Stirs the Soul - Maca Chocolate bar - Feb. 28, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Stirs the Soul
Maca Chocolate bar
Good
Weight: .33 oz. (9.3 g.) / 1 oz. (28 g.) in total bar
Calories: 50 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was the final day (Day #7) of Chocolate and Maca Theme Week.

The chocolate-maker(s) at Stirs the Soul (Portland, OR) pride themselves on "Conscious Raw" bean-to-bar* chocolate. This Maca bar was crafted with "fairly traded, sustainably grown and allergy compassionate" cacao, added cocoa butter (for a more silken melt and mouthfeel), and lightly sweetened with coconut palm sugar.

Raw chocolate made and sweetened this way lacks the hard sugar buzz of conventional, commercial chocolate. While it may lack some of the roasted and fruity notes (depending on the beans used) found in some other bean-to-bar craft chocolate (made with roasted beans), it also may have a smoother flavor for some.

This bar was made and packaged in a dairy, egg, peanut, tree-nut (except coconut), soy and gluten-free facility.

*The company stone-grinds their own cocoa beans, and chocolate is made keeping temperatures below 111 degrees Farenheit (43.8 degrees Celsius). 

Stirs the Soul - Orange Goji bar - April 7, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

Stirs the Soul
Orange Goji Chocolate bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Orange Theme Week.


This all raw, Orange Goji Chocolate bar from Stirs the Soul (Portland, OR) was lightly sweetened (with dried dates). Goji berries, orange and ginger added subtle flavor. I was delighted that this bar wasn't overly sweet.

The bar was made with stone-ground, unroasted Criollo and Trinitario cacao beans. (Stirs the Soul is one of the few "raw" chocolate vendors that grind their own beans.) Stirs the Soul raw chocolate alchemist, Daren Hayes, also buys cacao that is "Fairly Traded and Sustainably Grown."

To ensure that the raw chocolate maintains nutrients, the company maintains temperatures below 111 degrees (F), during the making of bars; and even below that mark apparently for tempering.

Given the finicky nature of tempering chocolate (a good "temper" has traditionally meant that a bar yields with a bit of a "snap" when broken), the consistency of the bar was quite good.

Added cocoa butter helped give this 82% cacao bar a very smooth mouthfeel. The flavors were very mild for an 82% cacao bar -- a characteristic some will like. Some of this may have been due to less roasting at higher temperatures. I would have enjoyed tasting a bit more of the cacao flavor and the flavor additions.

Great news for those with allergies...The company maintains what it calls an "Allergy Compassionate" environment. Chocolate bars are "made and packaged in a dairy, egg, peanut, tree-nut (except coconut), soy and gluten-free facility."

ChocolateBet: May 16, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1 bar
Stirs the Soul
coconut chocolate (bar)
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) bar
Calories: 155 calories (estimate - no information listed)
Cost: $3.59
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week. This past weekend I went on a chocolate with coconut hunt. This "Coconuts" restaurant (sign pictured at right) looked promising, but, alas, there were no chocolate items on their menu.

So, the search continued, until I stopped at Country Sun Natural Foods store a few miles away. Here I found today's coconut chocolate dark 74% cacao (and "100% raw") bar from Stirs the Soul (a company based in Portland, OR).

The texture of this stone ground, coconut chocolate was very smooth, and not overly sweet, with a faint hint of slightly waxy, coconut soap mouthfeel. The raw, agave-sweetened (low glycemic), fairly traded, vegan bar was also manufactured in a gluten-free facility.