Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate - Seasonal Release Winter Wilderness 65% Belize Dark Chocolate (bar) - June 23, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate
Seasonal Release Winter Wilderness 65% Belize Dark Chocolate (bar) 
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order 

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate & Earth, Mountains, Forests and Gardens Theme Week. This week's Earth theme embraces mountains and forests of all types--from tropical cacao rain forest farms to pine and redwood forests.

Today's Winter Wilderness 65% Belize Dark Chocolate (bar) was crafted by Dick Taylor Craft Chocolate (in Eureka, CA-- a Northern California city often considered a "gateway" to nearby redwood groves/forests*).

Aroma and flavor notes included: smooth dark chocolate, refreshing rosemary (sweet pine-y menthol), faint citrus, mint and other "tree" notes (maple, sweet pine/fir). There was also an almost ginger-like zing in the first bite or so (as my brain sorted out the flavors). 

This tree-forward blend, sweetened with maple sugar, successfully conjured up a brisk walk in the woods on a cool, crisp fall day with pine-scented fresh air. Originally designed as a Seasonal Release for the winter holidays, this chocolate could be enjoyed in any season.

Texture: smooth with an even and satisfying melt

I enjoyed this seasonal bar. Authentic rosemary blended with the maple, peppermint, citrus and fir tree; and the fun lingered into a long, happy finish. It was like a walk through an aromatic forest in the northern woods.

Ingredients: Cacao*, Cane Sugar*, Cocoa Butter*, Maple Sugar, Orange Oil, Peppermint Oil, Siberian Fir Oil (*Organic) Cacao Solids: 65% minimum.

Allergen-related information: "Processed on shared equipment with milk, tree nuts, wheat and peanuts."

*The local Eureka zoo even includes an elevated redwood tree walkway--touted to be the longest such walkway in the Western U.S.

Intrigue Chocolate - Rosemary, Blackberry Honey, Alderwood Smoked Sea Salt (bar) - Oct. 31, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Intrigue Chocolate
Rosemary, Blackberry Honey, Alderwood Smoked Sea Salt (bar) 
Good ++
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35.5 g.) / 2.5 oz. (71 g.) in total bar
Calories: 194 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar + shipping
Purchased from: Intrigue Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and the Mint Family Theme Week. Most chocolates with mint contain peppermint oil/flavoring. This week also features bars and confections with mint family members such as  yerba buena, basil, lavender, and rosemary.

Happy Halloween to all those who celebrate this (pumpkin- and chocolate-fueled )holiday. 

Today's Rosemary, Blackberry Honey, Alderwood Smoked Sea Salt (bar) was from Intrigue Chocolate Co. (Seattle, WA). 

Aroma and flavor notes included: dark chocolate (dark ganache, honey); faint berry (ripe blackberry); and faint rosemary. The salt was very subtle.

Texture: smooth dark chocolate

I enjoyed trying this flavor combination. The rosemary was present without being too strong; it contributed a light, refreshing, pine-y, mint flavor that meshed well with a little salt. Throw in some faint blackberry and honey, and you've captured many flavor memories I have of the Pacific Northwest/Seattle area.

Maker's description: "Rosemary, Blackberry Honey, and Alderwood Smoked Sea Salt is a campfire get-together by the ocean."

Ingredients: "Chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin [emulsifier], natural vanilla flavoring), honey, rosemary, smoked salt" 

Allergen-related information: "Processed in a facility with milk, soy and nuts."   

Kasama Chocolate - "Forest & Sea" - Special Release 65% Dark Chocolate with Rosemary and Sea Salt (bar) - Aug. 31, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Kasama Chocolate
Forest & Sea - Special Release 65% Dark Chocolate with Rosemary and Sea Salt (bar)
Good +++
Weight: .97 oz. (27.5 g.) / 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160.5 calories in 1/2 bar 
Cost: $14.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Greetings, and welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and The Sea Theme Week.

Today's "Forest & Sea" - Special Release (Batch 14) 65% Dark Chocolate with Rosemary and Sea Salt (bar) was from Kasama Chocolate (Vancouver, BC, Canada). 

This bean-to-bar maker offers a variety of single origin chocolates (many made with cacao from the Philippines); some have flavor inclusions/infusions.

I was excited to experience this chocolate that was inspired by forests and the sea--two of my favorite places to be.

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate and sweet herbal, clean piney forest (rosemary).

