Blue Diamond Almonds - Oven Roasted Almonds Dark Chocolate - Feb. 13, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Blue Diamond Almonds 
Oven Roasted Almonds - Dark Chocolate

Good + - Good ++ 

Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 30 oz. (1 lb., 14 oz.) (851 g.) in total package

Calories: 160 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $11.99 for 1 package

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

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

Today's Dark Chocolate Oven Roasted Almonds were distributed by Blue Diamond Growers (Sacramento, CA). 

Aroma notes for these chocolate coated almonds included: sweet nuts, roasted almonds and sweet dark cocoa/chocolate.

The aroma and flavor focus was on the whole, roasted, California almonds, as it should have been. Blue Diamond Growers (a cooperative formed in 1910) is one of the largest almond processors and marketers of almonds in the world.

The chocolate covering with quite thin (as chocolate coatings go) and added sweetness and mild dark cocoa/chocolate flavor. (Sweetness was supplied by sugar and stevia.)

The roasted aroma and flavor of these thinly coated, whole almonds was seductive. The combined sweet, nutty and barely detectable savory (sea salt) taste gave them a slightly addictive quality.

Ingredients: Almonds, sugar, cocoa powder (processed with alkali), corn maltodextrin, natural flavor (dark chocolate), sea salt and rebiana (stevia extract).

Allergen-related information: "Contains tree nuts (almonds)."

Russell Stover - Joy Bites Roasted Almonds in Dark Chocolate - Sept. 2, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Russell Stover 

Joy Bites Roasted Almonds in Dark Chocolate

Good + - Good ++

Weight: 1.16 oz. (33 g.) / 2.8 oz. (79 g.) in total bar

Calories: 140 calories in 5 pieces of bar

Cost: $4.99 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Safeway, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Nuts Theme Week, featuring "new" and varied nut + chocolate items I've been able to collect.

Today's Joy Bites Roasted Almonds in Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Russell Stover Chocolates, LLC (Kansas City, MO). The Joy Bites no sugar added line (that also includes peanut butter and sea salt caramel flavors) are sweetened with stevia and are made using fair trade* cocoa.

Aroma notes for this bar included soft chocolate and nutty (sweet almond butter), sweet aromatic wood, and very, very faint sweet citrus green (oxalis, wood sorrel). 

This thin (53% cocoa) dark bar had creamy texture accented with crunchy almond bits, and smooth dark chocolate flavor.

The chocolate was sweetened with erythritol and stevia leaf extract.** It was less sweet than other comparable 53% cacao chocolate bars. (Thank you!) Nuts (almonds in this case) do help balance out sugars; but the less sweet flavor was largely due to the choice of sweetener(s).

A nice choice for those on sugar-restricted diets and who may not appreciate the less sweet realms of bolder, ultra-dark (80%+ cacao) chocolates.

Ingredients: Chocolate, Non-GMO erythritol, chicory root fiber, roasted almonds, cocoa butter, milk fat, Organic soy lecithin, natural flavor and stevia extract. 

Allergen-related information: Contains nuts (almonds) and milk. "May contain peanuts, tree nuts, eggs and wheat."

*Fairtrade cocoa and vanilla: mass balance is used to match fairtrade sourcing. Total 50%.  

**The leaves from the Stevia rebaudiana plant provide a less caloric alternative to cane and beet sugars. (Beet sugar is used less often in fine/artisan chocolate.) Native to South America, stevia (in the form of stevia extract) offers more concentrated sweetness than traditional sugars with very few calories.

Lily's - Peanut Butter Cups Milk Chocolate Style - Apr. 7, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Lily's Sweets LLC

Peanut Butter Cups Milk Chocolate Style

Good +

Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 8.7 oz. (245 g.) in total package

Calories: 140 calories in 2 cups

Cost: $9.99 for 1 package of 15 individually-wrapped cups

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

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Peanut Butter Theme Week.

Today's Milk Chocolate Style Peanut Butter Cups were manufactured for Lily's Sweets LLC (Boulder, CO). The company offers a variety of stevia and erythritol sweetened chocolates.

These individually-wrapped peanut butter cups had an aroma with tart green-lemon herb (oxalis) and cocoa that evolved into cookie and vanilla notes.

