Ritual Chocolate - Orange Cranberry Bar 46% Cacao - Feb. 3, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Ritual Chocolate
Orange Cranberry Bar 46% Cacao 
Good ++
Weight: 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 420 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $11.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods, Los Altos, CA

Welcome to Day #14 of Chocolate, Warm Spices & Maple Theme Week.

Today's Orange Cranberry Bar 46% Cacao was from Ritual Chocolate (Heber City, UT). I paired this chocolate with a hot, spiced cider (with an extra dash of cinnamon).

Aroma and flavor notes included: rich, sweet, milk chocolate; caramel; and fruit (dark red berry/cranberry; subtle, authentic citrus (orange)).

Texture: creamy, smooth, orange extract-infused milk chocolate broke with a light snap. About every third bite contained a whole, plump, dried cranberry--that was moist, softly chewy and satisfying. 

The ruby-hued, dried cranberries were sweetened, but weren't overly sweet (thank you).

This was a sweet, holiday chocolate. (When the cacao content of a chocolate dips into the 40% cacao range (less than 50% cacao), relatively more sugar can mask cacao and other flavors.) But the complementary, balanced and authentic cacao, citrus and cranberry elements in this bar helped balance the sweetness.

I appreciated the thoughtful execution behind this orange milk chocolate with cranberries bar and the choice of organic, authentic-tasting ingredients.

Maker's Tasting Notes: "Orange Zest, Cranberry & Light Caramel"

Ingredients: Organic Cacao, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic A1/A2 Whole Milk Powder, Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Cranberries (Organic Dried Cranberries, Organic Sunflower Oil), Orange Extract (Organic Sunflower Oil, Organic Orange Oil)

Allergen-related information: "Contains Milk." "Manufactured in a facility that also processes Milk, Tree Nuts, and Wheat." 

Ritual Chocolate - Gingerbread Toffee Crisp - Spiced Oat Milk Chocolate with Molasses Toffee Crisp 53% Cacao (bar) - Feb. 2, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Ritual Chocolate
Gingerbread Toffee Crisp - Spiced Oat Milk Chocolate with Molasses Toffee Crisp 53% Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 420 calories in 1 bar
Cost: This was 1 of 3 items in a $44.00 holiday bundle
Purchased from: Ritual Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #13 of Chocolate, Warm Spices & Maple Theme Week.

Today's Limited Edition Gingerbread Toffee Crisp - Spiced Oat Milk Chocolate with Molasses Toffee Crisp 53% Cacao (bar) was from Ritual Chocolate (Heber City, UT).

Aroma and flavor notes included: relatively smooth dark chocolate; (ginger) cookie dough; and a full spectrum of warm, gingerbread spices.

Texture: relatively smooth, oat milk dark chocolate base, with a layer of finely ground spiced and slightly crunchy (very tiny toffee bits).

I appreciated the thoughtful execution behind this gingerbread chocolate. I loved the layer of high-quality gingerbread spices (and barely perceptible toffee bits) on the back of the bar, that created a layered tasting experience. I also appreciated that this 53% bar was sweet--without being overly so, and that the oat milk was not too grainy-feeling.

Note: Often gingerbread flavors are seasonal. This Limited Edition bar was still available on Ritual Chocolate's website when I checked today (2/2/2026).

Ingredients: Cacao, Organic Cane Sugar, Oat Flour, Organic Cocoa Butter, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Ground Ginger, Allspice, Cloves, Cayenne Pepper, Sunflower Oil, Molasses Toffee (Unsulphered Molasses, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Coconut Oil, Distilled Vinegar, Sea Salt, Baking Soda)

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that also processes Milk, Tree Nuts, and Wheat."

Ritual Chocolate - Vanilla Chocolate Cherries - Nov. 21, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Ritual Chocolate

Vanilla Chocolate Cherries 
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 6 oz. (171 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $16.50 for 1 box
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate & Cherries Theme Week on Chocolate Banquet. 

Today's Vanilla Chocolate Cherries were from Ritual Chocolate (Heber City, UT).

Aroma notes included: sweet warm vanilla, chocolate (rich cocoa), and stone fruit (cherries). (The cherries were Montmorency cherries sourced from Payson Fruit Growers in Utah.)

Texture: smooth, dark chocolate coating that surrounded chewy, dried cherries.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate and concentrated, tart, dried cherries (from Utah).

