Monkey Brittle - Coconut, Cacao, Bananas & Sea Salt (pieces) - Aug. 11, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Huggins Family Farms

Monkey Brittle - Coconut, Cacao, Bananas, Sea Salt 

Good ++ 
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total package 
Calories: 120 calories in 1/2 package 
Cost: $5.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Farm Fresh, online order 

Welcome to Day #15 of Chocolate, Berries & Cherries Theme Week.

What is a banana + cacao offering doing in a chocolate, berry and cherry themed week? Believe it or not, bananas are, technically, berries.

Today's "Monkey Brittle" with coconut, cacao, bananas and nuts was from Huggins Family Farms (Hood River, OR).

Aroma notes included: fruity (banana bread), nutty and light cocoa and coconut.

Texture: unique and very light-weight, thin crunchy cookie-like brittle. Think banana-bread-nut brownie wafers.

Flavor notes for these wafer-thin brittle pieces included: light cocoa, banana nut bread and subtle coconut.

I was surprised and delighted by the complexity ?? lightness? suitable as a quick meal (breakfast on the go) or a portable snack for a walk/hike... short list of authentic and organic ingredients (with no gums, preservatives or "natural flavors").

Maker's notes? "Coconuts, Cacao, Bananas, Nuts, Raisins, Sea Salt...& Absolutely Nothing Else."

Ingredients: "Organic Bananas, Organic Tree Nuts (Almonds, Walnuts), Organic Raisins, Organic Coconut, Organic Cocoa, Sea Salt"

Allergen-related information: Contains Tree Nuts (Almonds, Walnuts), Coconuts.

Mayana Chocolate - Monkey Bar Mini - Banana Rum Caramel, Vanilla Bean 66% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Sept. 25, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Mayana Chocolate
Monkey Bar Mini - Banana Rum Caramel, Vanilla Bean 66% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.45 g.) in total bar
Calories: 250 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Spanish Table, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Banana Theme Week.

Today's Monkey Bar Mini was handcrafted by those at Mayana Chocolate in Spooner, Wisconsin.

The bar-shaped confection was a total sugar bomb (with at least three types of sugar), but it was a very nicely flavored one.

At the heart of this sweet thing was a foundation layer of authentic banana caramel with a faint hint of butter rum flavor.* This layer was topped by a layer of light as a feather vanilla marshmallow. And this sweet stack was covered in 66% dark chocolate, and festively sprinkled with what might have been...more sugar.

*This flavor was conjured with banana-rum liqueur according to the ingredients list.

Coco Nutties - August 20, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Wonder Food Co.
Coco Keeno - Coco Nutties
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total package
Calories: 170 calories in 1/2 package
Cost: $3.75 in 1 package
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

I like chocolate, nuts, and monkeys. So, I was drawn to today's Organic "Coco Nutties" -- roasted almonds covered in dark chocolate from Wonder Food Co. (Palm Desert, CA). The packaging was adorned with an illustrated golden lion tamarin monkey.

These Coco Nutties were part of the Wonder Food's Coco Keeno line of chocolates. (A loose translation of cocoa and quinoa, Coco and Keeno are also the names of the company's monkey mascots. Their real world (monkey) counterparts are South American rainforest canopy dwellers.) The company specializes in treats made with (or covered in) "organic cocoa from the rainforest."

The 70% dark chocolate coating enveloping the almonds was rich and complex in natural, undiluted/unadulterated flavor (which I liked); although the overall product seemed quite sweet. (Organic sugar was the first ingredient listed.) The roasted almond center(s), were nicely done, and crunchy.

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

ChocolateBet: June 18, 2010

Chocolate of the Day (and other fun):
1 cup
Gelateria Naia
1.) Numi Chocolate Puerh - Very Good
2.) Banana - Good + - Very Good
Weight: 4 oz. (113 g.) (estimate) in 1 small cup with 2 flavors
Calories: 250 calories (estimate)
Cost: $3.75 for 1 cup with 2 flavors
Purchased from: Gelateria Naia, in San Francisco, CA


Today (Day #8 of Chocolate and Monkey Theme Week), I enjoyed chocolate and monkey items from the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco, CA.

The gorilla figure perched on the tray of banana gelato caught my eye. I tried this banana gelato with the Numi Chocolate Puerh (chocolate tea flavor), in a cup. The Numi tea inspired flavor (also the flavor of the week) had a little bit of chocolate, and a hint of nutmeg if I'm not mistaken. Thank you to the staff at Naia.


Z. Cioccolato & Arata Gallery, North Beach
To send off chocolate and monkey week in style, I had stopped at Z. Cioccolato earlier.  They've carried "flying (stuffed animal) monkeys" in the past; and they even have a monkey "target" on one wall. So I was hopeful they might have a chocolate monkey. No luck. However,  I found tins of coconut-flavored, and also banana-flavored monkey mints there (pictured). They had plenty of chocolate items to pair with these mints. (Be alert for the smell of freshly popped caramel popcorn as you walk down Columbus, and you'll find this store.)