The milk chocolate cup coating was creamy and smooth in texture.

Flavor traits included: faint roasted coffee, a very faint, slightly odd perfume-y sweetness, milk chocolate, graham cracker and nutty notes.

The sweetness level was satisfying and balanced, and did not taste artificial. The sweeteners used (erythritol and stevia) "felt" different than sugar, which may have been due to the lack of small sugar "buzz" one gets from most cane sugar-sweetened chocolates.

As with many sugar-free chocolates, I suggest eating a small quantity (single serving of two cups) first if you have digestive sensitivities. (These chocolates also contained chicory fiber.)

Ingredients: Milk chocolate style coating (unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, Non-GMO erythritol, chicory root fiber, Non-GMO dextrin, whole milk powder (rBST free), milk fat (rBST free), sunflower lecithin, stevia extract, vanilla extract); peanut butter (peanuts, sustainably sourced palm kernel oil, Non-GMO erythritol, peanut flour, chicory root fiber, coconut oil, sustainably sourced palm oil, salt, sunflower lecithin, stevia extract).

Allergen-related information: Contains milk and peanuts."Produced on equipment that also processes product containing soy and tree nuts."

Garden of Life - Organic Whey Protein Grass Fed Certified Fair Trade Organic Chocolate Cacao - Oct. 7, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Garden of Life LLC
Organic Whey Protein Grass Fed Certified Fair Trade Organic Chocolate Cacao
Good
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33 g.) in 1 package
Calories: 130 calories in 1 package
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: Rainbow Grocery, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Grass Fed Milk Theme Week.

Today's Organic Fair Trade Chocolate Cacao Grass Fed Whey Protein was from Garden of Life (Palm Beach Gardens, Florida).*

Milk adds protein. Today's single serving package provided an impressive 21 grams of protein (42% of daily value), and only 7 grams of total carbohydrate.

Once mixed (thoroughly stirred) with water, the texture was smooth. The (de-acidified) cocoa used to supply the "chocolate cacao" flavor provided a chocolatey aroma and uniform cocoa flavor. 

The flavor was sweet, but a bit too (slightly artificially) sweet for me. This mix did not contain sugar, and was sweetened with erythritol and stevia extract (leaf).  

As an added bonus, this contained 2 billion colony forming units (CFUs) worth of a strain of beneficial (probiotic) bacteria thought to improve immune function.

*Note: Garden of Life became part of Nestle Health Sciences in 2017.

Ingredients: Organic Whey Protein Concentrate, Certified Fair Trade Organic Cacao, Organic Creamer Flavor, Organic Erythritol, Organic Chocolate Flavor, Sea Salt, Organic Stevia Extract (leaf), 2 billion CFU Bifidobacterium lactis B1-04.
 

No Cow - Raspberry Truffle Bar - Jan. 31, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

No Cow LLC
Raspberry Truffle Bar
OK + - Good
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 105 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $2.89 for 1 bar
Purchased from: CVS Pharmacy, Mountain View, CA

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

This Raspberry Truffle Bar was from No Cow LLC (Denver, CO), a company that specializes in non-dairy, high protein and low sugar bars that are also vegan, gluten-free and soy free.

Today's bar had chocolate and raspberry flavors and a slightly granular texture that accompanies some protein bars. The bar contained no added sugar, and was sweetened with erythritol, monk fruit and stevia.

Lily's - Double Chocolate Crunch bar - Dec. 31, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Lily's
Double Chocolate Crunch bar
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) in total bar
Calories: 110 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $1.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Sprouts Farmers Marketing, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Crunchy Chocolate Week.

Today's Double Chocolate Crunch bar was distributed by Lily's Sweets, LLC (King of Prussia, PA).

The crunch in this bar was supplied by crisped brown rice and the texture was a hearty mix of creamy and crunchy. Tiny chocolate chips were embedded in this bar as well.

This Non-GMO, certified gluten free 40% chocolate bar was sweetened with stevia and brown rice syrup.

Cavalier Belgian Chocolatier - Dark Berries bar - Dec. 14, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Cavalier Belgian Chocolatier
Dark Berries bar
Good
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $6.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocosphere, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Fruit Week.