The makers tasting notes read: "Vanilla, Dried Cherries, Floral." Also included was a great pairing suggestion: "Best Enjoyed On A Charcuterie Board with Soft Cheeses and Sourdough Bread" 

I liked the relatively short list of quality and organic ingredients; and the sweetness level. (They were not too sweet.) It was a satisfying blend of authentic warm vanilla and chocolate and tart cherries.

Ingredients: "Dried Cherries, Organic Cacao, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Vanilla Powder, Organic Cocoa Powder"

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that also produces soy, tree nuts and wheat." "Vegan"

  

Ritual Chocolate - Gingerbread Hot Cocoa Drops - Apr. 22, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Ritual Chocolate
Limited Edition - Gingerbread Hot Cocoa Drops
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 8 oz. (227 g.) in total package
Calories: 140 calories in 1 (4 TB) serving
Cost: $ Part of a 3-item order for $44.00
Purchased from: Ritual Chocolate, online order 

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate, Cardamom & Ginger Theme Week.

Today's Limited Edition Gingerbread Hot Cocoa Drops were from Ritual Chocolate (Heber City, UT).

Aroma and Flavor notes included: rich, sweet cocoa, and faint spices, and vanilla (marshmallow).

Texture: The oat milk chocolate covered drops/pieces were light with fluffy (marshmallow) in the middle.* Once made into hot cocoa (with added milk of your choice) there was a light, marshmallow layer that floated to the top.

I liked the light, cocoa with marshmallow and spice flavors. (I also added some extra cinnamon, ginger and cardamom as I prefer a bit more spice.) 

*Note: these hot cocoa "drops" can also be eaten as a sweet snack without adding anything.

Ingredients: Cocoa, Organic Cane Sugar, Vegan Marshmallows (Tapioca Syrup, Cane Sugar, Filtered Water, Tapioca Starch, Carrageenan, Soy Protein, Natural Vanilla Flavor), Organic Cocoa Butter, Oat Flour, Allspice, Cloves, Cinnamon, Ground Ginger, Nutmeg, Cayenne Pepper, Sunflower Oil, Organic Unsulphered Molasses, Organic Coconut Oil, Sea Salt, Baking Soda, Distilled Vinegar 

Allergen-related information: Contains: Soy. "Manufactured in a facility that processes wheat and tree nuts." 

Ritual Chocolate - Limited Edition Philippines Kablon Farms 75% Cacao (bar) - Jan. 15, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Ritual Chocolate
Limited Edition Philippines Kablon Farms 75% Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Ritual Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and The Philippines Week.

Today's Limited Edition Philippines Kablon Farms 75% Cacao (bar) was from Ritual Chocolate (Heber City, UT).

Aroma and flavor notes included: dark chocolate with very faint, diffuse fruit (dark red, ripe berry); forest (very faint woodsy/cedar/fir); nut (roasted peanuts with skins); and very faint (barely detectable) spice (black pepper, black licorice, star anise).

Texture: this was a relatively slim chocolate bar (all the better as it allows better, more immediate access to texture and flavors) that had a smooth chocolate bite and a creamy melt and mouthful. 

After enjoying a few weeks of chocolates with flavor inclusions, it was great to get back to a single origin bar (made with just three organic ingredients) where 100% of the focus was on this full-bodied cacao from the Philippines that had well-executed complexity.

Maker's tasting notes: "Kablon Farms...organic since the '90's and pioneers in fermentation.....Their beans topped our taste tests with rich, roasted peanut flavors..."

Ingredients: "Organic Cacao, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter"

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of Wheat, Tree Nuts and Soy"

Ritual - Gin Juniper Lavender Chocolate 70% Cacao (bar) + Intrigue - Fernet Branca Truffle - Dec. 11 , 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Ritual Chocolate
Gin Juniper Lavender Chocolate 70% Cacao (bar)
Good + - Good ++ 
Weight: .706 oz. (20 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $11.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Intrigue Chocolate
Fernet Branca Truffle
Good ++
Weight: .314 oz. (8.9 g.) in 1 truffle / for 1 box of 12 (13) truffles
Calories: 49 calories for 1 truffle
Cost: $44.00 for 1 box of 12 (13) truffles
Purchased from: Intrigue Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #17 of Chocolate and Spirits Theme Week, featuring two chocolates -- a gin-infused bar, and an Italian liqueur-inspired truffle.

