ChocolateSpiel - Spicy Orange Chocolate Bar - Jan. 4, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

ChocolateSpiel 
Spicy Orange Chocolate Bar
Good ++ 
Weight: 1 oz. (27 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Etsy.com, ChocolateSpiel, online order

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate, Tea, Herbs and Spices Theme Week.

Today's Spicy Orange Chocolate Bar was from ChocolateSpiel (Seattle, WA).

Aroma notes included: chocolate; citrus (orange) and spices.

Overlapping splashes of colored cocoa butter "paints" gave this bar an attractive/festive appearance.

This chocolate had a smooth, relatively creamy texture.

Flavor notes included: chocolate (smooth, dark ganache), citrus (orange) and a bit of spicy heat.

The orange flavor with the dark chocolate and spices was a successful blend. I enjoyed this bar with a cup of tea.

Maker's tasting notes: "72% bean to bar chocolate made with Colombian cocoa beans. This bar has a classic cayenne pepper spiciness to it and fruity orange flavor."

Ingredients: Cocoa, sugar, cocoa butter, orange oil, cayenne pepper, smoked paprika, harissa seasoning, colored cocoa butter.  

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of tree nuts, gluten, coconut and peanuts." (The colors are made with colored cocoa butter. "Some of the colors (used) are artificial."

Herbal Cacao - Chaga and Cacao Medicinal Drinking Chocolate - Oct. 26, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Herbal Cacao 
Chaga and Cacao Medicinal Drinking Chocolate
Good +
Weight : .35 oz. (10 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total package
Calories: 60 calories in 1 wedge (1/10 package)
Cost: $19.00 for 1 package
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Chaga and Cacao Medicinal Drinking Chocolate was from Herbal Cacao (Groningen, NL).

Aroma notes for this chocolate blend included: forest (wood), very faint green (stalks, wood), subtle, fleeting diffuse dark red berry, cacao, and vegetable (red bell pepper/ripe red tomato, mushroom red sauce). (Later, after the chocolate sat on a plate in the open air for a few hours, very light spice (cinnamon) and vanilla became more detectable.)

Flavor notes for the chaga,* cacao and spice blend included fibrous plant/wood, dried chilis, fruit (apple), fleeting bitter cacao notes--suffused with a hot, spicy kick (cayenne pepper).

Once melted and whisked, the texture was smoother than expected, almost velvety. (I melted this slowly in a small quantity of warm water.)

The un-sweet chocolate (think a 100% cacao bar or drinking chocolate with flavor inclusions) had an untamed complexity about it that transported me to a Central American jungle in Southern Belize. This was a two forest fiesta. (The cacao was from Belize (warm forest); the chaga* was harvested in Siberia (cold forest.) Ceylon cinnamon, cayenne pepper and vanilla added authentic flavor depth and interest.

Overall, this unsweetened blend grew on me over time. However, sweetening it a bit--with a bite of another, smoother, stevia-sweetened dark chocolate--made the woody and wild notes recede a little, and made the drinking chocolate more approachable. I could see this as a flavorful addition to other items. (While the directions advise against boiling it as some of the health benefits may diminish, perhaps it could be chopped and melted on warm breads or low-sugar brownies.)

Ingredients: Cacao beans, Inonotuus Obliguus (chaga mushroom powder), ceylon cinnamon, cayenne pepper, vanilla

Allergen-related information: (None listed on packaging.)

*Chaga mushrooms are described as having an earthy, slightly bitter flavor; and as containing a form of natural vanilla-adjacent flavor. Some have described them as having a coffee-like flavor.

As with other mushroom flavor inclusions this week, this fungus is non-psychoactive. (Note: chaga mushrooms contain antioxidants and have health benefits, but are also high in oxalates, which are not great for those with kidney issues/prone to kidney stones.)

Chaga is native to colder climates in the Northern Hemisphere (Canada, Alaska, Russia, Northern Europe). It appears as a dark protrusion on (birch and other) trees.

Chugach Chocolates - Dark Chocolate Alaskan Kelp & Cayenne (bar) - July 14, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chugach Chocolates and Confections
Rich Dark Chocolate with Alaskan Kelp and Cayenne (bar)
(Made with Barnacle Foods Bull Kelp)
Good 
Weight: 1.75 oz. (49.6 g.) in total bar
Calories: 263 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $N/A - gift (thank you Megan!)
Purchased from: N/A - gift

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

Today's Rich Dark Chocolate with Alaskan Kelp and Cayenne bar was from Chugach Chocolates and Confections (Girdwood, Alaska).

