Cluizel Paris - Ourson Guimauve Orange & Cannelle Marshmallow Bear - June 7, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Cluizel
Ourson Guimauve Orange & Cannelle Marshmallow Bear
Good ++ 
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bear
Calories: 191 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bear
Cost: $16.00 for 1 bear
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate & Bears Theme Week. 

Today's Ourson Guimauve Orange & Cannelle (Orange & Cinnamon) Marshmallow Bear was from Cluizel (Paris, France).

This little French bear was last seen (in one piece) in my house in California this morning. By evening, only the memory of chocolate, bergamot orange and cinnamon remained. Quel dommage. (What a shame.)

Aroma and flavor notes for this dark chocolate coated marshmallow confection included: subtle dark chocolate, very slightly bitter (bergamot) orange and warm cinnamon and sweet marshmallow.

Texture: a thin layer of smooth dark chocolate surrounded a fluffy, very slightly chewy marshmallow filling 

Ingredients: Sugar, Cocoa Bean, Water, Glucose Syrup, Inverted Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Setting Agent (bovine gelatin), Orange for decoration, Bergamot Powder, Emulsifier (rapeseed lecithin), Cinnamon, Bourbon Vanilla Pod. 

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of shelled tree nuts, milk, gluten"

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."

 

Comptoir du Cacao - Tablette Tour Eiffel 72% bar - Sept. 28, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Comptoir du Cacao Paris
(France Cacao)
Tablette Paris Cacao - Tour Eiffel - Dark Chocolate 72 percent bar
Good+++
Weight: .94 oz. (26.6 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 156.6 calories (per label) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $8.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Draeger's Market, Los Altos, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of French Chocolate Week.

This Tablette Paris Cacao Tour Eiffel Dark Chocolate 72 percent bar was made in France by Comptoir du Cacao (France Cacao) (L'Anche, Bazoches, France) and imported to the U.S.

The packaging bears a quintessentially French scene. A young woman with long brown hair is riding a bicycle in boots and dress (with her small dog in a basket in front), wearing red lipstick, and a red scarf around her neck. She glances at us while she rides through the park on a sunny day, with the Eiffel Tower rising up in the background. Ahh, to be walking through the park in Paris on a spring day.

And, what about the dark chocolate inside this lovely package?

The well-tempered tablette was made of 10 easy-to-separate squares, and had a pleasant bittersweet chocolate aroma. The melt was smooth and mouthfeel slightly creamy. The texture and flavor were very uniform. And the bar had a clean finish with no off notes.

Comptoir du Cacao (literal translation is Cacao Counter, but I don't think this does the name justice) is a family-run business that has a Chocolate Factory in Bazoches, and two shops in Paris.