Today's Dark Berries bar was from Cavalier (Eeklo,  Belgium)
This Non GMO dark chocolate bar, made with UTZ certified cocoa, was made without conventional sugar. Instead, the relatively smooth bar incorporated "sweeteners with stevia.*"

The sweetener blend was relatively natural tasting; although the ingredients list was a bit long. And with increased processing and each added ingredient, in any bar, there's a possibility natural cocoa notes will be muted. The balanced berry flavor blend included raspberry, blueberry and black currant.

*Ingredients: Unsweetened Chocolate, Dextrin, Erythritol, Cocoa Butter, Inulin, Oligofructose, Dried Raspberries, Dried Blueberries, Dried Blackcurrants, Soy Lecithin as an emulsifier, Vanilla Flavor, Steviol Glycosides as a sweetener.

Phi Kind - Cherry Almond Butter truffles - Mar. 16, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Phi Kind
Cherry Almond Butter
Good - Good +
Weight: .565 oz. (16 g.) / 1.13 oz. (32 g.) in 1 box
Calories: 80 calories (estimate) in 2 pieces
Cost: $7.95 for 1 box of 4 pieces
Purchased from: Seed Bank, Petaluma, CA


Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and STUVWXYZ Theme Week. Today, "x" is for xylitol, specifically birch xylitol, a sweetener for that serves as a sugar substitute.

Xylitol is naturally occurring "sugar" alcohol found in most plants, fruits and vegetables. Commercially available xylitol is typically made from corn cobs or birch bark.

This box of lightly-sweetened Cherry Almond Butter truffles from Phi Kind (Santa Rosa, CA) was sweetened with a blend of birch xylitol, sunchoke syrup and stevia (from the stevia plant).

Phi Kind founder Jonathan (Jon) Pantalis is committed to making organic, zero-glycemic index sweetened chocolates that are dairy, gluten and sugar free, vegan, paleo and raw. (To accomplish the latter, a low-heat stone-grinding process is used.)

These Phi Kind truffles had authentic, mild cherry flavor, and a slightly crunchy texture (likely from cacao nib and almond bits), without health concerns that arise from some chocolate truffles.

Ingredients: Cocoa nibs, Non-GMO birch xylitol, almonds, dried cherries, sunchoke syrup, coconut, vanilla, sea salt, stevia

Note: I bought these at the Seed Bank in downtown Petaluma, CA. What a great concept. A seed company took over an older bank building with a beautiful interior. Worth a stop if you're in the area, even if you're not a gardener. Small, but nice selection of chocolates there too.

ChocoRite - Dark Chocolate Almond Bar - Feb. 20, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

HealthSmart Foods, Inc.
ChocoRite
Dark Chocolate Almond Bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 5 oz. (141 g.) in package of 5 bars
Calories: 120 calories in 1 small bar
Cost: $N/A - sample (for 1 package of 5 bars)
Purchased from: N/A - sample from vendor

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

Earlier this year, I featured a week of sugar-free chocolate offerings, and included some dark chocolate bars from ChocoRite.

Today's Dark Chocolate Almond Bars were similar, only they contained almond bits, that added a hint of mellow nut flavor.

These gluten free, maltitol-free, individually-wrapped bars were sweetened with Erythritol and Stevia. There are several reasons one might want to stay away from processed cane or beet sugar, including the desire to manage blood sugar levels.

These conveniently sized, single-serving bars also were only 120 calories each—about 20% less than the average 1 oz. chocolate bar that might be 150 calories or more.

HealthSmart ChocoRite Sugar Free Dark Chocolate Bar - Jan. 25, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

HealthSmart Foods, Inc.
ChocoRite
Sugar Free, Dark Chocolate Bar
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 5 oz. (141 g.) in total box of 5 bars
Calories: 110 calories per bar
Cost: $ N/A - sample from vendor
Purchased from: N/A - sample from vendor

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Alternative Sweetener Theme Week.

I've found many more sugar-free and sugar-alternative chocolates than I first planned for, so this will be another deluxe/extended "week."

