Vixen Chocolate - The Heart Flight (3 dark chocolate hearts: Desert (Peru), Forest (Uganda), and Island (Vanuatu)) - July 28, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Vixen Chocolate
The Heart Flight
Desert - Sechura Desert Peru - 73% Dark - Good ++
Forest - Semuliki Forest Uganda - 73% Dark - Good ++
Island - Malekula Island Vanuatu 72% Dark - Good ++ 
Weight: .0.77 oz. (22 g.) in total tin of 3 hearts 
Calories: 119 calories (estimate) for 3 hearts
Cost: $22.00 for 1 tin of 3 hearts
Purchased from: The Chocolate Dispensary, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate, Fire & Passion Theme Week, part of a month long series of chocolates with tie-ins to the elements: earth, water and fire.

Today's The Heart Flight was created by Vixen Chocolate (Portland, OR). Vixen infuses the message of boldness and passion into their chocolates.* Their packaging is artful and memorable. (Today's black and magenta metal tin could be re-purposed to hold jewelry or other keepsakes.)

This 3-piece flight included three, faceted (gem-cut) chocolate hearts, wrapped in different colored foils (pink, green and blue, respectively) and made using cacao from three different countries: Peru, Uganda and Vanuatu. Each represented a different elemental landscape: desert, forest & island: "3 hearts + 3 origins + ONE bold tasting of place."

Desert Heart - Sechura Desert, Peru 73%

This chocolate was both balanced and bold with nuanced flavors. Chocolate-y with diffuse fruits (dried fruits, citrus). The texture: smooth, relatively creamy, satisfying dark chocolate.

Forest Heart - Semuliki Forest, Uganda 73%

Chocolate-y, relatively sweet/bright, with very faint, well-managed earth notes. The texture: smooth, relatively creamy, satisfying chocolate.

Island - Vanuatu Malekula 72%

Also, chocolate-y with a subtle lushness (sweet green; hidden fruit)--an experience I associate with a single origin/terroir chocolates. Texture: smooth, creamy. (Origin notes: "Grown on the remote island of Malekula, where volcanic soil meets ocean breeze...")

All three were well-managed and executed, and were smooth and sweet, but some individual origin notes were allowed to peek through (thank you).

Ingredients: cacao, cane sugar*, cacao butter* 417 Hz, 528 Hz, 852 Hz, LOVE. (*Organic)

Allergen-related information: (None found on small, 3-piece tin)

*And Vixen also infuses their chocolates with different sound frequencies.

Vixen Chocolate - Vanuatu 72% Dark Malekula Island (bar) - July 27, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Vixen Chocolate
Vanuatu - 72% Dark Malekula Island (bar) 
Good ++
Weight: .97 oz. (27.5 g.) / 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $18.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Xocolatl Garden, Carmel, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Fire & Passion Theme Week.

Today's Vanuatu - 72% Dark Malekula Island (bar) was created by Vixen Chocolate (Portland, OR). This was part of a "Terroir Magic Series" of chocolates.

"Stay Bold" (the inky black and flashy magenta foiled) a label for this bar tells us. (We will, responded the dark chocolate lovers drawn to bold flavors--and intriguing packaging.)

This bar had a subtle and smooth dark chocolate aroma, and balanced dark chocolate flavor with gently attractive succulent, sweet fruit (dragon fruit, pear/cactus pear chocolate torte) with very faint warm spice (mulled red wine), barely there earth/tobacco, and a satisfying light, lingering chocolate-y finish.

Texture: smooth, almost creamy, satisfying dark chocolate

I enjoyed this Vanuatu chocolate and its subtle lushness (hidden fruit)--an experience I associate with a single origin/terroir chocolate. And I appreciated the short list of (just three) ingredients.

Maker's Tasting Notes: "creamy and bold, with notes of sweet tobacco, worn leather, and a whisper of black fig--refined yet untamed."

Ingredients: cacao beans, cane sugar*, cacao butter*, 852 Hz, LOVE (*organic)

Allergen-related information: (No allergen-related information found on bar packaging)

Sirene Chocolate - Limited Edition Rose 65% Dark Milk Chocolate (bar) - Apr. 20, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Sirene Chocolate
Limited Edition Rose 65% Dark Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 192 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $16.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Dispensary, online order

Welcome to Day #12 of Chocolate & Flowers Theme Week.