Texture: I could barely feel the tiny bits of rosemary sea salt in the smooth dark chocolate; but I could taste them.

Flavor notes included: smooth, flavorful dark chocolate, redolent rosemary, and satisfying crystalline flecks of sea salt. This bar also had a wonderful, subtle long finish, with diminishing fresh, fragrant rosemary. That attenuation allowed space for some faint, fleeting, fruit/floral to come to the fore.

The sugar and salt levels felt just right. 

I really enjoyed this outdoors-inspired blend. I live near pine trees and palm trees, near the brackish San Francisco Bay and Pacific Ocean, and grow heaps of rosemary in my yard. So this well-executed Forest & Sea chocolate bar made me feel deeply at home.

Ingredients: Cacao Beans, Unrefined Cane Sugar*, Cacao Butter*, Rosemary*, Sea Salt (* = Organic)

Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility that contains nuts."

Bearclaw Kitchen - Mt. Rosemary Trail Mix - Mar. 4, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Bearclaw Kitchen 
Mt. Rosemary Trail Mix 
Good ++ 
Weight: 2 oz. (57 g.) in total package
Calories: 310 calories in 1 package 
Cost: $3.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: FarmFresh, online order

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Outdoors Theme Week.

Today's Mt. Rosemary Trail Mix was from Bearclaw Kitchen (Los Angeles, CA). 

The company was founded by a "pastry chef with a big appetite" who urges us to "Please Devour and Claw On."

Aroma notes for this trail mix included: herb (rosemary); spice (ginger); seeds and nuts; diffuse (dried) fruit; and very faint chocolate.

This rich textural blend included crunchy, softly crunchy, chewy (coconut, dried fruit) and smooth (chocolate chips) elements.

Flavor notes were similar to the aroma notes (rosemary, ginger, seeds, nuts), but with more pronounced coconut, nut and dark chocolate.

I liked the aromatic and flavorful rosemary glazed cashews, and ginger. These flavors harmonized well and elevated this trail mix.

Ingredients: Pumpkin Seeds, Rosemary-Candied Cashews (Cashews, Sugar, Rosemary), Salted Almonds (Almonds, Salt), Dried Cranberries (Cranberries, Sugar, Sunflower Oil), Chocolate Chips (Cacao Beans, Sugar, Sunflower Lecithin, Vanilla), Crystallized Ginger (Ginger, Sugar), Coconut Flakes, Grapeseed Oil. 

Allergen-related information: "Contains Tree Nuts (Almonds, Cashews, Coconut). Baked In A Facility That Handles Milk, Eggs, Soy, Wheat & Peanuts."

Chocolate Tree - Haggis Spice Dark Chocolate (bar) - Oct. 3, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolate Tree
Haggis Spice Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good - Good +
Weight: .875 oz. (25 g.)  / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 135.5 calories in 1/4  bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Greetings and welcome to the first day of Salt and Savory Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Haggis Spice Dark Chocolate bar hails from Chocolate Tree (Haddington, Scotland).

This bar smelled like a savory stew or porridge, with rosemary, pepper, sea salt and pepper doing their best to convince me this was true. These and other traditional haggis spices* were blended with (gluten free pinhead) oats and organic dark chocolate to create this unique bar.**

The chocolate was a relatively bold, but smooth dark chocolate, which had a relatively smooth melt. However, you'll experience tiny chewy bits of other ingredients embedded in this chocolate, yielding flavor spikes of rosemary and spice, tiny sparkles of sea salt and oats. This blend of salt, savory and sweet was well balanced and fun to try.

*Ingredients: Organic sugar, organic cocoa mass, organic cocoa butter, organic vanilla, gluten free pinhead oats (8%). Haggis spice (2%): organic black pepper, organic rosemary, sea salt, organic coriander seed, organic mace and organic thyme.

**You may have heard that haggis also contains sheep's innards. Fear not. There were no animal parts in today's vegetarian chocolate bar. It contained only the spices and salt used to make this traditional Scottish savory dish.

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Goodio Chocolate - Cranmary - 62% cranberries, rosemary, coconut and gin bar - Aug. 15, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Goodio Chocolate
Cranmary - cranberries, rosemary, coconut and gin bar
Good ++
Weight: .848 oz. (24 g.) / 1.69 oz. (48 g.) in total bar
Calories: 130 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Spirits Theme Week.

Today's Cranmary - cranberries, rosemary, coconut and gin bar was handcrafted in Helsinki, Finland, by Goodio Chocolate.

