Weinrich's - Wodka Lemon Vollmilch Schokolade (bar) - July 27, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Weinrich's 1895 Finest Chocolate
Wodka Lemon Vollmich Schokolade
(Milk Chocolate with Vodka Lemon Truffle Filling)
Good +
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 3.53 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 219 calories (estimate) in 40 g. serving (2/5 of bar)
Cost: $2.89 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Crossroads Specialty Market, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Fruits Week, featuring chocolates (mostly bars) with a variety of fruit flavor inclusions. Many of the fruits mirror or complement fruit notes found in cacao fruit pulp.

Today's Milk Chocolate with Vodka-Lemon-Truffle-Filling (bar) from Ludwig Weinrich GmbH & Co. KG (Herford, Germany) was made in Germany.

Aroma notes included: chocolate, very faint alcohol (vodka), citrus (lemon) and a slight bitterness consistent with dark chocolate, lemon peel and vodka.

This 40% milk chocolate had a creamy, buttery texture and melt. The milk chocolate was infused with sweet citrus flavor (lemon chiffon pie with a nut crust). A 36% milk chocolate filling with hazelnut paste providing subtle, layered flavors.

I enjoyed this creamy, lemon milk chocolate confection--part dessert and part sweet cocktail. But, it may be too sweet and buttery for some dark chocolate fans. Any alcohol flavor (vodka) likely dissipated 

Ingredients: Milk chocolate: sugar, cocoa butter, skimmed milk powder, cocoa mass, butterfat (milk), whey powder (milk), hazelnut paste, emulsifier: soy lecithin; flavour: vanilla extract. Filling: sugar, milk chocolate [sugar, cocoa mass, whole milk powder, cocoa butter, whey powder (milk)], 12% Vodka 60% vol., butterfat (milk), glucose syrup, cocoa powder, lemonoil (sic), humectant: invertase. Cocoa: 30% minimum. Milk solids: 15%. 

Allergen-related information: (Contains milk, soy and tree nuts (hazelnuts)). "May contain traces of almonds, egg and wheat."

Schwarzwald - Gretchen Gin Pralinen 60% cacao - May 12, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Schladerer Schwarzwald

Gretchen Gin Pralinen 60% Cacao
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.48 oz. (42 g.) / 4.5 oz. (127 g.) in total box

Calories: 180 calories (estimate) in 4 pieces (2 servings)
Cost: $12.95 (+ shipping) for 1 box of 12 pieces
Purchased from: European Deli, online order

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Gin Theme Week. 

Today's Schladerer Schwarzwald Gretchen Gin Pralinen 60% Cacao chocolates were manufactured by RC-Confiserie GmbH (Germany).

Aroma notes included: pleasant, very faintly nutty, smooth bittersweet chocolate with very subtle herb and floral notes.

Note: Before you take a bite, place a small plate, bowl under the piece of chocolate. Otherwise the sweet liquid gin syrup may drip onto your shirt. (And worse yet, you may lose some of the tasty syrup.)

 

Each small (two-bite size), hollow smooth, creamy chocolate shell was lined with a fine sugar crust inside (like a geode) and was full of flavorful, sweet Gretchen Gin syrup. This layered design offered a multi-textural experience.

Aroma and flavor notes included: chocolate (nut, very faint vanilla coconut cookie), a brief crunch of sugar crystals, and an unfolding of lovely sweet gin notes (juniper, sage), subtle fruit (faint lemon, apple, raspberry) and floral (saffron, vanilla, rose) notes.

These filled, dark chocolates were sweet (but, thankfully, the sugar didn't seem to overwhelm fine flavors) and the filling had just the right amount of gin flavor complexity. Warning: these beautifully (individually) wrapped filled chocolate gems can be fairly addictive. They would make a great dessert item.

Note: These chocolate centers did contain alcohol; and, as such, are not suitable for children.

Ingredients: Sugar, cocoa mass*, water, distilled dry gin (19% in filling), cocoa butter*, emsulsifier: lecithins. (*Rainforest Alliance Certified)

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of soya, egg and hazelnuts."

