Cacao Laboratory - "Water" Ceremonial Grade Cacao (bar) - July 13, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Cacao Laboratory 
"Water" - Ceremonial Grade Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.176 oz. (33.3 g.) / 3.53 oz. (100 g.) total bar

Calories: 190 calories for 1/3 bar

Cost: $15.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Xocolatl Garden, Carmel, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate & Water Theme Week--part of a larger, two-month long series of elemental themes (including chocolates inspired by (or with ingredients related to) Earth, Water and Fire).

Today's "Water" - Ceremonial Grade Cacao (bar) was manufactured by Cacao Lab Corp. (Kingston, NY).

Note: This "bar" was intended to be consumed in liquid form -- with water added. I enjoyed it as an eating chocolate.

Aroma notes included: subtle dark chocolate, with very faint spice.

Texture: thick and creamy texture, with some very tiny particles (perhaps ground coriander or maca)

Flavor notes included: ultra-dark chocolate with, balanced earth, well-managed bitterness, and light coriander (spice), and very faint carrot, sweet potato and butterscotch-vanilla notes.

I appreciated the very balanced, relatively restrained bitterness, and moderate acidic (citric) levels; the bit of authentic sweetness (and no sugar); and the maker's choice of a light roast to preserve delicate flavor(s) and "nutrient abundance."

Maker's Tasting Notes: "Roasted nuts, citrus"

Ingredients: Theobroma cacao*, coriander*, maca*, (*=organic)

Allergen-related information: Processed on equipment that also processes nuts.

Mandala Chocolate - Appalachian Wild Chai Sugar Free Dark Chocolate with Herbs, Mushrooms, Chai Spices (bar) - Dec. 18, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Mandala Chocolate
Appalachian Wild Chai Sugar Free Dark Chocolate with Herbs, Mushrooms and Chai Spices (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 302 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar (when purchased in a 3-pack)
Purchased from: Amazon.com/Mandala Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Chai Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Mushrooms Week.

Today's Organic Appalachian Wild Chai Sugar Free Dark Chocolate with Herbs, Mushrooms and Chai Spices (bar) was handcrafted in Asheville, North Carolina, by Mandala Naturals, LLC (Barnardsville, NC), using 70% stoneground cacao--and without added sugar.*

Aroma and flavor notes included: subtle chocolate and warm spices (cinnamon, ginger, very mild clove and nutmeg), very slightly woodsy sweetness (mesquite, licorice root), and very faint citrus (orange).

This 70% cacao bar included a wild chai blend: spices, herbs and "mushrooms unique to the Blue Ridge Mountains." All these flavors harmonized very nicely. The mushroom flavors were very undetectable. (The 70% cacao and range of spices in this bar makes them easy to miss.)

Texture: nice cacao buttery melt, smooth texture (especially given the amount of added spices and mushrooms).

I loved that this chocolate had an appealing, mild, natural sweetness with no added sugar.*

This bar had more nuanced flavors and a milder taste than most 70% chocolate bars, in part due to thoughtful ingredient selection and the lack of cane sugar.* You realize the effects of processed sugar when it's not there. There are other paths to sweetness.

Ingredients: "*Cacao, *Yacon, *Ginger, *Mesquite, *Maca, *Cinnamon, *Vanilla, *Licorice, *Cardamom, **Chaga, *Peppercorn, *Clove, **Reishi, **Spiceberries, *Nutmeg, *Fennel, *Orange Oil, Celtic Sea Salt (* = Organic, and ** = Organic and Wildcrafted)

Allergen-related information: No information listed.

*And I loved that "zero added sugars" actually meant no sugars and no artificial sweeteners. Instead, sweet-tasting herbs and botanicals (like yacon, maca, cinnamon, licorice, vanilla, etc.) supplied the "sweetness".

Gnosis Chocolate - Salted Caramel Filled Raw Chocolate Bar - May 20, 2024

Chocolate of The Day

Gnosis Chocolate 
Salted Caramel Filled Raw Chocolate Bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 193 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $14.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Gnosis Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Dates Theme Week(s).

