Kessho - Lamb Skewer Goat Milk 60% Cacao Semuliki Forest Uganda (bar) - Sept. 7, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Kessho Craft Chocolate 
Lamb Skewer Goat Milk 60% Cacao Semuliki Forest Uganda (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .7 oz. (20 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 116.1 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Kessho, online order 

Welcome to Day #10 of Savory Chocolates Theme Week.  

Today's Kessho Craft Chocolate Lamb Skewer* Goat Milk 60% Cacao Semuliki Forest Uganda (bar) was handcrafted in Austin, TX and distributed by Kessho, LLC (Austin, TX).

Aroma notes for this goat milk bar included: goat (milk), cumin, lemon pepper and very faint garlic and chili; and subtle chocolate.

Flavor notes included: smooth, creamy dark milk chocolate (chocolate-y) with savory and spicy, cumin-forward barbecue rub (without the rub; there was no spice grit). Full bodied flavors and a bit of spicy heat lingered and eventually tailed off into a pleasant, clean finish.

Texture: creamy dark milk chocolate. (The seasonings were fully incorporated into the chocolate so there were no detectable spice particles.)

This was a fun, flavorful bar to try. It was well executed and successfully captured the makers' memories* that inspired this bar. 

It was spicy, but not objectionably so; and the overall spice blend with the goat milk and single origin Uganda cacao was very effective. 

I love being transported when I taste chocolate. The goat milk and spices had me thinking I was strolling through a street market in Beijing smelling those lamb skewers. (To complete this virtual travel experience, I paired this bar with a Kessho recommended West China Tea ("Sticky Rice" Pu'er tea) the makers had sold as a pairing item with this bar last year. Very nice.)

Maker's Tasting Notes: "A balanced mix of goat milk, cumin and subtle heat from chili peppers"

Ingredients: "Whole cacao beans, sugar, cocoa butter, goat milk powder, cumin powder, chili powder"

Allergen-related information: "Contains goat milk" "Made in a facility that also processes milk, tree nuts, wheat, sesame and eggs"

*"...This chocolate was inspired by late nights in Beijing, where you can smell roasting lamb skewers as street vendors fan the flames of long coal grills. We start with Ugandan cacao, grind it with creamy goat milk, and season it, lamb-skewer style, with cumin and chili peppers. This is a bar to remember."

Qantu - Ho Ho Ho! 45% (bar) & SOMA Ginger Milk Pudding (bar) - Jan. 26, 2026

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Warm Spices & Maple Theme Week.

Today's two winter holiday bars were from chocolate makers in Canada (Montreal and Toronto, respectively) -- where chocolates (hot and cold) bring warmth.

1.) 45% dark milk chocolate with black walnuts and cranberries from Christmas (last month)

2.) White chocolate ginger milk pudding--in time for Chinese New Year (next month) 

Qantu 
Ho Ho Ho! 45% Chocolat au Lait, Noix de noyer noir, Atoca (tablette)
(45% Milk Chocolate, Black Walnut, Cranberries (bar))
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 306 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $18.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order 

This bar was made by Qantu Cacao et Chocolat Inc (Montreal, QC, Canada), using white cacao (beans) from Piura, Peru.

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate, dried fruits (cranberries, currants); very slight bitter/earthy nuts (walnuts); and very faint spices and maple, and barely there black olive (likely from the black walnut).

Texture: smooth dark chocolate interspersed with chewy, dried cranberries and embedded walnut pieces.

Flavor notes included: rich blend of dark chocolate, dried cranberry and black walnut. The rich flavors lingered into a pleasing finish.

This well-balanced and well-executed bar exceeded my expectations. The black walnut added elegant complexity and complementary dark notes--making this 45% dark milk fudge-y chocolate seem darker than it was (more like a 65% bar). These darker cacao and nut notes complemented the dried cranberry very well. Neither fruit nor chocolate was too sweet. 

As a dark chocolate fan I found this 45% cacao seasonal bar to be right in the Goldilocks zone -- just right. I hope Qantu will offer this bar again in the future.

This dark walnut and cranberry bar was also a great pairing with today's second chocolate: a Ginger Milk pudding (white chocolate) bar.

Qantu Maker's Tasting Notes: "Ice Cider, creme brulee, fudge"

Ingredients: "cane sugar, black walnut, cocoa beans, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, dried cranberries"

Allergen-related information: "Contains milk and nuts"

SOMA chocolatemaker

Ginger Milk Pudding (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.166 oz. (33 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Today's Ginger Milk Pudding (bar) from SOMA chocolatemaker (Toronto, ON, Canada) was inspired by a warm dessert from Southern China (Guangdong Province). 