Today's Limited Edition Rose 65% Dark Milk Chocolate (bar) was made by Sirene Chocolate (Vancouver, BC, Canada). 

Sirene, a family-owned business, has been offering bean-to-bar chocolates since 2013. The cacao used to craft this bar was from Vanuatu.

Aroma notes for this small batch bar included: dark milk chocolate; faint, diffuse fruit; warm spice (cinnamon); and subtle floral (rose).

Texture: This relatively thick chocolate bar had a uniform and very smooth mouthfeel and melt.

This flavorful, balanced chocolate gently evolved in my mouth. I enjoyed the unfolding dark milk chocolate, warm spice, cookie, and the floral finish that bloomed and landed on rose geranium rose toward the end.

I appreciated that this chocolate was sweet without being cloying; the maker's choice of a single origin cacao with interesting and gentle complexity; and the short list of quality, organic ingredients.

Ingredients: Organic Cacao Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter, Whole Milk, Rose Geranium.

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk. (Information on the company website read: "All our chocolate is nut free, soy free and gluten free.") The company uses cow's milk in their milk chocolate bars. Milk chocolates are produced on different machinery than their dark chocolates/bars.

Fossa Chocolate - 44% Dark Pulut Hitam (bar) + Vanuatu lunch - Jan. 28, 2025

Chocolate(s) of the Day 

Fossa Chocolate
44% Dark Pulut Hitam (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 284 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $15.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Vanuatu Week. For the last day of this theme week, I enjoyed two items.

Vanuatu Laplap

First I made some "laplap." Also known as the "national dish of Vanuatu," this baked pudding contained yam, green banana, coconut milk and salt. (I also added a little cinnamon, ginger and kumquat zest.) I enjoyed it, and will likely make it again.

The laplap was followed by today's chocolate made with purple rice and coconut palm sugar--inspired by the Indonesian dessert Pulut Hitam (a black/purple rice porridge with coconut palm sugar that is also popular in Singapore and elsewhere).

Pulut Hitam (bar)

Today's 44% Dark Pulut Hitam bar was from Fossa Chocolate Pte Ltd (Singapore).

Aroma and flavor notes included: soft cocoa (luscious light cocoa, faint floral and very faint diffuse fruit); aromatic purple rice; faint coconut, cocoa butter and rice pudding notes; and (imagined) pandan leaf.

Texture: smooth, slight creamy starch, quickly followed by a rich, creamy melt and mouthfeel.

The makers successfully channeled the sweet soul of rice pudding in this chocolate, plus the subtle flavors in the cacao, the purple rice and the coconut sugar that we rarely experience with "plain" white rice pudding in the U.S.* 

Ingredients: Cacao butter, purple glutinous rice, cacao, coconut palm sugar, cane sugar.

Allergen-related information: Contains coconut (sugar). "Produced in a facility that processes nuts & dairy."

*The first rice puddings likely originated in China or India. Today we have many different versions of this dish/dessert around the world (kheer in India; sombi in Senegal; Arroz con Leche in Mexico, etc.)

Most modern American versions use white rice, milk, sugar and often egg. Occasionally we adorn our white rice pudding with raisins, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet citrus peel, or maybe a little spirits (rum, whiskey)); but most of what is sold in stores is ivory-hued, soft, comfort food.

 

Gaston Chocolate - Tree to Bar Dark 70% Chocolate Kava (bar) - Jan. 27, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Gaston Chocolat
Tree to Bar Dark 70% Chocolate Kava (bar) 
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) / 2.4 oz. (68 g.) in total bar
Calories: 189 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: N/A - gift from friend (thank you Toni!)
Purchased from: N/A gift 

Welcome to Day #6 of the Chocolate and Vanuatu Series.

Today's Tree to Bar Dark 70% Chocolate Kava (bar) was from Gaston Chocolat (Port Vila - Efate, Vanuatu).

Aroma notes included: subtle dark chocolate and faint, slightly green/botanical.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate and kava*-- that had a slightly sour, then bitter, followed by a slight tingling (tongue-numbing) sensation. 

Texture: broke with a hard snap and had a light (weight) feel and relatively creamy melt. The kava was fully incorporated into the chocolate, so there was no fibrous texture from the kava. (Kava beverages sometimes have thread-like particles from the crushed roots of the plant.)

