Fine & Raw Chocolate - 4-piece Truffle Giftset + Matcha bar - Apr. 23, 2026

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Fine & Raw Chocolate
4-piece Truffle Giftset
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (56.6 g.) in total box of 4
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 2 pieces
Cost: $N/A - gift from family (Thank you Megan!)
Purchased from: N/A - gift from family

Nanao Artisan Bars
Vegan Matcha Chocolate Bar
Good +
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 240 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $10.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Xocolatl Garden, Carmel, CA

Welcome to Day #15 of Chocolate & Flowers Theme Week; and Day #1 of Chocolate & Tea Theme Week, featuring two items. (Both truffles and bar were sweetened without white/cane sugar.)

Fine & Raw - Truffle Giftset

Today's 4-piece Truffle Giftset was made by Fine & Raw LLC (Brooklyn, NY).

I paired two of these chocolate truffles with a beautiful green matcha bar topped with rose petals. And after tasting this duo, I enjoyed  a cup of blue floral tea (damiana, butterfly pea flower, rose, lavender) from Numi Tea.

Aroma and flavor notes included: smooth, dark chocolate ganache; coconut (meat, oil, sugar); and faint earth.

Texture: smooth, soft and relatively creamy.

I enjoyed the cowgirl logo and the note printed on an inside sheet: "...suitable for truffle aficionados, dabblers, experts, adventurers, dreamers, the intrepid, dancers, vegans and unicorns. enjoy!"

And I appreciated the authentic cacao bean (and coconut) flavors and ingredients, and the lack of a sugar buzz (thank you). 

Ingredients: Cacao bean*, cacao powder*, cacao butter,* coconut oil*, coconut sugar,* agave* (* = Organic)

Allergen-related information: Made in a factory that processes tree nuts.

Nanao - Vegan Matcha Chocolate Bar

This visually stunning, rose (petals and hips) and almond adorned deep sea green chocolate bar was from Nanao Artisan Bars ("Processed in GoDark Chocolate, Miami, FL"). 

Aroma and flavor notes in this vegan and "sugar free" bar included: matcha green tea, very faint coconut and vanilla, and a strange sweetness.

I liked the rich, creamy and authentic matcha tea flavor. And that this bar wasn't too sweet. (Rather than cane sugar, the makers chose to use allulose and monk fruit to sweeten this bar.)

However, despite this bar's amazingly appealing appearance, there was something a little "off" in the finish for me (likely the sweetener blend but it could also have been due to another ingredient(s)). 

Even though this bar contained cocoa butter (and no cocoa solids), I was happy to pair this piece highly edible art bar with some chocolate truffles and a floral tea flight.

Ingredients: "white chocolate (cacao butter, allulose, organic dry coconut milk, vanilla, salt, monk fruit), almonds, rose hips, wild (northern plains Indiana), matcha green tea." 

Allergen-related information: Contains coconut milk. Manufactured in a facility that uses nuts and milk.

Fine & Raw - Chocolate Hazelnut Chunky - Mar. 8, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Fine & Raw
Chocolate Hazelnut Chunky
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) in total chocolate
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1 chocolate
Cost: $6.00 for 1 chocolate
Purchased from: Chocolate Dispensary, online order 

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate, Pistachio, Hazelnut & Almond Theme Week.

Today's rainbow-packaged Chocolate Hazelnut Chunky was from Fine & Raw (Brooklyn, NY).

Fine & Raw was founded in 2007 by Daniel Sklaar in a Brooklyn artist loft. The company offers a variety of chocolate bars (typically made using cacao from Belize and/or Ecuador). They also make at least one bar made with mesquite.*

Aroma and flavor notes included: dark chocolate (dark ganache, slightly smokey, earthy cocoa); coconut sugar; sweet green and nut; faint caramel and vanilla.

Texture: chunky and smooth. The hazelnuts were fully incorporated into the chocolate, and this "Chunky" had the mouthfeel and melt of a hearty, roasted nut butter and chocolate truffle bar -- likely similar to the company's other small chunky chocolate truffle bars (that I haven't tasted yet).