Today's Salted Caramel Filled Raw Chocolate Bar was from Gnosis Chocolate (Astoria, NY).

Aroma notes behind this thoughtfully crafted bar included: dark chocolate, very faint fruit (date), and very faint caramel and botanicals.

Texture: smooth (dark chocolate and velvety caramel), yet it was also slightly granular. 

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate and caramel with very faint nut and slightly sweet botanicals (consistent with maca, lucuma).

The sweetness level was relatively high; but it was less than most caramel filled chocolates. And it had less of a sugar buzz. (Thank you!) The salt was very subtle.

Ingredients: "raw cacao beans*, medjool dates*, raw cashews*, virgin coconut oil*, coconut sugar*, raw blue agave*, lucuma*, Balinese pyramid salt, maca root*, Love (* - organic)"

Allergen-related information: (contains cashews; coconut (oil, sugar))

Remedy Organics - Cacao Essentials 14 g. Protein (beverage) - Sept. 23, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Remedy Organics

Cacao Essentials 14 G. Protein (beverage)

Good - Good +

Weight: 12 fl. oz. (355 mL) in 1 bottle

Calories: 200 calories in 1 bottle

Cost: $4.32 for 1 bottle

Purchased from: CVS Pharmacy, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate Breakfast Theme Week.

Today's Cacao Essentials "protein-based wellness shake" was from Remedy Organics (Englewood Cliffs, NJ); and it was a great way to start the day. It was relatively light but with a rich natural taste. And it contained enough protein to stave off hunger until lunch.

Aroma notes for this vegan beverage with 14 grams of protein included plant (nut and seed, fresh green peas) and chocolate (pudding, custard).

The texture was relatively smooth (almost velvety) for a high-protein beverage. Protein drinks often have a grainy taste or mouthfeel. There was a very slight granular, astringency in the finish, but it was not bothersome.

The flavors tasted fresh and authentic, and similar to the aroma, with plant (nut and seed) and chocolate pudding notes. 

This offering (and other Remedy shakes and shots), developed by holistic nutritionist Cindy Kasindorf,  exemplify changes in public preferences and how protein "health" bars and beverages have evolved in the last few decades. 

Today's organic protein drink was made without refined sugar, gluten, dairy or artificial colors or ingredients. It was 100% plant-based (vegan). (It did contain vegetable gums, which are used as thickeners and stabilizers.) And it wasn't too sweet (thank you).

Ingredients: Organic almond milk (water, organic almonds), organic pea protein, organic coconut sugar, organic cocoa powder, organic hemp seeds, organic dates, organic natural flavor, organic acacia fiber, organic cinnamon, organic sunflower lecithin, vitamin blend (calcium derived from seaweed, vitamin A, vitamin D2), gellan gum, organic maca, organic ashwagandha, guar gum, sea salt, organic stevia powder, organic prebiotic fiber (derived from tapioca).

Allergen-related information: "Contains tree nuts." (Made without gluten or dairy ingredients.)

Anthony's - Organic Superfood Smoothie Mix - Chocolate Flavor - Apr. 19, 2021

Chocolate of the Day 

Anthony's

Organic Superfood Smoothie Mix (Chocolate Flavor)

Good 

Weight: .848 oz. (24 g.) / 8 oz. (227 g.) in total package of mix

Calories: 110 calories in 1 serving (3 TB) (+ milk)

Cost: $7.99 for 1 package

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

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and RSTU Theme Week, featuring items with origins or flavor inclusions that begin with the letters R, S, T and/or U.

Today's Chocolate Flavor Organic Superfood Smoothie Mix was from Anthony's Goods (Glendale, CA). 

The aroma of the dry mix had light cocoa, and faint, pleasant vegetable root/tuber (tigernut, maca) and celery notes.

This gluten-free, vegan smoothie mix tasted refreshingly un-sugared.* It did contain some coconut sugar, but did not taste sweet. 

The powder was shaken and stirred with a variety of liquids. (Coconut milk or frozen fruits and water, are good choices that provide a little touch of natural sweetness.) If you're not vegan, organic, dairy milk works too. 

