Chocolove - Dark Chocolate Marzipan Filled Trees - June 26, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Chocolove
Dark Chocolate Marzipan Trees 
Good++ 
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 7.05 oz. (200 g.) in total package
Calories: 150 calories in 3 trees
Cost: $10.49 for 1 package of 19 pieces
Purchased from: Farm Fresh, online order

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate & Earth, Mountains, Forests and Gardens Week. 

Today's package of individually-wrapped Dark Chocolate 55% Marzipan Filled Trees were brought to you by Chocolove (Boulder, CO).

Thankfully "Earth" includes many wild places and open spaces with trees. (Chocolate Banquet would not exist without cacao trees.) Today's tree-shaped chocolates were a lovely reminder that both cacao trees and almond trees were used to make these treats.

Aroma and flavor notes included: smooth dark chocolate and sweet almonds/almond flavor (marzipan).

Texture: a smooth, firm dark chocolate shell, with a softer, white marzipan filling.

I enjoyed the little dark chocolate tree shapes, and the authentic chocolate and almond flavors and balance. Marzipan is meant to be sweet, and this was no exception. But, there was enough dark chocolate to keep the sweetness from being too overwhelming. 

Ingredients: Dark Chocolate (Cocoa Liquor, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin and/or Sunflower Lecithin, Vanilla), Marzipan (Sugar, Almonds, Natural Almond Flavor), Invert Sugar, Tapioca Syrup, Cocoa Butter, Sunflower Lecithin 

Allergen-related information: Contains Almonds, Soy. Made in a Facility That Also Processes Milk, Eggs, Peanuts, and Other Tree Nuts.

Sisters A. Chocolate - Bean-to-Bar 81% Cacao Dominican Republic Cherry & Juniper (bar) - June 25, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Sisters A. Chocolate 
Bean-to-Bar 81% Cacao Dominican Republic Cherry & Juniper (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.14 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.29 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 178 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ Missing Information
Purchased from: Oceana Market, Pacifica, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate, Mountains, Forests, and Gardens Theme Week. 

Today's Bean-to-Bar 81% Cacao Dominican Republic Cherry & Juniper (bar) was from Sisters A. Chocolate. The company was founded in Lutsk, Ukraine, by two sisters: Olena and Oleksandra.

Aroma and flavor notes included: hearty cacao/dark chocolate, fruit (dark ripe cherries, cacao fruit pulp, dark berry) and faint wood, light pine, and barely detectable earth.

For an 81% cacao chocolate, this satisfying bar was quite smooth in flavor. Rich in taste but relatively low in bitterness and acidity.

Texture: creamy, soft (almost pillowy) dark chocolate with intermittent crunchy bits (candied/crushed juniper berries (and possibly cacao nibs)).

I really enjoyed the well-executed (balanced) yet hearty complexity, authentic flavors, and the natural (low) sweetness level from the ("sublimated") cherries--that provided rich, dark fruit flavor. I also appreciated the thoughtful sourcing and short list of ingredients.

Ingredients: cocoa beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter, freeze-dried cherry, juniper

Allergen-related Information: (No allergen information found on label)

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.

Ranger Chocolate - Doug-fir Peppermint Pattie (5 pack) - May 13, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Ranger Chocolate Co.
Doug-fir Peppermint Pattie (5 pack)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 1.23 oz. (70 g.) in total package of 5 patties
Calories: 145 calories (estim.) in 2 patties
Cost: $12.00 for 1 package of 5 patties
Purchased from: Ranger Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Bees and Trees Theme Week.

Today's Doug-fir Peppermint Pattie(s) were from Ranger Chocolate Co. (Portland, OR).

Aroma and flavor notes included authentic, refreshing peppermint and faint, aromatic and sweet pine (Douglas fir tips).

Texture: smooth dark chocolate with a fondant cream-style mint filling

I enjoyed these peppermint and fir tree flavored patties; they were refreshing and highly addictive.