Ritual Chocolate

Today's Gin Juniper Lavender Chocolate 70% Cacao (bar) was made by Ritual Chocolate (Heber City, UT), using Barrel Aged Alpine Distilling Gin from Alpine Distilling (Park City, UT). 

Aroma and flavor notes included: authentic, fragrant and floral (lavender) botanical gin (with juniper) and dark chocolate.

The juniper and lavender both contributed fairly strong flavors--as did the sweet-tart acidity (citrus) taste and astringency in this dark chocolate It was interesting to try this very flavorful blend. However, for those who don't care for gin/juniper and/or lavender, you may find the intersection of all these bold flavors a little overwhelming. 

Maker's tasting notes: Juniper, Lavender, Cardamom, Orange Peel

Ingredients: Cacao, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter, Juniper Berries, Lavender, Alpine Distilling Gin 

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that also processes Wheat, Tree nuts"

Intrigue Chocolate - Fernet Branca* Truffle

Today's Fernet Branca* flavored chocolate truffle was created by Intrigue Chocolate (Seattle, WA). It was part of a larger assortment of different truffles.

This individually-wrapped, square dark chocolate truffle had pleasing, authentic mint and herbal (light liqueur) notes, including a slightly mellow richness--likely due to the practice of aging this liqueur in oak barrels. The creamy soft truffle (with a rich, buttery melt) was dusted with a generous amount of cocoa powder. 

Ingredients: Chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, vanilla, soy lecithin), Cream (milk), flavors (as described in the truffle name).

Allergen-related information: Contains Dairy, Soy. 

*Fernet Branca is an Italian amaro liqueur made with "27 herbs from 4 continents" that's often served as an after-dinner digestif or before-meal appertif. 

Some ingredients said to be part of this recipe include: aloe, angelica, camomile, cardomom, cinchona, gentian, iris, myrrh, peppermint and rhubarb. (Some sources also say it may contain chocolate.) The base is distilled grape spirits.

Ritual Chocolate - The Apres Chocolate w/ Sparkling White Wine infused chocolate, raspberries (bar) - Dec. 29, 2022

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Ritual Chocolate
The Apres Chocolate - Sparkling White Wine Infused Chocolate with Dried Raspberries 70% Cacao (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .706 oz. (20 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 100 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order 

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Spirits Theme Week. 

This sparkling white wine infused chocolate was the second of two 70% dark chocolate bars featured today--each with its own "spirited" magic. (See previous post to read about Auro Chocolate's Don Papa Rum Infused 70% bar from the Philippines.)

Today's "The Apres Chocolate" - Sparkling White Wine Infused Chocolate with Dried Raspberries 70% Cacao (bar) was from Ritual Chocolate (Heber City, UT).

Aroma notes for this dark chocolate bar included: tart, sweet red raspberry and dark chocolate, very faint white wine, faint angel food cake, warm spice (barely detectable/inferred star anise), and a trace of butter cookies with confectioners sugar and raspberry jam centers.

Flavor notes for this relatively creamy, festive chocolate included dark chocolate (chocolate ganache, faint brownie), flickers of fresh red raspberry, and very faint white wine.

Maker's tasting notes: Champagne and Raspberries

Ingredients: Cacao, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, freeze-dried raspberries, sparkling white wine.

Allergen-related information: May contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat

Ritual Chocolate - Ecuador Camino Verde 85% Cacao (bar) - July 1, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Ritual Chocolate
Ecuador Camino Verde 85% Cacao (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.95 for 1 bar (+ shipping)
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

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

Today's Ecuador Camino Verde 85% Cacao (bar) was from Ritual Chocolate (Park City, UT).

Aroma notes that unfolded sequentially included: bread, light warm spice (cinnamon), fruit (light raisin, peach), dark chocolate (fudge brownie).

Like many ultra-dark bars, be ready to brace yourself before tasting. The flavor was different (darker) than the aroma.

This 85% bar had deep, almost unsweetened, dark chocolate flavor with hints of moldy bread/cheese, dark chocolate (unsweetened brownie), faint herb (licorice), a fleeting sour milk and fruit note (unsweetened tart cherry and orange peel in plain yogurt) and a faint charcoal roasted note.

These slightly funky bean flavors were more common in craft chocolate bars years ago. Now it's more unusual to taste them. But, as with all chocolates (and some red wines) leave them open for awhile and re-taste, and some of these flavors settle down a little.