I liked that this chocolate was dark, nut-roast-y and not too sweet. I loved that my teeth weren't coated with sugar or tannins afterwards. This bar reminded me that the buzz/jolt one feels after eating chocolate is more often from the sugar than the inherent stimulants in chocolate (theobromine and caffeine). 

The Fine & Raw made hazelnut butter added nutty flavor and balanced bitterness/acidity. (This bar was more roasty than it was bitter.) I enjoyed the soft, substantial, almost stone-ground texture. And I appreciated the maker's choice of a short list of organic ingredients in this homemade hazelnut butter and raw cacao bar.

Ingredients: organic hazelnuts, organic coconut sugar, organic cacao bean, organic cacao butter

Allergy-related information: Made in a factory that processes tree nuts

*Years ago I was searching for more chocolates to try that were made with mesquite. (The first chocolate with mesquite that I found was featured here was 2010.) I found Fine & Raw's mesquite (and Alderwood smoked salt) bars in Brooklyn (featured here on Chocolate Banquet in 2019).

As expected, I also found other wood and smoke related chocolates in the Southwest U.S. (Arizona, New Mexico and eventually Texas). But, I still remember those Brooklyn/NYC bars, that seemed novel at the time.

Fine and Raw Chocolate - Espresso (bar) and Hazelnut Butter (bar) - July 29, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Fine and Raw Chocolate
Espresso 70% cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) in total bar
Calories: 171 calories (per label) in 1 bar
Cost: $25.00 for 5 bar set
Purchased from: Fine and Raw Chocolate, online order


Fine and Raw Chocolate
Hazelnut Butter 49% cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) in total bar
Calories: 159 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $25.00 for 5 bar set
Purchased from: Fine and Raw Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Cowgirl Theme Week.

Today's Espresso 70% cacao and Hazelnut Butter 49% cacao bars, from Fine and Raw Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY), were both great bars to sample after getting up in the middle of the night to catch a plane to New Mexico where cowboys and cowgirls still exist. Some caffeine and theobromine will help to stay awake and to drive across this beautiful state.*

If cowboy coffee is made with a pot on hot coals, then perhaps cowgirl espresso is a bit more refined...something like today's Espresso bar. Coffee has been part of ranch and cattle drive culture for some time. (Yesterday we talked about mesquite coffee, which also has a long tradition in the Southwest U.S.)

These two bars were part of the company's Brooklyn Bonnie collection, and were adorned with drawings of girls from the wild west, many of them endowed with a cowgirl spirit.

Both were sweetened with coconut sugar and were made with 50% raw and 50% roasted cacao and had pleasing espresso and hazelnut aromas, respectively. Both bars had a creamy melt and had balanced (and complementary) flavors. (Eating them together was like enjoying a hazelnut latte.)

The Espresso bar contained small chewy bits of coffee. And the Hazelnut Butter bar had tiny bits of ground nuts, but were otherwise quite smooth.

Both had a pleasing finish as well.

Fine and Raw Chocolate - Mesquite No Sugar Added (bar); Ginger 67% (bar) - July 28, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Fine and Raw Chocolate
Mesquite No Sugar Added 58% cacao (bar)
Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 63 calories (per label) in 1/4 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Fine and Raw Chocolate, online order

Fine and Raw Chocolate
Ginger 67% cacao (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 164 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $25.00 for 5-bar collection set
Purchased from: Fine and Raw Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Cowgirl Theme Week.

Today's Mesquite No Sugar Added 58% cacao and Ginger 67% cacao bars were both made by Fine and Raw Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY).


Rounding up cows out on the range conjures up thoughts of hard work, dusty rides through high chaparral and mesquite tree country, and music around a fire. And speaking of mesquite...

Mesquite
...Mesquite wood smoke is used for barbeques. But lesser known is the fact that the beans these trees produce are edible and can be ground into a flour and eaten.