Carstens - Dark Chocolate Filled with Coconut Cream - Aug. 9, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Carstens

Dark Chocolate Filled with Coconut Cream (bar)

Good + - Good ++

Weight: 1.18 oz. (33.3 g.) / 3.53 oz. (100 g.) in total bar

Calories: 160 calories in 1/3 bar

Cost: $1.99 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA 

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

Today's Dark Chocolate Filled with Coconut Cream (bar) was from Erasmi and Carstens GmbH (Lübeck, Germany). And the Carstens brand has roots that extend back to 1845.*

The blend of coconut cream filling and dark chocolate in this bar delivered an above average confection experience. The texture of both filling and outer layer was smooth and well executed, the chocolate was chocolate-y (dark brownie), and the very finely grated coconut tasted like coconut. Was it sweet? Indeed it was quite sugary, and a little addicting in a high-end candy kind of way. But, the dark chocolate helped balance the sweetness.

Ingredients: Sugar, chocolate liquor, grated coconut, glucose syrup, cocoa butter, water, coconut fat, emulsifier, sunflower lecithin, humectant, invertase. 

Allergen-related information: Contains: coconut. "May contain almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pistachios, wheat, soy, milk and egg"

*Early on the German company also manufactured a variety of foods, including canned foods. However, since the early 1900s, the company is best known for its chocolate and (Lübeck(er)) marzipan offerings. 

They also offer chocolates with hazelnut and nougat, praline marzipans, fruit flavored chocolates, and the traditional Katzenzungen ("cats tongues")--a name that may mystify outsiders. Don't worry, no malice or real cats involved. It refers to the elongated oval shape of the chocolate pieces. Boxes of/packaging for Katzenzungen are typically adorned with images of adorable cats.

Ritter Sport - Milk Chocolate with Cashew (bar) - May 10, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Alfred G. Ritter GmbH and Co. KG
Ritter Sport Milk Chocolate with Cashew (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 274 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $1.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate, Nuts and Nibs Theme Week.

Today's Ritter Sport Milk Chocolate with Cashew (bar) was produced in Germany by Alfred G. Ritter GmbH and Co. KG (Waldenbuch, Germany).

This candy sweet, buttery ("30% cacao minimum") milk chocolate (made with Rainforest Alliance Cocoa) was accented with pieces of roasted and lightly salted (and softly crunchy) cashew nut pieces.

Ingredients: Sugar, cashew nuts (22%), cocoa butter, cocoa mass, whole milk powder, lactose, skimmed milk powder, butterfat (milk) (total milk solids 18%), emulsifier ("soya lecithins"), salt. 

Allergen-related information: Contained nuts (cashews), milk (dairy), soy (lecithin). "May contain contain traces of peanuts, other nuts, cereals containing gluten and egg."

 

Ritter Sport - Cacao Selection - 81% Cacao Extra Intense Dark Chocolate (Ghana) (bar) - Jan. 27, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Ritter Sport
Cacao Selection 81% Cacao Extra Intense Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.16 oz. (32 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 8 pieces (32 g.) of bar
Cost: $2.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Ritter Sport Cacao Selection 81% Cacao Extra Intense Dark Chocolate (bar) from Alfred Ritter GmbH and Co. KG (Waldenbuch, Germany) was made with cocoa beans from Ghana.

Like other square-shaped Ritter bars, this ultra-dark chocolate (introduced in 2020) was easily divided into tinier squares for eating or sharing with others.

Aroma notes for this chocolate included bold true chocolate (deep dark brownie) with balanced tannic* earth (faint wood bark tannin, peat bog) that I associate more with Forastero cacao.

The 81% dark chocolate had a smooth, uniform melt and texture, and uniform flavor.

This chocolate had a deep dark chocolate flavor--true chocolate (deep, dark brownie), very faint dark caramel, and a sustained tannic forest earth (wood, peat bog) note. 

Tannic acids in green plants and fruits can be acidic and astringent (e.g. red wines, black tea, unripe pomegranate or persimmon); however, this tannin note conjured up visions of deep, ancient woods/earth, with a very subtle aged black walnut note. 