Ingredients: "confectioners sugar (sugar and tapioca starch), chocolate (organic cacao, cacao butter, organic sugar), tapioca syrup, tapioca starch, extract (vanilla, water, alcohol, fir needle oil), sea salt, peppermint oil"

Allergen-related ingredients: "Manufactured in a facility that uses gluten, egg, milk, sesame, and tree nut ingredients"

 

Wildwood Chocolate - Ginger Pistachio 70% Cacao (bar) - May 11, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Wildwood Chocolate
Ginger Pistachio 70% Cacao (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.58 oz. (45 g.) / 3.17 oz. (90 g.) in total bar
Calories: 240 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $14.99 for 1 bar 
Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #13 of Chocolate and Warm Spices and Day #4 of Chocolate, Bees and Trees Theme Week--that includes chocolates with honey, maple and other tree flavors or references.

Today's Ginger Pistachio 70% Cacao (bar) was from Wildwood Chocolate (Portland, OR). The company name was likely inspired by the local Wildwood Trail in Forest Park in Portland.)

Aroma and flavor notes included: smooth, bittersweet dark chocolate; and authentic, balanced and "fresh" (just the right texture) flavor inclusions: candied ginger and salted roasted pistachio.

I loved the great balance of smooth dark chocolate, sweet and spicy and salty nutty flavors--as well as the well-executed smooth and chewy textures in this bar.

Ingredients: "Bittersweet Chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), Roasted Pistachios (pistachio, salt), Candied Ginger (ginger, sugar), Sea Salt."

Allergen-related information: "Contains Soy and Tree Nuts (Pistachio). May contain traces of the following if not listed above due to shared equipment: milk, peanuts, wheat or eggs."

Chocolove - "Bites" - Hazelnut Truffle in 33% Milk Chocolate - Mar. 9, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolove 
Bites - Hazelnut Truffle in 33% Milk Chocolate 
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 7.05 oz. (200 g.) in total package of 20  
Calories: 170 calories in 3 pieces 
Cost: $9.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: FarmFresh, online order 

Welcome to Day #12 of Chocolate and Outdoors Theme Week; and Day #1 of Chocolate and Hazelnut Theme Week.

Today's Bites - Hazelnut Truffle(s) in 33% Milk Chocolate were from Chocolove (Boulder, CO).

Aroma notes for these individually-wrapped, tree-shaped, filled bites included: rich milk chocolate, (warm cocoa with faint vanilla), and subtle nut butter (hazelnut).

A thick, creamy milk chocolate "tree" shell surrounded a ground hazelnut (nut butter) center, creating a layered gianduja confection-like tasting experience.

These will appeal to those with a sweet tooth who like milk chocolate and nut butter treats. (Think peanut butter cup offerings -- only with hazelnut butter.)

What I liked: 1.) the blend of chocolate and hazelnuts; 2.) these were made without gluten-containing ingredients and no artificial preservatives; 3.) individually wrapped chocolates that were easy to share with others and enjoy on a hike or other cool weather outdoor activity this month.

Ingredients: Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter**, Milk, Cocoa Liquor**, Soy Lecithin and/or Sunflower Lecithin, Vanilla), Hazelnut Butter, Cocoa Butter**, Organic Butter Oil, Sea Salt, Vitamin E (Mixed Tocopherols, Sunflower Oil). (** = Rainforest Alliance Certified. Find out more at ra.org.)

Allergen-related information: Contains: Hazelnuts, Milk, Soy. Made in a Facility That Also Processes Eggs, Peanuts, and Other Tree Nuts.

 

Chocolove - Bites - Peppermint Creme in 55% Dark Chocolate - Mar. 8, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolove 
Bites - Peppermint Creme in 55% Dark Chocolate
Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 7.05 oz. (200 g.) total package of 21 bites
Calories: 130 calories in 1 serving (3 pieces)
Cost: $9.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: FarmFresh, online order 

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Outdoors Theme Week--featuring granolas, trail mixes, tree-shaped chocolates and other outdoor-related chocolate items.

Today's individually-wrapped, tree-shaped Peppermint Cremes in 55% (Belgian) Dark Chocolate were from Chocolove (Boulder, CO).

