Chocolate Spiel - Mexico 88% bars (with and without cocoa butter colors) - June 29, 2025

Chocolate(s) of The Day

Chocolate Spiel
Mexico 88% bar + Mexico 88% bar with painted colors (cocoa butter)

1.) Good + - Good ++ and 2.) Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) x 2  = 2 oz. (56.3 g.) for two bars total
Calories: 310 calories (estimate) in 2 bars
Cost: $15.00 for 2 bars 
Purchased from: Chocolate Spiel, online order

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Mexico Theme Week.

Today's two Mexico 88% dark chocolate (bars) were from Chocolate Spiel (Seattle, WA).

The cacao used to make these bars was from Tabasco, Mexico.

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate and very faint diffuse fruit.

Texture: very smooth chocolate 

Flavor notes included: subtle dark chocolate aroma with authentic dark chocolate with balanced bitterness (consistent with an ultra-dark (88% cacao bar in this case) bar.  

Today was an opportunity to taste a "painted" (with colored cocoa butter) and an unpainted version of the same high-cacao percentage (88%) single origin bar. 

The two-colored cocoa butter created a beautiful design; and more significantly it gave this (colored bar) a slightly mellower (less bitter) flavor.

I liked the choice of a short list of single origin and quality ingredients, and that these bars weren't too sweet.

Ingredients: cocoa, sugar, cocoa butter (and colored cocoa butter for the 2nd bar/version) 

Allergen-related information: May contain traces of tree nuts, peanuts and gluten.

Askinosie Chocolate - Super Dark Blend Tanzania + Ecuador 88% (bar) - June 24, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Askinosie Chocolate
Super Dark Blend - Tanzania + Ecuador 88% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 2 oz. (56.6 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 333 calories in 2/3 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Askinosie.com, online order

Bienvenidos (welcome) to the first day of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

Today's Super Dark Blend Tanzania + Ecuador 88% dark chocolate (bar) was made by Askinosie Chocolate (Springfield, MO).

The aroma of this 88% marriage of two bold cacaos had true chocolate (faintly savory, fudge brownie), light spice (molasses, star anise, cinnamon), light, fleeting well-balanced green, and faint leather and vanilla-tobacco notes--flavors that were all present throughout the tasting experience as well, along with deep, fudge-y, satisfying dark chocolate flavor.

This flavorful ultra-dark bar might make a good pairing with a whiskey, or the basis for brassy brownies with cocoa nibs. 

Askinosie founder and CEO, Shawn Askinosie, featured the farmers in Tanzania and Ecuador (on the bar's packaging) and expressed gratitude to them for making this blend possible.

Ingredients: Mababu, Tanzania cocoa beans (Trinitario); Del Tambo, Ecuador cocoa beans (Arriba Nacional); Organic Sucanat cane sugar; cocoa butter (made in the Askinosie factory with Mababu beans); Organic vanilla bean.

Allergen-related information: "Processed in a facility that also processes milk, peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat."

Atypic Chocolate - Heart of Pacific 88% Dark Chocolate with Nibs (bar) - Dec. 28, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Atypic Chocolate

Heart of Pacific 88% Dark Chocolate with Nibs (bar)

Good ++

Weight: 1.235 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 173 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and South Pacific Islands Theme Week.

Today's "Heart of Pacific" 88% Dark Chocolate with Nibs bar was from Atypic Chocolate*(Melbourne, Victoria, Australia). This multi-origin bar was crafted in Australia using sustainably harvested cacao beans from islands in the South Pacific.

The aroma of this bar had caramel notes associated with a creamy, dark milk chocolate with milk and sugar. I had to double check the label. Was there milk in this ultra-dark milk bar? (No.)

Note: Sometimes aroma and flavor notes for a dark chocolate bar are very similar; and the taste is just an extension of the smell. However, beans with complex flavors and/or very dark chocolates can have surprising differences between aroma and flavor. Today's 88% bar fell in this latter category, with a more complex, layered experience.

Admission: I love a well-made chocolate with an interesting, complex flavor ride.

The texture alternated between smooth ultra-dark chocolate 88% base chocolate and hearty, crunchy cocoa nibs. There was sweetness (more than one might find in most 88% chocolate bars), but certainly not the sweet caramel "candy" kind. It was a very satisfying blend.

The flavor was bold with very balanced earthy, woodsy real cacao flavor, with a very slightly fermented cacao note. The acidity and bitterness levels were just right (not too high).

Ingredients: cacao beans, organic cane sugar, cacao butter, sunflower lecithin 

*The company's name, Atypic, comes from the French word meaning atypical. Many entrepreneurial, bean-to-bar makers have had to diverge from the far more popular way of selling chocolates--by buying and using someone else's chocolate, and re-melting it to make bars and confections. 

The "new wave" of craft/artisan chocolate makers have many more steps to follow if they're making their own chocolate from scratch, from the cacao bean. And most chocolate makers who take this "atypical" road less traveled, if they really care about high-quality, will likely find themselves traveling to cacao-growing countries, getting to know cacao farmers, learning about fermenteries, examining aspects of fair trade--to ensure they have access to the best beans, to make the best chocolate, from start to finish. 

I have tried to honor all chocolate makers on Chocolate Banquet. I believe anyone starting a small business deserves respect. And to tackle complex craft food and beverage items, however intellectually satisfying it may be, deserves an extra helping of respect, and our thanks.

Original Beans - Zoque 88% "Spirited" Dark Chocolate (bar) - Mar. 27, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Original Beans B.V. 

Zoque 88% "Spirited" Dark Chocolate (bar)

Good + - Good ++

Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar

Calories: 205 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $7.95 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Hola y bienvenidos (Hello and welcome) to Day #4 of Chocolate and Mexico Theme Week.

Today's Zoque 88% "Spirited" Selva Zoque, Mexico, Dark, Organic, Vegan (bar) was from Original Beans B.V. (Amsterdam, The Netherlands). This chocolate had bold earthy, dried fruit (dried fig, dried banana), and slightly bitter flavor and finish. I enjoyed the lack of sugar; although some might like a pinch more cane sugar to brighten this up. Tasting notes on the package read: tropical lychee and coconut.

The ultra-dark chocolate was made using Tabasqueño cacao, and supports local Zoque and Tzotzil tribes--who live largely in the states of Tabasco and Chiapas in Mexico, and who have had some relationship with cacao for approximately 4,000 years.

Philip Marks - Milk Chocolate Walnut and White and Dark bars - Dec. 18, 2016

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Philip Marks Chocolates
Milk Chocolate with Whole Walnuts bar(s)
Good +
Weight: .2 oz. (5.6 g.) / 2.9 oz. (82 g.) in total package of 2 bars
Calories: 48 calories (estimate) for 1 bite of 1 bar
Cost: $7.49 for 1 package of 2 bars
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA


Philip Marks Chocolates
White and Dark Marbleized Chocolate bar(s)
Good - Good +
Weight: 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total package of 2 bars
Calories: 380 calories for 2 bars
Cost: $6.99 for 1 package of 2 bars
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of this year's Chocolate and Walnut Series.


Today's Milk Chocolate (36 percent "Carmelito") with Whole Walnuts bar created by Philip Marks Chocolates (Burlingame, CA) came in an attractive package that contained two bars. adorned by carefully placed walnut halves.

I also sampled a Philip Marks White and Dark Marbleized Chocolate bar. This stylish bar was a blend of 36 percent "Edelweiss" and 88 percent "Maracaibo" dark chocolate.