Dude, Sweet Chocolate - Flower Child Truffles - March 27, 2024

Chocolate of The Day

Dude, Sweet Chocolate
Flower Child Truffles
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .6 oz. (17 g.) / 3.6 oz. (103 g.) in total cylinder
Calories: 93 calories (estimate) for 1 truffle
Cost: $12.00 for 1 container of 6 truffles
Purchased from: Dude, Sweet Chocolate (online order)

Welcome to Day #1 of Floral Chocolate Series.

Today's Flower Child Truffles were from Dude, Sweet Chocolate (Dallas, TX). I love Chef Katherine Clapner's exploration of flavors -- from roasty and nutty to floral, and everything in between--with product names like "Crack in a Box" (chocolate bark squares) that will make you smile, because their descriptions are funny, and mostly true.

Aroma for these Flower Child truffles included: orange blossom, chocolate (brownie), jasmine, bergamot and very faint vanilla.

Tasting notes included: dark chocolate, and a floral explosion of orange blossoms (neroli), jasmine blossoms (think jasmine infused tea), and bergamot (think Earl Grey Tea) -- everywhere, all at once.

If you like floral flavors like I do, you'll appreciate this dose of floral gunpowder (embedded in a high-end chocolate) experience. 

Floral flavors (often more volatile and easily lost during processing) are often shunted to the back room, to be seen (read about) but not heard (or tasted). Not so today! 

Suggested wine and cheese pairings from the maker: "...Sauvignon Blanc, goat cheese and great brie (cheese)"

Ingredients: (Made with 55% Equatoriale chocolate from Valrhona, French butter and cane syrup...) and floral flavorings.

Allergen-related information: Contains dairy (butter).

Theo Chocolate - Spring Tea Collection - Jasmine Tea Ganache - Apr. 19, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Theo Chocolate
Jasmine Tea Ganache 
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .42 oz. (12 g.) / 1.7 oz. (48 g.) in total box of 4 pieces
Calories: .42 oz. (12 g.) in 1 piece
Cost: $10.99 for 1 box of 4 pieces
Purchased from: FarmFresh to You, online order

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

Today's Jasmine Tea Ganache chocolate confection was part of a 4-piece Spring Tea Collection (assortment) from Theo Chocolate (Seattle, WA). Each of the four flavors were enrobed in dark chocolate and contained a different tea-infused, ganache filling.

The aroma: rich dark chocolate laced with aromatic jasmine, was exactly as promised.

The silky smooth dark chocolate interior (ganache)--a blend of dark and milk* chocolate--was covered in a firmer dark chocolate shell.

This enjoyably complex, dark confection had a lovely jasmine floral tea flavor from start to finish (thank you)--even though it was surrounded by bold dark chocolate (think Forastero variety cacao) that had balanced earth and dark brownie batter notes--mirroring the image of April flowers springing forth from rich, dark soil outside my window.

A judicious amount of sugar allowed the complementary bittersweet (intense cacao and sweet floral) flavors to shine through. This Jasmine chocolate would be a treat for dark chocolate and botanical/floral fans who normally find confections/filled chocolates too sweet.

According to Theo Chocolate's website: Cacao for this collection was sourced in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC); and sugar for this collection was sourced in Brazil.

Ingredients: Organic, fair trade Cocoa beans; organic, fair trade cane sugar; jasmine tea-infused cream (organic cream, organic jasmine tea (green tea with jasmine))* -- and possibly organic whole milk powder, organic butter, organic nonfat milk powder and honey. (For a complete list of ingredients for each flavor in this collection, contact Theo Chocolate.)

Allergen-related information: (Contains milk.) "Made on equipment that also processes peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, wheat, and sesame."

*Cream in the filling (ganache) served as a "carrier" for the jasmine tea. Flavors are often infused into cream, and then incorporated into chocolates. Cream is much easier to blend with chocolate than water. (Ground cacao beans have a fairly high fat content and are naturally hydrophobic, i.e., they don't easily mix with or dissolve in water. A vat of melted chocolate can "seize up" when water is added.)