Roasted mesquite beans are said to have notes of slightly sweet vanilla, cream, caramel, coconut and/or chocolate. They were a food source for native peoples in Mexico and the Southwest U.S., who referred to mesquite as the tree of life, because of its many uses.

People continue to use mesquite flour ground from seeds (pods shown at right), bean pod pulp, in items including gluten free pine nut cookies, roasted mesquite bean "coffee," protein drinks/bars, mesquite bean jelly, and, of course, chocolates.

Today's raw Mesquite bar contained cacao and mesquite powder and none of the usual sugar sweeteners: i.e., coconut, cane, maple or birch sugar. Instead this chocolate was lightly sweetened with organic ground lucuma (a South American fruit with a mild sweet flavor and thick creamy, slightly starchy texture).

This Mesquite bar had a surprisingly sweet and warmly spicy chocolate aroma, and a faint trace of light fruit (apple custard), sweet potato and honey notes in the flavor and finish. The three American native plants: cacao, lucuma and mesquite worked well together. This chocolate had a thick, creamy texture and a very slight granularity.

Ginger
If you like ginger, you might like Fine and Raw Chocolate's 67% dark ginger bar, made with organic ginger powder.


The ginger was thoroughly incorporated and not visible to the naked eye. However, it was evident in the aroma and flavor of this bar and lingered into the finish. The melt was even, and the texture was slightly granular.

The added ginger gave the "50% raw and 50% roast(ed)" cacao bar a warm, satisfying zing. Ginger is from Asia originally, but we've adopted it as one of our own.* (Many of us have fond childhood memories of homemade ginger molasses cookies.)

We paired this Ginger bar with a sweet, spicy kick of music from Ginger Cowgirl, (aka Stacy Antonel, originally from the Bay Area, who moved to Nashville in 2017. We wish her well. She's got a great sound. (Photo source: Ginger Cowgirl website.)

*True, ginger is from Asia and not the wild west. However, there are very capable horsewomen—cowgirls in spirit—in Asia too. Just ask someone who has visited Mongolia or ridden in the Mongolian Derby. (Photo Source for image of Mongolian girl riding horse: Daily Travel Photos)

The spice closest to ginger that's native to the Americas and has co-evolved with chocolate historically would likely be allspice. Allspice is not uncommon in Caribbean-adjacent cuisines, local chocolates and drinking chocolate.

Fine and Raw Chocolate - Habanero Salt 70% bar - July 27, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Fine and Raw Chocolate
Habanero Salt 70% Cacao (bar)
Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) in total bar / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 82.5 calories (per label) in 1/4 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar (plus shipping)
Purchased from: Fine and Raw Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Cowgirl Theme Week.

Today's Habanero Salt 70% Cacao (bar) was from Fine and Raw Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY).

Aroma is an important aspect of chocolate tasting. The smell of a chocolate can be very similar to its taste, or it can be different in a surprising way (e.g. the first time you take a bite of a 100% cacao bar with no sugar or sweeteners or a dark chocolate with multiple layers of flavor that seem to blossom in your mouth).

Some flavor inclusions in bars may have a very weak aroma, but pack a flavor wallop, like hot chili peppers.

So, it was with some anticipation that I bit into today's Habanero Salt 70% bar containing organic habanero* powder. The bar smelled like relatively mild chocolate with a trace of coconut sugar and a very faint salt or savory vegetable note.

The habanero flavor was tied to small salt crystals. And unless you bit into a piece with more crunchy salt flecks, the burn on your lips and the tears in your eyes will be very manageable. The heat index (at least in the pieces I sampled) was relatively low, due to judicious use of this powerful pepper (thank you!).

There was also not a big heat flare at the finish of the tasting curve. So fear not. Unless you want to steer completely free of chilis altogether, you'll probably be OK, and you'll still be able to taste the chocolate.

And speaking of the chocolate, this 70% cacao gluten free bar with habanero salt was made using "50% roast and 50% raw," ethically sourced cacao, from bean-to-bar, with no refined sugar.