Aroma notes for these chocolates "tree" bites included: hearty, smooth dark chocolate and aromatic creme-de-menthe peppermint.

The thick dark chocolate (pine-tree shaped) outer shell was firm, almost crunchy in a cool room (64 degrees F.), and provided good protection for the soft, white, fondant center.

Flavor notes included: hearty, smooth dark chocolate (that tasted like it could've been 65% or even 70% dark chocolate) and zingy soft peppermint. 

This was a well-executed and tasty blend of authentic dark chocolate and peppermint -- two bold flavors that can stand up to, and complement, each other very nicely in the right proportions. I felt like I was up in the snow-covered Sierra mountains on a crisp, sunny day.

Ingredients: Dark Chocolate (Cocoa Liquor**, Sugar, Cocoa Butter**, Soy Lecithin and/or Sunflower Lecithin, Vanilla), Fondant (Cane Sugar, Glucose Syrup, Water), Tapioca Syrup, Cocoa Butter**, Peppermint Oil (**Rainforest Alliance Certified. Find out more at ra.org.)

Allergen-related information: "Contains Soy. Made In A Facility That Also Processes Milk, Eggs, Peanuts, and Tree Nuts."

 

Naive - Black Sauna Smoked Chocolate (bar) - Nov. 1, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolate Naive
Black Sauna Smoked Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .66 oz. (19 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 113.6 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $15.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Black Sauna Smoked Chocolate (bar) was created by Domantas Uzpalis at Chocolate Naive and produced by Mulate UAB (Vilnius, Lithuania).

Umami foods have been described as smokey, meaty and/or earthy. They tend to be savory, and may (or may not) contain salt. Today's unique 70% dark chocolate bar explores smoked cacao blended with a few specific botanicals (fir, charcoal, wormwood), associated with black sauna traditions in northern and northeastern Europe.

I braced myself for some smoke-monster aroma; but this was not the case. Aroma notes for this bar included: subtle pine, light sweet mint/menthol, and subtle, buttery and smooth dark chocolate.

The texture was smooth with nice melt and very slight granularity.

Flavor notes included: slight aromatic smoke note, mild diffuse fruit (red berry), and sweet green herbs and botanicals (including faint sweet pine). This bar did contain a small amount of sea salt, but I couldn't detect it. The very subtle smoke note was much closer to sweet herb than American savory BBQ or smoked salmon smoke. (Tomorrow I will feature Chocolate Naive's BBQ Spice dark chocolate bar.)

I paired this chocolate was a cup of hot dried sage tea (a pairing suggestion by the maker) + green tea. (Green tea is also considered umami.)

Maker's description: "Flavor notes: initial punch of strong and smoky flavor followed by sweet and aromatic pine notes. Biting bitterness of the wormwood at the finish." "Pairing suggestions: "We recommend to pair this bar with herbal tisanes (also known as herbal tea infusions). Try pairing with fermented fireweed tea or something more traditional, like sage, mint or chamomile tea."

Ingredients: Wild smoked cacao, wild cane sugar, wild pure cacao butter, wild Siberian fir (2%), wild activated birch charcoal, wild wormwood (1%), wild sea salt.

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of milk, wheat, treenuts or peanuts."

Qantu Cacao et Chocolat - Noyer Noir Black Walnut 70% (bar) - Oct. 30, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Qantu Cacao et Chocolat Inc.
Noyer Noir, Black Walnut (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 227 calories in 4/5 bar
Cost: $21.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Black walnuts may be one of the most "umami"* of nuts. And most of us rarely taste true black walnuts. Instead, at least where I live in California, we are usually snacking on the milder English walnuts (aka Persian walnuts).

Today's Noyer Noir, Black Walnut dark chocolate (bar) was created from bean-to-bar by Qantu Cacao et Chocolat Inc. (Montreal, QC, Canada). This 70% bar was a triple tribute to three trees: cacao, black walnut and maple. 

Some describe black walnuts as bold and earthy and even bitter or tannic. But, they're more complex, and more nuanced than that. (I did not detect much earth or bitterness in this black walnut chocolate; although it may have made the base chocolate seem less sweet, which was fine with me.)