When I opened the packaging, I was greeted by the sweet childhood smells of chocolate: Swiss Miss* hot cocoa, Cocoa Puffs* and other chocolate breakfast cereals, i.e. the aroma of alkalized cocoa** -- cocoa that has been treated to make it less acid and/or bitter. 

There was no cacao/cocoa percentage listed on this bar. I'm guessing, by the sweetness level, it was made with less than 50% cacao dark chocolate. (In the U.S. dark chocolate needs to contain at least 15% chocolate liquor or cocoa mass from ground cocoa bean pieces or nibs. The mildest dark chocolate might only contain 15-34% cacao.)

The sweet chocolate had a smooth melt and creamy mouthfeel (butterfat) that was accented by crunchy bits of dried kelp (from Barnacle Foods in Juneau, AK) that had a very mild, salty flavor (that helped balance out the sweetness). And a friendly, soft tingle of cayenne pepper rounded things out. Overall, this was a fun bar to try; and, surprisingly, it stimulated many childhood memories.

Kelp (seaweed) is quite edible and nutritious. It's a good natural source of iodine and other minerals and vitamins. I first tried it during a Girl Scout outing on the beach (it was boiled in a large pot for us children to try) in the late 1960s after a long hike to the sea. 

Kelp is still found washed up on West Coast/Pacific Ocean beaches in the U.S.; but, sadly, kelp forests (home to fish and undersea wildlife) have declined by almost 90% since I first sampled it on a Northern California beach many years ago--primarily due to rising ocean temperatures. 

Thank you to Chugach for featuring kelp (and cayenne) in today's chocolate bar--that was made with a special blend of ingredients that originated in the Americas.

--o--o--o--

*General Mills introduced Cocoa Puffs breakfast cereal back in 1956, the year I was born. Americans elevated sweet, crunchy cereals to a commercial art form in the 1900s.

Around that same time, Charles Sanna invented Swiss Miss hot cocoa mix where consumers could just add hot water to a packet of cocoa (instead of fixing it on the stove with milk). Hot chocolate on the go was made much easier for families, soldiers, field workers, campers and explorers. I remember drinking Swiss Miss on backpacking trips. (Incidentally, engineer and inventor Charles Sanna passed away in 2019 at age 101. He continued to drink hot cocoa even after the formula changed when the brand was purchased by Beatrice Foods and then Conagra over the years.)

Like it or not, these chocolate-for-breakfast items had a big influence on me. After all, I've been sampling unique chocolates in the mornings for almost 14 years now. And while I've lost my taste for overly sweet, sugary items, my love for chocolate lingered.

**Ingredients: Dark chocolate (sugar, chocolate liquor processed with alkali, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, butterfat (milk), soy lecithin and vanilla); (Barnacle Foods) Kelp; Cayenne Pepper; Salt. 

Choquiero Chocolate - Spicy Chipotle with Cacao Nibs and Cayenne Pepper bar - Apr. 6, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Choquiero Chocolate
Spicy Chipotle with Cacao Nibs and Cayenne Pepper 73% Cacao bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .8 oz. (22.5 g.) / 1.6 oz. (45 g.) in total bar
Calories: 135 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.59 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Spices Theme Week.

Today's Spicy Chipotle with Cacao Nibs and Cayenne Pepper 73% Cacao bar was from Choquiero Chocolate (Grass Valley, CA).* The company sources "Heirloom, Wild, Arriba Criollo cacao from small farmers in Central America.

This organic, fair trade and vegan bar had a dark chocolate aroma with a hint of spicy pepper (chipotle and cayenne). It was studded with crunchy cacao nibs on the back of the bar, sweetened with coconut sugar, and there was a small heat flare in the finish from the cayenne pepper.

*Choquiero is California-based, with roots in a few locations. The company was "born in Oakland in 2013," and this bar was made in Santa Cruz, CA.

Mulate Organic Chocolates - Spices bar - Oct. 26, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Mulate Organic Chocolates
Spices Dark Chocolate bar
Good+++
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) (estimate) in total bar
Calories: 210 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA


Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate, Sugar and Spice Theme Week.


