Tony's Chocolonely - Milk Chocolate Honey Almond Nougat - Jan. 23, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Tony's Chocolonely
Milk Chocolate Honey Almond Nougat bar
Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 6.35 oz. (180 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1 serving (30 g.) of bar
Cost: $4.99 (estimate) for 1 bar (thank you Don!)
Purchased from: New Leaf Markets, Half Moon Bay, CA

Welcome to Day #17 of European Chocolate Vacation Theme Week.

Today's Milk Chocolate Honey Almond Nougat bar from Tony's Chocolonely Inc. (New York, NY) and was made in Belgium. 

The chocolate company was founded in the Netherlands in 2005 by three journalists with a vision to eliminate illegal child labor/slavery practices* (primarily in the (West African) cacao supply chain, where farmers are often paid very little. In addition to helping to educate consumers, Tony's Chocolonely supports and carefully sources fair trade ingredients.

As one of the last imaginary European stops via chocolate, I imagined a walk along canals in Amsterdam, a stop at the Van Gogh Museum in the city's Museum Quarter, and a search for a rumor that Tony's Chocoloney chocolate bars can be found in vending machines there. (Yes, it's true, there is a wall-sized, "mega-super" vending machine in Tony's Store in the Westerpark area of Amsterdam.)

Today's ultra-thick bar required some concentration to bite through (a bit like a large, alpine mountain shaped Swiss Toblerone bar.)

The bar had a sweet milk chocolate and nut aroma and sweet, smooth (32%) milk chocolate flavor. Honey nut nougat flecks added crunchy texture. These nougat pieces had a faint, natural honied, layered sweetness (light honied milk tea).

Ingredients: Sugar dry whole milk, cocoa butter, cocoa mass, 10% nougat (cane sugar, glucose syrup (wheat), 2% almonds, potato starch, honey, cocoa butter, egg white), soy lecithin.

Allergen-related information: (Contained milk, wheat, tree nuts (almonds), egg and soy.) "May contain tree nuts and peanut."

*A high percentage of European (and other commercial) chocolates are made using West African cacao. Tony's founders talked about how they were one of the few chocolate companies actively talking about "slave-free" chocolate in the early-mid 2000s. Hence the name Tony's "Chocolonely."

In 2021, Tony's Chocolonely made an acquisition announcement, around plans for an expanded role in an existing (Althaea-De Laet) chocolate factory (Tony's Chocolonely Chocolate Circus), on the border between Zaanstad and Amsterdam. They will become more involved in their own manufacturing and continue to pursue their goal of making "100% slave-free chocolate the norm in the industry."

HT Traders - Madagascar 32% Belgian Milk Chocolate (bar) - Mar. 19, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

HT Traders
(Distributed by Harris Teeter, Inc.)
Madagascar 32% Cocoa Belgian Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good
Weight: 1.3 oz. (38 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 220 calories in 1 serving of bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #8 of Milk Chocolate Theme Week, and Day #2 of Chocolate and Madagascar Theme Week.

Today's 32% Cocoa "Madagascar Origin" Belgian Milk Chocolate bar was made in Belgium and distributed by Harris Teeter, Inc. (Matthews, NC).

This week features dark (and a few milk) chocolate bars made using cacao grown in Madagascar, a large island nation off the southeastern coast of Africa.

Chocolate made from cacao grown in Madagascar often has a slightly reddish hue, and bright berry/red fruit flavor notes. Yesterday's 58% Dark Milk Madagascar (Sambirano) bar from Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate was a delicious example of what dark milk chocolate can be. Less sugar and milk meant more cacao flavor and color traits were able to shine through.

While it's unfair to compare yesterday's 58% cacao Madagascar dark milk bar to today's 32% sweet confection, it was interesting to note the differences.

Today's bar was slightly pale, even a bit translucent. And it was mostly sugar, cocoa butter and milk.* It was very difficult to identify any other flavors beyond that. Just the right amount of sugar can help berry notes sing, but too much sugar (or any other inclusion) can bury a flavor experience. If you love a bar that is mostly sugar and is milky smooth, then this bar will satisfy that craving, but you may miss out on what Madagascar cacao has to offer.

