Bixby & Co. - Puffin Project Dominican Republic 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) & Dark Chocolate Sardines - July 14, 2026

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Bixby & Co.

Puffin Project Dominican Republic 70% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 120 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bixby & Co., online order

Dark Chocolate Sardines
Good ++
Weight: 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total tin
Calories: 279 calories (estimate) in 1 tin
Cost: $11.00 for 1 tin
Purchased from: Bixby & Co., online order

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate & Water Theme Week, featuring two items made by Maine-based Bixby & Co. (Rockland, ME).

Puffin Project Dominican Republic bar

This Organic, bean-to-bar dark chocolate bar was created in collaboration with Project Puffin Seabird Institute--an organization that works to safeguard restored colonies of puffin (birds) in the Gulf of Maine.

The cacao used to make this bar was from the Dominican Republic.

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate; very faint, diffuse fruit.

Texture: relatively smooth and creamy with a barely detectable and not objectionable fruit astringency

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate (ganache, torte); balanced earth; and faint medium red fruit (red berry + red dragon fruit) and light citrus.

I liked the balanced and subtle complexity in this chocolate and the very faint fruit notes. 

Ingredients: Organic Cacao Beans, Organic Cane Sugar

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that processes: milk, peanuts, soy, and tree nut ingredients." "Vegan, Gluten Free"

Dark Chocolate Sardines

Both coastal Maine and California in the U.S. once had robust sardine (fishing) industries in the early 1900s. Sadly, due to overfishing and changes in climate, this is no longer the case. 

Happily, there are occasionally chocolate sardines, like today's catch, if you're willing to fish around for them.

Aroma notes for today's attractively-rendered, fish-shaped chocolate sardines included: smooth dark chocolate and vanilla.

Texture: smooth dark milk like texture. (There was no milk.) 

Flavor notes included: very sweet dark chocolate and warm vanilla. (The sweetness was amplified by the healthy dose of added vanilla.) 

I enjoyed the idea of chocolate sardines even more due to their being packaged in a real metal tin with a pull top. (I wish I'd ordered a few more sets to give as gifts to friends. They are currently sold out.)

Ingredients: Sugar, Chocolate Liquor, Cocoa Butter, Sunflower Lecithin, Vanilla

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that processes: milk, peanuts, soy, and tree nut ingredients." "Vegan, Gluten Free"