Chocolate and Love - Dark 71% Peru Dominican Republic bar - Jan. 29, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolate and Love
Rich Dark 71% Dark Chocolate Peru and Dominican Republic bar
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 174.8 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $6.79 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #26 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.

Today's Organic Rich Dark 71% Dark Chocolate Peru and Dominican Republic bar from Chocolate and Love Ltd. (Crescent Perth, UK), was made in Switzerland and imported into the U.S. by Belgium's Chocolate Source (Milton, MA).

This bar was smooth, sweet and dark and had a pleasing, almost silky-creamy melt and texture.

Inside the wrapper was more detailed information about the origins of this bar. And the packaging also was printed with a photo of a farmer, from El Quinacho, Peru—presumably where the Peruvian cacao was raised.

And, that's a wrap. Twenty six bars made from Peruvian grown cacao in as many days, with several bars made in Peru as well.

Chocolate and Love - Mint 67% Dark Chocolate Mint Crunch bar - March 14, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolate and Love Ltd. 

Mint 67% Dark Chocolate and Mint Crunch bar

Good ++

Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar

Calories: 263 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar

Cost: $6.79 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week

Today's Organic Mint 67% Dark Chocolate and Mint Crunch bar was from Chocolate and Love Ltd. (Crescent Perth, UK), and was imported by Belgium's Chocolate Source (Milton, MA).

The "crunch" in this smooth, almost creamy, dark chocolate mint crunch bar came from a swarm of uniformly tiny, barely visible peppermint candy bits. Audible, but not visible. Research was surely done to achieve this feat.

Chocolate and Love - Dark Chocolate Organic 55% Cocoa Sea Salt and Caramel bar - Jan. 12, 2018

Chocolate of the Day:

Chocolate and Love
Dark Chocolate Organic 55% Cocoa Sea Salt and Caramel bar
Good ++
Weight: 9 pieces (37 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 210 calories in 1 serving (9 pieces) bar
Cost: $6.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Caramel Theme Week.

Today's Dark Chocolate Sea Salt and Caramel bar was a good example of the international supply chain that exists with many chocolate bars.

This 55% Cacao, Organic Sea Salt and Caramel bar was made in Switzerland for Chocolate and Love Ltd. (Perth, UK) and imported by Belgium's Chocolate Source (Milton, MA). And it was purchased and eaten in California.

The bar was riddled with tiny caramel pieces (10%) (cane sugar, whole milk powder, butter, glucose* syrup) and sea salt crystals, making it rich and slightly crunchy.

It was a hit with those who provided tasting help. ((Thank you Trudi and Holly!)

*Not sure if this was gluten free.

Libby Patterson Organics - Love Tea - May 30, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Libby Patterson Organics
Love Tea
Very Good
Weight: .25 oz. (7.075 g.) in one large serving
Calories: 5 calories (guesstimate) for 1 serving
Cost: $18.00 for 1 package
Purchased from: SLOWCOAST.org, (Airstream trailer), Davenport, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate Tea and Beverage Theme Weeks.

I fell in love with the look, smell and taste of this "Love Tea" from LPO: Libby Patterson Organics (Davenport, CA). This complex, well-balanced herbal tisane contained many of my favorite ingredients: rose petals (favorite flower), nutmeg (a favorite spice), raw cacao (goes without saying), and possibly a new favorite, damiana*.

No surprise about the intoxicating aroma, given that Libby Patterson is a Master Perfumer.

How did it taste? Like the aroma, the tea possessed complex and interesting layers of flavors. I would add nothing to this tea. Enjoy it just as it is.

I bought this tea from SLOWCOAST.org, or more specifically, at/inside their Airstream trailer that was parked at Swanton Berry Farm in Davenport, CA, off the Pacific Coast Highway (Highway 1), in between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz, CA.

*Damiana is a shrub native to Mexico, Central America and parts of the Southwest U.S. that has been used as a medicinal plant and aphrodisiac. 

Chocolate and Love - Dark Chocolate Orange 65% bar - Jan. 31, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolate and Love
Dark Chocolate with Orange 65% bar
Good ++
Weight: .466 oz. (13.3 g.) / 1.4 oz. (40 g.) in total bar
Calories: 74.5 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $ N/A - sample
Purchased from: N/A - sample from Chocolate and Love

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Orange Theme Week.

I found this very attractively packaged Orange 65% bar from Chocolate and Love Ltd. (Perth, UK) at the company's booth at the Winter Fancy Food Show in San Francisco, CA.

This organic dark chocolate bar was flavored with "natural orange oil," and was made with "99% Fairly Traded Ingredients.*" The chocolate was Swiss-made, with cacao beans from farmer cooperatives in Peru, Dominican Republic and Panama.

I look forward to trying more Chocolate and Love bars in the near future, and hope this Scotland-based company is able to expand their distribution in the U.S.

*Cacao, cane sugar and vanilla came from certified Fairtrade cooperatives.

ChocolateBet: October 19, 2007

Chocolate of the Day:

Chocolove
Chilies and Cherries in Dark Chocolate bar
Very Good
Weight:  1.066 oz. (30 g.) in 1/3 bar / 3.2 oz. (90 grams) total bar
Calories: 151 calories for 1/3 bar
Cost: $3.99
Purchased from: Z. Cioccolatos, North Beach, San Francisco, CA

I brought this Chocolove bar with me on my business trip to Texas this week -- in case I didn't have time to search for new chocolates. I thought this chocolate with (ancho and chipotle) chili peppers in it might be a good thematic choice given that I'd be in Texas.

The bar was made of good, quality dark (55% cocoa content) chocolate; and it could have passed for a higher percentage than this. I really liked the fact that I could taste the cherries and the chilies in this well-balanced bar.

The "free" love poem inside the wrapper was clever.

This subject of this passionate poem reminded me to go back and rent/watch two movies: "Chocolat" with Johnny Depp and Juliette Binoche; and also "Como Agua Para Chocolate" (aka Like Water for Chocolate). Both are good films for lovers of chocolate, chilies, and love poems.