Trader Joe's
60% Dark Chocolate Sticks with Crispy Rice (Colombian chocolate)
Good ++
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total package
Calories: 180 calories in 1 serving (about 6 pieces)
Cost: $2.99 (estimate) for 1 package
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, Palo Alto, CA
60% Dark Chocolate Sticks with Crispy Rice (Colombian chocolate)
Good ++
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total package
Calories: 180 calories in 1 serving (about 6 pieces)
Cost: $2.99 (estimate) for 1 package
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, Palo Alto, CA
Trader Joe's
Sea Salt & Nibs Organic 63% Dark Madagascar (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 2.64 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: N/A - gift from a friend
Purchased from: N/A - gift from a friend
Good ++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 2.64 oz. (75 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: N/A - gift from a friend
Purchased from: N/A - gift from a friend
Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate Banquet Birthday Celebration Theme Week -- featuring chocolates (and many local (West Coast) companies) that allowed me to eat a different chocolate every day for 20 years.
60% Dark Chocolate Sticks with Crispy Rice
Today's Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate baton-style "sticks" were made with Colombian cacao in Colombia, and "Distributed and Sold Exclusively" by Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA).
Aroma and flavor notes included: bold but balanced dark chocolate (dark, dense chocolate-y, slightly bitter), dried fruit (fig, date), vanilla, and faint, very slightly malty rice.
Texture: The crispy puffed rice embedded in the dark chocolate added textural interest and a satisfying crunch; and--along with the vanilla--the rice helped balance the bitterness in the dark chocolate.
Ingredients: "Unsweetened Chocolate, Sugar, Puffed Rice (Rice, Sugar, Salt, Sunflower Lecithin (Emulsifier), Cocoa Butter, Sunflower Lecithin (Emulsifier), Natural Vanilla Flavor"
Allergen-related information: None found on packaging. (Pareve)
Sea Salt & Nibs Organic 63% Dark Madagascar (bar)
Like the above chocolate, this was made "in country" (in Madagascar, using Madagacar cacao), and distributed and sold exclusively by: Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA).
Aroma and flavor notes included: dark chocolate (cocoa, cacao nibs) with diffuse fruit, light earth and cream/yogurt. (Note: there were no dairy ingredients.)
Texture: creamy and softly crunchy cacao nibs
Ingredients: "Organic Cocoa Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Cocoa Nibs, Organic Sunflower Lecithin (Emulsifier), Sea Salt."
Allergen-related information: (None found on packaging.)
Chocolate Sourcing
Twenty years ago (2006), searching for a new chocolate every day was challenging, particularly if you were looking for single origin bars and allergen-free chocolates.
Transparent cacao supply chains and sourcing were a key part of the new wave of bean-to-bar chocolates. Where did your chocolate come from exactly?
Chocolate Banquet was also having "sourcing" challenges on the customer side. There were exciting moments trying to find chocolates without having to drive 100 miles to feature every day. The clock was ticking rather loudly on some of those early days. But, I needn't have worried back in 2006. We were entering the golden days of the chocolate renaissance.
Some of the most reliable local chocolate sources in the San Francisco Bay Area included Trader Joe's markets, the few specialty chocolate shops, and the expanding chocolate sections in high-end specialty markets. Hunting for new chocolates (and chocolate field trips) were (and continue to be) part of the fun.
Happily, starting in 2010, there was also The Chocolate Garage* in Palo Alto, CA, and other chocolate community venues followed as the number of bean-to-bar craft chocolate offerings grew.*** And in the last decade (especially during the Covid years) several online chocolate "shops" opened.
Today I'm featuring two "new" chocolates from Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA) from the Chocolate Vault.** (The dark chocolate sticks are still currently available at the local Trader Joe's; the dark chocolate Madagascar bar is not.)
*Thank you to Sunita de Tourreil for creating The Chocolate Garage in 2010 and for supporting craft chocolate makers and connecting those makers with happy customers. Sunita has continued her chocolate adventures with Happy Chocolate Experiences (Palo Alto, CA).
**The Chocolate Vault is a "cool, dry place" at Chocolate Banquet headquarters.
*** These third spaces were a resurgence of the chocolate houses from centuries ago, places where chocolate lovers and communities could come together, enjoy chocolate and socialize. Dandelion Chocolate's and Ghirardelli's cafes in San Francisco are still going strong as I type this.