This slightly peppery, slightly bitter flavor blend kava and chocolate was fun to try. (Thank you again to friends who generously shared chocolates they found on their Vanuatu vacation.)

Health Note: This chocolate bar contained 15% kava, and was labeled as suitable for ages "18+ Only." Why? Kava can have mild sedative and narcotic effects. I didn't notice any effects. But, be advised, this chocolate may not be for everyone. (There are also potential health risks associated with regular/prolonged kava use; and there have been bans on kava in several countries.) 

Ingredients: Cocoa Beans, Cocoa Butter, Sugar, Kava (15%)

Allergen-related information: No information found on packaging -- but this bar was labeled 18+ (years of age) Only, because of the kava.

*Kava (Piper methysticum) likely originated in northern Vanuatu. It has been selectively cultivated by farmers there for 3,000 years, and is a sterile cultivar propagated (cloned) from a wild ancestor (Piper whichmanii). The root of this plant is usually crushed and prepared with water, i.e. served as a beverage, sometimes in a half coconut shell. It can be found in several Pacific islands, including Hawaii.

Gaston Chocolat - Tree to Bar Candied Orange Dark 70% (bar) - Jan. 26, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Gaston Chocolat
Tree to Bar Candied Orange Dark 70% (bar) 
Good ++
Weight: 1.22 oz. (34.5 g.) / 2.44 oz. (69 g.) in total bar
Calories: 189 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: N/A - gift from friend (thank you Toni!)
Purchased from: N/A gift 

Welcome to Day #5 of the Chocolate and Vanuatu Series.

Today's Tree to Bar Candied Orange Dark 70% (bar) (Batch #58/24) was from Gaston Chocolat (Port Vila, Vanuatu).

Aroma and flavor notes included: dark chocolate (pleasant, mild cocoa and chocolate cookie) and subtle, authentic orange. 

This relatively thick bar broke with a hard snap (in a cool room). The texture was uniform and smooth; and tiny bits of candied orange peel (adhered to the back of the bar) added a micro-crunchiness to some bites.

I enjoyed the smooth, authentic and complementary flavors; the short list of ingredients; and being able to try a chocolate made "in country" (made within the same island nation where the cacao beans are grown) by a Vanuatu-based company.

Ingredients: Cocoa Beans, Cocoa Butter, Sugar, Orange Peel

Allergen-related information: (No information found on packaging)

Aelan - Dark Chocolate Single Origin from Vanuatu 70% Cacao (bar) - Jan. 25, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Aelan Chocolate Makers
Dark Chocolate Single Origin from Vanuatu 70% Cacao (bar) 
Good ++
Weight: .795 oz. (22.5 g.) / 1.59 oz. (45 g.) in total bar
Calories: 135 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: N/A - gift from friend (thank you Toni!)
Purchased from: N/A gift 

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

Today's Dark Chocolate Single Origin from Vanuatu 70% Cacao (bar) was from Aelan Chocolate Makers (Port Vila, Vanuatu). 

Fun facts on the label: "Aelan is (the word for) "island" in Bisiama, Vanuatu language." The company sources cacao from the islands of Vanuatu. And the cacao used in today's bar was sourced from the island of Malo.

Aroma and flavor notes included: pleasing dark chocolate with very diffuse red fruit (cherry, berry); very faint sweet green; and faint coffee/latte notes.

Texture: relatively normal dark chocolate texture, but minor dry/powdery* mouthfeel in the middle that lasted until the chocolate finished melting in my mouth. 

I enjoyed the pleasant rich chocolate-y flavor(s) in this two-ingredient bar.

Ingredients: Cacao beans, Sugar

Allergen-related information: May contain traces of nuts.

*This subtle powdery-like "dryness" could have been caused by the cacao (tannins), the age of the bar, tempering or storage conditions or heating/cooling that occurred in transit. (The chocolate looked fine, broke with a snap, and had no obvious white/bloom). It also had neither the puckery (unripe persimmon-type) astringengy nor the chalky mouthfeel that might be present in extreme examples. 

