Gnosis Chocolate - Everything Will Be Ok! raw, vegan botanical truffle bar - Dec. 28, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Gnosis Chocolate 
Everything Will Be Ok! raw vegan infused botanical truffle bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42 g.) /3 oz. (84 g.) in total bar
Calories: 232.5 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $17.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Gnosis Chocolate, online order 

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate Truffle Bars Week.

Today's "Everything Will Be Ok!" raw vegan infused botanical truffle bar was created by Vanessa Berg (aka Chocolate Girl) at Gnosis Chocolate (NYC, NY). Vanessa is a passionate certified health practitioner.

Aroma notes included: smooth dark chocolate; very faint, diffuse fruits and light herbs; very faint coconut; and, oddly, a breath of fresh air in a pine forest. 

Texture: a solid, raw* dark chocolate shell gave way to a soft, fudge-y, truffle-style filling.

Flavor notes included: very smooth dark chocolate, faint, fleeting dried fruit (fig, date), sweet herb, nut (walnut), and diffuse, very subtle fresh fruit (red apple, berry), sweet root, and light earth. The flavors were smooth, well-balanced and harmonized with a slightly undulating complexity.

I really enjoyed the gentle, yet rich and transporting, flavors in this truffle-style filled bar.

Ingredients: "raw cacao beans, raw blue agave nectar, virgin coconut oil, coconut sugar, Lung Blend (elecampane, grindelia, horehound, lobelia, mullein, osha, pine bark, pleurisy, yerba santa), Immunity Blend (burdock, cat's claw, echinacea purpea (sic), echinacea angustifolia, elderberry, ginger, pau d'arco, shilajit), Medicinal Mushroom Blend (chaga, cordyceps, reishi), Adaptogenic Herbs (ashwagandha, rhodiola, schizandra) Calming Herbs (passionflower, tulsi, valerian), Vitamin C Blend (camu camu berry, rose hips), chlorella, spirulina, Love."

Allergen-related information: (None listed on packaging.) "Free of Dairy, Soy, Gluten, GMO, Refined Sugar"

*The cacao used to make this chocolate was not heated above 118 degrees (F) to "maintain integrity of flavor and nutrition." Well-executed raw chocolate tends to be a little smoother than cacao processed at higher temperatures. I've found high-quality raw chocolates to be less bitter, with fewer "roasted" notes. (Think: very light roast coffee vs. intense espresso roast.)

Ashby Confections - Tortoises - Dark Chocolate Pecans and Agave Caramel - May 31, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ashby Confections

Tortoises - Dark Chocolate Pecans and Agave Caramel with Monterey Bay Sea Salt

Good++

Weight: 1.8 oz. (50.9 g.) / 3.6 oz. (101.8 g.) in package of 2 

Calories: 270 calories (estimate) in 1 tortoise

Cost: $8.50 for 1 package of 2 tortoises

Purchased from: Buttercream Cakes, Santa Cruz, CA

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

Today's Tortoises from Ashby Confections (Scotts Valley, CA) were wonderfully layered. Between a disc-shaped layer of dark chocolate and a layer of pecan halves was a layer of agave caramel. And the Tortoises were seasoned with Monterey Bay sea salt.

Bracing myself for lots of overly sweet and gooey caramel, I was pleasantly surprised. These variations on caramel turtles were well balanced and tasty. The layered flavors worked very nicely. The smooth dark chocolate, roasted pecans and sea salt balanced the soft, sweet agave caramel center layer, so you weren't left with a mouthful of sugar (thank you!).

The caramel did contain cane sugar, agave syrup and organic cream, and behaved like authentic, gooey caramel—creating caramel "fangs" with each bite. But, the combination of high-quality ingredients and the relative lack of sugar in the nuts and dark chocolate elevated this confection to a new level.

These Tortoises were made with fair trade dark chocolate* and were gluten and soy free.

*The company uses Guittard and Askinosie chocolate.

jcoco - Agave Quinoa Sesame bar - July 15, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Seattle Chocolates
jcoco Agave Quinoa Sesame bar
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $N/A - gift from a friend (thank you Toni!)
Purchased from: N/A - gift from a friend

Today was Day #1 of Chocolate, Grains and Grasses Theme Week.

Grains are malty, neutral-tasting and a bit starchy -- a good foil for flavorful chocolate which has just enough acidic tang and bittersweet zing to liven things up.

Most chocolate and grain items come in the form of baked goods. Before I had to skip all things gluten, some of my favorites included: chocolate croissants, German chocolate cake, eclairs, and other lovelies. Thankfully there are plenty of gluten-free alternatives to these sweets now -- except perhaps flaky pastry items such as croissants.

This week, I'll be focusing on chocolates with grain or grass inclusions or alternatives, such as today's jcoco Agave Quinoa Sesame bar from Seattle Chocolates (Seattle, WA).

Quinoa is from a plant native to South American that's grown primarily for its edible seeds. It has become popular in the last several years in the U.S. However, it is neither grass nor grain, but rather a "pseudocereal." (Chenopodium quinoa is more closely related to the beet family.) However, quinoa can serve, and is serving, as a grain alternative to couscous, bulgar wheat, rice and other starches, and can complement or replace other cereal grains.

Today's non-GMO and gluten-free Agave Quinoa Sesame milk chocolate bar was sweet and a good blend of creamy sweet milk chocolate and crunchy, chewy seeds and quinoa. Agave and sugar glazed quinoa to be precise. A dash of sea salt helped balance the sweetness.

This bar was part of an assortment of 6 small-sized, different flavored jcoco bars from Seattle Chocolates.

Dude, Sweet EVOOC - July 28, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Dude, Sweet Chocolate

1.) Extra Virgin Olive Oil - hickory and cocoa nib infused - Good +
Weight: 1/2 teaspoon / 8.5 oz. (241 g.) total bottle
Calories: 18 calories (estimate) for 1/2 teaspoon
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bottle
Purchased from: Dude Sweet Chocolate, Dallas, TX

2.) Break Up Potion Chocolate Sauce - Good +
Weight: 1/8 teaspoon / 4 oz. (113 g.) total bottle
Calories: 3 calories (estimate) for 1/8 teaspoon
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bottle
Purchased from: Dude Sweet Chocolate, Dallas, TX

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Cacao Nib Theme Week. Cacao nibs (pieces of unsweetened cacao bean) can be used for sweet or savory dishes. Today's two items from Dude Sweet Chocolate (Dallas, TX) were sweet but could also be incorporated into savory dishes.

I drizzled both carefully over a small sundae (coffee and butter pecan ice creams in a shotglass*).

Let's start with the Dude Sweet Chocolate extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). The oil was infused with hickory smoked cacao nibs, cinnamon and vanilla bean to make "EVOOC." And the Break Up Potion Chocolate Sauce was made with Breckenridge Distillery Bourbon and agave. (The latter was not technically 100% gluten free, but I allowed myself a delightfully flavorful drop or two.) Both complemented the ice cream flavors, and were packaged simply, in sturdy, brown glass bottles.

*A shotglass typically holds between 1 1/2 oz. and 2 oz. of liquid content. I've found using a shotglass is a great way to exercise portion control for richer dessert items.