This chocolate mellowed a bit. A long finish yielded a very faint nutty, buttery aged cheese (fontina, gouda) note--a few minutes after the first bites. 

And re-tasting this bar a few minutes later, was more pleasing (or less surprising perhaps). In fact, I plan to pair this chocolate with cheese or perhaps stir in an ounce (28 g.) or so into a cheese fondue. (If you can't "fix" it, feature it.)

Some of these flavor notes mentioned above can be traced back to fermentation of cacao that happened in Ecuador. These notes will be interesting and educational for cacao addicts and culinary adventurers, but may not be the preferred choice for those who enjoy light, uniform, sweet chocolates.

These interesting flavor notes were more exposed with lower sugar levels, which is to say that added sugar can dull/neutralize stronger flavors. With two-ingredient chocolates, like today's bar, chocolate makers make daring leaps; there is nothing to hide behind. And I am grateful to all craft makers who share the results with us.

The cacao (2019 harvest) used to make this bar (Batch 03) came from Camino Verde, Ecuador, not far from the city of Guayaquil on the Pacific coast. "Made with cacao that is carefully fermented and dried by Vicente Norero of Camino Verde in Ecuador. Vicente's unique fermentation techniques, along with Nacional cacao from a multitude of growers, give this chocolate its distinguishable, rich, chocolatey flavor."

The maker's tasting notes read: "Honey and fudge" 

Ingredients: Cacao, Organic cane sugar

Allergen-related information: May contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat.

Ritual Chocolate - Honeycomb Toffee 75% Cacao (bar) - Apr. 13, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Ritual Chocolate
Honeycomb Toffee in Dark Chocolate 75% Cacao (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar 
Calories: 162 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate, Trees and Bees Theme Week. Once again we pay homage to bees and honey this week, in the form of honeycomb toffee.

Today's Honeycomb Toffee in Dark Chocolate 75% Cacao (bar) was from Ritual Chocolate in Park City, Utah--also known as the beehive state.

Are you a dark chocolate fan who is not fond of sugar, much less toffee? Fear not. This 75% cacao (Belize) dark chocolate had a rich, ultra-dark, roasted, chocolate flavor. Its balanced bitterness off-set flecks of house-made, sweet, honeycomb toffee. 

Rather than the traditional, three-dimensional chunks of airy, crunchy sugary, honeycomb toffee, there was a thin projection of toffee pieces onto the back of this ebony-colored bar, that winked at us like shining sugar stars in the night.

Ingredients: Organic cacao, organic cane sugar, honeycomb toffee (organic cane sugar, raw honey, baking soda)

Allergen-related information: May contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat

Ritual Chocolate - Juniper Lavender Chocolate 70% Cacao (bar) - Apr. 12, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Ritual Chocolate

Juniper Lavender Chocolate 70% Cacao (bar)

Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 162 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Trees and Bees Theme Week. We can thank, in part, juniper trees (berries), for today's featured bar.

Today's Juniper Lavender Chocolate 70% Cacao (bar) was from Ritual Chocolate (Park City, UT).

The aroma of this bar--redolent of lavender flower buds and juniper berry--could be bottled and sold. It was heavenly. 

The flavor of these two powerfully aromatic botanical inclusions were skillfully blended with a relatively bold, dark cacao. There was a slight astringency that brought me back down to earth (often a natural component of juniper berries). Still an amazing bar though. I enjoyed the touch of unexpected red berry fruitiness and nicely balanced tart acidity and faint pine/evergreen/citrus (similar to edible Douglas Fir tree branch/needle tips).

A big thumbs up to the makers for orchestrating all these powerful flavors together so successfully.

For a super luxe tasting experience I look forward to buying this special bar again (if, fingers crossed, it is available); and using pieces or shavings to add to/garnish high-end desserts (or as a surprise guest square on fruit and cheese platters, small food plates).

Ingredients: Cacao, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, dried juniper berries, culinary lavender.

Ritual Chocolate - Pine Nut Chocolate 55% Cacao (bar) - Apr. 11, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Ritual Chocolate

Pine Nut Chocolate 55% Cacao (bar) 

Good + - Good ++

Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar

Calories: 165 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar

Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate, Trees and Bees Theme Week.

Today's Pine Nut Chocolate (Ground Pine Nuts and Dark Chocolate) 55% Cacao (bar) was made by Ritual Chocolate (Park City, UT). The company crafts a variety of chocolate bars high in the mountains (7,000 feet/2,134 meters altitude).