Firetree - Single-Estate Vanuatu Malekula Island 72% Cocoa (thins) - Jan. 24, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Firetree
Single Estate Vanuatu Malekula Island 72% Cocoa (thins)
Good ++
Weight: 1.27 oz. (36 g.) / 5.9 oz. (150 g.) in total box of 25 thins 
Calories: 204 calories in 6 thins
Cost: $35.00 for 1 box of 25 pieces
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Vanuatu Theme Week.

Today's Single Estate Vanuatu Malekula Island 72% Cocoa (Rich Volcanic Chocolate Thins) were from Firetree Chocolate Limited (Peterborough, United Kingdom). 

Firetree offers chocolates from a variety of island nations, including the Philippines, the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu. And the "Firetree" name is linked to the flame-hued colors of cocoa pods and the fiery volcanic origins of many islands.

Aroma and flavor notes for these smooth-textured, ultra-thin rounds included: rich chocolate (cocoa) with a well-managed roastiness and very faint earth; and faint, diffuse fruit.

Some heavy roast notes can seem overdone (too smoke-y); and some earth notes can taste a bit off (too compost-y). But both these aspects seemed in character with the cacao origins of today's chocolate, i.e. the dark, porous volcanic soils where these cacao beans and trees grew in Vanuatu.

Just as terroir comments show up in wine and coffee tasting notes, the jumbled lava rocks that break down into soils and black sand beaches (seen also in the Big Island of Hawaii in the U.S.) can contribute to detectable flavors in the fermented and roasted cacao seeds (beans) that we enjoy later.

Texture: ultra-thin rounds allowed full access to the flavors and gave one a prolonged opportunity to enjoy the lingering, almost creamy finish that was also present in yesterday's featured 100% Vanuatu bar from Firetree.  

Maker's Tasting Notes: "...Cherry, soft lemon and white grape aromas give an essence of lush fruit."

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, unrefined sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier: sunflower lecithin. 

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of nuts, milk and soya."

Firetree - 100% Cacao Single-Estate Vanuatu Malekula Island (bar) - Jan. 23, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Firetree
100% Cocoa Single Estate Vanuatu Malekula Island (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 209.3 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

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

Today's 100% Cocoa Single Estate Vanuatu Malekula Island (bar) was from Firetree Chocolate Limited (Peterborough, United Kingdom). 

This creamy, relatively smooth, ultra-dark chocolate -- made with just one ingredient -- had aroma and flavor notes that included: rich cocoa; smooth mineral; very faint toast and (red) fruit jam sandwich cooked over a campfire; and barely detectable, naturally sweet green (almost mild nut) botanical notes.

Texture: Relatively thick, creamy/cocoa buttery melt and mouthfeel, with a satisfying, extended finish.

This was a polished, well-executed 100% cacao, ultra-dark bar without ultra-rough edges. The bitterness was well balanced and almost enjoyable. I found the lack of sugar to be refreshing. 

Terroir influences flavors (with wine grapes, cacao, coffee and other crops). Firetree's "rich volcanic cocoa" tagline reminded me of the mineral-rich dark sand and soil of other cacao-growing islands (like the Big Island of Hawaii).

Not everyone shares my appreciation for single ingredient (unsweetened) chocolates, much less a whole side-by-side tasting flight of different 100%ers. However, if you're so inclined, today's 100% Vanuatu bar belongs in such a tasting.

Ingredients: 100% Cocoa mass

Allergen-related information: May contain traces of nuts and milk.

 

Luisa's Vegan Chocolates - Vanuatu 72% Cacao (bar) - Jan. 22, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Vegan Chocolates by Luisa Ltd. 
Vanuatu 72% Cacao (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++ 
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 280 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $12.99 + shipping for 1 bar
Purchased from: DeLaurenti (store), Seattle, WA (online order)

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

Today's Vanuatu 72% Cacao (bar) was from Vegan Chocolates by Luisa Ltd. (Nottingham, U.K.).

Aroma and flavor notes: dark chocolate (fresh baked fudge brownie) with diffuse, dried fruit (fig, berry, cherry); faint, fleeting oolong tea; and very faint sweet green, and light molasses/caramel notes. 

Texture: This very thick bar had a smooth, even and slightly creamy texture.

I loved the complexity, the fruit and tea notes and the rich chocolate that wasn't too sweet (thank you!) This Vanuatu bar was full of bright, well-balanced flavors; and it was a perfect warm up/wake up chocolate for a winter morning.