This did not taste acidic. In fact, while related, tannins are not the same as tannic acid.* And while I was expecting (from the aroma) to run into acid or astringency (or bitterness) in the flavor, this didn't really happen. 

The "peat" flavor was more organic and less acidic. And it was also less smokey/carbon-y than, say, peat bog water and/or peat bog fire smoke associated with drying barley used to make Scotch Islay whiskey (ies); but it did invite this comparison, as I was fishing around for how to describe this chocolate.

Ingredients: Chocolate liquor (made from cocoa beans from Ghana), sugar, cocoa butter. 

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

*Tannins are plant (polyphenolic) compounds found in roots, barks and leaves of plants and trees. (Cocoa beans contain tannins. More robust, bold Forastero varieties of cacao grown in West African countries like Ghana can contain higher amounts of tannins than some other, more "delicate" fine-flavored cacao varieties.)

Tannic acid is a specific form of tannin, that can be found in soils or compost where plants and trees have decomposed near water (swamps). Peat bogs tend to be acidic and high in tannins. Waters with tannic acid are often dark brown in color. 

Ritter - Milk Chocolate with Cocoa Mousse Filling - Jan. 21, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Ritter
Milk Chocolate with Cocoa Mousse Filling (bar)
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 190 calories in 3 squares of bar
Cost: $4.99 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Santa Venetia Market, San Rafael, CA

Welcome to Day #15 of European Chocolate Vacation Theme Week. Yesterday we were (virtually) in Austria; and we now head northwest into Germany.

Today's Ritter Sport Milk Chocolate with Cocoa Mousse Filling bar was from Alfred Ritter GmbH and Co. KG (Waldenbuch, Germany).

Waldenbuch is a small city in the Stuttgart region of southeastern Germany. I imagined visiting the Museum Ritter--a modern white building with beautiful, colorful stained glass--to look at the exhibits and to enjoy a cup of hot chocolate at the museum cafe.

The aroma notes for today's thick, sweet chocolate bar included: pfeffernusse cookies and chocolate hazelnut butter cookies with chocolate milk. The milk chocolate surrounded a darker chocolate "mousse" filling. 

Ingredients: Sugar, milk, palm fat, cocoa butter, chocolate liquor, cocoa, skim milk, butterfat (milk), hazelnut paste, soy lecithin.

Allergen-related information: May contain traces of peanuts, other tree nuts, wheat and egg.

Ritter Sport - Dark Chocolate with Whole Almonds (bar) - July 23, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Ritter Sport 

Dark Chocolate with Whole Almonds (bar)

Good ++

Weight: 1.09 oz. (31 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) total bar

Calories: 170 calories in 5 pieces (1 serving) of bar

Cost: $1.99 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Almonds Theme Week.

Today's Dark Chocolate with Whole Almonds (bar) was from Alfred Ritter GmbH and Co. KG (Waldenbuch, Germany). 

It was a member of the company's "Nut Selection" series of chocolate bars, in the classic Ritter square-shaped bar format, with a pre-scored grid ( of smaller squares), making it easy to break off pieces to eat or share.

This "new" dark chocolate bar was made with Rainforest Alliance Certified cacao (chocolate liquor).

The aroma contained roasted, bold but smooth dark chocolate (fudge brownie) and nutty (roasted almonds) notes.

Each chunky dark chocolate square was a mix of smooth texture/melt and crunchy bites of (whole) almonds.

The flavor was true chocolate (fudge brownie) with a slightly earthy note, and well-managed satisfying boldness. 

Ingredients: Sugar, chocolate liquor, almonds, cocoa butter, butterfat (milk), soy lecithin.

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

Alfred Ritter - Cacao Selection - Dark Chocolate 61% Cacao Fine with Cacao From Nicaragua (bar)

Chocolate of the Day

Alfred Ritter GmbH and Co.
Cacao Selection - Dark Chocolate 61% Cacao Fine with cacao from Nicaragua (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 296.8 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Mollie Stone's, Sausalito, CA 

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and NOPQ Theme Week, featuring chocolates with flavor inclusions and origin locations that start with the letters N, O, P and/or Q. And we're extending this "week" by ending with a series of chocolate bars that contain cacao from Nicaragua.