Ginger milk pudding (aka ginger milk curd)* is popular in Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Foshan and other cities. It's typically made from a short list of ingredients: milk, ginger juice and sugar.

Aroma notes for this (white chocolate) bar included: milky pudding infused with mild, aromatic ginger.

Texture: smooth and creamy with softly chewy pieces of candied ginger.

I enjoyed this rich creamy white chocolate enlivened with tiny cubes of sassy, warm and spicy candied ginger. Loved the punch of the sweet, authentic ginger and the short list of just four ingredients. A great homage to Ginger Milk Pudding.*

SOMA tasting notes/description: "...peppery and spicy, with a custardy cream melt"

Ingredients: "Cacao Butter, Milk Powder, Organic Cane Sugar, Ginger"

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

*SOMA kindly added a note about ginger milk pudding (that, made correctly, will not curdle but rather will thicken and resolve into a dessert with a creamy pudding-like texture). 

"..The magic comes from a bit of science--when ginger juice and warm milk are mixed, the enzymes and proteins react to create an impossibly delicate, silky-smooth curd that eats like a dream..."

Fu Wan Chocolate - Taiwan #9 Ping Tung Double Ferment Rough Ground Chocolate (bar) - Aug. 6, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Fu Wan Chocolate
Taiwan #9 Double Ferment Rough Ground Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Good++
Weight: .795 oz. (22.5 g.) / 1.59 oz. (45 g.) in total bar
Calories: 143 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate Surprise Week, including chocolates with unique ingredients, surprising back stories and some that are just plain fun.

Today's Taiwan #9 Ping Tung Double Ferment Rough Ground Chocolate (bar) was made by Fu Wan Chocolate using (2019 Harvest) cacao from the Ping Tung area. Fu Wan Chocolate makes "tree to bar" chocolate and is based in Donggang Township, Pingtung County, Taiwan (Republic of China).

Fermentation of freshly harvested "wet" cacao is a very important step in making chocolate and helps develop flavor(s). A "double ferment" initiates a second fermentation and creates additional flavors.

Aroma notes for this 70% dark chocolate included: dark chocolate; carbonated beverage (beer with fermented fruit (mango, watermelon, stone fruit (peach, nectarine), cacaco fruit pulp); and strawberry-apple balsamic vinegar)).

The "rough ground" chocolate was a bit granular, not quite gritty, in texture. It was also rich in chocolate and fruit flavor.

Flavor notes for this aromatic chocolate included: chocolate and fruit (stone fruit (nectarine, dried peach, tart-sweet cherry), tart-sweet mango, cacao fruit, tart-sweet watermelon, and banana.). The authentic fruit and acidity (yeast used) created an almost fizzy sweet and sour chocolate, with a relatively long fruity finish.

It had more of an intense fruity sweetness than a cane sugar sweetness.

Both the Fu Wan beer yeast 70% bar featured yesterday (8/5/2023) and today's Fu Wan double ferment 70% bar were very interesting bars to taste, and would be interesting to include in a side-by-side tasting with other Ping Tung cacao chocolates--where the same cacao was fermented with different yeasts under different conditions and durations. 

Maker's tasting notes: "Strawberry, Apple, Balsamico, Champagne, Nuts"

Ingredients: Cacao Bean, Sugar, Cacao Butter

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

 

ChocolateBet: March 4, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

1 coin
(Made in China - I couldn't find manufacturer's name)
Chocolate Golden Coins (Chinese symbols and Happy New Years greeting)
OK
Wt.: ~.3 oz. (9.4 g.)/3.67 oz. (104 g.) total package
Calories: ~ 50 calories
Cost: $1.49 for total package
Purchased from: Gum Sing Market, in Chinatown, San Francisco, CA

Many countries produce gold foil-wrapped chocolate coins. I won't have time to explore just how many, but there seems to be more fake candy money made of chocolate ("chocsimiles") than other candy types. I have not seen, for example, any gummy coinage, or peppermint dollar bills. But, they may be out there.