Aroma and flavor notes for this bar included: black walnut, maple, faint and diffuse fruit, and very faint fleeting kalamata olive, forest and floral. 

About 5 seconds into the first bite, there was a bloom of bright fruit-floral flavor. Not too sweet though (thank you). Plenty of complex but elegant (umami) flavor. 

In addition to the fruit (subtle ripe dark berry), there was a trace of almost sweet, tree terpene (gentle pine) in the finish along with unique, not quite floral (orchid, very faint tuberose or lilac) notes. 

It was a very well-executed bar. It seemed to possess just the right amounts of everything. Whatever the cacao source/variety, it was certainly a fine match for the black walnuts--that had a slightly bolder and more complex flavor profile. And the maple seemed like the perfect sweetener.

Not all chocolates evoke thoughts of beverage pairings. However, something in this chocolate made me wonder what a wine pairing would taste like. While I didn't have the opportunity to investigate (I'd also finished the chocolate by that time.) But it might be fun to hunt for matches with this chocolate in the future.

Maker's description: "Eye: caramelized black walnut pieces; Nose: floral like lilac; Mouth: like a good Chardonnay; Finish: fruity with a touch of pine tree"

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, cane sugar, black walnut, maple syrup, cocoa butter

Allergen-related information: Contains nuts (black walnuts). "May contain traces of milk."

*Umami foods (tomatoes, parmesan cheese, mushrooms, meats, etc.) generally contain fairly high levels of glutamate. In the nut and seed category, almond and walnuts are relatively high in glutamate content.

Standout Chocolate - Nordic Nature Spruce Shoots 66% (bar) - Oct. 19, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Standout Chocolate

Nordic Nature Spruce Shoots 66% (bar)

Good ++

Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar

Calories: 144.5 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $11.50 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Organic and vegan Nordic Nature Spruce Shoots 66% (bar) was handcrafted by chocolate maker Fredrik Martinsson and team at Standout Chocolate (Kallered, Sweden).

Aroma and flavor notes included tart sweet green and citrus as well as very faint evergreen forest notes.

The cacao used to make this bar was grown in the Dominican Republic and it provided dark rich flavor (Forastero-Trinitario hybrid cacao variety perhaps?) with one faint, fleeting flicker of earth. The sugar, chocolate and spruce together created a nicely-balanced red berry-citrus like sweetness.

I highly recommend this unique and tasty spruce tip flavored bar for chocolate lovers who also enjoy botanicals and edible plants. No surprise--coming from an area where evergreens are enjoyed and appreciated--the spruce flavor in this chocolate was particularly wonderful.*

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar, organic cacao butter, organic spruce shoots.

Allergen-related information: May contain milk.

*Native Americans also used edible Spruce tips (as well as spruce "gum" (resin) and occasionally inner bark) for medicinal purposes. And European explorers learned to stave off scurvy with these Vitamin C rich botanicals. Occasionally I am able to find Douglas Fir and/or spruce tree tip teas; but they're a rare commercial find in the U.S.

Ritual Chocolate - Juniper Lavender Chocolate 70% Cacao (bar) - Apr. 12, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Ritual Chocolate

Juniper Lavender Chocolate 70% Cacao (bar)

Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 162 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Trees and Bees Theme Week. We can thank, in part, juniper trees (berries), for today's featured bar.

Today's Juniper Lavender Chocolate 70% Cacao (bar) was from Ritual Chocolate (Park City, UT).

The aroma of this bar--redolent of lavender flower buds and juniper berry--could be bottled and sold. It was heavenly. 

The flavor of these two powerfully aromatic botanical inclusions were skillfully blended with a relatively bold, dark cacao. There was a slight astringency that brought me back down to earth (often a natural component of juniper berries). Still an amazing bar though. I enjoyed the touch of unexpected red berry fruitiness and nicely balanced tart acidity and faint pine/evergreen/citrus (similar to edible Douglas Fir tree branch/needle tips).

A big thumbs up to the makers for orchestrating all these powerful flavors together so successfully.

