Eight Treasures - Osmanthus Chocolate 72% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Apr. 25, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Eight Treasures 
Osmanthus Chocolate 72% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $15.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Oceana Market, Pacifica, CA

Welcome to Day #17 of Chocolate & Flowers Theme Week, and Day #3 of Chocolate & Tea Theme Week.

Today's Osmanthus Chocolate 72% Dark Chocolate (bar) was manufactured and distributed by Eight Treasures, LLC (San Francisco, CA).

This chocolate contained osmanthus flowers; oolong tea grown and ground in Taiwan; and "toasted quinoa for added crunch."

Aroma and flavor notes included: sweet and smooth dark chocolate, sweet tea cookie/candy and faint fruit-floral.

Texture: smooth chocolate, with a slight crunchiness (quinoa).  

I've long been a fan of osmanthus and oolong tea. There is a hedge of osmanthus flowers in my neighborhood with a beautiful apricot scent--especially appreciated in late summer and early fall (when most blooms are gone). So I was very happy to find this osmanthus and tea chocolate--relatively nearby where I live in the San Francisco Bay Area.

I appreciated the sweet floral tea concept, and the crunchy quinoa bits worked well. The gentler, ground oolong tea and the osmanthus flavors lingered in the finish and became clearer after the smooth dark chocolate flavors subsided.

I appreciated the maker's choices of a single origin (Carenero Superior Venezuela) cacao and organic ingredients.

Makers Tasting Notes: Peachy Apricot Flowers

Ingredients: Single-origin Carenero Superior cacao from Venezuela, coconut sugar*, oolong tea*, quinoa*, osmanthus* (* Organic)

Allergen-related information: None listed.

 

Ara Chocolat - Almonds & Roses 70% El Salvador (bar) - Apr. 24, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Ara Chocolat
Almonds & Roses 70% El Salvador (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 174 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $24.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Dispensary, online order

Welcome to Day #16 of Chocolate & Flowers Theme Week, and Day #2 of Chocolate & Tea Theme Week.

Today's Almonds & Roses 70% El Salvador (bar) was from Ara Chocolat (Paris, France).

Aroma and flavor notes for this attractive, single origin bar included: relatively bold but balanced dark chocolate (very faint roasted, earth); and redolent rose. 

Texture: smooth dark chocolate, gently textured rose petals, and softly crunchy almond bits 

I was very happy to taste the rose flower notes in this bar. They often get lost, especially when infused into a bolder dark chocolate or a chocolate with a lot of sugar and cocoa butter. The rose was authentic, very slightly astringent (and reminiscent of heritage rose gardens filled with scents). And that rose, happily, lingered into the finish. 

I enjoyed this with a floral (saffron) tea.

Ingredients: "cocoa nibs, sugar, almonds, cocoa butter, roses"

Allergen-related information: Contains Almonds. "May contain traces of nuts."

 

A. Morin - Vietnam Thanh Long Noir 70% (bar) - Oct. 15, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

A. Morin
Vietnam Thanh Long Noir 70% (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 294 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Vietnam Theme Week; and Day #2 of Chocolate & France Theme Week.

Today's Vietnam Thanh Long Noir 70% (bar) was from SAS Chocolaterie A. Morin (Donzere, France). This company has been handed down from father to son since its inception in 1884.

The cacao used to make this bar was from the Ben Tre region of Vietnam, south of Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon). The area is nestled between branches of the mighty Mekong River.

Aroma and flavor notes included: smooth dark chocolate (chocolate-y hot cocoa); faint nut and even fainter spice and diffuse red fruit (jam).

Texture: smooth dark chocolate

I appreciated the smoothness and fullness of this balanced, chocolate-y bar that had just enough gentle complexity (chocolate-y cocoa, nut and fruit) to make it very satisfying.

Maker's tasting notes: "acidule et epice tres agreable en bouche " Translation into English: "...this cocoa turns into an acidulous and spicy chocolate, very pleasant on the palate."

Ingredients: Cocoa beans from Vietnam, cane sugar, cocoa butter, sunflower lecithin. Cocoa: 70% minimum.

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of milk, nuts and sesame"

La Feverie (Hasnaa Chocolats Grands Crus) - 77% Chuao Aragua Venezuela (bar) - June 24, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

La Feverie (Hasnaa Chocolats Grands Crus )
77% Chuao Aragua Venezuela (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (56.6 g.) in total bar
Calories: 164 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $14.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order 

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

Today's 77% Chuao Aragua Venezuela (2017 Harvest) (bar) was from La Feverie (Hasnaa Chocolats Grands Crus) (Bordeaux, France).

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate, brown/dried fruits (faint fig, faint dried banana), very faint, fleeting rye bread and molasses.