The maker's description for this bar read: "Chocolate like Nordic summer night meadow, flavoured with tangy cranberries and herbal rosemary."

The aroma of this raw, vegan bar had fruit, herb, chocolate and light coconut notes. The texture was relatively creamy (cacao butter) for stoneground chocolate. The dominant layered flavors were an interplay of cranberries (tiny bits and powder) and rosemary, with a hint of coconut (coconut palm sugar, coconut flakes). The gin contributed a very subtle layer of herbal/botanical flavor.

And speaking of gin, this 62% dark chocolate bar was developed in collaboration with Kyro Distillery Company (Finland). The distillery produces single malt rye whisky and a Napue rye-based gin...with botanicals that include "meadowsweet, sea-buckthorn and cranberries"...with a slight "spicy pepper note."

Only Child Chocolate - Ginger and Rosemary Walk into a Bar - Apr. 15, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Only Child Chocolate Co.
Rosemary and Ginger Walk into a Bar (bar)
Good - Good +
Weight: .85 oz. (24 g.) / 1.7 oz. (48 g.) in total bar
Calories: 127.5 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #18 of Chocolate and Spices Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate, Plants and Herbs Theme Week.

Today's Rosemary and Ginger Walk into a Bar (bar) was from Only Child Chocolate Co. (Portland, OR). Company founder, Yana, grew up as an only child in Moscow. And, via Chicago, eventually made her way to Portland. After pastry-making and bakery experience, she started her own chocolate company.

The title of today's bar was a clever pun. (It's tax day in the U.S., and a bit of humor and a spring hike in the green hills brightened this day.) And how did this milk chocolate bar with rosemary and candied ginger taste?

This thick, sweet milk chocolate bar had a minty, spicy aroma, and smooth, creamy melt.

The two inclusions played nicely together. The balanced, subtle and natural rosemary flavor was fun. And the ginger added warmth and a light spiciness without being overwhelming.

Vanini - Dark chocolate with rosemary bar - May 12, 2015

Chocolate of the Day:

Vanini Chocolate (ICAM SpA)
dark chocolate 62% cocoa with rosemary bar
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories in 1 oz. (28.3 g.) pieces of bar
Cost: $ lost information
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Walnut Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week.

Manufactured by ICAM SpA (Orsenigo, Italy), the Vanini 62% cocoa bittersweet chocolate bar was peppered with bits of sugared rosemary, giving this chocolate a sweet, crunchy, rosemary finish and flavor.

This bean-to-bar chocolate was made in Italy from Peruvian cacao beans. Specifically, it was made from "Bagua lost world cacao from Peru" -- grown thousands of years ago in Amazon rainforest by the Mayo Chincipe people (in what is now Peru and Ecuador)..."who used it to prepare beverages well before the Maya and Olmec."

The Vanini 62 percent dark chocolate bar with rosemary was gluten-free, kosher, and made with "Sustainable Trade" cacao beans.

Rosemary and chocolate can go either sweet or savory and I like surfing the line between the two. I enjoyed this bar with a side of toasted walnuts with butter, rosemary, sea salt, and a hint of garlic.

I've enjoyed having a Chocolate and Walnut Theme Week. While cacao is thought of as a "New World" food (from Central and South America), walnuts have a rich, global history and were growing in what is now "New" and "Old" worlds. In other words millions of years ago, before the continents started splitting apart, many nuts including walnuts were already spread far and wide.

Now, on to Peru theme week...

Spicely - Rosemary Orange Chocolate - Jan. 30, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Organic Spices Inc.
Spicely Rosemary Orange Chocolate
Good - Good +
Weight: .2 oz. (5.6 g.) / 3 oz. (84 g.) in total tin
Calories: 30 calories (estimate) in 1 piece/disc
Cost: $11.99 (less $2.50 discount) = $9.49 for 1 tin
Purchased from: Spicely, online order

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

These Spicely Rosemary and Orange infused, organic chocolates were from Organic Spices Inc. (Fremont, CA).

The disc-shaped pieces had subtle, natural flavors that were tough to pin down at first. I first thought I smelled and tasted a hint of ginger.

The fact that rosemary is not paired often with chocolate made it tougher to recognize. I picked some fresh rosemary from my backyard and it was indeed a close match to the faint herb aroma and flavor in this chocolate. The orange peel was tough to detect as well but contributed to the almost spicy, "bright" flavor note.