Pinyon pine trees in pine and juniper forests in Utah and the Great Basin area of the U.S. are wonderful to look at and offer many benefits. They're also a source of pine nuts.* These ivory-colored seeds are delicate and buttery and have served as a food source for many animals, including humans for a very long time.

Ritual makers have created a great blend of pine nuts and dark chocolate. This bar had a relatively subtle dark chocolate aroma with chocolate cookie and faint nut (cashew shortbread cookie) notes. If you really focus, you can sense a bit of woodsy, pine/oak forest.

The texture was heavenly, with a rapid creamy, velvety melt and mouthfeel, made possible by finely ground pine nuts, added cocoa butter, and what seemed like the perfect amount of conching (cocoa mass grinding) time.

This 55% chocolate tasted bolder, richer and less sweet (thank you!) than most other 55% bars. And yet, the more delicate (and easily eclipsed) pine nuts still contributed an important role in texture and flavor. 

This ebony-colored bar had some deep dark, grounded, forest flavor--that in less skilled hands (and without finely ground pine nuts) might have headed more toward earthy/tannic or very slightly bitter.

Instead, this result was almost perfectly balanced smooth, rich, luxurious chocolate flavor (with faint forest, nut and fruit acidity); a suave, dark, roasted green nut and cocoa finish; and an almost undetectable, fleeting, astringency tickle at the back of the throat after the first few bites.

This pine nut chocolate was wonderful by itself. I'm guessing it would also make a great addition to a chocolate tasting flight or dessert plate; and/or the basis for a dark chocolate pot de creme or dark chocolate gelato. 

Ritual Chocolate tasting notes read as follows: "Nutty, pine-y, earthy"

Ingredients: Cacao, pine nuts, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter

Allergy-related information: "Contains pine nuts, may contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat"

*Plant seeds come in a remarkable variety of shapes and sizes. Some are edible; most are not. Technically edible pine "nuts" are seeds (of several species of pine trees worldwide). And cacao beans are actually cacao seeds. I'm grateful for both of these seeds; and today's Pine Nut Chocolate bar shows they can be lovely together.

Ritual Chocolate - Novo Coffee Anyetsu 60% bar - May 19, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ritual Chocolate
Novo Coffee Anyetsu 60% Cacao bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Miette, Oakland, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate, Coffee and Vanilla Theme Week.

Today's Novo Coffee Anyetsu 60% bar was made by Ritual Chocolate (Park City, UT).

This Novo Coffee bar had a bold roasted coffee aroma, smooth melt and relatively creamy texture.

The chocolate (a dark, multi-origin blend) had strong dark chocolate and fresh ground coffee* flavor.

For those wanting to experience more vanilla with your chocolate and coffee, Ritual also offers a great Vanilla (Madagascar) dark chocolate bar (featured previously on this site)—and a Vanilla Mocha truffle (part of their current spring 2019 assortment).

*Makers notes: "Novo Coffee's Anyetu is a sun-dried coffee from Wellega, Ethiopia. This ripe berry and floral coffee is paired with a balanced chocolate made from a blend of cacao sourced from several farms around the world."

Ritual Chocolate - Vanilla Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla 70% bar - July 12, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ritual Chocolate

Vanilla Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla 70% Cacao bar

Good +++ - Very Good

Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar

Calories: 159 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar

Cost: $14.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate, Bourbon and Whiskey Theme Week.

This Madagascar Bourbon Vanilla 70% Cacao bar "crafted at 7,000 feet" by Ritual Chocolate (Park City, UT) managed to attain an ideal state: a creamy, smooth texture and complex, rich flavor.

To get a creamier texture or mouth-feel, a chocolate maker usually conches or grinds cacao for a longer period of time, achieving a finer particle size. However, in doing so, more volatile flavors can be lost during this process. This chocolate was made using a special (Mid Mountain) house blend of cacao beans from different origins.

Today's complex, well-balanced dark chocolate bar contained flavor notes of cherry and vanilla—but not just flat, dime store vanillin in alcohol. Rather, it was an earthy, faintly smokey, authentic ground vanilla bean vanilla, from Madagascar. High-quality Bourbon* vanilla from Madagascar-grown beans is much prized. 

