Coblentz Chocolate - Dark Chocolate Espresso Beans - Apr. 25, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Coblentz Chocolate Company 
Dark Chocolate Espresso Beans 
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 6 oz. (170 g.) total package
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. (28.3 g.) serving 
Cost: $10.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Coffee Theme Week.

Today's Dark Chocolate Espresso Beans were from Coblentz Chocolate Company (Walnut Creek, OH). 

Aroma notes for these glossy, ebony-colored pearls included: dark chocolate and faint coconut.

These dark chocolate covered coffee beans were a well-balanced blend of smooth and crunchy, and sweet and dark. Bold, but smooth, unsweetened, espresso roast coffee beans were housed inside a coat of relatively velvety, smooth and uniform dark chocolate. 

Just a small handful of these flavorful, but not overly sweet (or addictive), small dark orbs satisfied a dark chocolate craving; and provided a perfect morning boost.

Ingredients: Dark chocolate (sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, chocolate liquor processed with alkali, butterfat, soy lecithin (emulsifier), natural vanilla flavor, salt), coffee beans, water, gum arabic, confectioners glaze, modified starch (tapioca), vegetable oil (coconut, canola)

Allergen-related information: Contains: milk, soy

Taza Chocolate - Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans - July 13, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Taza Chocolate
Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans 
Good ++ 
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 3.5 oz. (99 g.) in total package
Calories: 130 calories in 1 oz. (28 g.) serving (about 36 pieces)
Cost: $3.99 for 1 serving
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA 

Welcome to Day #12 of Chocolate and Coffee Theme Week.

Today's Organic and Vegan* Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans were from Taza Chocolate (Somerville, MA). 

My favorite part of this tasting experience may have been when I first opened the package and inhaled deeply. Many of this past week's featured items have been more chocolate forward. Today it was coffee's turn. These espresso beans had a wonderful, bold coffee aroma.

The texture was a study in contrasts: smooth, creamy dark (direct trade, Ghana) chocolate covered crunchy, almost fibrous, coffee beans. Taza Chocolate is known for chocolate that is stone-ground cho--a process that can result in bolder/less processed flavor and a thicker/almost gritty texture. (I noticed no grit in today's chocolate. It seemed very thick and creamy in contrast with the roasted coffee beans.)

The flavor notes included the aforementioned bold espresso-roast coffee beans and true chocolate. However, the more fully intact (less processed) flavors also had vibrant, authentic complexity with flickers of fruit (diffuse red berry, faint red apple and nectarine, olive), balanced earth, roasted (wood, seed, nut) and sweetness (light brown sugar, faint vanilla).

A full serving (approximately 36 pieces, or 1 oz. (28 g.)) of these flavorful Dark Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans (and the caffeine and theobromine they contain) will engage all your tasting senses and leave you wide awake and ready to start your walk, hike, run, ride or other project.

Ingredients: Organic cane sugar, organic cacao beans, organic espresso beans, organic cocoa butter, organic vanilla beans.

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of tree nuts and sesame seeds." "Dairy Free, Soy Free, Vegan,* Gluten Free"

*Many chocolate covered items use shellacs, glazes or "varnishes" made from insect-derived resinous lac/shellac to give them a shiny, glossy appearance--making them ineligible for Vegan status. Today's Vegan Taza chocolate-covered offering did not contain these insect-derived ingredients.

Ethereal Confections - Espresso, Hazelnuts and Cherries bar - Jan. 5, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ethereal Confections
66% Cacao - Topped with Espresso Beans, Hazelnuts and Cherries bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.12 oz. (32 g.) / 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in total bar
Calories: 168 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: online order, from EtherealConfections.com

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate, Cherry and Nut Theme Week.