Ingredients: Organic cacao bean(s), organic coconut sugar, organic cacao butter, organic habanero powder, sea salt.

*Habanero peppers are from the Americas, in the West. Early Spanish explorers found them and spread them across the globe. They are widely cultivated in Mexico. They can also be found growing in Belize and other Latin American countries and remains of these peppers have been found from centuries ago, as far south as Peru, and as far north as the southwestern U.S. 

As every cowboy and cowgirl knows, a little of this small, fiery cherry red pepper goes a long way in a chile, stew or sauce. (Image of ripe, red habanero pepper above is from www.habaneromadness.com)

On that note, we're taking this chocolate on a hike around some California sagebrush and Coastal Live Oak trees, and we'll say hello to the cows for you.

**Cows Eat Chocolate?
Oh, and by the way, did you know that some specialty ranchers feed their cows chocolate? Yes, chocolate is a small part of a special diet that helps build unique flavor. A herd of Cadbury's chocolate-fed Wagyu beef cattle at Mayura Station in Australia are on the menu of some pretty fancy Michelin-starred restaurants. (Note: Please don't feed cows chocolate without their owners permission. Not all animals can eat cacao.)

Fine and Raw Chocolate - Alderwood Smoked Salt 70% Cacao (bar) - July 26, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Fine and Raw Chocolate
Alderwood Smoked Salt 70% Cacao (bar)
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) in total bar
Calories: 137 calories (per label) in 1 bar
Cost: $25.00 for 5 bar set
Purchased from: Fine and Raw Chocolate, online order

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

Today's Alderwood Smoked Salt 70% Cacao (bar) was from Fine and Raw Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY).

This bar had an aroma with chocolate, green, fruit, and very light savory and butterscotch notes. The melt was even, with a slightly stoneground, astringent mouthfeel—likely from both the cacao and coconut sugar that the company uses to sweeten bars.

Flavor notes included chocolate, light fruit and very faint smoked salt and coconut, with a mild chocolate finish.

Most of the cowgirls and horseback riders we know ride in the hills in the outskirts of urban areas around San Francisco Bay (a bay with a rich history of salt-making).

Fortunately there are still enough open spaces to be a cowgirl. (If you look closely at the landscape photo (at right) you may not be able to spot the horseback rider in the distance, riding through golden grasses, and oak, bay and eucalyptus trees.

Why alder trees?

Most of the smoked salt chocolate bars we've tried have contained Alderwood Smoked Salt. What's so special about alder tree wood smoke?

Red alder trees in the Pacific NW were used medicinally by native peoples. The bark contains aspirin-like substances. However, the real reason why these trees are used to smoke salt has to do with the flavor of the smoke from this wood. It's subtle and even a bit sweet, according to some. (Contrast this with the stronger Hickory smoke used for bacon, or Cedar smoke, which can impart a strong woodsy flavor with a hint of pine or camphor, which may overpower many chocolates.)

Another factor in choosing a milder smoke may be that a smoky flavor in fine chocolate has been considered a defect, in part because cacao farmers in more tropical climates may have smoke dried their cacao beans under thatched or covered structures due to higher than desirable levels of  moisture/rain (which can signal other challenges with a batch of cacao).

Personally we're OK with trying unique and well-balanced umami flavors and have enjoyed bars with smoked nibs and smoked salt and other similar inclusions. Bring it!

Fine and Raw Chocolate - Sea Salt 70% bar - July 25, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Fine and Raw Chocolate
Sea Salt 70% bar
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) in total bar
Calories: 165 calories (per label) in 1 bar
Cost: $25.00 for a 5-bar set
Purchased from: Fine and Raw Chocolate, Brooklyn, NY (online order)

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Sea Salt Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Cowgirls Week.

Today's Sea Salt bar was from Fine and Raw Chocolates (Brooklyn, NY). The company operates a factory and cafe in Bushwick, Brooklyn (NY) and was founded by Daniel Sklaar.

