Chocolate Tree - Hazelnut Gianduja 40% Bean to Bar (bar) - May 15, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolate Tree
Hazelnut Gianduja 40% Bean to Bar (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 191 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Dispensary, online order

Bacio di Latte Gelateria
2 flavors: Giandujotto (Hazelnut & Chocolate) + Caffe & Caramellatte (Coffee & Caramel)
Good+ - ++
Weight: Unknown (1 grande cup with 2 flavors)

Calories: Unknown
Cost: $11.95 for 1 grande (large) cup

Purchased from: Bacio di Latte Gelateria

Welcome to Day #14 of Chocolate & Colombia Week, and Day #3 of Chocolate and Coffee Theme Week.

I celebrated today with two creamy hazelnut items--a bar crafted with Colombian cacao and two scoops of gelato: a gianduja flavor and a coffee + caramel flavor.

Hazelnut Gianduja 40% Bean to Bar (bar)

This Gianduja 40% bar was from Knowes Farm in Scotland. 

The heirloom cacao used to make this bar was from Colombia. "The roasted hazelnuts were stoneground together with rare ancestral cacao from the Arhuaco indigenous community of the Sierra Nevada mountains in Colombia."

Aroma and flavor notes included: sweet, soft chocolate with creamy, fully incorporated hazelnuts. 

The texture was indeed creamy and almost velvety soft. But the chocolate was firm enough to maintain a beautiful interlocking bird pattern on one side of the bar (from the chocolate mould (mold) that shaped it).

I loved the appearance of this bar and subtle flavors in this rich, sweet gianduja confection of a bar. I was surprised it did not contain milk, given the ultra-smooth, creamy texture.

Maker's Tasting Notes: "Hazelnuts, Toffee, Sesame. Pair with: Prosecco, Fresh Bread."

Ingredients: Organic Hazelnuts (30%), organic cocoa beans, organic sugar, organic cocoa butter.

Allergen-related information: Contained Hazelnuts. "Dairy is used in our factory." 

Bacio di Latte Gelateria

And to fulfill the "coffee" portion of the overlapping Colombia and Coffee theme weeks today, I visited a newly opened gelateria in Palo Alto, CA. This was the first location in the San Francisco Bay Area for this Brazilian gelato brand.

I tried two of their flavors: Chocolate Hazelnut -- creamy chocolate and gianduja flavors with whole hazelnuts -- and Coffee and Caramel gelato that had pleasing coffee caramel latte flavor. 

Their gelato was sweet (as expected), smooth and balanced with authentic, Italian flavors. 

Chocolate Tree - Belize Maya Mountain 75% Bean to Bar - Feb. 12, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolate Tree
Belize 75% Dark Chocolate Bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 171.5 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate & Central America Theme Week -- a week with several dark bars crafted by small batch makers using cacao grown in Belize--sourced from Maya Mountain Cacao in Southern Belize.*

Today's Belize 75% Dark Chocolate Bar was made by Chocolate Tree (Knowes Farm, Scotland), using cacao ("Native Criollo (varieties), Upper Amazon Hybrids") from Maya Mountain Cacao.

Aroma and flavor notes for this bar included: dark chocolate (chocolate-y, slightly roast-y dark fudge brownie); diffuse and faint tart-sweet/tropical fruit; and very faint warm spice.

Texture: relatively smooth, dark chocolate with  a very subtle tart fruit astringency.

I appreciated the company's thoughtful sourcing; the mold/form they used to create the beautiful interlocking birds pattern on this bar (and other bars); the short list of three, organic ingredients; and the chocolate-y flavor with secondary, diffuse tropical fruit notes. (For those who don't care for the wonderful fruit, there was a little less fruit in this bar than some other Belize dark chocolates featured this week. Personally, I love balanced, naturally occurring cacao fruit notes.)

Maker's Tasting Notes: "Dried Fruit, Honey, Pineapple" 

Maker's Pairing Suggestions: "Pair With: Brownies, Granola, Dark Rum"

Ingredients: "Organic Cacao Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cacao Butter."