For a super luxe tasting experience I look forward to buying this special bar again (if, fingers crossed, it is available); and using pieces or shavings to add to/garnish high-end desserts (or as a surprise guest square on fruit and cheese platters, small food plates).

Ingredients: Cacao, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, dried juniper berries, culinary lavender.

Square Organics, Inc. - Chocolate Coated Nuts and Sea Salt Organic Protein Bar - June 25, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Square Organics, Inc.

Chocolate Coated Nuts and Sea Salt Organic Protein Bar

Good 

Weight: 1.6 oz. (44 g.) / 18.6 oz. (528 g.) in total box of 12 bars

Calories: 210 calories in 1 bar

Cost: $7.99 for 1 bar

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

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate, Bees and Trees Theme Week.

Today's Chocolate Coated Nuts and Sea Salt Organic Protein Bar was distributed by Square Organics, Inc. (Oakland, CA).

This individually-wrapped bar had a light mildly nutty, coconut caramel cookie aroma. The chocolate coating had a smooth, relatively rapid melt and relatively velvety mouthfeel. 

The sweet chocolate complemented a satisfying, sweet oat and nut cookie-like filling with a soft chew. Brown rice protein added some heft; and a hint of sea salt helped balance the sweetness. The bar had a relatively mild and clean finish.

Why feature this bar as part of a Chocolate, Bees and Trees Theme Week?

The number one ingredient* in this vegan protein bar was organic coconut nectar (the sweetener made from coconut blossom sap), gathered by farmers high up in the under-canopy of coconut trees.**

*Ingredients: Organic Coconut Nectar, Organic Whole Grain Brown Rice Protein, Organic Dark Chocolate (Organic Cocoa Liquor, Organic Dried Cane Syrup, Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Almond Butter, Organic Oats, Organic Cashews, Organic Coconut Oil, Organic Cocoa Liquor, Organic Almonds, Sunflower Lecithin, Sea Salt"

**Coconut Palm Tree Sugar

In Northeast North America, maple-leafed maple sugar candies are venerated confections. The impossibly sweet, amber brown-sugar colored candies, made from maple tree sap, had a velvety texture and melt. (Honeybees are also attracted to maple trees--to their tiny flowers and sap.) And maple sugar/syrup also provide a flavorful sweetener for certain chocolates.

In warmer climates, sugars are derived from different palm trees, including 1.) Sugar palms (Arenga pinnata, aka areng palm or black sugar palm); 2.) Coconut palm sugar/nectar trees (Cocos nucifera); and 3.) Date palm trees (Phoenix dactylifera)--where date sugar is extracted from the fruit (date) instead of the tree's sap or nectar. 

Today's featured sweetener, coconut palm sugar is made by heating , stirring, and reducing nectar down to a thick sweet syrup. The steps are similar to the maple syrup/sugar making process; although in Southeast Asia large woks are sometimes used instead of large pots to condense the liquid sap.

When I was traveling through Vietnam (where cacao also grows) and Cambodia, I noticed someone using a bamboo "ladder" to climb a very tall coconut tree near an old stone temple. This coconut nectar farmer worked with very minimal equipment (safety or otherwise) to harvest the sweet liquid. Farmers bring up and attach bamboo or plastic "pails," then bring down these containers containing liquid nectar from the flower bearing part of the tree which may be made into syrup or sugar or coconut candy.

Like many unprocessed sugars, coconut sugar can add a slight warmth or faint caramel flavor to chocolate, which worked nicely with today's protein bar. (It also scores lower on the glycemic index than white cane or beet sugars.)

Ranger Chocolate - 66% Cacao with Maple Sugar (bar) - June 24, 2020

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ranger Chocolate
66% Cacao with Maple Sugar (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.125 oz. (32 g.)/ 2.25 oz. (64 g.) in total bar
Calories: 169 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Ranger Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Bees and Trees Theme Week.

Today's 66% Cacao with Maple Sugar (bar) was from Ranger Chocolate (Portland, OR)--a company that has a tree graphic as part of their logo.

