Heart of Shasta - Spicy Cayenne Ginger Love bar - Aug. 31, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Heart of Shasta
Spicy Cayenne Ginger Love bar
Good - Good ++
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31.13 g.) in total bar
Calories: 165 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to Day #24 of Chocolate, Fruits and Botanicals Month.

The Spicy Cayenne Ginger Love bar from Heart of Shasta (Mount Shasta, CA) had a great tasting arc. It started with a light honey sweetness and moved to an authentic ginger spiciness. And then, wait for it, it finished with a spicy cayenne heat that receded after a polite interval.

Heart of Shasta specializes in dairy, soy and gluten free organic, raw chocolates (confections and bars).

The ingredients list for today's bar: 100% cacao powder, cacao butter, honey, coconut oil, cayenne pepper and crystallized ginger.

Heart of Shasta - Peanut Butter Organic bar - Aug. 3, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Heart of Shasta
Peanut Butter Organic Raw Chocolate Bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .325 oz. (9.2 g.) / 1.3 oz. (36.8 g.) in total bar
Calories: 48 calories (estimate) in 1/4 bar
Cost: $3.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Peanut Butter Theme Week.

Unlike other chocolate and peanut butter blends and items this week, today's Peanut Butter Organic Raw Chocolate Bar from Heart of Shasta (Mt. Shasta, CA) had a slightly more delicate flavor. The peanut butter filling was a smooth blend of honey, coconut oil and peanuts, and had pleasant, almost floral notes to it.

And the chocolate (made from 100% cacao powder and cocoa butter) was more subtle than chocolate made from roasted cacao beans.

Heart of Shasta - Rose Himalayan Salt bar - June 14, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Heart of Shasta
Rose with Himalayan Crystal Salt Organic Raw Chocolate Bar
Good
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31.1 g.) in total bar
Calories: 165 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Flowers Week, and Day #1 Chocolate and India Theme Week.

The use of roses and other edible flowers has a long tradition. They were crystallized in the Victorian era when granulated sugar became more widely available. These candied flowers sat atop Victorian sponge cakes and other delicacies.

The use of flowers in the U.S. declined about the time industrial food manufacturing processes started to offer quicker, cheaper, mass produced options and flavorings. However, a resurgence in interest in all things natural starting in the later 1900s, accelerated in the 2000s.

So, happily, edible flowers are back in style. If you have access to unsprayed roses, violets, pansies, lavender, borage, etc., and time to hand-craft something with them, you're in luck. (Rose petals are great dipped a bit of chocolate as well.)

Today's Rose with Himalayan Crystal Salt Organic Raw Chocolate Bar from Heart of Shasta (Mt. Shasta, CA) was soft and fudgey in texture. This raw, organic bar was lightly sweetened with honey and contained a mild hint of rose (rose oil); and the sea salt was well incorporated and very subtle.

This bar was dairy, soy and gluten free.

India and flowers

India has a long tradition of using flowers (such as marigolds, roses and rose water, kevda (iris), kewra (pandanus), saffron, lotus) to flavor foods.

While the closest connections to this bar and India might be the notion of rose flavoring and Himalayan salt, I'm looking forward to the coming week of chocolate blended with India-inspired spices and other ingredients. While chocolate isn't extremely popular in Indian desserts, the potential for fusions of Indian flavors, chocolate and gluten free sweets is undeniable. 

Heart of Shasta - Lavender Dreams Bar - June 10, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Heart of Shasta
Lavender Dreams Organic Raw Chocolate Bar
Good +
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31.1 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 165 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.95 in total bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

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

Today's Lavender Dreams bar was from Heart of Shasta (Mt. Shasta, CA).

This was not a heat-tempered bar that broke with a hard snap, but rather one that was soft, uniformly creamy, fudgey and truffle-like—only without the sugar. Lightly sweetened with honey instead of refined sugar, with a pleasing melt and mouth feel from cacao and coconut fat, this raw bar was made from 100% cacao powder, cacao butter, honey, coconut oil and lavender.

The lavender flavor was authentic, pleasing, well-balanced and uniform throughout the bar.

As with most raw chocolate made in this fashion, there is less of a sugar "buzz" and fewer spikes of roasted, fruit and other flavors from the cacao that develop in fermentation, roasting and other stages of chocolate-making where temperatures exceed that allowed for "raw" chocolate. And that may be a good thing, depending on what your preferences might be.

If you're curious about raw chocolate, this might be a good brand to try. The company offers a line of flavored bars.

This raw and organic bar was Dairy, Soy and Gluten Free.

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