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that processes: milk, peanuts, soy, and tree nut ingredients." 

*When I visited Maya Mountain Cacao years ago, the Toledo district (and more broadly Southern Belize) felt like the equivalent (for cacao) of the Napa wine region in northern California. A special place. (The opportunity to discuss centuries old cacao traditions with Maya people/farmers was also very special.)

Maya Mountain Cacao purchases cacao (freshly harvested beans with pulp) from many local cacao farmers and provides high-quality, fine-flavored cacao beans to chocolate makers around the globe.

Ocelot Craft Chocolate - 70% Dark Chocolate Sea Salt (bar) - July 17, 2025

Chocolate of the Day 

Ocelot Craft Chocolate 
70% Dark Chocolate Sea Salt (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 202 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Dispensary, online order 

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

Today's 70% Dark Chocolate Sea Salt (bar) was from Ocelot Craft Chocolate (Dundee, UK) and imported into the U.S. by Original Beans BV (Amsterdam, NL).

The cacao used to make this chocolate was from Virunga National Park, Eastern Congo.

Aroma and flavor notes included: dark chocolate (relatively bold but balanced brownie with faint roasted, earth, very faint diffuse red fruit (apple and red berry), and chocolate cookie).

Texture: smooth dark chocolate with periodic tiny, crunchy salt crystals.

I enjoyed the chocolate-y flavors in this bar, and the origin stories about the salt as well as the cacao.

The Chocolate Dispensary supplied tasting notes: "The fruity, smoky flavours of this chocolate are beautifully lifted by a salty-sweet kick of hand-harvested sea salt from Scotland."

Ingredients: cacao mass*, raw cane sugar*, cacao butter*, sea salt (1%). Cacao solids: 70% minimum.

Allergen-related information: May contain almonds, hazelnuts and milk. 

Coco - Isle of Skye Sea Salt Milk Chocolate (bar) - July 14, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Coco
Isle of Skye Sea Salt Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 227.48 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: N/A - gift from a friend - thank you Wendy!
Purchased from: N/A - gift

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Salt Theme Week.

Today's Isle of Skye Sea Salt Milk Chocolate 40% (bar) was from Coco Chocolatier (South Queensferry, Scotland).

The colorful wrapper for this truly international bar--made in Scotland using Colombian cacao--was designed by "France-based Les Canailles." Perfect for Bastille Day today...And this chocolate was a gift from friends in Minnesota to me, in California. Thank you Wendy!

Aroma and flavor notes included sweet and creamy milk chocolate, lightly salted, with very faint vanilla.

I liked the creamy texture and taste. This 40% cacao bar was sweet and relatively addictive ("more-ish") due to sugar, salt and fat blend. Those with a sweet tooth will likely enjoy this chocolate. 

The subtle Isle of Skye sea salt (from Scotland) helped balance out the relatively high level of sweetness.

A sweet milk chocolate bar can mute some more subtle naturally occurring cacao flavors; but the choice of higher-quality, single origin cacao (as in this bar) elevated the overall taste. Thank you to Coco for using Colombian cacao for this bar.

Ingredients: Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Cocoa Mass, Milk Powder 14.5%, Emulsifier: Non-GMO Soya Lecithin, Natural Vanilla Flavour, Isle of Skye Sea Salt (<1%), Cocoa Solids: 40% Minimum.

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk, Soya. May Contain Traces of Peanuts, Nuts and Gluten.

 

Coco Chocolatier - Cold Brew Coffee Dark Chocolate (bar) - Sept. 23, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Coco Chocolatier
Cold Brew Coffee Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 230 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Phoenix Shop, Big Sur, California

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate & Colombia Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Coffee Week(s).