Smoothie tip: If you're not using an electric blender, you might let the smoothie rest in the refrigerator for a few hours (or longer) before drinking. This allows the chia seeds (number one ingredient) to more fully absorb the liquid, to maximize smoothness in the mouthfeel.

Ingredients: Organic chia seed, organic coconut sugar, organic tigernut, organic cocoa, organic flaxseed, organic black maca

Elmhurst - Cacao Oat Latte + Mocha, Maca, Mushroom Latte - Mar. 11, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Elmhurst Milked, LLC

Oat Latte with Cacao

Good

Weight: 3 fl. oz. (88.7 g.) / 12 fl. oz. (355 mL) in total bottle

Calories: 52.5 calories in 1/4 bottle 

Cost: $ missing information

Purchased from: missing information 

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and JKLM Theme Week, featuring chocolate items with flavors and/or origins that begin with the letters J, K, L and/or M.

Today's Oat Latte (with) Cacao was from Elmhurst Milked, LLC (Elma, NY). The company offers plant-based milks with no added "fillers, gums or additives."

 

Today's Oat Latte possessed a rich mocha aroma--smooth but robust (flash brew Arabica) coffee and dark chocolate syrup notes with rich texture and flavor. (It was also not as sweet as the aroma seemed to indicate, which was to my liking.) This brew had a lush, oat-milk enabled liquid velvet mouthfeel. And there were no added gums or emulsifiers in this vegan, dairy-free drink. (thank you!).

Maca, Mocha, Lucuma, Mushroom Latte 

Just for fun, I also mixed a little bit of this beverage with an Essential Living Foods Maca, Lacuma and Mushroom powdered mix. The dry blend had faint caramel and light vanilla angel food cake notes that brightened up and complemented the darker coffee and cacao in today's Cacao Oat Latte beverage. A few too many flavors; but it was fun to try.

Ingredients: oatmilk (water, oats), flash-brew coffee (water, Arabica coffee), hemp cream (water, hemp seeds), cane sugar, cacao powder, natural flavors.

Chamisa Chocolate - Oat Milk Maca Breakfast Bar - Jan. 24, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Chamisa Chocolate
Oat Milk and Maca Breakfast Bar
Good ++
Weight: 2 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 310 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $N/A for 1 bar
Purchased from: N/A - sample from Chamisa Chocolate - thank you

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

Today's Oat Milk and Maca Breakfast Bar was crafted by Amanda Hatherly at Chamisa Chocolate (Santa Fe, NM), a micro-batch chocolate maker.

I sometimes eat oatmeal for breakfast; but, today's Chamisa prototype Breakfast Bar was a delicious, elevated chocolate + oat a.m. entree. (For the broad-minded, this bar would also be perfectly enjoyable as a lunch/picnic/hike or dinner dessert.)

This Breakfast Bar had a rich, oaty aroma, from oat milk and a sprinkling (and incorporation) of whole oat pieces, and layers of flavor from whole raisins, pumpkin seeds and pieces of almond. It was sweet without being overly so (thank you!). 

Maca* root (powder) provided light sweetness, along with faint earthy and nutty notes.

Ingredients: cocoa beans, cocoa butter, oat milk, organic sugar, raisins, maca, pumpkin seeds, almonds. (Guess: Maybe a tiny dash of cinnamon?)

*Maca (Lepidium meyenii) root resembles a large, tuberous radish; and it has become a popular health food and flavor inclusion in recent years. Usually found in powdered form, this edible plant's origins are in the highlands of Peru/South America. It has been harvested there by native Peruvians for millennia, and used as a medicinal plant. (Maca has also been called "Peruvian ginseng.") 

Maca aroma and flavor observations range from butterscotch, caramel and malt to earthy and nutty.

Pascha - Organic Dark Chocolate Maca bar - Jan. 18, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Pascha Chocolate Company
Organic Dark Chocolate Maca bar
Good
Weight: 1.17 oz. (33.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 190? calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $4.29 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Alternative Sweetener Theme Week.

This bar was made in Peru for Pascha Chocolate Company (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). Pascha uses Organic Cane Sugar in their bars, but also uses alternative, plant-based sweeteners and inclusions.