I met the folks behind ChocoRite Dark Chocolate Bars (HealthSmart Foods, Inc., Evansville, IN) at the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco last weekend. Thank you to this group who shared product samples and told me a little bit about their product line.

This company specializes in sugar-free chocolate items. Today's Dark Chocolate Bar was sweetened with stevia.* I liked their packaging (boxes containing smaller 1 oz. (28 g.) individually wrapped bars), as I frequently share chocolate with others and/or take along chocolate for snacks during the day, at work, or while on a hike.

The stevia sweetener blend* (with erythritol and inulin) tasted fairly natural and didn't completely overwhelm the chocolate; and there was no adverse after-taste. It's nice to have sugar free and gluten free chocolate options.

Ten years ago, if I'd run a theme week like this, the sugar-free alternatives would have been more limited, and likely would have contained more artificial ingredients and sweeteners.

Addictive Wellness - Love chocolates - Jan. 23, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Addictive Wellness Raw Chocolate
Love (chocolates)
Good - Good +
Weight: .65 oz. (19 g.) / 1.3 oz. (38 g.) in total package of 4 pieces
Calories: 120 calories (per label) in 2 pieces
Cost: $7.73 for 1 package of 4 pieces
Purchased from: Country Sun, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Alternative Sweetener Theme Week.

Addictive Wellness (Beverly Hills, CA) offers a series of raw (83% cacao) chocolates with "superfoods and superherbs" that are sugar free, vegan and gluten free.

Today's Love chocolates (4 pieces to a package) were made with Arriba Nacional Cacao, mesquite, lucuma, maca and reishi mushrooms. Other ingredients included: He Shou Wu, cistanche, mucuna and epimedium*. I can't say I understood the exact benefits these latter four plant items offered, but they didn't cause any ill effects.

Sweetened with birch xylitol, stevia (and the lucuma mentioned above), and seasoned with a bit of Himalayan salt, these round chocolates molded into paper cups had a faint, pleasing and authentic chocolatey aroma, and a very slight coffee and bitter herbs flavor note that added interest.

*Epimedium, native to Asia, is also known as horny goat weed. 

Lily's Candy Cane 70% Dark Chocolate bar - Jan. 16, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Lily's Sweets, LLC
Candy Cane Dark 70% Dark Chocolate bar
Good +
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.); 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 170 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.19 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

Welcome to the last day (Day #9) of Chocolate and Peppermint Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Alternative Sweeteners Week.

Cane sugar is the expected sweetener for most bean-to-bar chocolates. However, one sees brown sugar, coconut sugar, honey and a variety of other sweeteners in chocolate bars and confections.

Today's Candy Cane 70% Dark Chocolate bar from Lily's Sweets, LLC* (King of Prussia, PA) was made with unsweetened chocolate (no sugar added). Instead of sugar, it was sweetened with Non-GMO Erythritol (a sugar alcohol) and Stevia Extract (from a plant).**

This gluten free and vegan dark bar broke with a hard snap (a sign of a good temper), and had a fairly creamy texture and melt—although it was slightly gritty in one or two bites. "Natural peppermint flavor" provided the authentic candy cane zing.

Thank you to Toni and Margaret for tasting help!

*The company is named after Lily, a cancer survivor. And a portion of proceeds from Lily's bars go to cancer research each year.

**"Ingredients: Unsweetened chocolate, Erythritol, Inulin, Cocoa Butter, Natural Peppermint Flavor, Stevia Extract, Organic Soy Lecithin, Vanilla."  

Stevia (Stevia rebaudiana) is a naturally sweet plant from South America that has been used for centuries to sweeten teas, medicines and other items, particularly in Brazil and Paraguay, and has been processed and marketed as an alternative sweetener around the globe in more recent times.

Julian Bakery - Paleo Ecuador bar - May 7, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Julian Bakery
Paleo Chocolate Ecuador 82% bar
Good
Weight: 1.125 oz. (32 g.) / 2.25 oz. (64 g.) total bar
Calories: 120 calories (estimate) for 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Sprouts Farmers Market, Mountain View, CA

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

Today's single origin Paleo Chocolate Ecuador bar from Julian Bakery, Inc. (Oceanside, CA) didn't contain any walnuts, but the tasting notes did. The description read: "Hints of Walnut, Banana and Toffee."

