Chocolate Tree - Hazelnut Gianduja 40% Bean to Bar (bar) - May 15, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolate Tree
Hazelnut Gianduja 40% Bean to Bar (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 191 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Dispensary, online order

Bacio di Latte Gelateria
2 flavors: Giandujotto (Hazelnut & Chocolate) + Caffe & Caramellatte (Coffee & Caramel)
Good+ - ++
Weight: Unknown (1 grande cup with 2 flavors)

Calories: Unknown
Cost: $11.95 for 1 grande (large) cup

Purchased from: Bacio di Latte Gelateria

Welcome to Day #14 of Chocolate & Colombia Week, and Day #3 of Chocolate and Coffee Theme Week.

I celebrated today with two creamy hazelnut items--a bar crafted with Colombian cacao and two scoops of gelato: a gianduja flavor and a coffee + caramel flavor.

Hazelnut Gianduja 40% Bean to Bar (bar)

This Gianduja 40% bar was from Knowes Farm in Scotland. 

The heirloom cacao used to make this bar was from Colombia. "The roasted hazelnuts were stoneground together with rare ancestral cacao from the Arhuaco indigenous community of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Colombia."

Aroma and flavor notes included: sweet, soft chocolate with creamy, fully incorporated hazelnuts. 

The texture was indeed creamy and almost velvety soft. But the chocolate was firm enough to maintain a beautiful interlocking bird pattern on one side of the bar (from the chocolate mould (mold) that shaped it).

I loved the appearance of this bar and subtle flavors in this rich, sweet gianduja confection of a bar. I was surprised it did not contain milk, given the ultra-smooth, creamy texture.

Maker's Tasting Notes: "Hazelnuts, Toffee, Sesame. Pair with: Prosecco, Fresh Bread."

Ingredients: Organic Hazelnuts (30%), organic cocoa beans, organic sugar, organic cocoa butter.

Allergen-related information: Contained Hazelnuts. "Dairy is used in our factory." 

Bacio di Latte Gelateria

And to fulfill the "coffee" portion of the overlapping Colombia and Coffee theme weeks today, I visited a newly opened gelateria in Palo Alto, CA. This was the first location in the San Francisco Bay Area for this Brazilian gelato brand.

I tried two of their flavors: Chocolate Hazelnut -- creamy chocolate and gianduja flavors with whole hazelnuts -- and Coffee and Caramel gelato that had pleasing coffee caramel latte flavor. 

Their gelato was sweet (as expected), smooth and balanced with authentic, Italian flavors. 

Karu - Tintico Dark Chocolate with Specialty Coffee 70% Cacao (bar) - May 14, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Karu 
Tintico Dark Chocolate with Specialty Coffee 70% Cacao (bar)

Good ++
Weight: .53 oz. (15 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 210 calories in 3 squares of bar (3/4 bar)
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Xocolatl Garden, Carmel, CA

Welcome to Day #13 of Chocolate and Colombia Theme Week, and Day #2 of Chocolate & Coffee Theme Week.

Today's Karu Tintico Dark Chocolate with Specialty Coffee 70% Cacao (bar) was made in Bogota, Colombia. (Karu chocolates are distributed in the USA and Canada by Tropicalia LLC.)

The maker behind Karu is Maria Leja Villarreal, who created her company in Dubai. She specializes in Colombian cacao chocolates. (The coffee in this bar was from Libertario Coffee Roasters and was grown in Huila, Colombia.)

Each square of this 4-square bar had a raised image of a walking jaguar*. And a jaguar (head) was featured on the label/packaging as well.

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate, with faint, slightly earthy, bitter/sour and barely detectable spice (warm spice, peppers) and fruit (slightly roasted golden berry, tomato, red bell pepper, coffee+berry) notes.

Texture: relatively smooth with a very slight botanical astringency, but otherwise nice melt.

Flavor notes included: fairly mellow dark chocolate with balanced, flavorful and complex coffee.

