Three Twins - Organic Caramel Truffle Swirl ice cream - Sept. 11, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Three Twins
Organic Caramel Truffle Swirl ice cream
Good
Weight: 1/2 cup / 1 Pint (473 mL) in total container
Calories: 230 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $1.99 (estimate) for 1 container
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today marked the 11th year (4,035+ days) of featuring a different daily chocolate. The occasion was celebrated at dawn this morning with a new chocolate item, before a hike in the redwoods.

Have I run out of new chocolate items to try? Not even close.

The last few weeks have included some of the hottest days on record in the Bay Area. Perfect time for some frozen chocolate and caramel items, such as this one.

Three Twins (Petaluma, CA) is one of my favorite brands of ice cream. Their Madagascar Vanilla, Dad's Cardamom and other flavors have been wonderful.

Traditionally the company's ice cream flavors have contained a short list of quality ingredients without vegetable gums, stabilizers and emulsifiers which many consumers have gotten used to. Long may this tradition continue.

Today's organic Caramel Truffle ice cream (vanilla ice cream base with a caramel swirl) included a mix-in of tiny chocolate caramel "truffles." I think I would have preferred flecks of dark or milk chocolate and salted caramel, but the micro peanut butter* cup-shaped truffles were cute.

I also enjoyed a few slices of buttery, rich, homemade, caramel on the side.

*There were no peanut butter ingredients in this ice cream.

Three Twins Ice Cream - Organic Chocolate Malt - July 30, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Three Twins Ice Cream
Organic Chocolate Malt ice cream
Good +
Weight: 1/8 cup (21.25 g.) / 1 Pint (473 mL) in 1 container
Calories: 52.5 calories in 1/8 cup serving
Cost: $1.99 (estimate) for 1 pint container
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chilled Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Organic and Fair Trade Certified Chocolate Malt Ice Cream was from Three Twins (Petaluma, CA).

This chocolate ice cream was suffused with a classic and natural-tasting malt flavor. Malted milk and related malt shop offerings of childhood likely served as an inspiration for today's Organic Chocolate Malt Ice Cream; only this creamy dessert was implemented with a level of higher quality than I remember.

Technically, I haven't had malt anything for years*, but I made an exception here, and ate 1/4 of a typical serving. I've been a Three Twins ice cream fan for quite some time, so I couldn't resist.

*Malt is usually made from barley, and is not gluten free. Technically you could make malt from corn (using a similar process of soaking, sprouting, drying, etc.), but I have yet to do research into this area and which manufacturers might be using this process in conventional chocolate malt products.

Three Twins - Cherry Chocolate Chunk Organic Ice Cream - Mar. 1, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Three Twins Ice Cream
Cherry Chocolate Chunk Organic ice cream
Good - Good +
Weight: 1/2 cup (85 g.) / 1 Pint (473 mL) in total container
Calories: 200 calories in 1/2 cup serving
Cost: $1.99 (estimate) for 1 container
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to the first day of Chocolate, Cherry and Raspberry Week.

Cherry and raspberry each blend well with chocolate, so I'm looking forward to trying new chocolates with one of these red fruits this week.

Today's Cherry Chocolate Chunk Organic cherry ice cream was from Three Twins Ice Cream (Petaluma, CA).

One of the many things I like about Three Twins is their use of natural and organic ingredients. The soft pink color of this ice cream comes from organic cherries, and the "chunks" were miniature tiles of organic dark chocolate.

The dominant flavor was a creamy, subtle cherry sweetness. If you want to amp up the chocolate,  you could always add a dark chocolate topping. (Try grating or melting a few leftover squares of your favorite dark bar.)

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Three Twins Ice Cream - Banana Nut Confetti - Jan. 20, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Three Twins Ice Cream
Banana Nut Confetti ice cream
Good - Good +
Weight: 1/2 cup (85 g.) / 1 Pint (473 g.) in total container
Calories: 180 calories in 1/2 cup serving
Cost: $1.99 for 1 container
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Today's chocolate came in the form of chocolate chips. More specifically, it was part of a scoop of Banana Nut Confetti organic banana ice cream from Three Twins Ice Cream (Petaluma, CA).

I'm a fan of Three Twins ice creams -- a local San Francisco Bay Area ice cream brand. There's more of the good stuff (organic ingredients), and less of the stuff we don't really need (like preservatives, gums, etc.).

The Banana Nut Confetti ice cream was a little lighter than the caramelized banana chip gelato from yesterday, but just as enjoyable. And who doesn't like some relatively healthy ice cream with chocolate confetti* on a gray winter day? Count me in. The specks of confetti allow for more chocolate flavor accessibility (than larger, frozen chunks of chocolate).

Tiny bits of walnut rounded out the flavors nicely; nuts often helps balance out the sweetness of fruit and sugar and add some texture and richness.

Today was Day #8 of Chocolate and Banana Theme Week.

*Today's Banana Nut Confetti joins Chocolate Orange Confetti and Vanilla Chocolate Chip flavors in the Three Twins confetti hall of fame.

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Three Twins - Mexican Chocolate ice cream - April 23, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Three Twins
Sergio Romo's Mexican Chocolate ice cream
Good +
Weight: 1/2 cup (85 g.) / 1 Pint (473 mL) total container
Calories: 210 calories in 1/2 cup serving
Cost: ?
Purchased from: ?

