Royal Hawaiian - Macadamia Nut - Dark Chocolate Blackberry Goji - Dec. 11, 2018

Chocolate of the Day:

Royal Hawaiian - Macadamia Nut, Inc.

Dark Chocolate Blackberry Goji 

Good

Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) in total package

Calories: 200 calories in 1 package

Cost: $0.50 for 1 package (2 for $1.00 sale)

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

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

Today's Dark Chocolate Blackberry Goji pieces were made possible by the Royal Hawaiian Macadamia Nut, Inc.

Roasted, Hawaiian-grown macadamia nuts were covered in dark chocolate and infused with tart blackberry and tropical goji.

A fruity, berry aroma wafted up to greet the taster, after this snack-size package was opened. The macadamia nut centers were mild and had a soft crunch. 

ChocolaTree - Goji Bliss, Bee Love - Feb. 10, 2015

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

ChocolaTree

Goji Bliss
Good +
Weight: .35 oz. (9.9 g.) (estimate) in 1 piece
Calories: 52 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $2.22 (estimate) for 1 piece
Purchased from: ChocolaTree Organic Oasis, Sedona, AZ

Bee Love
Good +
Weight: .35 oz. (9.9 g.) (estimate) in 1 piece
Calories: 52 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $2.22 (estimate) for 1 piece
Purchased from: Chocola Tree, Sedona, AZ

What could be more appropriate than a little more bliss and love for Valentines Day week. I selected this duo -- the Goji Bliss and the Bee Love -- from ChocolaTree (Sedona, AZ) -- for Day #2 of Valentines Day Chocolates Week.

The Goji Bliss square was a pretty golden ivory (with cacao butter) and pink (goji berries) layer on a dark chocolate base.

The Bee Love square dark chocolate was dusted with tiny grains of yellow pollen and tasted like a spoonful of honey with cocoa butter -- a very pleasing sensation and taste.

Both of these chocolates had a fast, even melt and mouthfeel (think pure cocoa butter or coconut oil) and lacked the "rush" that often accompanies conventional chocolates, as ChocoloTree has sought to avoid processed sugar.

Why raw chocolate? Raw* (unroasted chocolate) typically yields a smoother flavor profile with a gentler finish, often without the more complex, high, low or bitter notes of roasted cacao. Some will like this and others may miss the roasted flavors. Also, theoretically, more of the nutritional elements in cacao are preserved when temperatures are kept lower.

The ChocolaTree Organic Oasis was a combination cafe and marketplace (shop) that offered a range of organic, gluten-free and dairy free entrees, soups, salads, drinks and desserts and -- oh yes, organic, raw* chocolates in a case by the front entrance. The shop also carried local and wild-crafted ingredients and items.

A friend and I ate dinner out back in a patio seating area. Arizona winters are generally mild enough that you can enjoy sunny, warm days and eat outside on milder evenings, while you are reading about far off cities covered in snow.

*Raw chocolate is made with unroasted cacao beans. Instead beans are ground and processed until smooth at temperatures not exceeding a certain temperature -- in this case, 115 degrees Farenheit (46.1 degrees Celsius).

ChocolateBet: April 30, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Gnosis Chocolate (handmade raw organic chocolate)
Cashew Goji Cherry
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 2 oz. (56 g.)
Calories: 300 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $
Purchased from: Gnosis Chocolate, in New York City, NY (online order)

Nice, fresh, healthy ingredients make this a tasty bar. The only goji berries I'd tasted up until now had been dried. These tasted closer to fresh, however, it was hard to tell whether I was tasting the goji or the cherry in some bites.