This well-tempered bar broke with a snap and had a slightly coarse texture/mouthfeel, in part due to some tart fruit astringency. 

There was no cocoa butter added to this two-ingredient bar--bucking the trend of this past several years in craft chocolate. So many chocolate makers add cocoa butter that you can miss it when it's not there to "cushion" some stronger flavors and add creamier texture. 

The more pleasant fruit nuances in this Venezuelan cacao were diffuse and subtle; and adding cocoa fat may have silenced what was there. Making bean-to-bar chocolate is not for the faint of heart. 

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate (cocoa nibs) and brown/dried fruits (faint fig, faint dried banana, citrus (pink grapefruit), trinitario cacao pulp)--with astringent dried fruit kicking in after the first several seconds and lingering into the first part of the finish, along with a very faint, flicker of avocado.

This 77% cacao dark chocolate tasted more like an ultra-dark bar (85%+) because of its bold, frisky brown and citrus-like fruit astringency, and lack of flowery natural sweetness. This rougher chocolate had personality and complexity (which I generally like); but, I felt like the maker may have been working with a challenging batch of cacao. She succeeded. And I felt grateful to be able to taste this chocolate, even if it was a different experience from Chuao bars from years ago.*

Chuao and Porcelana have been legendary Venezuelan cacao-growing regions for a very long time; and they may be so again in the future. In recent years there have been challenges in Venezuela that I'm guessing might have affected the cacao supply chain. 

Maker's notes: "Sweet and sour notes of fresh citrus fruit, and tricky smoked flavours."

Ingredients: Cacao Beans and Organic Cane Sugar

Allergen-related information: (None listed on label.)

*Single origin cacao flavors can also vary from harvest to harvest, season to season, year to year--just like wine.

Ceimoi Chocolatier - Super Dark Ivory Coast 90% Cocoa (bar) - Mar. 11, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Ceimoi Chocolatier
Super Dark Ivory Coast 90% Cocoa (bar)
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 230 calories in 1 serving (4 squares of) bar
Cost: $1.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and West Africa Theme Week.

Today's "Super Dark Ivory Coast 90% Cocoa" (bar) was produced in France and distributed by Cemoi Inc. (Pittsburgh, PA). Cemoi is a large French chocolate manufacturer, founded in 1814, with an origin story that dates further back (to 1770) in Grenoble. Cemoi also has a small manufacturing presence in Cote d'Ivoire (Ivory Coast) -- the largest cocoa producing country in the world (along with Ghana) in West Africa.*

The aroma had roasted, nutty, spice cookie, light floral, dark chocolate and very faint earth and fruit notes. The bar had a smooth, slightly oily (think very smooth nut butter) melt and mouthfeel. The flavor was uniform, dark chocolate flavor, albeit more subtle and complex than most with flavor notes similar to the aroma.

Last, but not least, his 90% bar lacked the bitterness and/or astringency associated with many other ultra-high percentage chocolate bars; and it had a relatively mild chocolate nut butter finish.

The is the 90% bar is ideally suited for chocolate fans who

• Prefer tamer ultra-dark chocolate that won't grab you by the throat
• Want to avoid the sugar found in lower percentage, sweeter dark chocolates
• Are on a budget

Maker's tasting notes read as follows: "coffee + rose + very slightly bitter"

Ingredients: "Ivory Coast unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla natural flavouring."

*Four countries in West Africa produce approximately 70 percent of cocoa in the world used to make chocolate: Ivory Coast, Ghana, Nigeria and Cameroon.

Chocolat Bonnat - Piura Blanco Perou 75% Cacao Dark Chocolate bar - Jan. 20, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Chocolat Bonnat
Piura Blanco Perou 75% Cacao Dark Chocolate bar
Good +++
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $12.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com (online order)

Welcome to Day #17 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.

Today's Chocolat Bonnat Piura Blanco Perou 75% Cacao Chocolat Noir (Dark Chocolate) bar was made with Criollo cacao ("white beans") from the Piura cacao-growing region in northwest Peru.

This bar had a smooth, creamy melt and texture, notes of complex fruit (including citrus, tart stone fruit, berries) and a hint of coffee.*

*Chocolate maker's tasting notes read: "lightly acidulated and fruity flavors"

Chocolat Bonnat - Cacao Cusco Perou 75% Dark bar - Jan. 19, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolat Bonnat
Cacao Cusco Perou 75% Cacao Chocolat Noir bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $12.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com (online order)

Welcome to Day #16 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.

Today's Chocolat Bonnat Cacao Cusco Perou 75% Cacao Chocolat Noir bar was made with cacao grown in the Amazon region of  Peru.