Today's Cold Brew Coffee (61% cocoa) Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Coco Chocolatier/Coco EU (Belfast and Edinburgh). The outer wrapper was, quite literally, a work of art.*

Aroma: relatively sweet dark chocolate, roasted coffee and appealing, mysterious and hard to pin-down notes that might have been: fleeting herb, spice and savory notes (mild green pepper; roasted olive tapenade on freshly toasted bread); mild earth/clay; and slightly smoky vanilla.

The cacao origin for this bar was Colombia. 

Texture: relatively smooth, even texture and melt.

Flavor notes: well-balanced dark chocolate and coffee; not too acidic; not too bitter; naturally sweet, but not too sweet; and a polite lingering coffee finish. 

I loved the intriguing aroma and felt grateful for the relatively mellow, smooth, almost coffee flavor--likely due to the cold brew method, and added cocoa butter.

While I don't drink coffee anymore, I've featured a Chocolate and Coffee Theme Week almost every year on Chocolate Banquet. I loved drinking coffee; and the toughest part about giving it up was the lovely, seductive aromas. I'm looking forward to being intoxicated by coffee scents this week.

Ingredients: Cocoa Mass, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Coffee (<1%), Emulsifier: Non-GMO Soya Lecithin, Natural Coffee Flavour, Natural Vanilla Flavour. (Cocoa Solids: 61% Minimum)

Allergen-related information: "May Contain Traces of Peanuts, Nuts, Milk and Gluten."

*Chocolate can be blended with thousands of flavors; it's very versatile. It also can be enjoyed with--and found swaddled in--many art styles. Packaging/labels for craft chocolate, beer, and wine have been great sources of fresh and inspired designs and entertaining surprises over time. I would have saved all of the thousands of the physical wrappers I've seen, but that would've required renting a large storage facility.

 

Leith Chocolate - Passionfruit Dark Chocolate (bar) - Aug. 1, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Leith Chocolate
Passionfruit Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 219 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: Missing information 
Purchased from: World Market, Mountain View, CA

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

Today's Passionfruit Dark Chocolate (bar), a product of Scotland, was from Leith Chocolate (South Queensferry and Dublin). 

Aroma notes included: smooth dark chocolate and aromatic wafts of fruit (peach, mango, passion fruit).

Leith sources chocolate from South America; and the dark chocolate in this bar was uniform and smooth with subtle roasted dark cocoa flavor.

The fruit flavor notes were very similar to the aroma notes (mentioned above) and included the same blend of stone fruit (peach, mild apricot) and tropical fruits (mango, faint passion fruit). 

My experience with passion fruit is that this flavorful and seedy sweet and sour fruit has rich sweet citrus, floral--and occasionally cacao fruit pulp, other tropical fruits, and fruit punch--notes. 

Ingredients: "Cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier: Non GMO soy lecithin, vanilla extract, natural passion fruit flavour."

Allergen-related information: "Allergens: soya" "Made in a facility that handles dairy, peanuts, soy and tree nuts." "No gluten containing ingredients"

Leith Chocolate - Lavender Milk Chocolate 40% (bar) - May 22, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Leith Chocolate
Lavender Milk Chocolate 40% (bar)

Good + - Good ++

Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 219 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $3.84 (sale) for 1 bar
Purchased from: World Market, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Flowers Theme Week.

Today's Lavender Milk Chocolate 40% cocoa (bar) from Leith Chocolate EU (Belfast/South Queensferry, Scotland) was made in Scotland.

The company takes their name from the once bustling sea port of Leith that once the gateway to Scotland. The port neighborhood has more recently become a creative hub, home to several artisan makers creating goods for export.

Leith Chocolate sources cacao from South America to make their line of chocolates. And the cacao origin for today's bar was Colombia.

Aroma notes included: milk chocolate, lavender and warm vanilla.

This smooth, creamy bar kept it simple with three primary well-blended flavors: sweet milk chocolate, lavender and vanilla, that all harmonized very nicely. 

It was hard to taste cacao flavor nuances due to a relatively high percentage of sugar (and milk). While a bit sweet for me, I enjoyed the authentic lavender (and mellow vanilla) floral flavors. 