This 66% Cacao bar Topped with Espresso Beans, Hazelnuts and Cherries from Ethereal Confections (Woodstock, IL) was a handcrafted inclusion chocolate bar from owners and chocolate makers Mary and Sara Ervin. And when I say hand-crafted, I mean the Ervins started by making the chocolate themselves from scratch.*

Printed on the packaging was this statement: "Our small business in Woodstock, Illinois is centered on reconnecting people with food. We, Mary and Sara Ervin, labor over each individual detail and constantly strive to improve our craft. No big machines or industrial factories here. We envision and then taste, tweak and package everything by hand..."

Getting back to bar specifics: A festive blizzard of toasted hazelnut pieces, dried cherry bits and a hint of espresso crushed espresso beans lay underneath the inner blue foil wrapping. Said blizzard covered the back of this unique bar. I loved the look of it, the crunchy, natural sweet nuttiness of the hazelnuts, and the sparkles of authentic tart sweet cherry flavor.

The espresso flavor was subtle and blended with the other flavors. A very small amount of cinnamon helped integrate and warm the ambitious flavor combination. The 66% dark chocolate base was smooth; and any subtle flavors in the chocolate itself took second fiddle to the inclusions.

The Ervins is also to be commended for what they left out -- this was a  dairy and gluten free bar with no preservatives, artificial colors or flavors. The company is also committed to using organic ingredients.

*Most chocolate sold in the U.S. (and elsewhere) is made by chocolatiers who buy blocks of "pre-made" chocolate and re-melt (and temper) the chocolate to make confections, truffles and bars. Not to take anything away from anyone who is producing great chocolate treats, but making bean-to-bar chocolate (i.e. "from scratch"), is a much more technically challenging process. And very few women are chief chocolate makers. Brava to the Ervins for being both chocolate makers and creative flavor meisters.

Peet's Chocolate Espresso Beans - March 25, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Peet's Coffee and Tea
Chocolate Covered Espresso Beans
Good - Good +
Weight: .28 oz. (8 g.) / 8 oz. (226 g.) total bag
Calories: 36 calories in 5 pieces
Cost: $6.50 for 1 bag
Purchased from: Peet's Coffee and Tea, Tiburon, CA

Nothing better to fuel a hike than chocolate covered espresso beans from Peet's Coffee and Tea (Berkeley, CA).

A tiny handful (5 pieces) was enough to satisfy. These espresso-colored, dark, shiny pearls (a little butter oil and confectioner's glaze never hurts) held their shape well -- doing so without a hard candy shell, making them a great easy-to-share, portable pick-me-up snack.

A slightly fudgey, dark chocolate coating provided a rich, mellow counterpoint to a crunchy, aromatic coffee bean center.

Today was Day #9 of Chocolate and Espresso Theme Week. 

ChocolateBet: July 20, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
6-7 pieces
Cocoa Bon
Dark Chocolate Espresso - "Bite-Size Chocolates"
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .3 oz. (10 g.) (estim.)/ 2 oz. (56 g.) in total package
Calories: 45 calories (estimate)
Cost: $2.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Candy Baron, in San Francisco, CA

Espresso and dark chocolate make good companions. Both have the potential to run over milder flavors, but they stand up to and complement each other. I could taste both the dark chocolate and the crunchy espresso bean centers in this Cocoa Bon offering. Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Espresso Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: July 19, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
2 pieces
Bissinger's - Naturals
Dark Chocolate-Covered Espresso Beans
Good+
Weight: .25 oz. (7 g.) / 3.5 oz. (99 g.) in total package
Calories: 22 calories (estimate)
Cost: $4.99 for total package
Purchased from: Draeger's in San Mateo, CA

Today marked the first day of Chocolate and Espresso Theme Week. The minute I opened Bissinger's Dark Chocolate-Covered Espresso Beans, the smell of strong coffee wafted out. The two little crunchy Sumatra Mandheling espresso beans -- covered in (60 percent) dark chocolate -- that I ate, helped to power my evening walk. Since I ate these late in the day, I ate just two pieces to avoid staying up all night.