The company has paired sweet maple sugar crystals (made from maple tree sap) with a "bold, fruit forward Trinitario cacao." 

This thick, aromatic bar smelled great. It had a rich chocolate and authentic maple sugar aroma and flavor with faint molasses, spice and fruit notes.

The melt was long and smooth and became more creamy in texture as you could get your mouth around each relatively thick bite. Patience was rewarded. And the finish was clean, fading with a light trace of maple and faint spice. Given the potentially cloying flavor of maple sugar, this was relatively well balanced in terms of flavors and the Trinitario cacao fruitiness was able to shine through a bit, enhanced by the maple.

Maker's tasting notes read: "strawberry and maple syrup."

Tree sugars
Most chocolate bars and confections in the U.S. are flavored with cane sugar and perhaps beet sugar.

Honey from beehives in trees, tree fruit and blossoms, and and tree sap(s) also have been time-honored sweeteners. Maple sugar (from tree sap) and palm coconut sugar (made from the sap of flower buds) are two examples of the latter. It's been a treat to feature chocolates with some of these "tree" related sweeteners this week.

Ocho Caramel and Reese's milk chocolate peanut butter filled trees - Dec. 25, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ocho
Organic Caramel Trees - Milk Chocolate
Good +
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33 g.) / 3.88 oz. (110 g.) in total package
Calories: 150 calories in 3 pieces
Cost: $1.99 (estimate) for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Reese's
(The Hershey Company)
Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter - Tree stuffed with Reese's pieces
Good
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31 g.) in 1 small package
Calories: 160 calories in 1 package
Cost: $0.79 for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Holiday Tea and Spirits Theme Week.

Decorating holiday trees this week, and hiking outdoors with friends and family inspired the choice of two filled chocolate "trees" on Christmas Day. It was also a beautiful day outdoors today, with live trees and lit up trees of all kinds, everywhere.

Hope you all enjoyed the holidays.

Ocho Caramel Trees
The individually-wrapped, diminutive Milk Chocolate Caramel Tree from Ocho was oozing with fresh, authentic-tasting caramel. And the chocolate tasted authentic and relatively high-quality as well. Did I mention these were Organic as well?

Ocho, based in Oakland, CA, was an early player in the healthier candy bar market, with offerings that not only lacked artificial colors or preservatives, but also were organic and better tasting than their packaged candy ancestors.

The Reese's* Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Tree

Reese's small novelty holiday tree was filled with colorful, candy-coated, crunchy Reese's pieces. Stuffing the "ornaments" inside the peanut butter tree, made for a sweeter, crunchier tasting experience than the standard peanut butter cup.

*The H.B. Reese Candy Company is a subsidiary of Hersheys (The Hershey Company, Hershey, PA). The two companies became one in the early 1960s.

SOMA - Birch branch filled with hazelnuts, cherry jam - Dec. 2, 2016

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

SOMA Chocolate
Birch Branch with Hazelnut Crunch, Montmorency Cherry Jam
Very Good
Weight: .25 oz. (7 g.) / 11.3 oz. (320 g.) in total box
Calories: 37.5 calories (estimate) in 1 small piece
Purchased from: N/A - gift from Megan (Thank you!)

Welcome to hazelnut heaven, and Day #7 of Chocolate, Almond and Hazelnut Theme Week.

Today's chocsimile* of a birch branch from SOMA Chocolatemaker (Toronto) looked very much like the real thing, because it was carefully crafted from a real birch branch.

A mold was made from a special branch, and the mold is carefully "lined" with chocolate, and stuffed with a soft hazelnut crunch filling with Montmorency Cherry Jam in the center.

The result was magical—the envy of every squirrel and snowman in the forest I'm sure. And it tasted as wonderful as it looked. This very special treat would be great for a holiday party or sharing with others. It's likely to be seasonal, so check with SOMA (and/or their website) about availability.

Where's the Almond you say?
Funny you should ask. I also enjoyed another slice of heaven found in a Barre Infernal (Dark) from Francois Pralus** (France). I tasted the first of these Infernale bars (there's a milk and a dark version, and the dark version has hazelnuts and almonds) five years ago in 2011 at The Chocolate Garage (Palo Alto, CA).