Today's "Spices" Dark Chocolate bar from Mulate Organic Chocolates was created by Chocolate Naive (a bean-to-bar maker in Lithuania).

The smooth, 65 percent cacao dark chocolate had well balanced and authentic cinnamon and vanilla aroma and flavor, and a hint of warmth from cayenne pepper—a perfect bar to enjoy on a cool fall day in the mountains.

ChocolateBet: September 20, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Lake Champlain Chocolates
Dark Spicy Aztec bar
Very Good
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $2.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Spicy Pepper Theme Week. This Dark Spicy Aztec bar (55% cocoa content) from Lake Champlain Chocolates reminded me of a very good, spicy drinking chocolate in bar form. I could taste the cayenne pepper (not too strong), a hint of cinnamon and vanilla; and some pumpkin seeds added a bit of textural crunch. 

ChocolateBet: May 6, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 bar
Cowgirl Chocolates
Spicy Dark Lime Tequila - Chocolate Bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) in total bar
Calories: 179 calories
Cost: $2.99 for total bar
Purchased from: Sigona's Farmers Market, Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto, CA

This spicy lime tequila bar was a fitting follow-up to El Cinco De Mayo festivities yesterday, and a good choice for Day #6 of Chocolate and Spicy Theme Week. Once again, I have to say I really like these smaller sized bars. They're perfect for enjoyment without overindulgence.

Cayenne pepper supplied the spicy kick, and added to the lime tequila oil used to flavor this dark chocolate (55% cocoa) item. I ate a few squares, and melted the rest in milk. Later, I drank this special chocolate milk chilled with a sprig of mint. Not bad, not bad at all.

ChocolateBet: May 4, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 bar
Cowgirl Chocolates
Spicy Dark Huckleberry - Chocolate Bar
Very Good
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 182 calories
Cost: $2.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Sigona's Farmers Market, Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto, CA

Hah! I'll mix chocolate with pepper and fruit for breakfast. This may not be what you said when you woke up this morning; but, I assure you, when Cowgirl Chocolates whips up a batch of their dark (55% cocoa) bars, with just the right amount of cayenne pepper, and mixes in rich, sweet, whole huckleberries, the end product works very nicely. And it's a perfect small-sized bar. (Those 3-ozers are tough for me.)

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Spicy Theme Week. Tomorrow is Cinco del Mayo, so I may have to go out and hunt down a chicken mole dish (with peppers and a bit of chocolate).

ChocolateBet: April 2, 2010

Chocolate(s) of the Day:
2 pieces
Coco Delice Fine Chocolates
1.) Spicy Rouge - Very Good +
2.) Port - Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 145 calories (estimate) for two pieces
Cost: $
Purchased from: Coco Delice, at the San Francisco Chocolate Salon, in San Francisco, CA

I have a weakness for dark chocolate blended with wine and/or liquor. And, while I liked both of these Coco Delice chocolates very much, I especially liked the Spicy Rouge (pictured above, left) -- a well-balanced blend of dark chocolate ganache, Italian red sparkling wine, and cayenne pepper.

There are an increasing number of opportunities in Northern California to sample dark chocolate and red wine, together, in pairings, or flights. So, I'm challenging myself to find enough of these combinations to last for several days. Today is Day #1 of Chocolate and Red Wine Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: January 7, 2007

Chocolate of the Day: 

Lake Champlain Chocolates
Dark Spicy Aztec bar
Very Good - Yum
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $2.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Z. Cioccolatos, San Francisco, CA

Today I tried a Dark Spicy Aztec all natural chocolate bar from Lake Champlain Chocolates (Burlington, VT). It was in the Very Good - Yum range. This bar contains pumpkin seeds, cayenne and cinnamon - a very nice blend of flavor and texture.

I also enjoyed a Sunday drive along the coast. I watched surfers in the Pacific Ocean near Half Moon Bay, and watched the sunset - with the sun becoming wobbly and distorted like molten orange glass before slipping down into the distant waves. There are no two sunsets that are the same. And even a "bad" sunset beats not seeing one at all...

And pretty much the same can be said for chocolates I've tried so far. Chocolate has even seeped into my social life, and I find myself sharing chocolates wherever I go.

Later in the evening, I left some Almond Roca candy for mom at her long-term care facility. She had asked my sister for some apparently when she was visiting earlier. By the time I got there she was asleep, so I left it on the table to for her. I'm sure she'll get other takers if she can't finish it.