Today's "Cacao Selection - Dark Chocolate 61% Cacao Fine with Cacao from Nicaragua" (bar) was from Alfred Ritter GmbH and Co. (Waldenbuch, Germany). 

In 2019, the company launched a series of Ritter-Sport "Cacao Selection" (selected origin) bars made with just 3-4 ingredients.* (Yesterday, the Ritter Cacao Selection 74% Peru bar was featured.)

Today's bar followed the Ritter-Sports packaging tradition. A generously-sized (3.5 oz./100 g.), square bar was molded into a connected array of thick (smaller) squares. Each individual square bore the Ritter logo. To enjoy, just break off the number of squares desired to create your preferred serving size. 

This chocolate was made with Nicaraguan cacao beans,* and had a smooth dark, roasted cacao flavor. As expected this 61% cacao chocolate was brighter, sweeter and a bit smoother than yesterday's (darker, "intense") Ritter-Sport 74% Peru bar. 

Happily, neither chocolate was blandly uniform. (Many high-volume chocolates can be.) They each had plenty of true chocolate flavor, and both possessed some pleasingly complex cacao aroma and flavor nuances. Today's Nicaragua bar had an aroma with concentrated fruit (dried plums, apricots)--similar to yesterday's Peru bar. 

The flavors, however, had a shyer, sophisticated quality--with hints of cream and subtle fruit (peaches and strawberry) and pure cocoa (hot chocolate) notes. These notes are more often associated with fine cacao or heritage cacao beans. (Although the fruit notes were also brightened/elevated a bit by the greater amount of sugar in this bar.)

*Ingredients: Chocolate liquor (made from cocoa beans from Nicaragua), sugar, cocoa butter.

Allergen information: "May contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts, wheat, milk, soy and egg."

*Rainforest Alliance Certified cocoa sourcing. "We purchase a volume of UTZ and/or Rainforest Alliance Certified (tm) cocoa equivalent to the volume used in this product. www.ra.org/mb." 

Georgia Ramon (GR) - Haiti Pisa Farmers Trinitario 70% Dunkle Schokolade (bar) - Oct. 31, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Georgia Ramon (GR)
Haiti Pisa Farmers Trinitario 80% Dunkle Schokolade (bar)
Good  ++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 275 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA 

Welcome to Day #13 of Chocolate, Dominican Republic and Haiti Theme Week. And Happy Halloween to all. 

Not as many children go trick-or-treating through neighborhoods for candy and chocolate treats as I experienced during the hey-day of this holiday tradition. But, the artwork on the packaging (with a festive looking skull) for today's bar celebrated not only Haitian traditions but it captured the spirit of Halloween as well.

Today's Haiti Pisa Farmers Trinitario 80% Dunkle Schokolade (Dark Chocolate) (bar) was from Georgia Roman GmbH and Co. KG (Oberkassel, Germany). 

This chocolate had brown sugar, honey, nut butter and concentrated fruit (raisin, cherry, plum) and true chocolate notes. It had the rich flavors of an ultra-dark bar, and did have a lingering finish with a touch of very balanced bitterness. But this chocolate was relatively sweet and not that bitter for an 80% cacao bar. This would be a good choice for those who are a bit intimidated by a higher cacao percentage bar.

The chocolate maker's tasting notes read as follows: "Ripe figs, sour cherries and roasted nuts with floral notes" 

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, raw cane sugar, cocoa butter 

 

Seitenbacher - Energy Bar Honey Almond Snack Bar - Oct. 15, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Seitenbacher GmbH

Energy Bar - Gluten Free - HoneyAlmond Snack Coated with German Chocolate bar

Good +

Weight: .9 oz. (25 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar

Calories: 115 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $ missing information for 1 bar

Purchased from: missing information

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

Today's Honey Almond Snack Coated with German Chocolate bar was from Seitenbacher GmhH (made in Buchen, Germany).

