Moo Free Chocolates - Rosie Rabbit Bunnycomb Bar with Rice - Mar. 2, 2017

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Moo Free Chocolates
Rosie Rabbit - Bunnycomb Bar
Good
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 143 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $5.50 for 1 box of 4 different bars
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to the last day (Day #7) of Chocolate and LMNOPQR Theme Week.

Today I focused on the letter "R" as in rice, rabbits, rum and raisins—in the form of two different chocolate items.

Rosie Rabbit and Rice Milk
The Rosie Rabbit Bunnycomb (Crunch) Bar from Moo Free Chocolates (Reading, UK) was a dairy free, gluten free and vegan chocolate bar, that was part of a holiday "Merry Moos" assortment box that contained four different bars, all made with rice powder.

Today's bar also had crunchy bits (honeycomb toffee) crunchy bits on on side. The chocolate was sweet and smooth; and the "Bunnycomb" toffee bits provided a bit of crunchy texture and contrast. The packaging was festive and fun with cartoon animal characters that may appeal to kids of all ages.

Rum Raisin Rice Pudding with Chocolate Earl Grey Tea

The second chocolate-related item I tried today was an invented concoction of rum raisin rice pudding, infused with Chocolate Earl Grey Tea from Numi Organic Tea/Numi, Inc. (Oakland, CA).

A handful of raisins were soaked in Meyer's Dark Rum first, then combined with cooked rice and milk. Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and a tiny splash of orange flower water added some pleasant flavor. (I did not add any sugar or sweetener.)

I'll continue to work on this rice pudding blend latter, as it lacked a little something. Perhaps some cocoa butter, orange, and/or honey. Or, maybe I just have to admit that I'm not used to rice pudding without all the sugar.

Another interesting flavor I infused into the milk for the rice pudding: gluten-free Chocolate Earl Grey tea, described by Numi as an aged Assam black tea having "rich cacao with citrus highlights."

The first Chocolate Earl Grey tea bag ingredient listed was organic cocoa powder, although the flavor was almost all black tea. The bergamot and orange flavors were very subtle compared with other Earl Grey teas. (Adding milk softened the harsher black tea and unsweetened cacao flavors a bit, but some may need a bit of sweetener as well.)

The packaging was attractive and eco-friendly. The individually-wrapped tea bags was slightly oversized, and were Non GMO and biodegradable.

Moo Free Chocolates Minty Moo bar; NibMor Mint Squares - Feb. 25, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Moo Free Chocolates
Lily-Lu Lemur
Minty Moo Chocolate bar
Good
Weight: .812 oz. (23 g.) for 1 bar
Calories: 130 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $5.50 for 1 box of 4 bars
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of LMNOPQR Theme Week. Today the letter "M" is featured with two chocolate and mint offerings.

There are many different mints that might be blended with chocolate. However, the most popular seems to be peppermint (especially around the holidays). My guess is that, while not specified, one or both of today's mint chocolates do contain some peppermint.

Peppermint may have originated in the Middle East and Europe, but it's grown deep roots here in North America.*

Moo Free Mint

Today's Minty Moo bar was part of a holiday assortment package (of 4 different bars) from Moo Free Ltd./Moo Free Chocolates (Reading, UK).**

The Minty Moo bar was sweet, creamy (fooled me; I thought it contained dairy); and it had a natural minty flavor throughout. Pieces of crisp rice were perched around the border.

This bar was dairy free, gluten free, vegan and made without genetically modified (GM) ingredients.

And now on to the second mint chocolate of the day...

NibMor
Mint - Daily Dose of Dark
Good ++
Weight: .35 oz. (9.9 g.) / 2.45 oz. (70 g.) in box of 7 squares
Calories: 50 calories for 1 packet
Cost: $1.99 (estimate) for 1 box of 7 packets
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

These Mint Daily Dose of Dark, individually-wrapped squares were manufactured for NibMor Inc. (Great Neck, NY). The individually-wrapped squares were, in fact, a perfect and portable daily dose of dark chocolate.

The chocolate was well balanced (the right amount of mint, not too sweet), with crunchy texture from cacao nibs (a treat). (There was no mention if the organic mint was peppermint and/or spearmint.) The dark chocolate was, from what I could tell under the mint, smooth, dark and balanced; and nothing seemed amiss.

These 72% Cacao chocolates were made from USDA Organic, ethically traded, and Rainforest Alliance Certified cacao. They also were Non GMO Project Verified.

*Re: overall mint production in the U.S.: Oregon and Washington supply much of the mint and mint oil on the Western U.S., with Washington claiming the largest number of mint growers (150+ in 2012) and the largest quantity mint oil produced. Oregon claims approximately 35% of U.S. production. 

Michigan claims it has the most acres in production in the U.S. And it also grows in the NE from Indiana to New York, and into Southern Canada.

** Re: UK -- The English fancy their peppermint oil to be some of the best there is. (You'll often hear references that most of what is grown in the U.S. is "black" peppermint. And the "white" peppermint oil from the UK and France is superior. I can't comment; but I'm inspired to do a side-by-side tasting in the future.

Moo Free Chocolates - Cheeky Orange - Feb. 8, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Moo Free Chocolates
Merry Moos Selection Box
Cheeky Orange
Good
Weight: .813 oz. (23 g.) / 3.6 oz. (103 g.) in total package of 4 bars
Calories: 130 calories (estimate per label) in 1 bar
Cost: $5.50 for 1 package of 4 bars
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Orange Series.

Today's Cheeky Orange bar was from Moo Free Chocolates (Reading, UK).

The individually-wrapped, snack-size bar was made of orange-flavored, sweet (45% cocoa solids) chocolate with some rice crunchy bits. Only it wasn't traditional milk chocolate. It was entirely "moo free."

Part of a 4-bar Merry Moos holiday assortment, this Cheeky Orange bar (and the three other bar flavors in the package) were made with rice milk instead of cow's milk. The bars were dairy free, gluten free, vegan, and with contained "no GM" (ingredients).

In addition to the company's serious ingredient choices and omissions, they managed to capture the spirit of fun. Each of the 4 Merry Moos (bars) were named after various animals. Today's Cheeky Orange bar was represented by a Cheeky Monkey "mascot" named Cheeky Chops.