Chocolate Maya - Buddha in Jasmin; Ganesh chocolates - July 28, 2015

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Chocolate Maya

Buddha in Jasmin (sic) tea
Good +
Weight: .4 oz. (11.32 g.) (estimate) in 1 piece
Calories: 60 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $2.00 for 1 piece
Purchased from: Chocolate Maya, Santa Barbara, CA

Ganesh
Good ++
Weight: .4 oz. (11.32 g.) (estimate) in 1 piece
Calories: 60 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $1.50 for 1 piece
Purchased from: Chocolate Maya, Santa Barbara, CA

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Santa Barbara Theme Week.

These two wonderful and exotic pieces, a Buddha-shaped chocolate infused with jasmine tea, and a Ganesh medallion-shaped chocolate, were from Chocolate Maya (Santa Barbara, CA).

Both were made with rich, high-quality chocolate; and buddha contained a subtle hint of floral flavored tea.

SOMA - Jasmine truffle - June 26, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

SOMA Chocolatemaker
Jasmine truffle
Good ++ - Very Good
Weight: 1.2 oz. (33.9 g.) (estimate) for 3 pieces
Calories: 180 calories (estimate) in 3 pieces
Cost: $ N/A - part of a larger box of chocolates
Purchased from: SOMA Chocolatemaker, Toronto, Canada

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Botanicals Theme Week.

Happiness this week was receiving a box of truffles from Toronto, Canada. And several were flavored with botanicals of the floral, fruit or nut variety.

Jasmine is a lovely, romantic floral scent in a perfume, tea or chocolate. I could get lost in it. But, I also appreciate the subtler layers of balanced flavor in this Jasmine truffle from SOMA Chocolatemaker (Toronto, Canada).

This creamy square melted like butter the moment I put it in my mouth. As it did, subtle sips of jasmine tea-like flavor were revealed. And what looked to be grains of paradise carefully strewn across the top of each piece provided some crunchy almost grain-like texture that balanced the creamy texture and softened some of the jasmine flavor notes.

ChocolateBet: July 11, 2011

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

2 petite bars
Maison Bouche
1.) Jasmin - Good - Good +
2.) Bergamot - Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) (guesstimate for 2 petite bars -- no info given on label or website for petite bars)/ 3 oz. (84.9 g.) (guesstimate for total package of 12 tiny bars)
Calories: 90 calories
Cost: $18.00 (part of 12-pc set)
Purchased from: Miette Bakery, Ferry Building location, in San Francisco, CA

This tiny, adorable, flavored 40% milk chocolate bar assortment was from Maison Bouche (based in Oakland, CA). Each of the 12 petite bars was scored into 15 even tinier squares. I bought them because of their floral and tea flavors. Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Tea Theme Week.

I usually enjoy natural floral flavors infused into chocolate(s). However, I associated this Jasmin-muguet scent and flavor too closely with perfume (it was not the same Jasmine flavor as you'd find in certain Asian Jasmine teas), which made this bar less yummy for me. The citrusy Bergamot (primary flavoring for Earl Grey tea) fared better with me, because I associated this flavor with tea. So much of life is about managing one's expectations, and realizing what predispositions you bring into a situation.

ChocolateBet: July 9, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:

1 teacup

Kitchen T.L.C.

Chocolate Teacups - Jasmine in Dark Chocolate

Good + - Very Good

Weight: .21 oz. (5.9 g.) (estimate) / 2.5 oz. (72 g.) total tin

Calories: 31 calories 

Cost: approximately $12.00 per tin

Purchased from: (online order)

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Tea Theme Week. Kitchen T.L.C., is a Montana-based company that offers a variety of tea-related items, including chocolate teacups. Today's teacup flavor was Jasmine in Dark Chocolate. Pinkie fingers up and out, and sip that tea in style, you all.