Julian Bakery is to be commended for creating several paleo chocolate (and other food) offerings -- that are lower in certain sugars and carbohydrates, and made from relatively unadulterated ingredients. For example, there was no added soy or other lecithin or preservatives added to this bar.

This 82% cacao, dairy-, soy- and gluten-free, stevia*-sweetened bar was bittersweet. The erythritol, stevia and vanilla bean made it difficult to taste the precise nuances of the underlying cacao, and may have contributed to a slight bitter note (also a common aftertaste in walnuts, in part due to beneficial phenolic acids, tannins and other substances/flavonoids/anti-oxidants).

This chocolate was also undeniably sweet, with a hint of banana-floral-marshmallow taste and texture (sometimes associated with some Ecuador cacao). You'll definitely get a sweet fix, for fewer calories and less sugar with this bar.

*Stevia is a great plant-based natural sweetener, but can be challenging to work with re: flavor profile.

Coco Polo - Toasted Coconut Chia bar - March 4, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Coco Polo
70% Dark Chocolate Toasted Coconut Chia bar
Good
Weight: .564 oz. (16 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 76 calories in 1/5 bar
Cost: $5.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Fresh Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

The desire for chocolate with less sugar (for both health and taste preference reasons) has resulted in many different offerings over time, ranging from 100% cacao chocolate bars (with no added sugar) to chocolates with artificial sweeteners and lower-glycemic "natural" sweeteners.

Today's sugar-free, Toasted Coconut Chia bar was from Coco Polo (Highland Park, NJ). The company offers a line of bars made with fair trade cocoa and sweetened with Reb A (an extract of stevia*) -- and they've worked out a formulation where there is little or no stevia aftertaste.

The bar had a much less "sugary" flavor than most chocolate bars. Less sweet is usually good for me, as I like to taste the underlying chocolate and inclusions. And others may like the slightly lower caloric count and lack of sugar spike. The coconut in this bar was subtle and natural tasting. Added cocoa butter made this gluten-free, Non-GMO and vegan bar a little richer and smoother.

*Stevia comes from a plant native to South America. The leaves of this plant (Stevia rebaudiana) are naturally very sweet, and have been used for a very long time by the peoples of Paraguay and Brazil in teas and as a sweetener.

Lucienne's - Orange Sugar Free Dark bar - May 19, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Lucienne's
Orange Sugar Free 83% Dark Chocolate bar
Good
Weight: .8 oz. (22.68 g.) / 2 oz. (56.7 g.) in total bar
Calories: 100 calories in 2/5 of 1 bar
Cost: $4.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Ecuador Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Fruit Salad Theme Week.

The chocolate of the day, an Orange Sugar Free 83% Dark Chocolate bar was from Lucienne's (Trumansburg, NY). Lucienne's is a bean-to-bar chocolatemaker using cacao beans from Ecuador (and Peru).

Today's Orange stevia-sweetened bar was made from Ecuadorian Antigua Nacional cocoa. Orange oil added a bright, bittersweet citrus fruit flavor to this dark (83% cacao) but smooth bar.

Lucienne's chocolate bars are sugar free, gluten free and dairy free. This Orange bar had 1 Net Carb and 46 grams of fiber per serving (1/2 bar). I had a bit less than this (2/5 bar), and also enjoyed a small orange fruit salad for dessert. (1 medium fresh, orange contains an estimated 12 Net Carbs and 3 grams of fiber. Net net: A serving of this chocolate would probably be less likely to raise blood sugar than most fruit salads.

Lucienne's - Sugar Free 83% Dark bar - May 18, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Lucienne's
Sugar Free 83% Dark Chocolate bar
Good
Weight: .8 oz. (22.68 g.) / 2 oz. (56.7 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 100 calories in 2/5 bar
Cost: $4.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

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

I find it interesting to try sugar-free dark chocolate bars, such as today's 83% Dark Chocolate bar sweetened with a proprietary stevia blend from Lucienne's (Trumansburg, NY).

