Compartes - Old Hollywood with Smoked Salt (bar) - Nov. 29, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Compartes Chocolatier
Old Hollywood Dark Chocolate Smoked Salt 75% Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Compartes Chocolatier, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Theme Week.

Today's Old Hollywood Dark Chocolate Smoked Salt 75% Cacao (bar) was from Compartes Chocolatier (Los Angeles, CA)--a company with chocolate roots in L.A. that began in 1950.

Compartes offers a wide selection of chocolates with different flavor inclusions, including several with references to Hollywood, movies and/or entertainment. 

Aroma and flavor notes for today's Hollywood-themed bar included: smooth, rich and relatively sweet dark chocolate; very faint, diffuse fruit (berry) and even fainter wood and smoked salt. The salt was not obvious in the aroma, but it complemented (and helped balance) the relatively sweet 75% dark chocolate.

I liked the slightly darker chocolate with a smooth, barely there bitterness and the use of smoked salt. The very faint, dark berry note rounded out the flavor profile.

I enjoyed the bar's attractive packaging--with a dark ebony wood (or marble) background adorned with slightly faded, gold, bird-like art deco shapes. A good fit with today's Old Hollywood theme + smoked salt. (While you'd be hard-pressed to find as many smokers in Hollywood venues today, I'm sure there were many smoky bars and Hollywood hang-outs back in the day.)

I "paired" this chocolate with two movies: "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" (2019) and "The Artist" (2011) as well as an animated short "Hollywood Steps Out" (1941) from Leon Schlesinger Productions (pre Warner Bros.); and Disney's "Once Upon a Studio" (2023)--a short reunion of the studio's historic range of animated characters. 

A balanced, albeit eclectic, 4-course classic movie meal to enjoy with today's Old Hollywood chocolate.

Ingredients: Dark Chocolate (Cocoa Mass, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin as an emulsifier, Vanilla), Smoked Sea Salt

Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility that handles Dairy, Peanuts, Wheat, Egg, Soy, Tress Nuts"

  

Standout Chocolate - Liquorice & Beech Smoked Sea Salt 67% (bar) - July 8, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Standout Chocolate
Liquorice & Beech Smoked Sea Salt 67% (bar)

Good + - Good ++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.)/1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 144.5 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Liquorice & Beech Smoked Sea Salt 67% (bar) was from Standout Chocolate (Kallered, Sweden).

Aroma notes for this bar included: dark chocolate, fruit (red grape, light raisin) and very faint sweet herb. 

The texture was smooth, thick and creamy.

Flavor notes included: rich dark chocolate, hearty black licorice* and diffuse fruit (faint red berry/grape). The salt was very subtle, and well integrated into the licorice. 

Those who enjoy licorice and/or European salted licorice will appreciate this authentic flavor.

Ingredients: Cacao beans*, Cane sugar*, Cacao butter*, Liquorice*, Beech-smoked sea salt. (*Organic)

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of milk.

*Licorice is a spelling variant of liquorice in the U.S. and Canada.

Fine and Raw Chocolate - Alderwood Smoked Salt 70% Cacao (bar) - July 26, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Fine and Raw Chocolate
Alderwood Smoked Salt 70% Cacao (bar)
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) in total bar
Calories: 137 calories (per label) in 1 bar
Cost: $25.00 for 5 bar set
Purchased from: Fine and Raw Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Cowgirl Theme Week.

Today's Alderwood Smoked Salt 70% Cacao (bar) was from Fine and Raw Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY).

This bar had an aroma with chocolate, green, fruit, and very light savory and butterscotch notes. The melt was even, with a slightly stoneground, astringent mouthfeel—likely from both the cacao and coconut sugar that the company uses to sweeten bars.

Flavor notes included chocolate, light fruit and very faint smoked salt and coconut, with a mild chocolate finish.

Most of the cowgirls and horseback riders we know ride in the hills in the outskirts of urban areas around San Francisco Bay (a bay with a rich history of salt-making).

Fortunately there are still enough open spaces to be a cowgirl. (If you look closely at the landscape photo (at right) you may not be able to spot the horseback rider in the distance, riding through golden grasses, and oak, bay and eucalyptus trees.

Why alder trees?

Most of the smoked salt chocolate bars we've tried have contained Alderwood Smoked Salt. What's so special about alder tree wood smoke?