A few doors down, was the Arata Fine Art Gallery and Studio. The Gallery owners don't carry chocolates, but they did have a painting of Z. Cioccolato's storefront. So, with permission from the artist (Arata), I'm including an image of this painting of a North Beach chocolate favorite.

Pigs Love Chocolate Too
Last, but not least, I paid a visit to a local county fair, where there were monkey and banana images galore (think over-stuffed toys/prizes). I was too full to eat anymore chocolate (and this blog post is now too full for more monkey pictures). But I did enjoy watching the pig races. According to their handler, the winning pig's reward at the finish line was a single Oreo (chocolate sandwich) cookie. Go, pigs, go.

ChocolateBet: June 16, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:

1 milkshake
The Chocolate Cow
1/2 banana walnut (light - 93% fat free) gelato + 1/2 dark chocolate gelato milkshake
Very Good
Weight: 12 oz. (339 g.) cup milkshake
Calories: 700 calories (estimate)
Cost: $7.95 (estimate)
Purchased from: The Chocolate Cow, in Sonoma, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Monkey Theme Week. Once again I was far from home, and needed to improvise. Fortunately, I found The Chocolate Cow -- a nice little business in the historic downtown area of Sonoma, CA. And in this shop, they had all things cow + chocolate. It was great fun to look around. It was also a warm day, and so a chocolate monkey-like gelato milkshake hit the spot. Lemurs are kind of related to monkeys, aren't they?

ChocolateBet: June 15, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
McDonalds (+ Safeway)
Reese's McFlurry + toppings (fresh banana and fruit flavored monkey pieces)
Good - Good +
Weight: 7.1 oz. (202 g.) for McFlurry; + 4 oz. fresh banana; + .45 oz. (13 g.) for 1/2 pouch Curious George fruit-flavored snack pieces
Calories: 410 calories for 1 snack size Reese's McFlurry + 150 calories for toppings
Cost: $1.79 (McFlurry) + toppings
Purchased from: McDonalds in Sonoma, CA; and Safeway in Sonoma, CA

Day #5 of Chocolate and Monkey Theme Week resulted in an out-of-town chocolate monkey hunt. I was walking in the North Bay a few hours from home (http://walkingthebay.blogspot.com), and I tried to assemble a chocolate monkey type drink from ingredients I could buy in Sonoma, CA.

I tried a small liquor store first; but, they had no bananas or monkeys. So, I bought a McDonald's snack-size Reeses McFlurry and added my own monkey-related toppings -- a small fresh banana, and Curious George (the monkey) themed fruit flavored snack pieces -- monkey faces, monkey figure, a cluster of bananas (bright-colored, blob-like shapes shown at right).

Yes, this melange was a bit of a stretch; but it did have most of the elements of a chocolate monkey drink (ice cream, chocolate, bananas, etc.), without the alcohol. If I could have toned down the amount of sugar a bit more, that would have been nice.

ChocolateBet: June 14, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1/4 bar
Rainforest Cafe - Pure Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .5 oz (14.6 g.)/ 2 oz. (57 g.) total bar
Calories: 72 calories (estimate) in 1/4 bar
Cost: $2.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Rainforest Cafe, in San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Monkey Theme Week. Today's chocolate choice was a dark chocolate bar from the Rainforest Cafe gift shop, in San Francisco, CA. The monkey tie-in was the label art. A very happy and muscular cartoon ape appeared on the dark bar wrapper. The bar itself was smooth and rich, albeit a tad sweet for me.

The same day I purchased this item in the gift shop, I looked at the Cafe menu to see what chocolate desserts they were offering in the restaurant. The sparkling volcano dessert (with chocolate sauce and sparkler on top) looked fun.
http://www.rainforestcafe.com/menu.asp
Unfortunately, the chocolate cake dessert contained flour/wheat. That's OK. It was fun to take a peek inside at the rainforest ambience.

ChocolateBet: November 12, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Jungle Grub
Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Snack Bar(s)
Good + - Very Good
Weight: o.88 oz. (25 g.) in 1 bar/4.4 oz. (125 g.) total pkg.
Calories: 100 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.49 total - for box of 5 bars
Purchased from: Sprouts, in Glendale, Arizona

This gluten-free, organic snack bar was fairly tasty. The picture of the monkey* + small bar size (100 calories) enabled me to justify eating this - despite being full already. Also, the "cookie dough" flavor was a reasonable facsimile of dough I remember sampling before I gave up wheat/gluten.

*Yes, I am a monkey liker.