Maison Vietnam Marou - Happy Holidays with Merry Cacao Dark Milk Chocolate 48% & Rum Raisin (bar) - Oct. 14, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Maison Vietnam Marou
Happy Holidays with Merry Cacao Dark Milk Chocolate 48% & Rum Raisin (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.13 oz. (32 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 187 calories in 32 g. serving of bar
Cost: $15.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cacao, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate & Vietnam Theme Week; and Day #1 of Chocolate & France Theme Week.

Today's Happy Holidays with Merry Cacao Dark Milk Chocolate 48% & Rum Raisin (bar) was from Maison Vietnam Marou (Vietnam); and Imported by A. Priori Specialty Food (Salt Lake City, UT).

I can thank France for today's bar. French colonists are credited with bringing cacao to Vietnam in the 1800s (although the Spanish introduced many new world foods to Asia before then). 

However, there were obstacles to overcome. Crops from Europe and the Americas (notably coffee) experienced greater success than cacao. (Later, the Vietnam War destroyed many cacao trees and other crops.) 

Happily, the global growth of the craft chocolate movement in the early 2000s launched many new global ventures. French chocolate makers/pioneers Samuel Maruta and Vincent Mourou breathed life into single origin Vietnam chocolate production when they founded Marou Chocolate in Vietnam in 2011.

Aroma notes for today's rum raisin chocolate (a blend of New and Old world traditions) included: dark milk chocolate, fruit (currant, raisin) and very faint (likely imagined) warm spices.

Texture: smooth and relatively creamy, with bits of rum-soaked dried fruit (raisins).

Flavor notes included: creamy dark milk chocolate. (It was darker, but smoother than many dark milk chocolates.) The creamy dark milk chocolate with the additional warmth from the bits of rum-soaked raisins made this bar even more appealing in the cooler weather.

Ingredients: Dark milk chocolate 48% (cacao nibs, cane sugar, whole milk powder, cacao butter (90%), rum (5%), raisins (5%)

Allergen-related information: "Contains Milk. Manufactured in a facility that also processes: wheat, milk, eggs, peanuts, coconut"

 

Fossa Chocolate - 48% Milk Satay Sauce (bar) - Feb. 19, 2025

Chocolate of the Day 

Fossa Chocolate
48% Milk Satay Sauce (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 144.5 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $15.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Peanut Theme Week.

Today's 48% Milk Satay Sauce (bar) was from Fossa Chocolate Pte Ltd (Singapore).

Aroma and flavor notes included: authentic chili powder, dark milk chocolate, faint nuts, and spices. 

I enjoyed trying this bar, even if the flavors were different than what I was expecting. Where I live in the U.S., satay sauce (a peanut sauce served over meat skewers) has more sweet peanut butter flavor and less chili powder flavor, so that's what I was expecting initially. 

The added milk helped harmonize the spices and made the chocolate closer to the texture of a smooth savory sauce.

I appreciated the short list of quality/authentic ingredients in this chocolate. And I look forward to trying the more spice-forward versions of this sauce when I visit Singapore in the next year or two.

Ingredients: Cacao, cane sugar, cocoa butter, peanut, milk powder, cumin, nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, anise, fennel seeds, peppercorn, sea salt

Allergen-related information: Contains: Peanuts, Milk. Produced in a facility that processes nuts & dairy.

Aruntam - Caffe Latte 48% Caffe Napoletano & Latte Italiano (bar) - June 19, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Aruntam Sensory Chocolate
Caffe Latte Dark Milk 48% Caffe Napoletano and Latte Italiano (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 145 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Italy Theme Week.

Today's Caffe Latte Dark Milk 48% Caffe Napoletano and Latte Italiano (bar) from Aruntam Sensory Chocolate (made at JoyFlor srl in Milano, Italia).

The company describes this "Italian Life Style" milk chocolate this way: "Esteemed Coffee from India with delicate chocolate notes, roasted in Naples, and united with the best Italian milk, creates a chocolate bar that will delight your palette."

Aroma notes for this bean to bar craft chocolate bar included: fresh coffee (cappuccino) blended with subtle sweet, rich cocoa; and very faint salt caramel.

The texture and melt were creamy. There was a very slight dryness (astringency) about 4 seconds in my mouth; otherwise is was quite smooth.