ChocolateBet: April 10, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

5 pieces
Meiji Seika Food Industry Co. Ltd.
Meltyblend - Green Tea
Very Good
Weight: 20 grams / (total box = 2.2 oz.)
Calories: 120 calories for 5 pieces
Cost: $2.39 (estimate) for 1 package
Purchased from: (small shop in Chinatown, in San Francisco, CA)

This is Day #7 of eating items with both chocolate and cheese. Chocolate and cheese week continues, for at least one more day (tomorrow), and after that I may run out of items. We'll see. I'll have to move on to a new chocolate-related theme.

These chocolate/cocoa powder covered Meltyblend Green Tea confections from Meiji Seiki Food Industry (Shanghai; Product of China) contained whole milk powder, and cream cheese powder. I like tea flavors, so this flavor combination worked for me.

ChocolateBet: December 21, 2006

Chocolate of the Day: 

Shanghai Sensation
Mango Chocolate
OK
Weight: 4 pieces / 7.05 oz. (200 g.) total box
Calories: unknown
Purchased from: Shanghai airport, China

Today I had 4 pieces of Shanghai Mango Chocolate (dried mango coated with milk chocolate), that I picked up in a shop at the Shanghai airport earlier this month on a business trip. The trip was great; the Mango Chocolate(s) were OK.

Today is the Winter Solstice, marking the first day of winter. It's a bit tough to think about the shorter/darker, colder days ahead. When I put in a long day inside a building at work in the summer, it's great to emerge at 8:00 p.m. in the evening in time to see the sunset. Looks like that will have to wait a few months. Mom is still in the hospital and is very ill.

I'll have to imagine the glorious, golden days of summer -- like the sunny, Shanghai landscape (titled Shanghai Century Park) on this box.

ChocolateBet: December 15, 2006

Chocolate of the Day:

Tianjin (Shanghai Shengang Foodstuff Factory)
Tianjin Chestnut Chocolate
Good
Weight: 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total box of 10 pieces
Calories: 57 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: ?
Purchased from: Airport, Shanghai, China

Airport shops are good places to look for local chocolates, and to get rid of (spend) small denominations of foreign currency you've accumulated that might not be worth changing back to U.S. dollars when you head home. I bought chocolates in both Shanghai and Tokyo airports this week as we were leaving these countries.

In Shanghai, I bought a box of Tianjin Chestnut Chocolate. The box contained ten chestnut (milk) chocolates, and they were good. They came in a nicely decorated red box with an image of whole chestnuts, and a photo of a single, small domed chocolate, cut in half, to show the chestnut filling.

I also used my last handful of change at the airport to buy a chop (a small stamp carved out of soft stone with my name in Chinese characters). You dip the chop in thick red ink and press it on the paper or surface you want to leave your mark on. I watched while the man carved it himself --as I nervously looked at the clock and hoped I would still have a few minutes to spare to board the plane. But, true to his word, he finished in less than 10 minutes.

ChocolateBet: December 9, 2006

Chocolate of the Day: 

Starbucks (Shanghai, China)
"Black Chocolate" Dog

Today I finally venture out from the hotel (well, at least around the corner to a Shanghai Starbucks) to see what kind of "local" chocolate I can find while grabbing a morning coffee.

The Shanghai Starbucks looked similar to the Starbucks in the U.S., with a few differences. And, since I'm always on the lookout for local variations on chocolates, I was pleased to find a small, hollow chocolate dog to buy.

The dog I found was labeled as "black chocolate" was good. And the basket piled high with these little black chocolate dogs was near the Starbucks eggrolls. Yes, folks back in the U.S., see what you're missing from your local Starbucks? Eggrolls. 

ChocolateBet: December 6, 2006

Chocolate figs in mid-air

I've brought today's chocolate with me on the plane.

As we travel over the Pacific, I open a small box that has some Bio Vera Matiz Extremeno Pecaditos - Chocolate Truffle-filled figs. They are very good.

I eat a few on the plane, and a few in my hotel room in Shanghai - just to cover any possible discrepancies in what day it is, due to the time change. And also because they're good.

However, they can't save me from jet lag and my cold. I send my regrets for dinner (and send my colleagues a box of chocolates instead), and I try to sleep. But, I keep waking up from the sounds of car horns, bicycle and cart bells, and all sorts of noise from the street below. Shanghai streets are very busy in this neighborhood, and never quiet. And people love to use their horns it seems. When I get up later and I look outside the window I see why. The mix of vehicle types crammed into one roadway is chaotic, at best. Everyone probably needs to warn each other of where they are heading every few seconds to avoid collisions.