The Chocolate Conspiracy - Coconut Lime 73% Cacao Chocolate Bar - Feb. 16, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

The Chocolate Conspiracy 
Coconut Lime 73% Cacao Chocolate Bar
Good + 
Weight: .625 oz. (17.5 g.) / 1.25 oz. (35 g.) total bar
Calories: 110 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Conspiracy, online order

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

Today's Coconut Lime 73% Cacao Chocolate Bar was from The Chocolate Conspiracy (Salt Lake City, UT).

Aroma notes for this lime oil-infused bar included: smooth dark chocolate and lime shortbread cookie.

Texture: smooth chocolate with a creamy (honey) melt occasionally punctuated with gentle, tiny shreds of coconut.

Flavor notes included: relatively smooth dark chocolate, gently sweetened with honey, and a somewhat surprising bitterness that I attributed to the lime oil. 

I like botanically bitter flavors (e.g. hops, 100% cacao), as long as they are balanced--often with salt/sugar. (Maybe more salt would have balanced the bitter? Not sure.)

The maker's additions of honey, coconut and salt would have been exactly what I would have included to balance this bitter flavor, and these counter elements almost worked. I'm looking forward to trying other flavors from this maker, to see what their chocolate tastes like with other flavor blends.

Ingredients: "Raw Organic Cacao Beans, Raw Unfiltered Honey, Raw Organic Cacao Butter, Lime Oil, Organic Coconut Shreds, Smoked Coconut Lime Sea Salt."

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that also processes peanuts, almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans, coconut, and pistachios." "Gluten Free, Soy Free, Dairy Free"

 

Chocolate Spiel - Strawberry Lime Salt (bar) - Feb. 15, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolate Spiel
Strawberry Lime Salt (bar) 
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (27 g.) in total bar
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) for 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Spiel, online order 

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Lime Theme Week.

Today's Strawberry Lime Salt (bar) was from Chocolate Spiel (Edmonds, WA). 

Aroma notes included: lime chocolate shortbread cookie strawberry filling, limeade, and very faint spice (fleeting licorice).

Texture: creamy, uniform melt and mouthfeel.

Flavor notes included: smooth, creamy dark chocolate with fruit (red berry, strawberry) and subtle citrus (subtle, tart-sweet lime), and a satisfying, dash of salt. 

I like the balanced complexity, the sweetness level (not too much, but enough to bring joy)--and the salt.

The painted (colored white chocolate) patterns on this bar created a festive, upbeat visual appearance.

Ingredients: "cocoa, sugar, cocoa butter, strawberry, chipotle lime salt from Aroma Spice Co., lime, colored cocoa butter."

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts and gluten."

Intrigue Chocolate Co. - Chili + Lime + Salt 60% Cacao (bar) - Feb. 14, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Intrigue Chocolate Co.
Chili + Lime + Salt 60% Cacao (bar)
Good + - Good ++ 
Weight: .5 oz. (14 g.)/1 oz. (28 g.) in total bar
Calories: 77.5 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $6.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Intrigue Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Lime Theme Week, and Happy Valentines Day to all who celebrate this day which is about warm hearts and passion.

What better way to celebrate than today's spicy Chili + Lime + Salt 60% Cacao (bar) from Intrigue Chocolate Co. (Seattle, WA).

Made with cacao from Uganda (Region: Rwenzururu - Semuliki Forest) Type: Mostly Trinitario and Amelonado Year: 2024), this bar was flavored with cayenne chili, lime juice, and sea salt.

Aroma notes included: smooth but rich dark chocolate, fruit (fig cookie), and faint savory spice (chili) and citrus (lime).

Texture: smooth with a very creamy melt and mouthfeel.

Flavor notes included: sweet, rich, dark chocolate; fruit (lime and diffuse red fruit (red apple, fig, imaginary mango); and--last, but not least--chili with a spicy kick (more in some bites than others). The chili heat kicked in about 2/3 way through and the sizzle lingered into the finish.

Maker's notes: "This flavor was inspired by those amazing fruit vendors around the world (eg Mexico and Thailand) who sprinkle fresh cut slices with an irresistible mixture of sour, spicy, salty goodness."

Ingredients: Roasted cacao nibs, raw cane sugar, cocoa butter, cayenne chilis, dehydrated lime juice, sea salt. 

Allergen-related information: (No allergen information on bar packaging.)

 

Zotter - Lime and Passion Fruit Dark Chocolate 70% filled sweet potato, passion fruit, polenta-lime (bar) - Feb. 13, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Zotter Chocolate
Lime and Passion Fruit Dark Chocolate 70% filled sweet potato, passion fruit, polenta-lime ganache (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 340 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Lime Theme Week.

Today's Lime and Passion Fruit Dark Chocolate 70% filled sweet potato, passion fruit, polenta-lime ganache (bar) was made in Austria and distributed by Zotter Chocolates US LLC (Fort Myers, FL). 

Aroma notes for this Peruvian-inspired bar included: a sweet, tropical confection/dessert with tart lime and fruit, and subtle dark chocolate.

Texture for this "hand-scooped" (filled) bar was smooth with a few very tiny lime-flavored shreds in the filling, surrounded by a velvety, thin layer of dark chocolate.

Flavor notes included: a very sweet, smooth blend of tart fruits (citrus (limeade, lemon), passion fruit), and a cast of other well blended and complementary flavors--all covered with a thin coating of slightly earthy, silken dark chocolate. 

I could almost taste the polenta in the filling; however, the sweet potato was not detectable. (Sweet potato worked/works surprisingly well with/in chocolate items, as a stealth flavor and/or smooth texture enhancer.)

While this sweet cocktail (it did contain a bit of brandy) of a bar was a bit too sweet (for me), I appreciated the lively lime and fruit tartness, balanced a bit by the dark chocolate; the complex blend of Peruvian inspired flavors; and the sheer inventiveness of the makers at Zotter. (They've produced a staggering array of flavors over the years, and have done so using organic and fairtrade ingredients when/where possible.)

Read the ingredients (below) to appreciate what goes into a bar like this.

Ingredients: Cane Sugar+*, Cocoa Butter+*, Cocoa Mass+*, Glucose Syrup+, Verjuice+ - Juice of Green Grapes, Sweet Potatoes+, Dried Passion Fruits+, Lemon Juice+, Milk, Dry Whole Milk, Dry Skim Milk, Dry Skim Milk Yoghurt, Polenta+, Cane Sugar Brandy+, Lime Concentrate+, Caramelized Milk Powder (Dry Skim Milk, Sugar), Butter (Cream), Almonds+, Passion Fruit Concentrate+, Dry Sweet Whey, Lemon Juice Concentrate+, Dark Brown Cane Sugar+*, Lecithin (Soy)+, Salt, Vanilla Bean Powder+*, Cinnamon+*, Lemon Oil+, Chili ("Bird's Eye")+, Rose Petals+, Lemon Powder+ (Lemon Juice Concentrate+, Corn Starch+, Sugar+).  + = Organic (89% Organic); * = Fair Traded, Fair Trade Content in Total: 67%

Allergen-related information: Contains: Milk, Almonds, Soy. Manufactured on Equipment That Processes Other Tree Nuts, Peanuts, Eggs and Sesame.