ChocolateBet: March 23, 2010

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

2 pieces
Socola Chocolatier
1.) Notorious H.O.G. - Very Good - Very Good +
2.) Jasmine Tea - Very Good +
Weight: .84 oz. (24 g.) (estimate) in 2 pieces
Calories: 121 calories (estimate) in 2 pieces
Cost: $ lost receipt
Purchased from: Socola Chocolatier, at the Chocolate Salon in San Francisco, CA

Socola (the Vietnamese word for chocolate) is run by two sisters. The company's mascot, Harriett, is a winged alpaca that appears on Socola packaging and some chocolates. I had the chance to hear about Harriett from Susan, one of the two sisters behind this venture, at the Chocolate Salon, held in San Francisco last weekend. It was fun to hear about how the company and flavors have evolved. Pictured (above right) were some items from this event.

Inside the 4-piece blue box were the two chocolates listed for today (lower right, and upper left, respectively). Notorious H.O.G. contained delicious hints of bacon. However, my favorite was the Jasmine. Exactly as advertised, all the wonderful flavor you'd find in an aromatic cup of jasmine tea.

ChocolateBet: March 13, 2010

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

1.) World Market - Dark Chocolate (bar) 72% cacao; 1/5 bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .6 oz. (17 g.)/3 oz. (85 g.) total bar
Calories: 88 calories in 1/5 bar
Cost: $1.99 total bar
Purchased from: World Market/Cost Plus, in Mountain View, CA

2.) World Market - Reserved Green Tea - Chocolate Jasmine tea (1 tea bag)
Good+
Weight: .07 oz. (2 g.)/1.55 oz. (44 g.) total container of 22 bags
Calories: 1 calorie (estimate) in one tea bag
Cost: $6.99 for total container, 22 bags
Purchased from: World Market/Cost Plus, in Mountain View, CA

A toast to St. Patrick's Day this next week, with Green chocolate tea today. The tea did contain roasted cacao nibs. However, just in case some think this isn't "real chocolate," I sampled part of a dark chocolate bar, also from World Market/Cost Plus.

ChocolateBet: May 20, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

8-piece truffle collection box
J. Chocolatier
1.) Kulfi - White choc w/ green tea, cardomom and rose water - Yum
2.) Sesame Seed - Dark Choc. w/ black and white toasted sesame seeds - VG+-Yum (pictured above right)
3.) Lemon Pie - White chocolate w/ lemon zest and toasted almonds - VG - VG+
4.) Fleur de Sel Caramel - Very Good +
5.) Fresh Mint - Fresh spearmint and peppermint - VG - VG+
6.) Green Tea, Dried Fruit, Flowers & Drk. Choc. (topped with Matcha Green Tea Powder)
7.) Honey, Star Anise, Grapefuit Zest & Drk Choc. - VG-VG+
8.) Jasmine Tea (heart shape) - VG+ - Yum
Weight: ~ 3.9 oz. (110 g.) for 8-piece truffle collection box
Calories: ~585 calories (estimate)
Cost: $14.00 + shipping (online order)
Purchased from: J. Chocolatier, in Washington, D.C.

I used to work in Washington, D.C. when I was a young idealist. I have fond memories of walking to work and stopping at a bakery near Capitol Hill. The smell of fresh baked gingerbread people cookies was difficult to resist. Gingerbread heads: the breakfast of champions. So, while I haven't been in D.C. for awhile, I was happy to find J. Chocolatier online. The company looks like they are located a few blocks from where I used to live.

Thank you to Jane who put together a very nice assortment of chocolates.

The Jasmine Tea heart-shaped dark chocolate was perfect, with authentic jasmine flavor shining through. I don't count white chocolate, but (since I ate 6 "real" chocolates in the same sitting) I can say that J. Chocolatier's "Kulfi" was probably the best white chocolate I've tasted. I tend to like floral flavors like this (cardamom and rose water). And, the (chili?, coffee?) filling for the Sesame Seed chocolate complemented the toasted black and white seeds very nicely.

Chocolate countdown: 18 more days and I will have eaten 1,000 different chocolates.