Red alder trees in the Pacific NW were used medicinally by native peoples. The bark contains aspirin-like substances. However, the real reason why these trees are used to smoke salt has to do with the flavor of the smoke from this wood. It's subtle and even a bit sweet, according to some. (Contrast this with the stronger Hickory smoke used for bacon, or Cedar smoke, which can impart a strong woodsy flavor with a hint of pine or camphor, which may overpower many chocolates.)

Another factor in choosing a milder smoke may be that a smoky flavor in fine chocolate has been considered a defect, in part because cacao farmers in more tropical climates may have smoke dried their cacao beans under thatched or covered structures due to higher than desirable levels of  moisture/rain (which can signal other challenges with a batch of cacao).

Personally we're OK with trying unique and well-balanced umami flavors and have enjoyed bars with smoked nibs and smoked salt and other similar inclusions. Bring it!

Coracao Chocolate - 81% Heirloom Cacao Sea Salt, Almonds bar - Nov. 10, 2017

Chocolate of the Day:

Coracao Chocolate
81% Heirloom Cacao Sea Salt, Almonds, Dark Chocolate bar
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.59 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Monterey Market, Berkeley, CA

Welcome to Day #20 of South American Chocolate Theme Weeks.

Today's 81% Heirloom Cacao Sea Salt, Almonds and Dark Chocolate bar was made by Coracao Chocolate (Oakland, CA) with a blend of cacao grown in Ecuador and Peru.

The bar's aroma was a sweet blend of aromas (fruit, floral, faint coconut dried fig spice cookie) plus a very faint hint of savory nuttiness.

The flavor was surprisingly dark, not for a 81% cacao ultra-dark bar, but for a bar that smelled quite sweet.

The company's organic chocolate bars are sweetened with coconut sugar, and this bar also contained sea salts (smoked and Himalayan). Organic, California (Kashiwase Farms) almond pieces added some crunchy texture.

The base chocolate had a buttery dark melt, but subtler cacao notes were competing a bit with the salts and almonds. Try the plain Coracao 81% Heirloom bar (profiled yesterday) for an interesting side-by-side comparison.

Vosges - Super Dark 80% Smoked Salt bar - June 25, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Vosges IP, LLC
Super Dark 80% Cacao Smoked Salt bar
Good+
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 151.3 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Vosges kiosk in O'Hare airport, Chicago, IL

Welcome to Day #5 of Cacao Nibs Theme Week.

Today's Smoked Salt Super Dark 80% Cacao bar was from Vosges IP, LLC (Chicago, IL).

This bittersweet chocolate bar had a pleasant subtle chocolate aroma. It was smooth and even for an ultra-dark bar, and was suffused with a subtle, even touch of Alderwood smoked salt from the Pacific Northwest.

A light smattering of cacao nibs from Ghana on one side provided additional, authentic chocolate flavor depth—more than I remember tasting with other Vosges bars (that would have had more sugar and no nibs).

Vosges started producing chocolate in 1998; and Katrina Markoff, Vosges founder and the brand behind the Vosges brand, seems to exude creative sophistication, as does the packaging for her bars and confections.

Maverick Chocolate Co. - Prohibition Milk Chocolate bar - Dec. 28, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Maverick Chocolate Co.
Prohibition Milk Chocolate bar
Good +
Weight: .92 oz. (26 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 138 calories in 2/5 bar
Cost: $13.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Cacao at The Heathman, Portland, OR

Welcome to Day #5 of Spirited Chocolate Theme Week.

Maverick Chocolate Co. is a bean-to-bar chocolate maker based in Cincinatti, OH.

The company's Prohibition* Milk Chocolate bar was made with Kentucky bourbon, dark milk chocolate and smoked salt.

The chocolate had a pleasing sweet, light fruit and nutty aroma, and relatively creamy texture. The bar was well-tempered and contained a generous shake of smoked salt. The bourbon flavor was very light. (To be sold without restrictions, spirited chocolates need to contain less than a certain percent of alcohol.)

*Prohibition History
For 13 years, between 1920 and 1933, following passage of the Volstead Act in 1919, a nationwide constitutional ban on the importation, production, transportation and sale of alcoholic beverages was in effect across the U.S. This period has also been referred to as the Prohibition era or, more simply, as Prohibition. 

Much earlier, in the 1790s, the U.S. Government levied a tax on spirits, which led to a "Whiskey Rebellion." Some makers moved west to the frontier in Kentucky. In Bourbon County, they found corn growing and water (rich in limestone, no iron) conditions were perfect for making what came to be known as Kentucky Bourbon. Prohibition resulted in the shut-down of Kentucky Bourbon and other distilleries; but operations resumed after the ban was repealed. 