Stevia-sweetened bars available now are quite good. In addition to missing the sugar buzz, and lacking any artificial flavor that earlier sugar-free bars sometimes had, these bars offer an opportunity to see what the underlying chocolate tastes like without sugar. (Sugar does add a certain brightness to certain flavors.)

This dark chocolate bar, made from Ecuadorian Antigua Nacional cocoa ("gently roasted" to retain antioxidants and flavor) was fairly smooth, without any bitter or objectionable notes that some people associate with bars with a higher cacao content. 

Coco Polo - 70% Cherries bar - Feb. 10, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Coco Polo
70% Cocoa - Cherries bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35.4 g.)
Calories: 170 calories (per label) for 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Weeks.

The 70% cocoa, smooth dark chocolate "Cherries" bar from Coco Polo (New Brunswick, NJ) was sweetened with Stevia (Non-GMO Reb A*), and dotted with a generous smattering of dried, tart Montmorency cherries.

The company also included some non-GMO Erythritol as a secondary sweetener (which can be easier to digest than Maltitol, Xylitol or Sorbitol).

This bar was gluten-free, but did contain some non-GMO soy lecithin.

*Reb A is an extract of stevia

Coco Polo - 70% Elderberry bar - Nov. 12, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Coco Polo
Dark Chocolate with Elderberry bar
Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14.2 g.) / 2.5 oz. (71 g.) in total bar
Calories: 63.9 calories (estimate) in 1/5 bar
Cost: $5.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Berry Theme Week. Yesterday I sampled the 39% cocoa milk chocolate version of today's 70% cocoa Elderberry bar from Coco Polo (Highland Park, NJ).

Today's darker version lacked some of the creamy texture and caramel notes of the milk chocolate version. However, both the sugar-free (stevia-sweetened*), gluten-free and GMO-free bars were better tasting than many sugar-free, or stevia-sweetened bars that have been sold in the past. The natural tasting elderberry smell and taste reminded me of berry jam or wine, and perked up today's dark chocolate a bit.

*Coco Polo founders developed a successful blend of Reb A extract from the stevia plant, Non-GMO erythritol, and inulin (extract of chicory root) to sweeten their bars. There was no "off" taste, no digestive issues, from what I could tell -- just a welcome alternative to sugar, without the blood sugar spike.

Coco Polo - Milk Elderberry bar - Nov. 11, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Coco Polo
Milk Elderberry bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .39 oz. (11 g.) in 1 packet
Calories: 58.5 calories (estimate) in 1 packet
Cost: N/A - sample packet
Purchased from: N/A - sample packet

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Berry Theme Week, and I'm giving some airtime to the small, dark blue-purple elderberry.

While not as popular here in the U.S. as in Europe or other parts of the world, the slightly tart berry (usually partly cooked/dried) paired well with chocolate .

Today's sample-sized, 39% cocoa, milk chocolate with elderberry bar from Coco Polo (Highland Park, NJ) contained a pleasing blend of flavors -- and was sweetened with stevia. Coco Polo produces a line of different, stevia-sweetened bars. I'm planning to include the 70% cocoa, dark chocolate version of this bar tomorrow. 

Coco Polo - 70% Cocoa Nib bar - July 29, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Coco Polo
70% with Cocoa Nib bar
Good +
Weight: .49 oz. (13.8 g.) (estimate) for sample packet/bar
Calories: 69 calories (estimate) in sample bar
Cost: $N/A - sample
Purchased from: N/A - Coco Polo table at the San Francisco Fancy Food Show, San Francisco, CA

Photo: Coco Polo

The "sugar-free chocolate" section in sweet shops, or grocery stores, can be a bit off-putting. However, there is no need to fear stevia-sweetened chocolate bars from Coco Polo (Highland Park, NJ).

The company is using quality ingredients and an aftertaste-free stevia formulation (with Reb A, an FDA-approved stevia extract) for its line of bars. This may be the new gold standard for sugar-free chocolate.

I obtained today's small sample size 70% dark chocolate bar with cocoa nibs at an industry show earlier this year. Full-size 3-oz. bars are available in stores, or online. (See image of the (larger) full-size bar from Coco Polo's website, at right.)