This Leith chocolate would be a great choice if you fancy flower flavors and have a milk chocolate sweet tooth.

Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, cocoa liquor, milk powder, emulsifier, non-GMO soy lecithin, natural vanilla extract), lavender oil. Cocoa solids. 40% minimum.

Allergen-related information: Made in a factory that handles dairy, peanuts, soy and tree nuts.

Leith Chocolate - Gin & Tonic Dark Chocolate (bar) - May 8, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Leith Chocolate
Gin and Tonic Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 219 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.67 for 1 bar
Purchased from: World Market, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Gin Theme Week.

Today's Gin and Tonic Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Leith Chocolate (South Queensferry, Scotland).

The company sources their chocolate from South America. (The cacao origin of today's bar was Colombia.)

Aroma notes for this 61% Cocoa gin-inspired bar included: dark chocolate, lemon-lime candy, warm floral spice (vanilla), fleeting vanilla and lemon biscuit, and botanicals (juniper). 

This chocolate had a smooth texture, and a relatively rapid melt that led to a softer, loftier/lighter, creamy mouthfeel finish.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate, sweet citrus (lemon, lime) and light botanical herbs (juniper and faint, fleeting sweet rosemary) and faint vanilla. 

There was also a very faint, well-balanced citrus peel-like, bitter-sweet note that evoked a splash of tonic water that one would taste in a traditional gin and tonic cocktail.

This dark chocolate was an enjoyable confectionery tribute to a classic gin cocktail.

Ingredients: Dark chocolate (cocoa liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, Non-GMO soy lecithin, natural vanilla extract), juniper oil, lemon oil, lime oil.

Allergen-related information: Made in a factory that handles dairy, peanuts, soy and tree nuts.

Leith Chocolate - Earl Grey Tea Dark Chocolate (bar) - Jan. 28, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Leith Chocolate
Earl Grey Tea Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 218 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.67 (sale) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Cost Plus World Market, Mountain View, CA

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

Today's Earl Grey Tea Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Leith Chocolate (South Queensferry, Scotland, with an EU office in Belfast). 

Virtual Travel via Tea and Chocolate

Like most chocolate bars, this tea chocolate had a multi-layered international supply chain and story to tell. Leith Chocolate is named after Leith, a port in north Edinburgh, in Scotland. 

The company sources cacao to make their chocolates from South America. The cacao used to create this bar was from Colombia. 

The black tea in this bar was also grown in a more tropical/equatorial locale. And the bergamot oil used to flavor said tea may have come from a Mediterranean country.*) 

This citrus-floral forward international chocolate also evoked bergamot oil scented tea memories from visits to relatives in Europe and the U.K. And, finally, this bar was shipped to U.S. locations. And I was able to purchase this chocolate in California at a World Market store location. The scent alone was uplifting and transporting.**

Aroma notes for this attractively packaged (a plum colored field covered with pale purple blossoms) dark 61% chocolate included: dark chocolate, aromatic citrus (bergamot, Earl Grey tea) and very faint vanilla.

This well-tempered bar broke with a snap and had a smooth creamy melt and texture.

Flavor notes included: smooth, relatively sweet dark chocolate, bergamot oil flavored Earl Grey tea, and very faint vanilla.

Overall these flavors were appealing and well-balanced. The sweetness (sugar) level for this 61% tea chocolate was a little too high for my taste, but it was quite good otherwise.

Ingredients: Dark chocolate (cocoa liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, non-GMO soy lecithin, natural vanilla extract), Earl Grey tea, bergamot oil.

Allergen-related information: Made in a factory that handles dairy, peanuts, soy and tree nuts.

* Bergamot orange (Citrus bergamia) is a hybrid citrus fruit (sour orange + lemon) cultivated in southern Italy. (Almost all citrus fruit originated from Asia/SE Asia, but various cultivars and crosses developed elsewhere over time.) Its aromatic rind, and the essential oil extracted from the peel, are what gives Earl Grey black tea its unique flavor. Bergamot is also used in perfumes, fragrances, lotions, and for other uses.