This substantial Pralus bar reminded me of today's hazelnut Birch Branch from SOMA. This dark Pralus bar was large enough to be sliced and contained a hazelnut (and almond) filling. (Picture of bar at right is from the Francois Pralus website.)

*Chocolate facsimile
** Francois Pralus is a Master Chocolatier and chocolate maker based in France who makes single origin and bean-to-bar chocolate.

***Note: This item was not gluten-free. There was some flour involved in making the hazelnut filling crunchy. And while the type of flour was not specified, I'm assuming it was conventional (wheat) flour. 

Cocanu - Holy Wood and Gardel bars - Sept. 5, 2016

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Cocanu Chocolate

Holy Wood
Dark chocolate and palo santo 70% bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .8 oz. (25 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 132 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $5.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Cacao at The Heathman, Portland, OR

Gardel
Dark chocolate, hazelnuts, fernet 72% bar
Good +
Weight: .8 oz. (25 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 132 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $5.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Meadow (original Mississippi location), Portland, OR

Welcome to the last day of Chocolate, Fruit and Botanicals Month, and the first day of Ecuadorian Cacao Theme Week.

Today's two relatively sweet dark bars hailed from Cocanu Chocolate (Portland, OR). I bought them at two different specialty retail shops in Portland (Cacao and The Meadow—both great sources for interesting, high-quality chocolates).

Cocanu's 70% cacao Holy Wood bar was made with Nacional cacao from Ecuador and infused with aromatic Palo Santo wood, also from Ecuador. The wood's flavor was so subtle, I failed to detect it. Could it be that this flavor is part of the terroir that I already associate with Ecuador? Another possibility: I dulled my palette with something I ate or drank earlier.

The company's 72% Gardel bar did have a subtle, pleasing overall hazelnut taste, with a few tiny crunchy nut bits embedded in it. The "fernet"—Fernet Branca (a botanical liqueur popular in Europe— was so subtle that, like the bar above, I missed it.

Both square bars (sealed with a fleur de lis wax stamp) were thick enough to provide a substantial bite, and thin enough to make flavors accessible, in other words just the right thickness for tasting in my opinion.

Menrose - MilkBoy Switzerland bar with Pine - June 22, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Menrose GmbH
MilkBoy - 60% with Pine bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 220 calories in 2/5 bar
Cost: $5.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Draeger's, San Mateo, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Swiss Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's 60% Cocoa* MilkBoy bar from Menrose GmbH (made in Zurich, Switzerland) felt a little more authentically Swiss. After all, the packaging was adorned with a black and white illustration** of villagers frolicking through a Tyrolian village somewhere in the Alps.

I'm sure of it. I can almost see the white Edelweiss flowers and smell the clean, pine-scented mountain air. The "MilkBoy"—dressed in traditional gear and carrying a milk pail on his back—is about to lead his cows up to higher pastures for the summer.

So, what was the very subtle hint of mint + mild floral citrus note I tasted in this bar?

I should have guessed. The dark Swiss chocolate bar was flavored with just the right amount of essential pine tree oil: enough to have some fun without being overpowering. So, a few extra points for the creative flavor infusion.

And speaking of fun, look at those goats up in those trees. And what are those two monkeys doing inside the Swiss chalet? Oh, wait, those are two cats with long curling tails. Never mind.

*This bar was made from Utz certified cocoa.

**The image on the packaging was the work of an artist skilled in the traditional art of papercut silhouettes (decoupaging incredibly carefully trimmed black paper shapes on white paper).

ChocolateBet: December 23, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 "tree"
Reese's/Hershey
Milk Chocolate Reese's Peanut Butter Tree
Very Good
Wt.: 1.2 oz. (34 grams)/7.2 oz. (204 g.) in total package of 6 trees
Calories: 180 calories
Cost: $3.99 for package of 6 trees
Purchased from: Walgreens, in Palo Alto, CA

My kind of 6-pack. One for me, five to share. Happy holidays to all.