Their Chocatal spice blend included Arabica coffee and cocoa nibs. It would make a nice spice rub for grilled meats; but I incorporated this warm, reddish-hued spiced rub (powder) into a chicken tamale and vegetables and it worked very nicely. I see no reason why you couldn't infuse a little of this into savory brownies or drinking chocolate. (But, then again, I like savory and umami chocolates.)

Aroma and flavor notes included: a rich savory blend of many spices, including: paprika, cumin, chili powder, salt and other spices. The coffee and cacao ingredients were very subtle, and added a bit of pleasing flavor depth/complexity.

I liked the short list of high-quality ingredients, the well-executed and balanced punch of flavor (without being too hot/spicy), and the lack of preservatives. 

Ingredients: "salt, chili powder, chocatal(tm) (coffee and cocoa nibs), spices, hydolyzed soy protein, maltodextrin, dehydrated onion and garlic, oleoresin or paprika, no more than 2% silicon dioxide added as an anticaking agent." 

Allergen-related information: None listed.