The packaging on this bar described maca as "a nutrient dense root vegetable from the Andes. It adds a slightly (non dairy) creamy texture and is blended with a 60% dark chocolate."

Unlike yesterday's Pascha bar with lucuma (a naturally sweet plant from South America with a caramel flavor note), this bar was less about replacing cane sugar and more about adding a slightly sweet and creamy flavor and texture to the chocolate.

The aroma of this Pascha bar was a little different with a hint of a sweet vegetable smell. The taste was sweet, smooth and pleasant.

The sweeter taste to today's bar base was likely also due to 60% Cacao. Yesterday's Pascha dark chocolate bar with lucuma was made with 70% Cacao.

Both Pascha bars were organic, vegan, Non GMO Project verified, and free from major allergens: peanuts, nuts, dairy, soy, eggs, wheat and gluten.

Santosha Chocolate - Cinnamon, Cayenne and Maca bar - Dec. 31, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Raw Shakti Chocolate LLC
Santosha Chocolate
Cinnamon, Cayenne and Maca bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (29 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 130 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome was Day #10 of Chocolate, Smoke and Fire Theme Week—and the last day of 2015. Happy New Year's Eve to all!

A heart on fire was emblazoned across the packaging for today's Santosha Cinnamon, Cayenne and Maca bar from Raw Shakti Chocolate LLC (Asheville, NC). This festive red seemed appropriate for celebrating 2015, and greeting a new year of chocolate in 2016. Out with the old; and in with the new in a blaze of glory!

This raw 70% (Peruvian, stone-ground) cacao chocolate bar with a kick was Organic and "Non-GMO, Vegan, Low-Glycemic*, Gluten Free, Nut Free, Soy Free."

Sweetened with coconut palm sugar*, today's Santosha bar had an authentic, slightly sweet aroma and flavor—with the maca (think butterscotch) it was reminiscent of graham cracker—without a hard processed/white sugar buzz*. Cinnamon increased the overall warmth. And cayenne pepper provided a sizzle of heat toward the end of each bite.

*Overall the number of calories (or potential/stored energy) is similar for most sugars. However, Coconut Palm Sugar (made from sweet sap gathered high up in coconut palm trees) has scored lower on the glycemic index (GI) than white cane/beet or "table" sugar, in part because it contains more sucrose and less fructose. 

It's thought that this lower GI score (of about 35 vs. about 50 for table sugar) results in a lower spike in blood glucose or blood sugar. I have noticed this phenomenon myself with some raw and semi-processed chocolates made with coconut palm sugar. But, with something as complex as chocolate, it's difficult to tell how various substances might be interacting to create a "buzzed" feeling.

The content and images in this post belong to ChocolateBanquet.com.

Stirs the Soul - Maca Chocolate bar - Feb. 28, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Stirs the Soul
Maca Chocolate bar
Good
Weight: .33 oz. (9.3 g.) / 1 oz. (28 g.) in total bar
Calories: 50 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was the final day (Day #7) of Chocolate and Maca Theme Week.

The chocolate-maker(s) at Stirs the Soul (Portland, OR) pride themselves on "Conscious Raw" bean-to-bar* chocolate. This Maca bar was crafted with "fairly traded, sustainably grown and allergy compassionate" cacao, added cocoa butter (for a more silken melt and mouthfeel), and lightly sweetened with coconut palm sugar.

Raw chocolate made and sweetened this way lacks the hard sugar buzz of conventional, commercial chocolate. While it may lack some of the roasted and fruity notes (depending on the beans used) found in some other bean-to-bar craft chocolate (made with roasted beans), it also may have a smoother flavor for some.

This bar was made and packaged in a dairy, egg, peanut, tree-nut (except coconut), soy and gluten-free facility.

*The company stone-grinds their own cocoa beans, and chocolate is made keeping temperatures below 111 degrees Farenheit (43.8 degrees Celsius). 