*The term "Bourbon vanilla" does not involve any whiskey. Instead it refers to vanilla beans (orchid Vanilla planifolia) originally from the Americas, that were (like cacao and other crops) taken to be cultivated in Madagascar and other islands in the Indian Ocean. (One of these colonial islands was once known as Ile Bourbon.) Bourbon vanilla is slightly different than Mexican vanilla and quite a bit different than Tahitian vanilla (which is more aromatically floral).

Ritual Chocolate - Bourbon Barrel Aged 75% bar - July 11, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ritual Chocolate
Bourbon Barrel Aged 75% Cacao bar
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 159 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $18.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Bourbon Barrel Aged 75% Cacao bar from Ritual Chocolate (Park City, UT) was made from a blend of cacao nibs that were aged in High West Distillery* bourbon whiskey barrels for several months.

This 75% Cacao dark chocolate bar had a dark chocolate and slight bourbon aroma. The vegan,  relatively thin, bar had an even, smooth melt—and a complex, smooth and uniform dark chocolate flavor with notes of coffee, very slightly smokey, bourbon-soaked fruit (mild cherry), light oak and honey, and a slight nuttiness.

The bar came with this evocative tasting suggestion: "Best enjoyed alongside an alpine babbling brook with a flask of your favorite whiskey."

*Based in Park City/Salt Lake City (Utab), the High West Distillery is a "ski-in gastro-distillery." Their Old Town Park City mountain location (approx. 7,000 ft. in elevation) is based at the bottom of "Quittin' Time" ski run near the Town Lift. 

Ritual Chocolate - 100% Cacao bar + Mexico Soconusco 75% bar - May 5, 2018

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Ritual Chocolate 

One Hundred Percent Pure Cacao 100% Cacao (bar)

Good++

Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar

Calories: 161 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar

Cost: $13.00 in 1 bar

Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Mexican Soconusco 75% (bar)

Good ++

Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar

Calories: 161 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar

Cost: $14.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of 100% Cacao Theme Week. And, Happy Cinco de Mayo.*

Today we've featured two, attractively packaged, dark bars from Ritual Chocolate (Park City, UT): one 100% cacao blend ultra dark bar and a second single origin, Mexico, Soconusco 75% cacao dark bar. 

One Hundred Percent 100% bar

Ritual Chocolate's100% bar was made with a blend of cacaos from "around the world."

Tasting notes: fruity, earthy, cacao.

The aroma: chocolate (baked brownie) with fleeting, faint green note. This bar had a smooth melt and flavor with a sour fruit spike about 2/3 in, and a smoother aftertaste than most 100%ers.

Mexico 75% bar

Since it is El Cinco de Mayo,* this Mexico Soconusco 75% Cacao bar from Ritual Chocolate is also featured today.

This second bar was made with cacao from the Rayen Cooperative, located in the Soconusco region of the state of Chiapas, that shares a border with Guatemala. This region has a long cacao history, likely beginning with the Olmec and Mokaya peoples. Later the Aztecs cultivated and consumed cacao in this area.

The aroma of this bar had hints of spice and drinking chocolate. The unique flavor had savory spice (light cumin, saffron) and nutty notes. The maker's tasting notes: nutty, woody, chocolate flavor with a bit of citrus. All these flavors came from just three ingredients: cacao, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter.

*Cinco de Mayo, or the 5th of May, celebrates a victory of the Mexican people/army over Napoleon's army in the mid 1800s. Celebrations around this date have grown over time to encompass a broader celebration of Mexican food and drink in the U.S.

Ritual Chocolate - The Nibs Bar 75% cacao - Sept. 18, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Ritual Chocolate
"The Nibs Bar" 75% Cacao
Good
Weight: .53 oz. (15 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 79 calories (estimate) in 1/4 bar
Cost: $7.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Nibs Theme Week.

Today's dark chocolate bar was made with cacao beans from the Toledo district of Southern Belize. "The Nibs Bar" from Ritual Chocolate (Park City, UT) had a faintly sweet, earthy dark chocolate and coffee aroma, and a fairly strong coffee flavor with a hint of dried and/or citrus fruit.

This two-ingredient bar was made from cacao and organic cane sugar. I knew this, and yet I found myself re-checking the ingredients, to make sure the cacao nibs weren't coffee nibs. If you like coffee, you'll like this bar.

The bar's packaging (and bar) were very well designed. Every side and surface contributed to the company's story, from the mountain peak motif and the sparkly stars above*, to the cacao pod nestled in the middle of a diamond shape.