Maker's tasting notes: "Sweet cherry notes on the nose, with fruity nuances that mellow into toffee caramel end-notes."

Ingredients: Cacao mass, unrefined sugar, cocoa butter.

Allergen-related information: Made in an environment that handles nuts.

Firetree Chocolate - Melekula Island (Vanuatu) 72% (bar) - Jan. 2, 2021

Chocolate of the Day 

Firetree Chocolate Limited
Melekula Island (Vanuatu) 72% (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) in total bar
Calories: 141 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.00 for 1 (mini) bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order 

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and South Pacific Islands.

Today's Melekula Island (Vanuatu) 72% (bar) was from Firetree Chocolate Limited (Peterborough, U.K). 

This bar had an aroma with bold dark, roasted chocolate and bright (dare I say fiery?) fruit notes. 

The flavor was similar to the aroma--a clearer and stronger version of the above with fruit notes included sweet lemon, barbequed tart berry/cherry, broiled pink/red sweet grapefruit, and roasted strawberry.* The chocolate had an unapologetic roasted, almost smokey flavor with a fleeting hint of balanced, ultra-dark earthiness. 

I loved this bar. What well-executed and bold fun. The black and hot lava-colored packaging perfectly suited the chocolate inside. 

This would make a good addition to an ultra-dark chocolate tasting flight...It reminded me of  good smokey, peaty Scotch whiskey, although if you paired these two dragons (this whiskey and this chocolate) together you might get a flavor fight, or you might get transcendence. One never knows. I wish I'd ordered the full size of this bar to conduct this experiment (and pairing it with different spirits). But alas this chocolate, fully enjoyed on its own merits, magically disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Maker's tasting notes read: "Cherry, Soft Lemon and White Grape aromas give an essence of lush fruit.

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, unrefined sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (sunflower lecithin).

*By the way, if you haven't tried "hot" fruits this winter (or ever before), I'd recommend doing so. Broiled grapefruit with a sprinkle of cinnamon can be quite good--as can roasted strawberries or grapes, and grilled or flambeed bananas. A nice, spiced hot fruit compote is warming on a cold day as well. 

Atypic Chocolate - Caramel Brittle 72% Dark Chocolate Vanuatu bar - May 16, 2020

Chocolate of the Day:

Atypic Chocolate
Caramel Brittle 72% Dark Chocolate Vanuatu bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.235 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 161.35 calories (estimate based on label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.75 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere.com, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate, Caramel and Toffee Theme Week.

Today's Caramel Brittle 72% Dark Chocolate Vanuatu bar was from Atypic Artiste Chocolatier/Atypic Chocolate (Melbourne, Victoria, Australia).

Atypic Chocolate is a bean-to-bar chocolaterie, co-founded by Charles Lemai, that offers chocolate bars, confections and spreads. The company sources sustainably farmed cacao beans from "all over the South Pacific to carefully craft the finest single origin chocolates."

This attractively-packaged, ebony-colored Caramel Brittle bar was a piece of art--an avant-garde stained glass window--adorned with panes of caramel brittle on one side. A line art map of Melbourne was printed on one side of the inner wrapper. (I'm a sucker for map art and have enjoyed this tradition, e.g. SOMA Chocolate (Toronto) and various chocolate city maps over the years.)

The base chocolate, made from cacao grown in Vanuatu, had a dark chocolate (72%) aroma and a very slightly grainy texture--possibly from the organic cane sugar or the cacao being more coarsely ground. It had the dense dark flavor of a forastero cacao but with some mild fruit and other flavor notes (trinitario cacao?)* This chocolate was not too sweet (thank you!) which left room to enjoy the contrasting sweet brittle elements.

"Ingredients: cacao beans, organic cane sugar, cacao butter, sunflower lecithin, butter, salt flakes, bicarb soda."

"Vanuatu cacao may only make up one percent or less of the world's cacao supply; but cacao is well-suited to grow there, particularly in the warmer, northern provinces (closer to the Equator). Forastero and trinitario varieties are grown there. And cacao trees may be planted with crops like coconut palms, one of several varieties of bananas, and/or coffee. Like most developing countries where cacao is grown, cacao beans are fermented and dried "in country" where they're grown, but production--where these beans are transformed into chocolate--almost always takes place in fairly sophisticated, climate-controlled facilities in more developed countries.