Pascha - 55% Cacao with Goldenberries bar - Feb. 27, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Pascha Chocolate Company
55% Cacao with Goldenberries bar
Good
Weight: 1.17 oz. (33.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 185 (estimate) calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $3.99 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Maca is from South America, and today I stuck with an Andean theme by pairing a 55% Cacao with Goldenberries bar from Pascha Chocolate Company (Toronto, Canada) with maca powder.

The sweet, organic bar base (a product of Peru, made for Pascha) was a good complement for the sprinkle of golden berries (think of a cross between golden raisins and a tart berry) that were on the back of this dark bar.

I also blended melted shavings from this bar (without berries) with a small spoonful of TerrAmazon organic maca powder and hazelnut "milk" to make my own version of organic, maca chocolate milk.

A small amount of maca will do. The powder was a warm beige color, and had a very subtle maple-sweetness (some say butterscotch) with a very slight radish/parsnip aroma. The nuttiness in the hazelnut milk rounded this out nicely. The combination made an interesting slightly fruity, nutty, earthy and rich chocolatey drink. Add a scoop of organic vanilla ice cream in a blender, and a little fresh nutmeg, and you'd have an interesting milkshake.

The Pascha bar was Organic and Non-GMO certified, Kosher, and "free from peanuts, nuts, dairy, soy, eggs, wheat and gluten."

Gaia Herbs - Maca Boost smoothie - Feb. 26, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Gaia Herbs
Maca Boost
Good
Weight: .125 oz. (3.5 g.) / .25 oz. (7 g.) in total packet
Calories: 13 calories in 1/2 packet
Cost: $1.29 for 1 packet
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Maca Theme Week.

I used this Maca Boost powder from Gaia Herbs (Brevard, NC) in a blueberry, strawberry, kale and coconut milk smoothie. It doesn't have to be this complicated. A bit of this powder in your chocolate milkshake or simple chocolate smoothie would probably be just fine as well.

This organic, unsweetened Maca Boost powder contained cacao, Peruvian maca root, ginger and rhodiola*.

*Golden Root or Rhodiola rosea is a flowering plant that grows in the Arctic and colder regions of Europe and Russia that is used by some as a "tonic herb."

Sequel Naturals - Vega Maca chocolate bar - Feb. 25, 2015

Chocolate of the Day:

Sequel Naturals Ltd.
Vega - Organic Maca Chocolate bar
Good
Weight: .7 oz. (20 g.) / 1.4 oz. (40 g.) in total bar
Calories: 107.5 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $2.09 for 1/2 bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Maca Theme Week.

This gluten-free dark chocolate bar was a blend of organic 70% cocoa and Vega maca.

Distributed by Sequel Naturals Ltd. (Burnaby, BC, Canada), the bar had a subtle chocolate aroma, was sleek and shiny, lightly sweetened, and had a pleasant maca butterscotch-maple flavor and a very faint coffee note. (There was no coffee in this bar).

A bit of added cocoa butter gave the bar a relatively smooth melt.

This Vega bar was also certified vegan, organic and Non-GMO.

Lulu's Chocolate - Maca Buttercups - Feb. 24, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Lulu's Chocolate
Maca Buttercups
Good
Weight: 1.3 oz. (37 g.) in 1 package of 2 cups
Calories: 192 calories in 2 cups
Cost: $5.59 for 1 package of 2 cups
Purchased from: Country Sun

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

One of the best things about these Maca Buttercups from Lulu's Chocolate (Sedona, AZ) -- was the filling.

Maca powder was incorporated into a base of sprouted, ground almond butter, and judiciously sweetened with coconut palm sugar -- a great, lower glycemic sweetener. (It's pleasantly sweet, without the hard buzz of processed sugar.)

Covered in raw chocolate, these cups were vegan, soy-free, fair trade and gluten-free.

Earthsource Maca bite; Pacari bar - Feb. 23, 2015

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Earthsource Organics
Maca - Cacao and Maca, Bite Size
OK
Weight: .26 oz. (7.4 g.) / 35 oz. (9.9 g.) (estimate) in 1 piece
Calories: 39 calories (estimate) in 3/4 piece
Cost: $1.29 for 1 individually wrapped piece
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Maca Theme Week.