Unfortunately, I don't remember where I bought this creamy, organic Mexican Chocolate ice cream made by Three Twins  Ice Cream (Petaluma, CA), but I know it was in the San Francisco Bay Area -- because of the tribute to/tie-in with Sergio Romo, a pitcher for the championship-winning San Francisco Giants baseball team.

What is Mexican Chocolate ice cream? Chocolate ice cream infused with cinnamon and vanilla. I felt like I was savoring a dish of frozen, Mexican horchata (cinnamon and vanilla flavored milk drink) -- a chocolate version, that is.

Because yesterday was Earth Day, it's also worth mentioning the Three Twins land conservation initiative called Ice Cream for Acres. The company donates money to land preservation efforts (36 million square feet and counting...).

Today was Day #3 of Mexican Chocolate Theme Week.

Three Twins - Orange Confetti ice cream - Nov. 5, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

Three Twins
Chocolate Orange Confetti ice cream
Very Good
Weight: 1/2 cup (85 g.) / 1 Pint (473 g.) total container
Calories: 240 calories in 1/2 cup serving
Cost: $3.50 (sale) for 1 container
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Orange Theme Week.

A well-made chocolate ice cream is an underrated pleasure. A well-made chocolate ice cream with high-quality flavor additions is a gift. Today's organic chocolate ice cream with orange oil and flecks of dark chocolate from Three Twins (Petaluma, CA) was very good -- creamy, natural tasting, and well-balanced with orange undertones and rich chocolate flavor. The chocolate flecks added some texture and taste.

Warning, if you like ice cream, you may be tempted to have seconds helpings of Three Twins flavors. This one was no exception. I'll likely try pairing this flavor with the company's "Dad's Cardamom" or "Madagascar Vanilla" ice cream in the near future.

Three Twins - ice cream sundaes - February 1, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Three Twins (Organic Ice Cream)
1.) California Cliche Sundae - Very Good
2.) The Crunchy Sundae - Very Good
Weight: unknown
Calories: 1,600 calories (estimate) for 2 sundaes
Cost: $14.00 for 2 sundaes
Purchased from: Three Twins shop, Marin Country Mart, Larkspur, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Nibs Theme Week.

The Three Twins (sign and logo) may have influenced me to return to the company's scoop (ice cream) shops (in Larskpur, CA) for a second, or "twin," sundae with cacao nibs today.

Located in the good food-friendly Marin Country Mart (a shopping center across the road from the Larkspur Ferry terminal), this Three Twins shop offered four sundaes, made with the customer's choice of ice creams. Two caught my eye:

First, was the California Cliche - 2 scoops of ice cream (vanilla, salted caramel); caramel sauce; pistachio nuts; sea salt; olive oil; whipped cream; plus I requested some nibs

Later, after a walk, I returned to the scene of the crime and ordered: The Crunchy sundae - 2 scoops of ice cream (chocolate peanut butter, dad's cardamom); chocolate sauce; nibs + cashew pieces; and whipped cream (no granola for me)

Both lovely, luscious sundaes were laden with very authentic flavors -- fresh, real whipped cream, fresh nuts, organic ice creams with natural flavors such as cardamom. The nibs added crunch. I bit down a little hard on one or two nibs that were a bit too firm, but this wonderful combination of fresh flavors and textures was well worth it. I really liked not being taken out of the experience by tasting too much sugar or something a bit artificial.

Ali'i Kula Lavender - Lavender Chocolate Sauce - December 16, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ali'i Kula Lavender/The Lavender Farm, Inc.
Lavender Chocolate Sauce
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1 Tablespoon or .5 oz. (14.25 g.) / 9.5 oz. (266 g.) total jar
Calories: 80 calories in 1 Tb. serving
Cost: $ info no longer listed
Purchased from: Ali'i Kula Lavender (AKL Maui) site

Today we bid Aloha to Chocolate and Hawaii Theme Week, and continued with the second day of Chocolate and Lavender Week. The bridge between these two weeks was a lovely Lavender Chocolate Sauce from Ali'i Kula Lavender farm (Kula, Hawaii) on the island of Maui.

This sauce could be used to dress up almost any dessert, from poached pears to panna cotta, or to make a lavender ice cream sundae.

The lavender chocolate sauce was not overly thick, but it was a cold day. So, I warmed and stirred a small dish of sauce first, for easier spooning over ice cream. I used a healthy scoop or two of Three Twins Madagascar Vanilla ice cream for this sundae. Lappert's ice cream (Hawaii) would also be a great tropical island ice cream alternative.

ChocolateBet: March 29, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

1 scoop in a cup
Three Twins (Organic Ice Cream)
Mint Confetti ice cream
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: ~2.5 oz.
Calories: ~ 150 calories (estimate)
Cost: $3.50 for 1 scoop/cup
Purchased from: Cowgirl Creamery in Tomales Bay Foods, in Point Reyes Station, CA

A friend and I enjoyed a drive up to Point Reyes, CA, and lunch at Cowgirl Creamery. (The green hills and wildflowers north of San Francisco, CA, will be "golden" brown in just a few weeks, but they looked great today in the March sunshine.) In between lunch and cheese tasting, we had some Three Twins organic ice cream, which was very nice.