**Yes, it is sobering to think about the carbon emissions/energy involved in international agricultural and packaged goods supply chains; but, fortunately, the virtual travel imaginings and memories this tea chocolate triggered were almost 100% carbon free. 

 

ChocStars Ltd. - Dark Chocolate (bar); Gertrude's - Feb. 21, 2020

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

ChocStars Ltd.
(Imported by Belgium's Chocolate Source)
Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good
Weight: 1.48 oz. (42 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 115 calories in 5 pieces of bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #3 of Plain Dark Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Dark Chocolate bar was made for ChocStars Ltd. (Perth, Scotland), and imported into the U.S. by Belgium's Chocolate Source (Milton, MA).

ChocStars offers entertaining lineup of bars with packaging adorned with celebrity look-alike images. However, the impersonators are animals dressed up and styled to look like specific celebrities (complete with wigs, items of clothing, hats and other accoutrements), so that they are immediately recognizable. Today's small rodent "star" bore an uncanny resemblance to the Queen of England.

I believe I sampled a previous ChocStars bar that featured a suspiciously canine-looking Michael Jackson years ago. They're not rock stars...they're ChocStars.

As one might expect with novelty bars like this the dark chocolate inside is perfectly edible but a bit on the industrial side (smooth, very uniform, dark, sweet).

Gertrude's desserts, Desert Botanical Garden, Arizona
Bonus entry: desserts at Gertrude's, at the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona: 1.) gluten free doughnut holes with chocolate, caramel and prickly pear dipping sauces, and 2.) gluten free chocolate cake with bourbon cherry sauce and cherry sorbet. Yum. Thank you Joy!

Chocolate Tree - Haggis Spice Dark Chocolate (bar) - Oct. 3, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolate Tree
Haggis Spice Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good - Good +
Weight: .875 oz. (25 g.)  / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 135.5 calories in 1/4  bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Greetings and welcome to the first day of Salt and Savory Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Haggis Spice Dark Chocolate bar hails from Chocolate Tree (Haddington, Scotland).

This bar smelled like a savory stew or porridge, with rosemary, pepper, sea salt and pepper doing their best to convince me this was true. These and other traditional haggis spices* were blended with (gluten free pinhead) oats and organic dark chocolate to create this unique bar.**

The chocolate was a relatively bold, but smooth dark chocolate, which had a relatively smooth melt. However, you'll experience tiny chewy bits of other ingredients embedded in this chocolate, yielding flavor spikes of rosemary and spice, tiny sparkles of sea salt and oats. This blend of salt, savory and sweet was well balanced and fun to try.

*Ingredients: Organic sugar, organic cocoa mass, organic cocoa butter, organic vanilla, gluten free pinhead oats (8%). Haggis spice (2%): organic black pepper, organic rosemary, sea salt, organic coriander seed, organic mace and organic thyme.

**You may have heard that haggis also contains sheep's innards. Fear not. There were no animal parts in today's vegetarian chocolate bar. It contained only the spices and salt used to make this traditional Scottish savory dish.

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Chocolate Tree - Pisco Sour Nibs 70% Dark bar - August 19, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolate Tree
Pisco Sour Nibs 70% Dark bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 196.4 calories in 1 bar (1/2 package)
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Spirits Theme Week.

Today's Pisco Sour Nibs 70% Dark bar was made by Chocolate Tree (Dunbar, Scotland).

The company has created a series of bars that combine origin-based spirit-infused cacao nibs with cacao grown in the same region. Very nice idea.

In today's case, Pisco (and the popular Peruvian Pisco Sour cocktail made from this spirit mixed with lime and bitters) was blended with "ultra-premium cacao nibs from the Chililique community of Piura" (Peru), and organic chocolate from the same origin.

This chocolate was smooth. The cacao nibs tasted fresh, and had a soft chew/crunch. The lime (lime oil) and bitters gave the bar a subtle citrus accent. The Pisco (6%) liquor* was very subtle.