My first pick for the day was the individually-wrapped, bite-sized "Righteously Raw" Maca square from Earthsource Organics (San Diego, CA). Certified Organic and Non-GMO, this chocolate contained cocoa butter, maca powder, mesquite powder, vanilla bean powder and salt... but no cocoa solids, from what I could tell. Since I only "count" items that also contain cocoa solids for my Chocolate of the Day, I added a second chocolate, from Pacari Chocolate (Quito, Ecuador).

Pacari Chocolate
Raw Sea Salt and Nibs 70% Cacao bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) piece / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) total bar
Calories: 75 calories (estimate) for .5 oz. (14.1 g.) piece
Cost: N/A - sample
Purchased from: N/A - sample

Ecuadorian cacao can have wonderful floral flavor notes. I especially like Pacari Raw (and roasted) bars for this flavor. Pacari claims they are the first company to make chocolate from tree to bar, in Ecuador. (Most cacao is grown in one country and the fermented beans or liquor (mass) is shipped to another country for manufacturing.) Making chocolate "in country" offers more control over the process, and development/preservation of certain flavors.

Floral flavors are not for everyone, and also can be fairly volatile, i.e. easily lost as cacao is being processed, heated, and made into bars. Today's Raw Sea Salt and Nibs 70% Cacao bar was smooth and flavorful with lovely floral notes intact. This organic, kosher and gluten free bar was a World Chocolate Awards 2012 Silver winner.

Pacari offers a series of bars and chocolate items, made with raw, and some with roasted cacao (almost exclusively from Ecuador*). I would have written about the Pacari 70% Raw cacao bar with Maca -- for Maca theme week this week -- but I already featured this Maca bar last year.


*Pacari has/had one bar made with cacao beans from next door neighbor Peru, and the company incorporates Cuzco salt, Maca and other ingredients from the larger Andean region in their Andean flavors collection.

ChocolaTree - Maca Maca - Feb. 22, 2015

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

ChocolaTree

Maca Maca
Good+
Weight: .7 oz. (19.8 g.) (estimate) for 2 pieces
Calories: 112 calories (estimate) in 2 pieces
Cost: $4.44 for 2 pieces
Purchased from: ChocolaTree, Sedona, AZ

Today was Day #1 of Chocolate and Maca Theme Week.

What is Maca?
Maca is a from a plant (Lepidium meyenii), from the Andes in Peru, that has been cultivated as a vegetable crop for thousands of years. It looks (and smells) a bit like a large butterscotch radish. It's also known as "Peruvian Ginseng," and is used medicinally. The slightly nutty, sweet flavor lends itself well to desserts and in combination with chocolates.

I've found enough chocolate items that contain maca lately that I'm devoting a theme week to it.

The ChocolaTree cafe and marketplace ("organic oasis") (Sedona, AZ) offered several chocolates on-site, including some that contained maca, honey, lucuma, mushrooms, and other "health foods." Most intriguing was the "The Chocolate Room" door that we passed on the way to the backyard patio. I knew I must be in the right place.

ChocolaTree's Maca Maca, a faceted dome-shaped chocolate -- was filled with golden creamy filling and the soft nutty texture and flavor of a macadamia nut (the other "maca" in Maca Maca). This sunny center was lightly sweetened with honey, and contained a hint of vanilla.

I also enjoyed sampling two other ChocolaTree chocolates: a Caramel Macchiato (with chocolate, honey, coffee and lucuma); and a "Treasure" chocolate that contained mushrooms. Perhaps I'll get the opportunity to go back and taste more of these chocolates in the future.

ChocolaTree chocolates are made using raw chocolate, and without processed sugar. From what I could see, all of the items in the cafe and chocolates were gluten free. Heaven for me.

Pacari - Raw Maca (bar) - July 15, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Pacari
Raw Maca (bar) - 70% cacao
Good++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) total bar
Calories: 300 calories (estimate per label) in 1 bar
Cost: $ N/A - gift
Purchased from: N/A - gift

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate Surprise Theme Week.