It is perhaps with the some of the same American spunk, persistence and maker spirit that craft adult beverage and chocolate making have seen a revival in recent times. 

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Bissinger's Dulce de Leche bar - May 13, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Bissinger's
Dulce de Leche 38% milk chocolate bar
Good
Weight: 1.5 oz. (43 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $2.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Salted Caramel Theme Week.

Dulce de Leche is a cooked down caramel confection (made with either milk and sugar, or sweetened condensed milk).

This caramel featured prominently in today's Dulce de Leche bar from Bissinger's (St. Louis, MO).

This "38% milk chocolate, creamy caramel, cinnamon and a touch of smoked fleur de sel" bar contained pockets of soft caramel—the kind of filling that forms tiny, sweet golden brown "icicles" after you bite into the chocolate.


On the back of this gluten free, bar made with Non-GMO ingredients was a constellation of tiny, twinkling smoked sea salt (fleur de sel) crystals.

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

Endangered Species - Dark Chocolate 88 percent bar - Dec. 30, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Endangered Species Chocolate
Dark Chocolate 88 percent bar
Good +
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 210 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $2.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: CVS/pharmacy, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to the extended edition (Day #9) of Chocolate, Smoke and Fire Theme Week.

When I imagined a chocolate that was strong, black and slightly smokey, I thought of today's dark bar, emblazoned with a haunting photo of a black jaguar.

Jaguars in the Jungle
When I was in Costa Rica, a man once described a black jaguar in the jungle as being stealthy and dangerous as smoke. And if you heard a hoarse coughing sound in the darkness, he said, it may not be due to your campfire smoke, but rather it could be a jaguar closeby communicating to another jaguar about its territory—that you may be sharing.

Jaguars are the largest members of the cat family, with the strongest bite, in the Americas. They might be found moving quietly through forests in Central and Latin America, in cacao-growing countries. Black jaguars are more rare than the spotted variety; however, all jaguars seem to be diminishing in numbers.

A photo of one of these black beauties graced today's Dark Chocolate 88 percent bar from Endangered Species Chocolate (Indianapolis, IN).

Endangered Species has continued to donate a portion of their earnings to organizations like Panthera.org, or The Xerxes Society that help conserve endangered species and their habitats.

Today's bar was dark indeed; it was made from 88 percent cacao. (This is the highest percent bar the company offers.) Its bite was relatively bold but not too dangerous—unless you're worried about overindulging.

This fair trade, non-GMO verified, certified gluten free and vegan chocolate had a faint cocoa and coffee aroma; a bold dark acidic flavor; an aftertaste with a slightly tangy, woodsy, burnt bittersweet bite; and a finish that, like a jaguar, eventually disappeared without a trace.

Please do try chocolate all by itself first. Afterwards you can experiment with pairings.

More Smoke, Umami
This thick, dark bar was later part of a snack today that included smoked almonds and chips (barbecue, maple bacon). I love umami* foods with smokey-sweet and savory flavors like this, and these items complemented and tamed some of the stronger notes in this chocolate.

Assuming you like smokey flavors, some harmonize better with chocolates than others. Like all pairings with chocolate, try your items side-by-side, a few at a time (pausing for a palette cleanse or drink of water periodically), to determine which combination you like best.

*Umami foods are naturally high in glutamates and tend to be on the savory side. Examples include parmesan cheese, soy and fish sauces, meats such as ham and bacon, certain vegetables, mushrooms, and kelp/seaweed. Not everyone in the chocolate world shares my love for umami pairings, but please do go with what you like in this world. 

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

Vosges - Alderwood Smoked Salt Caramel Marshmallows - Dec. 27, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Vosges
Alderwood Smoked Salt Caramel Marshmallows 45% cacao
Good ++
Weight: 2.5 oz. (70.9 g.) in 1 package of 5 pieces
Calories: 300 calories in 1 package
Cost: $4.29 for 1 package of 5 pieces
Purchased from: Lunardi's, Belmont, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Smoke and Fire Theme Week.

Today's sweet 45 percent cacao chocolate-covered squares—filled with chocolate, caramel and marshmallow—were from Vosges (Chicago, IL).

Topped with a sprinkle of alderwood smoked salt, these chocolates contained a tasty balance between sweet and savory (umami/smoked) flavors.

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