Sted Foods - French Grey Sea Salt 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Oct. 16, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Sted Foods 
French Grey Sea Salt 70% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) in 1 small bar
Calories: 78 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: N/A -  gift from a friend
Purchased from: N/A - gift from a friend

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and France Theme Week, with the French component being the mineral-rich grey sea salt.

Today's Sted Foods French Grey Sea Salt 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) was manufactured by TC Foods, LLC (Fergus Falls, MN). 

This bar had smooth, very pleasing, chocolate-y aroma, texture and flavor notes with very faint spice/herb (black licorice/sweet fennel seed), roasted note and tiny sparkles of sea salt.

It had a very balanced bitterness and toasty taste; and I found this chocolate to be somewhat addicting. (Often the case with sweet and salty chocolates/snacks.)

Thank you to Wendy for this lovely chocolate gift from Minnesota!

Ingredients: "organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter"

Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility that uses coconut, pecans, almonds, cashews, seasame (sic), hazelnuts, and milk." "Free from Soy, Gluten, & Palm Oil"

A. Morin - Vietnam Thanh Long Noir 70% (bar) - Oct. 15, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

A. Morin
Vietnam Thanh Long Noir 70% (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 294 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Vietnam Theme Week; and Day #2 of Chocolate & France Theme Week.

Today's Vietnam Thanh Long Noir 70% (bar) was from SAS Chocolaterie A. Morin (Donzere, France). This company has been handed down from father to son since its inception in 1884.

The cacao used to make this bar was from the Ben Tre region of Vietnam, south of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The area is nestled between branches of the mighty Mekong River.

Aroma and flavor notes included: smooth dark chocolate (chocolate-y hot cocoa); faint nut and even fainter spice and diffuse red fruit (jam).

Texture: smooth dark chocolate

I appreciated the smoothness and fullness of this balanced, chocolate-y bar that had just enough gentle complexity (chocolate-y cocoa, nut and fruit) to make it very satisfying.

Maker's tasting notes: "acidule et epice tres agreable en bouche " Translation into English: "...this cocoa turns into an acidulous and spicy chocolate, very pleasant on the palate."

Ingredients: Cocoa beans from Vietnam, cane sugar, cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin. Cocoa: 70% minimum.

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of milk, nuts and sesame"