What's surprising about today's chocolate? Sometimes the ingredients of a bar are themselves unique or unusual, like today's Raw Maca (bar) from Pacari Chocolate (Quito, Ecuador), made from 70% Ecuadorian Arriba Nacional cacao and maca.

What is maca? This radish relative, with a butterscotch-like aroma, is a tuber native to South America that has been cultivated for its medicinal properties for several centuries. It's also been called "Peruvian Gingeng." Maca is considered a "superfood" by some and has been recently marketed as a way to help balance hormones and increase energy. I don't know about all that, but it gave this chocolate a pleasant slightly sweet, almost earthy flavor, and was surprisingly good.

Pacari Chocolate crafts bars and other chocolates (raw and roasted) from Ecuadorian organic (and kosher) chocolate, and often includes anti-oxidant rich, local/regional ingredients such as Andean blueberries, salt and maca.

Lemon Ginger Immunity bar - July 11, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Good Superfood LLC
Lemon Ginger Immunity (bar)
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) piece / 1.5 oz. (43 g.) total bar
Calories: 146 calories in 1 oz. (28.3 g.) serving
Cost: $5.39 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

I'm partial to chocolate bars made with fewer than five ingredients. However, I am interested in trying chocolates with a health/nutrition focus -- where cacao quality is high (and extra ingredients don't include preservatives, fillers, artificial flavors). I'm not sure I benefit directly from extra plant foods in my chocolate, but extra anti-oxidants probably don't hurt.

Today's Lemon Ginger Immunity 72% dark cacao bar from Good Superfood LLC (Boise, ID) fits in this health and nutrition category. Raw, single origin Ecuadorian cacao was mixed with 16 "superfood" substances, including Peruvian lucuma and maca, and Brazilian Cupuacu, African Baobab, Madagascar Vanilla, and "170 million-year old Jurassic Sea Salt." I couldn't taste any of these exotic items. However, bits of crystallized ginger imparted a pleasant flavor, as did the lemon zest.

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

ChocolateBet: February 23, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Yes Cacao

1.) Om Mama bar
Good +
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 218 calories
Cost: $5.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Yes Cacao (Justin Frank Polgar)

1.) Karamellowl bar
Good+
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 184 calories
Cost: $5.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Yes Cacao (Justin Frank Polgar)


Today was Day #2 of Chocolate Surprise Theme Week.

These two bars were made in California by Yes Cacao. Each was infused with an interesting and, yes, surprising, mixture of herbs, seeds, organic and "wild-crafted" ingredients, honed down to a fine particle size elixir. So you won't be crunching down on any identifiable pieces of leaves or seeds. Lower levels of sweetener allowed me to more easily taste the flavors, although I was hard-pressed to guess what was in the mix until I read the labels. Lacuma, maca, yacon, and much more.

I liked the 1.1 oz (31 g.) bar size, and the design. The mold used for these bars created an open space with a border around it -- plenty of room to fill in your own chocolate story or wish.

The Om Mama bar was crafted with Chinese herbs, lemon oil and poppy seed, and many other ingredients, creating a "raw, vegan, organic elixir" that was designed to balance hormones to bring "peace of body, mind, and soul" for women and men. It had a very slight bitter taste to it, and an array of other interesting flavor notes.

"Formulated to quicken recall memory and bring into focus our peripheral vision, the Karamellowl bar is Yes Cacao’s first 'white chocolate' bar." The dark golden color, comes from turmeric -- and maybe the Lion's Mane mushrooms, the cinnamon and/or the sage.

For more about these and other bars, go to Yes Cacao. Custom formulations may also be available.

ChocolateBet: May 6, 2011

Chocolate of the Day:
1 bar
Lulu's Chocolate
Maca Green Bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.)
Calories: 147 calories (estimate)
Cost: N/A
Purchased from: N/A - Lulu's booth at San Francisco International Chocolate Salon

Today was Day #6 of Organic Chocolate Theme Week. Lulu's raw, organic (55% cacao) Maca Green Bar was made with certified Ecuadorian cocoa butter, maca, coconut palm sugar, cacao nibs, spirulina, mesquite, vanilla and sea salt. The result: an attractively stamped dark bar with interesting, complex taste and crunchy texture.