Ingredients: Cacao Beans, Cane Sugar, Colombian Coffee

Allergen-related information: Produced in facilities processing milk and nuts 

*Jaguars--powerful symbols and ecological icons--are found largely in the Amazon Basin. (They once roamed from Argentina to the Southern United States.) They are native to and can still be found in several South American countries (primarily in the northern part of the continent), including Colombia. 

Chami Cacao - 70% Cafe de Origen Special Coffee (bar) - May 13, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Chami Cacao
70% Cafe de Origen Special Coffee (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .7 oz. (20 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 120 calories in 20 g. serving of bar
Cost: $11.80 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Xocolatl Garden, Carmel, CA 

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

Today's Chami Cacao 70% Cafe de Origen Special Coffee (bar) was made in Colombia. 

Chami* Cacao is based in Mill Valley, CA in the U.S. (Their chocolate bars can be found at Farmers Markets in Marin County, California.) The company also has distribution points in other locales (U.S., France). It was great to be able to find their line of authentic Colombia-made bars. (Thank you to Juliana Grajales P., who is behind this woman-owned enterprise.)

Aroma and flavor notes for today's 70% cacao coffee bar included: satisfying balanced, bold coffee and chocolate aroma and flavors.

Texture: stone-ground, slightly crunchy texture from the particles of ground coffee beans that were incorporated into smooth dark chocolate.

I enjoyed savoring small pieces of this bar; it was enjoyable and satisfying. Some may find the rough (ground coffee) texture a little off-putting initially. (It grows on you.) 

I appreciated the short list of just three ingredients as well as a focus on sustainability (starting with a "chemical free" crop and extending to the cassava starch, biodegradable (inner) packaging).

Ingredients: "Cacao beans, Organic raw cane sugar (panela) & ground coffee"

Allergen-related information: No allergens listed. "Vegan, Nut Free, Soy Free, Gluten Free"

*The name Chami pays tribute to the Embera Chami indigenous people in Colombia. ("It also means 'mountain range' in their language.")

 

Origen Cacao - Ceremonial Cacao - May 12, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Origen Cacao
Ceremonial Cacao 
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 8 oz. (225 g.) in total package/box
Calories: 180 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $30.00 for 1 package/box
Purchased from: Origen Cacao, online order

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate & Colombia Theme Week.

Today's Ceremonial Cacao was from Origen Cacao (San Roque, Antioquia, Colombia).

Ceremonial cacao is a term that became popular in the early 2000s in Central America, associated with "pure" cacao that's closer to that used by traditional cultures -- as opposed to more modern, highly processed and sugared chocolate/cocoa used for drinking.

Ancient Mesoamerican cultures considered cacao a gift from the Gods, and included cacao (typically drinking chocolate) in rituals associated with healing, celebration of life milestones and spiritual communion. But they did not (as far as I know) use the term "ceremonial cacao." 

The Arhuaco people (and other groups in) Colombia still incorporate cacao into celebrations and spiritual practices; e.g. it is often part of ceremonies to honor/connect with Pachamama (Mother Earth). 

Today's cacao was unsweetened. I poured about 4 Tablespoons into about 1/3 cup of hot water and gently stirred the chocolate (shavings/pieces) into the hot liquid until it was completely incorporated.

Aroma notes included: aromatic warm dark chocolate (deep, chocolate-y brownie, very faint spice (pepper, warm spice). 

Texture: smooth, rich drinking chocolate

Flavor notes included: rich, smooth, ultra-dark drinking chocolate that went slightly bitter and sour, but then quickly mellowed into rich, smooth and chocolate-y territory with a plump and satisfying finish.

I enjoyed the rich, chocolate-y aroma, flavors and texture. The small shavings/pieces of dark cacao chocolate melted very readily with hot water and a little stirring, and made for a nice, smooth, rich texture. For a thicker texture add less water, or a thinner, hot cocoa type texture, add a bit more water.

And, yes, you could certainly add the milk and sweetener of your choice. But I suggest sipping it in its basic, unsweetened form first.

Ingredients: (Colombian cacao) 

Allergen-related information: N/A