The 48% milk chocolate had smooth cocoa and fudge flavor with very faint nut and earth notes. This well-balanced blend was relatively complex and rich for a lower-percentage (<50%) cacao chocolate, and wasn't overly sweet (thank you!). The coffee and whole milk added authentic flavor and helped balance the sweetness.

Ingredients: "organic cacao beans, Italian whole milk, organic cane sugar, organic cacao butter, coffee (4%); Emulsifier: organic sunflower lecithin." (Cacao: 48% min.)

Allergen-related information: Contains milk and may contain traces of nuts.

MIA - Ghana Gold Fleur de Sel Milk Chocolate 48% Cocoa (bar) - Apr. 1, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

MIA
Ghana Gold - Fleur de Sel Milk Chocolate 48% Cocoa (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 250 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $2.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Ghana Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Sea Salt Theme Week.

Today's MIA Ghana Gold - Fleur de Sel Milk Chocolate 48% Cocoa (bar) was a product of Ghana and distributed by Kuanza Ltd. (London, UK).

MIA produces chocolates (bars) made using cacao grown in Africa; and produces finished chocolate in two African countries (Madagascar and Ghana). Only a small percent of chocolate bars are made from bean to bar in Africa.*

This chocolate was part of the company's "Ghana Gold" series of bars (announced in 2022) made with Ghana cacao.*

The aroma notes were relatively uniform and included: sweet, milky cocoa and very faint salt dough. The texture was smooth and creamy. And this 48% cocoa bar had a sweet milk chocolate flavor and finish with a blush of caramel.

The salt was very subtle. (It was inherent in the fleeting salted caramel notes I tasted.) This milk chocolate may be most appreciated by those with a sweet tooth.

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, cane sugar, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, emulsifier (sunflower lecithin), salt (less than 1%). Minimum cocoa solids: 48%.

Allergen-related information: Contained milk. "May contain traces of tree nuts and peanuts."

*MIA is a brand of Kuanza Ltd. (I'm guessing that MIA might stand for Made in Africa, but I could be mistaken.) MIA co-founders, Brett Beach and Sarah Lescrauwaet, lived in Africa for seven years. 

While Africa produces the bulk (approximately 70%) of the world's cacao, only 1% of finished chocolate is produced in Africa. 

Brett and Sarah saw an opportunity to make finished chocolate "in country" where the farmers and producer communities can benefit from proceeds that normally flow out of Africa and into manufacturing centers in other nations.

Endangered Species Chocolate - Fudgy Peanut Butter + Milk Chocolate 48% Cocoa (bar) - Sept. 11, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Endangered Species Chocolate, LLC

Fudgy Peanut Butter + Milk Chocolate 48% Cocoa (bar)

Good ++

Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar

Calories: 255 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar

Purchased from: New Leaf Community Markets, Half Moon Bay, CA

Welcome to Day #13 of Chocolate and Nuts Theme Week, featuring a variety of chocolate and nut blends. Today's milk chocolate was paired with peanut butter.* 

Today also marks the 16th anniversary of Chocolate Banquet, where I've written about eating a different chocolate every day, for 16 years now. Thank you all for being along for the ride.

And speaking of worthy occasions, today's Fudgy Peanut Butter + Milk Chocolate 48% Cocoa (bar) was from Endangered Species Chocolate, LLC (Indianapolis, IN). 

Aroma notes for this filled bar included: rich, authentic dark chocolate fudge brownie and peanut butter.

Soft, silky and fudgey chocolate squares--fused together to form the bar--held pockets of smooth, substantial peanut butter + white chocolate filling. 

These naturally complementary chocolate and peanut flavors blended nicely. The choice of darker cacao and a focus on concentrated, authentic peanut flavors (vs. what could have been more sugar), resulted in a filled bar that was flavorful, satisfying and not too sugary sweet (thank you!)

Last, but not least, the caribou was the animal of concern featured on the packaging of today's bar. Endangered Species Chocolate has a long tradition of highlighting animals that are endangered or threatened on their chocolate bars; and the company has donated part of their net profits (currently 10%) to non-profit and conservation organizations involved in saving and protecting wildlife. 

Among the facts shared about this amazing, large deer: "Caribou migrate over 3,000 miles per year--more than any other land mammal." That's a long way to travel around in arctic weather for one's daily 10 pounds of lichen (the caribou food of choice). If I'm fortunate, I may get to see some caribou later this year along with some Northern Lights (and chocolates).