Citrus and rosemary are often companions in savory dishes (lemon herb chicken); and it was fun and different to experience them together in chocolate.

John and Kira's - Orange Rosemary bar - Nov. 4, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

John and Kira's
tangy orange + garden rosemary bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2.75 oz. (77.8 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. (28.3 g.) serving
Cost: $7.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: John and Kira's (online order)

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

The "tangy orange + garden rosemary" bar from John and Kira's (Philadelphia, PA) was made in partnership with the company's Urban Garden Partners, who provide ingredients like the fresh rosemary in today's bar. One of these partners, the Common Good City Farm, in Washington, D.C. -- an urban farm and education center -- was highlighted on the packaging that enveloped this bar.

John and Kira's 40% milk chocolate bar, with caramel overtones, was infused with a great balance of orange peel and fresh rosemary flavors. 

ChocolateBet: May 1, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

chocri (mein schokolade)
Italian Riviera Dark bar
Good +
Weight: 1.15 oz. (33 g.) /3.5 oz. (100 g.) total bar
Calories: 168 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $14.40 (estimate) total bar
Purchased from: chocri (online order system)

Today I enjoyed a bar I'd custom-built and ordered from chocri (Germany).

After choosing the bar's chocolate base (dark, milk or white), customers can name their own bars and specify add-ins of their own choosing. The number of possible different combinations boggles the mind. Have fun all.

I chose savory and sweet flavors from the Italian Riviera -- or at least, what I imagined they might be -- including dark (64%) chocolate, bits of dried fig, rosemary, sea salt, Bourbon vanilla and soy bacon.  (Sorry, no pancetta was available on the chocri menu.)

ChocolateBet: August 12, 2011

Chocolate(s) of the Day:


Mink Chocolates


1.) Mermaid's Choice bar - 1/4 bar
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: .45 oz. (12.5 g.) in 1/4 bar/ 1.79 oz. (50 g.) total bar
Calories: 50 calories
Cost: $7.00 ($6.25 + .75 HST in Canada)
Purchased from: Mink Chocolates, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

2.) ...By Any Other Name bar - 1/4 bar
Good +
Weight: .45 oz. (12.5 g.) in 1/4 bar/ 1.79 oz. (50 g.) total bar
Calories: 70 calories
Cost: $7.00 ($6.25 + .75 HST in Canada)
Purchased from: Mink Chocolates, in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Today was Day #9 of Chocolate and Salt Caramel Theme Week, and Day #3 of Chocolate and Flower Theme Week.

Salt caramel and chocolate together make for a robust flavor combination, and any flower flavors, e.g. lavender or rose, need to be amped up, if they are to be noticed. I was wanting to add extra flower flavorings to salt caramel + flower bars earlier this week. (Flower catsup?).

Today, I decided to go back to two different bars, both from Mink Chocolates (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada) -- one salt caramel bar with rosemary, and a separate (white) chocolate bar with rose. Mink offers numerous bars with different fillings and flavor combinations.

What's with the mermaid you ask? The rosemary in the first "Mermaid's Choice" bar was lovely, and strong enough to stand up to the burnt caramel filling, fleur de sel, and the dark (70% cacao) chocolate bar base/coating. These flavors were all very well balanced.

The second Mink Chocolates bar that I tried was a white chocolate bar called "...By Any Other Name"and was embedded with pretty, organic rose petals. I don't normally eat white chocolate, and could taste the higher fat content in this bar. Unfortunately, I couldn't taste the rose, which, had it been stronger, would have balanced this "fat" taste out. This bar is of high enough quality that it could certainly be repurposed. I will try to make a hot beverage or mousse from this bar later. And, I will likely add rosewater. I do like my flavors/additions.

ChocolateBet: July 5, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece/disc
ChocolateSmith
Rosemary Marcona Almond disc/disk
Very Good
Weight: .9 oz. (25.2 grams)
Calories: ~
Cost: $2.00
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, in San Francisco, CA

Nice blend of flavors, nice finish. 

ChocolateBet: July 13, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Dolfin
"Southern Passion: Apricot and Rosemary"
(Limited Edition 2008)
Very Good + - nice fruit and herb flavor combination
Weight: 30 grams (1.058 oz.)
Calories: 160 calories (estimate - info not listed on wrapper)
Cost: $2.39 (Canadian)
Purchased from: Le Cartet (boutique alimentaire), in Montreal, Quebec, Canada