This bar had a clean aroma and flavor with fruit and green coconut notes*, and
a creamy melt and texture—characteristic of many Bonnat chocolate bars.

*The maker's notes also listed notes of sugar cane.

Mars dark chocolate M and Ms; A. Mathez French chocolate truffles - Jan. 20, 2018

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Mars dark chocolate M and Ms
(Blue and White, customized for Junior Museum and Zoo)
Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) / 6 oz. (169.8 g.) (estimate) in total container
Calories: 70 calories (estimate) in .5 oz. serving
Cost: $N/A gift
Purchased from: N/A - gift

Chocolat Mathez SAS
Alaus Mathez Chocolatier
Truffes Fantaisie - Cacao Powdered Truffles
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 17.6 oz. (500 g.) in total container
Calories: 170 calories in 1 serving (3 truffles)
Cost: $ missing information for 1 container
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Surprise Theme Week.

Custom Colored Thank You Gift
Sometimes surprise gifts just happen to be chocolate, like today's first chocolate item. This glass jar of specially customized M and M chocolate candies had blue and white candy shells, with images of a raccoon and the organization name printed on them. They were gifts to volunteers at the Palo Alto Junior Museum and Zoo.

The un-customized/traditional version of Mars dark chocolate M and M chocolate candies appeared years ago on Chocolate Banquet. So the hunt was on for a second chocolate item.

Fortunately, a large canister of truffles that had been hiding in the chocolate vault was discovered, making today a surprise chocolate double header.

Alaus Mathez truffles

These Cacao Powdered Truffles (made in France) were closer to traditional truffles than most filled chocolate confections marketed as truffles.

Summer sun is great for beach weather, but it can ruin chocolate. And these truffles had survived some record heat before being purchased and stored in the vault. The light dusting of cocoa powder had darkened a bit. But, the flavor and texture were surprisingly rich, smooth, satisfying and authentic, i.e. relatively unaffected by the heat.

Chocolat Bonnat - Kaori Bresil 75% bar - Oct. 30, 2017

Chocolate of the Day:

Chocolat Bonnat
Kaori Bresil Chocolat Noir 75% bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 301 calories (estimate per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $16.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #9 of South American Chocolate Theme Weeks.

Today's Kaori* Bresil Chocolat Noir (Dark Chocolate) 75% bar was from Chocolat Bonnat (Voiron, France).

Bonnat bars featured in the past have all had a creamy, buttery melt and texture, and this three ingredient bar (cocoa, cocoa butter and sugar) was no exception.

The chocolate had a hint of slightly green (light/bright green foliage, green tea), almost floral aroma; and it had uniform, "soft and sunny" smooth authentic chocolate flavor.

*Kaori is the name of a Japanese family that cultivates cacao in Brazil. In Japanese the name means scent or fragrance, and can also refer to fabric weaving. This definition may not be directly related to today's bar, but it fits.

Valrhona - Ampamakia, Madagascar bar - Feb. 17, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Valrhona
Millesime* 2013
Ampamakia, Madagascar bar
(Chocolat Noir de Domaine/Estate Grown Dark Chocolate)
Good++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.46 oz. (69.6 g.) in total bar
Calories: 209 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.60 for 1 bar (sale price)
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Many of the bars featured this week were made with cacao from a single region in northwest Madagascar (Ambanja District, Sambirano River Valley)—often from one of a few farms, including today's bar.

Today's Ampamakia, Madagascar 64% (cocoa solids) bar from Valrhona (Tain l'Hermitage, France) was made with beans from the Ampamakia farm in the Sambirano River Valley.

The Valrhona packaging for this Ampamakia bar describes the region of origin this way:

"On the island of Madagascar, at the heart of the fertile Sambirano river valley, lies one of the island's celebrated plantations, the Ampamakia farm. Amidst these lush surroundings where delicate fragrances mingle with the colors of the vanilla and ylang-ylang** fields, Trinitario and Criollo cocoa beans have been cultivated for more than 100 years. Their acid yellow fruit freshness and roasted notes will transport your senses."

This bar had a rich, pleasant aroma; a gradual melt; and a well-rounded, uniform taste with mild, acidic fruit flavor.

The bar's five ingredients: cocoa beans from Madagascar, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (soya lecithin), vanilla.

*Millesime refers to a vintage year, or harvest year for a given crop—often used to describe a vintage wine grape year—and, in this case, it refers to cacao.

**Ylang-ylang (Cananga odorata) refers to sweet-smelling yellow flowers that grow on the Cananga tree in tropical climates. The essential oil from the flowers is used in perfumes, fragrances and aromatherapy.

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Amano Chocolate - Raspberry Rose bar - Jan. 4, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Amano Chocolate Company
Raspberry Rose bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 205 calories in 1/2 bar
Purchased from: Amano Chocolate table at Fall Chocolate Salon, San Francisco, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Flower Theme Week, and roses loom large in this week's featured chocolates.