*The company crafts their chocolate in the mountains at 7,000 feet (2,133 meters). While it can be difficult to make chocolate in a hot climate, making chocolate in the snowy mountains (despite a temperature-controlled inside) must also require some re-calibrations for altitude, relative dryness, and weather. Fortunately, the team at Ritual has had practice. They moved to Park City, UT from Denver, CO.

Ritual Chocolate - Belize 75 percent bar - May 4, 2015

Chocolate of the Day

Ritual Chocolate
Belize Toledo 75 percent cacao bar
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) in total bar
Calories: 225 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

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

The label on this Belize 75% Cacao dark chocolate bar from Ritual Chocolate indicated the company was based in Denver, Colorado.

However, the craft chocolate industry moves quickly, and by the time of this write-up, company founders Robbie Stout and Anna Davies had relocated their factory to, and opened a cafe in, Park City, Utah. So, Ritual Chocolate bars are now considered "Utah Craft Chocolate."

Ritual Chocolate's Belize bar (Batch #004, Harvest Year 2014) was made with two ingredients: organic cacao (a blend of indigenous heirloom and Trinitario cacao beans from the Toledo district of Southern Belize) and organic cane sugar.

Tasting notes on the packaging let us know that we could expect a "balanced chocolate with notes of dried fig, cherry and a hint of tobacco."

I thought this bar had a pleasant chocolatey, dried fruit, almost smoky aroma. It wasn't too sweet, which I very much liked. The bar had a relatively balanced, complex flavor profile with hints of tart dried sour cherry -- so, in other words, the taste mirrored the tasting notes. The chocolate had a shine to it, and a smooth, cocoa buttery texture and mouthfeel.

The company has attractive packaging and each bar is adorned with an illustration of an animal that resides within the country of cacao origin. In today's case, the animal looks to be a young Tapir, a large endangered herbivore that lives in Central and South America.

Ritual Chocolate - Balao 75 percent sample - August 25, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ritual Chocolate
Balao 75% (Ecuador)
Good++
Weight: .3 oz. (8.5 g.) (estimate) for 1 sample packet
Calories: 45 calories (estimate) for 1 packet
Cost: N/A - sample packet
Purchased from: N/A - sample packet

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week.

www.ritualchocolate.com

I love the naturally occurring floral flavor notes in cacao from Ecuador. This Balao 75 percent sample, crafted with cacao from the Camino Verde farm in Ecuador, by Ritual Chocolate (Denver, CO), had it.

Today's dark chocolate wafer-thin sample round, the perfect shape and thickness for accessing/tasting flavors, was quite mild otherwise, and had a delicious almost buttery smoothness and melt.

Dark chocolate bars with only two or three ingredients -- this one was made with cacao and organic cane sugar, that's it -- spotlight a chocolate makers skills (or inexperience) like nothing else. There is nowhere to hide if the ferment or the temper went awry. Happily, this chocolate just left me full of appreciation. Some may like a more robust flavor profile and there are plenty of other dark bars that would be happy to oblige; however, floral notes, should they be present, will most likely be lost with these chocolate bars.

Pictured at right is the official Balao 75 percent bar available online, from www.ritualchocolate.com.

ChocolateBet: September 21, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Ritual Chocolate
Madagascar 75% cacao bar
Good+
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 219 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 for total bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, in Palo Alto, CA

This 2011 harvest dark bar made by Ritual Chocolate (Denver, CO) was perhaps the most subtle but well balanced Madagascar bar I've eaten this week, with both very slight acidic notes and also a faint hint of caramel.

Made with organic cacao beans from the Sambirano Valley in Northern Madagascar, the bar was enveloped in gold foil paper, and wrapped in attractively designed packaging adorned with a lemur.

Warning, tangent about lemurs ahead.... A lemur is a monkey-like marsupial with large eyes and a long, ringed tail, native to this large island nation off the east coast of Africa. I've been told many farmers regard lemurs as pests; and I'm left to wonder whether lemurs like/can eat cacao fruit or not. I somehow remember reading that they might be able to eat cacao without ill effects. (I remember feeding a lemur a banana while in Madagascar in 2005; sadly there was no cacao fruit to see, or taste, on that trip, much less some to feed to lemurs.)

Today was Day #7 of Madagascar Chocolate Theme Week.