*Pisco is a pale amber (or clear) brandy made from fermented grape juice (from grapes grown in the wine-making regions of Peru and Chile (south of the Atacama desert and north of Santiago). The fermented juice is distilled to make a spirit. Pisco was developed by early Spanish settlers centuries ago. The Pisco Sour (cocktail) is popular throughout Peru and neighboring South American countries.

Chocolate Tree - Mezcal with Nibs bar - August 18, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolate Tree
Mezcal Nibs 70% Cocoa Dark bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 2.8  oz. (80 g.) in total package (2 bars in pkg.)
Calories: 196.4 calories in 1 bar (1/2 package) (per label)
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Mezcal Nibs 70% Cocoa Dark bar was made by Chocolate Tree (Dunbar, Scotland).

This relatively sweet 70% chocolate, made with criollo hybrid cacao Tabasqueno (Mexico) was studded with crunchy cacao nibs and had a boozy aroma and flavor from the mezcal (also from Mexico).*

The description for this bar on the Chocolate Tree packaging read as follows: "400 years ago, the Spanish conquistadors discovered a love for cacao in Mexico and they also taught distillation to the Aztecs. We have soaked the ancient criollo hybrid cacao of Tabasqueno in Mezcal, the agave spirit, to bring you a chocolate with deep rich notes of bloodlust, agave, and smoke."

*Ingredients: organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar, organic cacao butter, organic cocoa nibs, mezcal

Coco Chocolatier - Gin and Tonic Dark Chocolate 60% bar - Aug. 13, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Coco Chocolatier
Gin and Tonic Dark Chocolate 60% Cocoa bar
Good +
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 212 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: World Market, N. Scottsdale, AZ

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

Summer is the time to enjoy a simple chilled cocktail like a gin and tonic with a twist of citrus peel over ice.

But even if your cold summer drink doesn't include alcohol, you might want to try today's chocolate bar which evokes herbal lemonade or limeade (with an herbal touch of juniper).

Today's Gin and Tonic Dark Chocolate 60% Cocoa bar from Coco Chocolatier (Edinburgh, Scotland) was swathed in a wrapped printed with a colorful piece of art.*

The base chocolate was smooth, creamy and dark, with a hint of nuttiness, followed by mild aromatic citrus (lemon followed by lime) with a subtle earthly herbal juniper finish.

* Coco Chocolatier is a creative endeavor that incorporates images from artists/an art collective in Europe.

Ingredients: "Dark chocolate (cocoa liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, natural vanilla flavor), juniper oil, lemon oil, lime oil."

Chocolate Tree - Whisky Nibs 70% bar - July 13, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolate Tree

Whisky Nibs 70% bar

Good+

Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in total bar

Calories: 196 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate, Bourbon and Whiskey* Theme Week.

Today's Whisky Nibs 70% bar was from Chocolate Tree (Dunbar, Scotland). The presence of spirits was unmistakable in this five-ingredient dark bar (cacao beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, cacao nibs (10%), whisky (6%)). 

The makers selected cacao nibs from the Maranon Canyon in Peru; and these nibs were soaked in single malt Scotch whisky from Islay, an island known for whisky with peaty flavor notes. These nibs were then blended with cacao from the same origin (Peru) to make 70% cacao dark chocolate—two individually-wrapped bars in today's package.

The nibs provided some texture as well as boozy, authentic whisky flavor and aroma.

*You say whisky, I say whiskey...Which spelling is correct? The spelling differences are largely regional; but they are also tied to pride of origin and specific product classifications as well. E.g., the Scots use "whisky" without an "e" and Scotch whisky (usually made with malted barley) is made in Scotland, whereas the Irish refer to Irish "whiskey" with an "e." You may find both spellings in the U.S. However, Bourbon Whiskey (with an "e") refers to a specific whiskey made in the U.S., generally in Kentucky (from corn).