Even though January isn't peak flower season, winter dreams of roses. The local Stanford University Cardinal football team won the New Year's Day Rose Bowl game a few days ago. And I noticed rose-related imagery and objects today on a neighborhood walk that I'd never seen before. There was even a "real" rose, that had survived recent frosts.

Art Pollard and team at Amano Chocolate Company (Orem, UT) know something about conjuring bright, sunny and floral flavors in the middle of winter. The company makes chocolate in a region where winters include snow.

Amano's Raspberry Rose bar was inspired while Art was doing research at a pastry shop in Paris, which included sampling a raspberry rose cheesecake. The resulting chocolate was a complex fruity and floral bar.

Today's bar gave the taster a colorful and satisfying ride. The complex aroma and first impression included bold, earthy, acidic notes*. The first bite revealed sparkles of raspberry fruit flavor. The texture was a mix of crunchy (possibly flavor-infused) sugar crystals, and smooth rich chocolate.

The rose floral notes (from rose petals and rose extract) were a bit elusive but contributed nicely to the overall flavor experience, and a softly lingering aftertaste.

Oo la la, I think I just took a virtual trip to Paris. Nothing like a little culinary transportation on a wintery, gray day.

*The base 55% cocoa (kosher) chocolate for this bar was made with cacao beans from Ecuador, "fairly traded with the farmer." 

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Chocolat Bonnat - Equateur bar - Aug. 27, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolat Bonnat / Bonnat Chocolatier
Dark Chocolate Equateur bar
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33 g.) / 3.5 oz. (99 g.) in total bar
Calories: 174 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $14.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

This Equateur bar from Bonnat (Voiron, Isere, France) had a pleasing deep chocolate aroma, and the pieces broke off with a well-tempered, hard snap.

This three-ingredient (cocoa, cocoa butter and sugar) dark chocolate (75% cocoa) bar had an exceptionally buttery smooth texture and melt, and maintained a very consistent, well balanced acid-earth, classic dark chocolate flavor, with a light hint of floral honey, throughout the tasting experience.

Chocolat Bonnat is one of the oldest chocolate companies operating today in France. The company still produces its signature praline chocolates (as well as bars), and has been passed from "father to son since 1884" -- an impressive feat for any business.

ChocolateBet: July 30, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Bonnat Chocolatier
(aka Chocolat Bonnat)
Surabaya Chocolat au lait bar
Good +
Weight: 1.15 oz. (33.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) total bar
Calories: 173 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $12.00 total bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, in Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #3 of Milk Chocolate Theme Week. The choice of the day was the Surabaya Chocolat au lait (milk chocolate) bar from Bonnat Chocolatier (Voiron, Isere, France, since 1884), with cocoa from three origins: Asfarth, Java and Surabaya, Indonesia.

This attractively packaged bar was "65% de cacao." Once again, a shorter ingredient list correlated with higher quality. The four ingredients were: cocoa, cocoa butter, sugar and milk powder. The consistency was in the "European style" --  that is, possessing a pleasing, creamy smooth mouth-feel. Because cocoa was the first ingredient (ahead of cocoa butter and sugar) there was a hint of richer chocolate aroma and flavor than is often detectable in overly sweet bars. Vive le chocolat.

ChocolateBet: August 19, 2009

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

2 small sample squares
La Maison du Chocolat
1.) Dark chocolate square - Very Good +
2.) Milk chocolate square - 37% cacao - Very Good + - Yum
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 grams) (estimate) for two squares
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) for two squares
Cost: $0 (free samples)
Purchased from: n/a - La Maison du Chocolat, in New York City, New York

Thank you to La Maison du Chocolat (at 30 Rockefeller Center) for handing out these samples when we were visiting on a recent vacation trip. The dark chocolate square had some complex and interesting flavors running through it. And my favorite of the two, the milk chocolate square, had a very nice caramel-butterscotch taste.

And, for an interesting contrast...

Today I also celebrated summer by having an ice cream sundae at Baskin Robbins: banana nut and cherry ice cream(s) with hot fudge topping, nuts and a cherry on top. It was delicious. Thank you to Elise for joining me, and for helping me compensate for this sugary treat afterward by giving me fresh cherry tomatoes and green beans to taste from the garden. I really don't want summer to end.

ChocolateBet: July 25, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Monbana (France)
Noir - Dark (bar, 70% cocoa; fair trade)
Very Good
Weight: 35 grams (1.22 oz.)
Calories: 190 calories (estimate)
Cost: $2.99 (Canadian)
Purchased from: Le Cartet, in Montreal, Quebec