The relatively light filling (almost fluffy for ground nuts and honey) was natural tasting and satisfying. While similar to marzipan in appearance, this center lacked the stronger "almond extract" taste (that some love and some don't). The coating added a touch of rich chocolate flavor.

Ingredients: Almonds, Honey, Chocolate (Brown Cane Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Whole Milk Powder, Cocoa, GMO Free Sunflower Lecithin.

HarryP fitness - Protein Bar 24.0 - May 29, 2018

Chocolate of the Day:

HarryP fitness

Protein Bar 24.0 

Good

Weight: 2.3 oz. (70 g.) in total package

Calories: 280 calories in 1 package

Cost: $ missing information

Purchased from: missing information

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

Today's Protein Bar 24.0 from HarryP fitness was a product of Germany, and produced by Seitenbacher America LLC (Odessa/Tampa, FL).

The bar had a sweet protein core, and was covered with "German chocolate." It also contained 3.8 grams of BCAAs,* 24 grams of protein—quite high, even for a protein bar, and almonds.

*Branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) include the essential amino acids leucine, isoleucine,  and valine, that comprise about a third of the body's muscle protein.

August Storck - Merci Hazelnut Creme bar - Sept. 30, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

August Storck
Merci Assortment - European chocolates
Hazelnut Creme (small chocolate bar)
Good
Weight: .447 oz. (12.6 g.) / 7 oz. (200 g.) in total package of 16 bars
Calories: 70 calories in 1 small bar
Cost: $N/A - gift
Purchased from: N/A - gift (Thank you Yazz!)

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

Today's August Storck Merci assortment package of European chocolates (made in Germany) contained 16 individually-wrapped small rectangular, 2-square bars. (There were 2 each of 8 different flavors.)

I enjoyed one of the Hazelnut Creme bars today—smooth, creamy and sweet milk chocolate with hazelnut cream flavor and very faint fruit and cereal notes.

Note: These may contain traces of wheat, gluten, peanuts, other tree nuts.

August Storck - Merci Marzipan dark chocolate bar - Aug. 4, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

August Storck
Merci - Marzipan dark chocolate bar
Good+
Weight: .447 oz. (12.6 g.) / 7 oz. (200 g.) in total assortment package of 16 pieces
Calories: 70 calories in 1 piece/small bar
Cost: $N/A - gift
Purchased from: N/A - gift (thank you Heather!)

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

Today's Merci Marzipan dark chocolate was made in Germany by August Storck KG for Storck USA.

Generally speaking, there is a greater variety of fine almond marzipan chocolates in Europe. However, ordering chocolates from out of state (or country) in the summer, is challenging and expensive. Five minutes in the sun on a loading dock somewhere can ruin an entire shipment.

If one is fortunate enough to travel, hand carrying chocolate items through airports is a convenient way to avert disaster.

Sometimes a generous friend will share chocolates when they return from a trip overseas.

Such was the case today. Thank you to Heather ("Yazz") for bringing back a Merci chocolate assortment pack, that included this small marzipan filled bar.

For chocolate fans, we know many of you prefer plain dark chocolate bars. However, for marzipan lovers, good almond marzipan covered with dark chocolate somehow manages to be quite sweet, yet quite tasty as well, e.g., today's elegantly wrapped bar-shaped confection.

good & delish - Royal Orange bar - Feb. 9, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

good and delish
Distributed by Walgreen Co.
Royal Orange Premium German Dark Chocolate bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .706 oz. (20 g.) / 3.53 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 105 calories in 2 pieces
Cost: $4.99 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Walgreens (El Camino), Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to the last day (Day #5) of Chocolate and Orange Series.

Today's bar was offered under the Good and Delish brand name.*

The Royal Orange Premium German Dark Chocolate bar, distributed by Walgreen Co. (Deerfield, IL), had an orange, almost floral, aroma.

And the orange-infused dark (57% cocoa) chocolate aroma, combined with chewy orange and almonds bits, made this a pleasant confection.

Very rainy weather kept me hunkered down in the chocolate bunker today. (My apologies for the dimly lit photo of this bar. It's much more cheery outside on a bright, sunny day.)