Fine and Raw bars are sweetened with coconut sugar and made using "50% raw and 50% roasted chocolate." (Raw chocolate can be milder than roasted cacao. It sometimes lacks flavor that can be coaxed out (or lost) with roasting and processing with higher temperatures.)

The dark chocolate flavor in today's bar was well balanced with the far-flung constellation of sea salt sparkles on the back of the bar. Ingredients: "organic cacao bean(s), organic coconut sugar, organic cacao butter, organic sea salt"

Cowgirl Art and Chocolate
The company's collection of Brooklyn Bonnie bars,* including today's bar, were all adorned with illustrations of girls from the wild west, who were described on the label as"...ladies who are bold, independent, brave, sassy, eloquent and tasty." It's always interesting to hear the stories behind and inspiration for different chocolates.

The cowgirl on today's Sea Salt 70% bar wore a black cowgirl hat and cowgirl boots, and an outfit, not really suitable for roping and riding. The line drawings in the packaging were reminiscent of illustrations from the 1900s, from artists like Gil Elvgren** and other painters and illustrators.

On a slightly more wholesome note, there is also a long tradition of vaquero (cowboy) and vaquera (cowgirl) painting going back many years in Mexico (a country with a long chocolate history). And some of these artworks romanticizes the hard work done at ranches. or revolution-related narratives. Artists representing this genre include Jesus Helguera 1910 - 1971). These warm-toned works would be lovely on chocolate bar packaging should copyright owners agree. But, we digress.

*The five bars in this set included Alderwood Smoked Salt, Espresso, Ginger, Hazelnut Butter and Sea Salt.

**Gillette (Gil) Elvgren (1914 - 1980) was an American painters perhaps best known for his pin-up girls, including several cowgirl illustrations that graced magazines and advertisements.

Fine and Raw Chocolate - Cashew Butter 54% bar - June 25, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Fine and Raw Chocolate
Cashew Butter 54% bar
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Cashews Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Peruvian Superfoods* Theme Week—featuring chocolates that contain two or more of the following items: cacao, maca, lucuma, camu-camu and/or quinoa.

These items generally arrive in North America (and likely Europe and Asia as well) in powdered or partially processed form, and we rarely see the original source vegetable, fruit, nut, seed or plant associated with their respective claimed health benefits. Nonetheless it is interesting to try these exotic plants and botanicals that co-evolved with cacao trees in Central and South America.

Today's Cashew Butter 54% bar was handmade, from bean-to-bar, by Fine and Raw Chocolate / Fine and Raw LLC (Brooklyn, NY), and contained cacao and lucuma. The base chocolate was relatively mild (often the case with unroasted/raw cacao).

Lucuma is a round fruit with green skin and golden flesh that imparts a multi-layered sweet flavor. (Some liken it to a cross between an avocado and a mango, with mild sweet potato, caramel and maple flavor notes.) Like cacao fruit**, it starts to ferment quickly after harvesting, making it difficult to ship to other parts of the world.

This raw, gluten free, and Kosher chocolate was smooth, and had a relatively creamy melt and texture due to organic cashews (butter) and added cacao butter that were both fully blended with the cacao.

It was sweetened with organic coconut sugar and lucuma and was not too sweet, especially unusual for a lower % cacao bar (thank you!). The lucuma did in fact add subtle aroma and flavor notes mentioned above (sweet potato, caramel, maple). Ground vanilla bean added a light, sunny, upbeat floral note.

Ingredients: organic cacao bean(s), organic coconut sugar, organic cashew nut, organic cacao butter, organic ground lucuma, organic whole ground vanilla

*While I inherently dislike the term Superfoods, and believe it is overused, it is difficult to come up with another term that summarizes this category.

**Cacao fruit/pulp is quite delicious but, unless you live in Hawaii, or perhaps south Florida, the odds are if you live in the U.S. or Canada that you've only tasted it in its refreshing, ivory-colored, frozen pulp form that tastes nothing like chocolate.