River-Sea Chocolate - Peach IPA dark chocolate 60% (mountain peaches & hops) - Apr. 22, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

River-Sea Chocolate Factory
Peach IPA dark chocolate 60% (mountain peaches & hops) bar
Good ++
Weight: 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 360 calories in 1 bar
Cost:  $12.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Xocolatl Garden, Carmel, CA

Welcome to Day #14 of Chocolate & Flowers Theme Week. 

Hops used to make beer are made using the female flowers of this plant, and I was delighted to find a bar that contained Centennial* hops for this floral-themed week. 

Today's Peach IPA dark chocolate 60% (mountain peaches & hops) was created by River-Sea Chocolate Factory (Chantilly, VA). 

The cacao used to make this bar was from Haiti.

I really enjoyed this creamy, flavorful chocolate. Soft cacao (milk chocolate-y) notes flowed into authentic peach/peach floral notes, followed by balanced and authentic, balanced hop notes. 

And I appreciated the short list of authentic, quality and organic ingredients.

I eat my daily chocolate for breakfast; and this entire bar was gone before lunch. 

Ingredients: Cacao Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Fragrant Cacao Butter, Organic Whole Cow Milk, Palisade Peaches, Peach Extract, Pure Centennial Hop Oil 

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk. "Made in a facility that uses nuts, cow milk, and coconut" "Gluten-Free; Soy Free"

*Centennial (aka Super Cascade) hops have citrus, pine and floral notes and are versatile. They can be used for brewing or for culinary purposes.

Bahen & Co. Chocolate Maker - Honeycomb & Hibiscus Organic Milk (bar) - April 21, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Bahen & Co Chocolate Maker
Honeycomb & Hibiscus Organic Milk (bar)
Good++

Weight: 1.32 oz. (37.5 g.) / 2.65 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Oceana Market, Pacifica, CA

Welcome to Day #13 of Chocolate & Flowers Theme Week.

Today's Honeycomb & Hibiscus Organic Milk (bar) was from Bahen & Co. Pty Ltd (made in Margaret River, Western Australia).*

Aroma and flavor notes included: dark milk chocolate with very balanced slight roasted earth; small, slightly crunchy bits of honey comb, and very gentle levels of salt and fruit/floral (hibiscus).

Texture: smooth, creamy dark milk chocolate with small bits of crunchy honeycomb.

I really enjoyed the maker's choices with this bar. It was a well-executed blend of flavors and textures ranging from smokey/umami balanced by the milk in the milk chocolate--that had a balanced, subtle cocoa complexity. 

More subtle elements included the hibiscus and salt. I enjoyed finding the tiny upticks of hibiscus. And the salt was a barely detectable accent element that rounded out the flavor blend.

I really appreciated the fact that this wasn't too sweet (thank you) or salty -- allowing enjoyment of more nuanced, quality flavors (cacao, hibiscus bits, honey) with minimally addictive salt-sugar-fat levels. Some of the best dark milk chocolates teeter on the edge of more-ish.

Maker's description: "Salted honeycomb, a combination of forest honey & ocean salt, paired with organic red hibiscus flowers. A delicious blend, complementing the creamy and rich notes of our organic milk chocolate."

I also appreciated the relatively short list of organic and quality ingredients.

Ingredients: "Organic cacao beans, organic raw sugar, organic milk, organic cacao butter, honey, bicarbonate soda, salt & hibiscus."

Allergen-related information: Contains Honey & Milk. May Contain Traces of Nuts.

*I was delighted to find a bar from Western Australia.

Sirene Chocolate - Limited Edition Rose 65% Dark Milk Chocolate (bar) - Apr. 20, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Sirene Chocolate
Limited Edition Rose 65% Dark Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 192 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $16.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Dispensary, online order

Welcome to Day #12 of Chocolate & Flowers Theme Week.

Today's Limited Edition Rose 65% Dark Milk Chocolate (bar) was made by Sirene Chocolate (Vancouver, BC, Canada). 

Sirene, a family-owned business, has been offering bean-to-bar chocolates since 2013. The cacao used to craft this bar was from Vanuatu.

Aroma notes for this small batch bar included: dark milk chocolate; faint, diffuse fruit; warm spice (cinnamon); and subtle floral (rose).

Texture: This relatively thick chocolate bar had a uniform and very smooth mouthfeel and melt.

This flavorful, balanced chocolate gently evolved in my mouth. I enjoyed the unfolding dark milk chocolate, warm spice, cookie, and the floral finish that bloomed and landed on rose geranium rose toward the end.

I appreciated that this chocolate was sweet without being cloying; the maker's choice of a single origin cacao with interesting and gentle complexity; and the short list of quality, organic ingredients.

Ingredients: Organic Cacao Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter, Whole Milk, Rose Geranium.

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk. (Information on the company website read: "All our chocolate is nut free, soy free and gluten free.") The company uses cow's milk in their milk chocolate bars. Milk chocolates are produced on different machinery than their dark chocolates/bars.