*Ingredients: Sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, skimmed milk powder, cocoa liquor, natural vanilla flavouring." (Cocoa solids minimum 32%; milk solids minimum 18%).

Cafe-Tasse - Lait Nougat 35% mini bar - Mar. 13, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Cafe-Tasse
Lait Nougat
Good +
Weight: 0.31 oz. (9 g.) in 1 mini bar
Calories: 50 calories (estimate) in 1 mini bar
Cost: $N/A part of a larger order
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Milk Chocolate Theme Week.

This smooth Lait Nougat mini bar from Cafe-Tasse (Belgium) had a lovely, rich milk chocolate aroma with caramel notes. The taste of this 32% cacao chocolate was a bit too sweet for me, but the smell was heavenly.

Cafe-Tasse makes their chocolate bars (full-sized and small sizes are available) using cacao grown in Africa and South America.

Nougat is generally a confection of whipped egg white, honey and almonds. The pieces of nougat were too small to taste or create discernible texture in this milk chocolate mini bar, but likely contributed to the nice aroma, flavor, and sweetness.

Tony's Chocolonely - Milk Chocolate bar - Nov. 4, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Tony's Chocolonely
Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good +
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 135 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ Missing information
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Africa Theme Week.

Cacao is often grown by subsistence farmers in distant lands, making oversight in labor practices challenging.

Unfortunate consequences of this geographic schism can be poor labor conditions, low pay, and forms of slavery—conditions some chocolate makers are trying to address.

Today's Milk Chocolate (bar) was from Tony's Chocolonely (Amsterdam, The Netherlands). This company has pledged to work to help eliminate slavery (in the cacao supply chain going back to farms in Africa) by making 100% slave free chocolate.

This thick 32% cacao milk chocolate bar was a creamy, high-end milk chocolate experience.

Copyright 2019. Unauthorized use of the text and/or images from this site, www.ChocolateBanquet.com, is a copyright violation.

Tony's Chocolonely - Milk Chocolate Hazelnut 32% bar - Sept. 9, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Tony's Chocolonely

Milk Chocolate Hazelnut 32% bar 

Good ++

Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 6 oz. (170 g.) in total bar

Calories: 160 calories in 1/6 bar

Cost: $4.89 for 1 bar

Purchased from: New Leaf Market, Half Moon Bay, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Hazelnut Theme Week.

Today's generously-sized, Milk Chocolate Hazelnut 32% bar was distributed by Tony's Chocolonely Inc. (Amsterdam, Netherlands; and Portland, OR).

The company's mission is to make slave-free chocolate the norm.* This is a big, worthy goal. I can't speak to the results they might be achieving. (They've sold more than 28 million bars and helped raise money and awareness. And they talk more about results on their website.) However, I did sample their chocolate and enjoyed it.

The bar had a warm milk chocolate and hazelnut aroma and flavor. Bits of hazelnut added light crunchy texture to the smooth chocolate, that had uniformly pleasing taste from start to finish. (European chocolate companies know how to produce great chocolate and hazelnut offerings.)

*Journalist, Teun van de Keuken, after finding out that child slavery still existed on cocoa farms, publicly declared himself a chocolate criminal, and decided to continue doing more research, which eventually led to the founding of Tony's Chocolonely and the selling of slave-free chocolate.

Neuhaus - Milk Chocolate West Africa 32% Cacao bar - May 20, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Neuhaus sa
Milk Chocolate from West Africa 32% Cacao bar
Good ++
Weight: 3.53 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 540 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $8.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Draeger's Market, Los Altos, CA

Welcome to Day #17 of Chocolate and Africa Theme Weeks.

Today's 32% Milk Chocolate bar was made by Neuhaus (in Vlezenbeek, Belgium) using cacao grown in West Africa. Neuhaus invented a form of praline many years ago and has been making confections and chocolate since 1857.

I was very hungry when I ate this bar, and managed to eat the whole thing. Haven't done that, i.e. eaten a whole bar that was a thirty-something percent cacao for awhile. The bar was a smooth and creamy and very edible, with hints of fruit and caramel.