Ingredients: Milk chocolate (chocolate liquor, milk, cane sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla), white chocolate (organic cane sugar, fair trade certified organic cocoa butter, organic whole milk powder), dry roasted blanched peanuts, organic peanut flour, sea salt.

Allergen-related information: Contains: Milk, peanut, soy. Produced on equipment that also processes products containing tree nuts.

*Yes, I realize peanuts are legumes and not true nuts. (For that matter cacao "beans" are really seeds; almonds, pistachios and cashews are drupes; and I'm not a true nut, even though I've been accused of leaning that direction.) 

Nestle - Chocolate (Ghana) chip brownies - June 16, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Nestle
Nestle Toll House Artisan Collection Premium Baking Chips
(Made with Single Origin Chocolate from Ghana)
Good +
Weight: 2 oz. (56.6 g.) / 12 oz. (340 g.) in total package
Calories: 400 calories in 1 large, prepared brownie (210 calories in 3 TB of chips)
Cost: missing information
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate Brownie Theme Week.

Today's homemade chocolate brownie offering was based on premium baking chocolate chips distributed by Nestle USA, Inc. (Arlington, VA).

Nestle's origins stretch back to 1866 in Switzerland; and the company began to produce chocolate morsels (chips) in 1939. Prior to that (and for many years after/since then), chocolate chunks for baking were created by chopping or shaving off smaller chocolate pieces from blocks of dark baking chocolate.

When did brownies* first originate? One can't be sure, but recipes started to pop up in cookbooks in the late 1800s. In any case, brownies in some form have been with us for well over 130 years.

Today's Nestle chocolate chips made a flavorful brownie; and they also could be enjoyed a la carte. I used them to make a small batch of fudgey, gluten-free brownies.

The brownies paid homage to Nestle and brownie traditions. However, these single origin (Ghana) chocolate chips--an addition to Nestle's "Artisan Collection" premium baking chocolate family--added a present day twist. The chips had robust, naturally sweet, slightly earthy, roasted dark chocolate notes that gave the resulting brownies bolder cacao flavor than the cocoa powder used to evoke the chocolate color and taste in most brownies. (This cocoa powder is often alkalized, a process that makes cocoa milder and less acidic/bitter.)

I did not add any sugar to this brownie recipe, as these 48% cacao chocolate chips supplied enough inherent sweetness for my taste. I added some mild "fruit" and nut flavor by blending a little bit of banana flour and almond flour into the egg, (dairy) butter and crunchy almond butter batter used to make these. 

Chocolate maker's tasting notes: "chestnut, caramel, honey."

Ingredients: "Cane sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, vanilla extract, soy lecithin."

Allergen-related information: "Contains soy."

*Brownie origins

While rarely discussed in the 21st century, in the 1900s a "brownie" was a type of imaginary elf who performed helpful deeds while people slept at night. This elf may have been the inspiration for young Girl Scouts who were called Brownies. Going further back in time, the first reference to "brownie" as a chocolate dessert (that I could find) was from the 1890s, and it referred to a rich chocolate molasses cake made in a mold.

Endangered Species - Milk Chocolate squares - April 2, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Endangered Species Chocolate, LLC
All Natural Smooth Milk Chocolate (squares)
Good - Good +
Weight: .706 oz. (20 g.) / 3.5 oz. (99 g.) in package of 10 pieces
Calories: 105 calories in 2 squares
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome. This week I'll be featuring several different chocolates from Indiana.

Perhaps the most well-known chocolates from Indiana that we see in the San Francisco Bay Area come from Endangered Species Chocolate (Indianapolis, IN).

The company's bars and confections are adorned with images of wildlife—mammals, birds and the occasional reptile—that is endangered or facing challenges.*

Today's All Natural Smooth Milk Chocolate 48 percent cocoa from Endangered Species came in the form of individually-wrapped squares. (Five years ago, I featured the company's All Natural Smooth Milk Chocolate bar.) The milk chocolate was just as advertised, smooth milk chocolate that was a bit better than most commercially available milk chocolate, with a slight caramel flavor note.

Both bar and individually wrapped piece packaging featured a sea otter—an animal we enjoy watching on the Pacific coast (Photo of sea otter on a beach was taken at Moss Landing, north of Monterey, CA.)

*Ten percent of the company's net proceeds go to helping to preserve habitat for endangered species.