I was unable to find information about the source of the German chocolate in today's German-made bar. The company does offer other chocolate items with German (and Belgian) origins.

*Walgreen Co. is a corporation with more than 8,000 stores, and over 600 just in California in late 2016. Good and Delish (aka good (ampersand) delish) is a brand sold at Walgreens stores.

Schogetten - Milk Chocolate with Hazelnuts - Dec. 23, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ludwig Schokolade GmbH and Co. KG
(a member of the Kruger Group)
Schogetten - Alpine Milk Chocolate with Hazelnuts
Good ++
Weight: 1.378 oz. (39 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total package of 18 pieces
Calories: 224 calories in 7-piece serving
Cost: $ unknown (lost receipt)
Purchased from: Crossroads Specialty Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Hazelnut Theme Week, and time for a German chocolate + hazelnut blend.

This "Schogetten - Alpine Milk Chocolate with Hazelnuts" offering was from Ludwig Schokolade (a member of the Kruger Group, based in Germany).

Unlike many bars that are scored in a rectangular pattern that can be broken off into rectangular pieces, this milk chocolate with hazelnut product came packaged as 18 separate squares tightly nestled together in a bar shaped wrapper, making it easier to share with others.

The milk chocolate squares were smooth and quite good; bits of hazelnuts added the right amount of crunchy texture and flavor.

Schar - Chocolate Sandwich Cremes - Oct. 11, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Schar
Chocolate Sandwich Cremes
Good - Good +
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 5.3 oz. (150 g.) in total package
Calories: 130 calories in 2 cookies
Cost: $3.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #11 of Chocolate and Gluten Free Cookie Theme Week.

These gluten-free, chocolate flavored* cookies from Schar (Germany/Lyndhurst, NJ) were crunchy and fresh tasting. Sweet and a bit starchy (corn starch) they were not overly so on either count.

These are the kind of cookies I would have loved in my lunch in grade school. I would have loved their smaller size, embossed detail and inherent cuteness -- then as now. (And there would have been no side effects from gluten**.)

*Both the biscuit and the filling contained cocoa powder. 
** Schar cookies are made in a dedicated (gluten-free) facility.

Bohme - Cherry and Brandy Filled Chocolates - Feb. 11, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

Delitzscher Schokoladenfabrik GmbH
Weinbrand Kirschen
Good+
Weight: .353 oz. (10 g.) / 5.3 oz. (150 g.) total box of 15 pieces
Calories: 42.5 calories in 1 piece
Cost: $3.90 for 1 box of 15 pieces
Purchased from: Gourmet Haus Staudt (store), Redwood City, CA

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Weeks.

It was cold this evening -- a good opportunity for a hot brandy with Kirsch (cherry brandy), and a German Bohme Weinbrand Kirschen -- a Cherry and Brandy Filled Chocolate.

A simple drink + dessert, with a pleasing flavor combination.

ChocolateBet: October 20, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 oz. serving
Coppeneur
Indonesie Java Dunkle Chocolade (72% Cacao Criollo)
Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. / 1.76 oz. (50 grams)
Calories: 150 calories (estimate)
Cost: $9.99
Purchased from: The Nutty Chocolatier, in Toronto, ON, Canada

Today's Coppeneur offering was a smooth, high-quality, 72% dark chocolate bar from Germany. I wish it had a bit more of a kick/finish, but otherwise it was very good. Fighting...so...hard...not to...sound...like a wine snob! But, eating close to the bean will do this. So many great tasting arcs to explore, from so many origins, in so little time.

ChocolateBet: January 24, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bite
Reber (Paul Reber GmbH and Co.)
Mozart - Piano Bar
OK
Weight: I had about 5 grams out of a total weight of 45 grams
Calories: I ate approximately 25 calories out of 240 calories total
Cost: $2.95
Purchased from: Powell's Sweet Shoppe, in Los Gatos, CA

Today's Mozart - Piano Bar from Paul Reber (Germany) had a promising blend of chocolate, hazelnuts, rice crisps, and what tasted like a bit of almond flavoring. Unfortunately the first thing I tasted was a faint gasoline or solvent-type taste; maybe this was just a bad batch.