Goodio - Coffee 56% Cacao (bar) - Sept. 4, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Goodio
Coffee 56% Cacao (bar)
Good + - Good ++ 
Weight: .848 oz. (24 g.) / 1.7 oz. (48 g.) in total bar
Calories: 135 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $6.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Caputo's, online order

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

Today's Coffee 56% Cacao (bar) from Goodio Craft Chocolate was manufactured by Helsinki Heaven Oy (Vantaa, Finland).

According to the Goodio website, the cacao used to make this bar was from Peru.

Aroma notes for this Finnish coffee + chocolate bar included: chocolate, nut and very faint herbal (mint family), coffee and coconut.

Texture: slightly grainy (stoneground) chocolate that broke with a relatively soft snap, but had a pleasant melt.

Flavor notes included: subtle, sweet (Criollo) chocolate; faint coffee; very faint herbal; and subtle caramelized coconut/brown sugar covered, ground nuts.

I appreciated the relatively short list of thoughtfully sourced organic ingredients and the interesting blend of flavors in this sweet chocolate.

Maker's notes: "Starring sweet, smooth and powerful organic coffee with cashew nuts for creamy taste."

Ingredients: Cacao beans*, Coconut palm sugar*, Cacao butter*, Cashew nuts*, Coconut flakes*, Coffee bean*. (*Organic).

Allergen-related Information: "Contains nuts (cashew). Dairy, gluten & soy free"

Fossa Chocolate - 44% Dark Pulut Hitam (bar) + Vanuatu lunch - Jan. 28, 2025

Chocolate(s) of the Day 

Fossa Chocolate
44% Dark Pulut Hitam (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 284 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $15.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Vanuatu Week. For the last day of this theme week, I enjoyed two items.

Vanuatu Laplap

First I made some "laplap." Also known as the "national dish of Vanuatu," this baked pudding contained yam, green banana, coconut milk and salt. (I also added a little cinnamon, ginger and kumquat zest.) I enjoyed it, and will likely make it again.

The laplap was followed by today's chocolate made with purple rice and coconut palm sugar--inspired by the Indonesian dessert Pulut Hitam (a black/purple rice porridge with coconut palm sugar that is also popular in Singapore and elsewhere).

Pulut Hitam (bar)

Today's 44% Dark Pulut Hitam bar was from Fossa Chocolate Pte Ltd (Singapore).

Aroma and flavor notes included: soft cocoa (luscious light cocoa, faint floral and very faint diffuse fruit); aromatic purple rice; faint coconut, cocoa butter and rice pudding notes; and (imagined) pandan leaf.

Texture: smooth, slight creamy starch, quickly followed by a rich, creamy melt and mouthfeel.

The makers successfully channeled the sweet soul of rice pudding in this chocolate, plus the subtle flavors in the cacao, the purple rice and the coconut sugar that we rarely experience with "plain" white rice pudding in the U.S.* 

Ingredients: Cacao butter, purple glutinous rice, cacao, coconut palm sugar, cane sugar.

Allergen-related information: Contains coconut (sugar). "Produced in a facility that processes nuts & dairy."

*The first rice puddings likely originated in China or India. Today we have many different versions of this dish/dessert around the world (kheer in India; sombi in Senegal; Arroz con Leche in Mexico, etc.)

Most modern American versions use white rice, milk, sugar and often egg. Occasionally we adorn our white rice pudding with raisins, cinnamon, vanilla, sweet citrus peel, or maybe a little spirits (rum, whiskey)); but most of what is sold in stores is ivory-hued, soft, comfort food.

 

Oodaalolly - 70% Premium Cacao Dark Chocolate with Coconut Sugar (bar) - Jan. 18, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Oodaalolly, A H&G
70% Premium Cacao Dark Chocolate with Coconut Sugar (bar)
Good ++  
Weight: 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 380 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Oodaalolly, online order

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and the Philippines Theme Week.

Today's 70% Premium Cacao Dark Chocolate with Coconut Sugar (bar) was made by Oodaalolly, A H&G (Richmond, CA).

The sugar lent great, rich, nuanced sweetness. The taste wasn't maple sugar; it wasn't brown sugar...It was in its own class. And it harmonized very nicely with the 70% cacao dark chocolate.

I loved the sugar flavor; the balance of dark chocolate and sugar; and the short list of quality, organic ingredients. (I also found this bar to be mildly addictive.)

Maker's description: "Delicious 70% dark chocolate infused with the golden sweetness of coconut sugar from the Philippines..."

Ingredients: "Organic Cacao Nibs, Organic Coconut Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter"

Allergen-related information: Manufactured In a Facility That Also Processes Milk, Almond, Coconut"

 

Hu Chocolate - Salty Dark Chocolate Organic 70% Cacao (bar) - Apr. 8, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Hu Chocolate
Salty - Dark Chocolate Organic 70% Cacao (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.05 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $2.99 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA 

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Sea Salt. 

Today's Hu Salty Dark Chocolate Organic 70% Cacao, Vegan, Paleo bar was made in Italy and distributed by Hu Products, LLC (Austin, TX).

The company has earned a reputation for thoughtful ingredients. It has long eschewed refined/cane sugar, sugar alcohols, erythritol--choosing coconut palm sugar* instead. Also missing/avoided are potential allergens and ingredients like dairy, soy, palm oil, and lecithins (emulsifiers). And the founders were early adopters of organic and fair trade cacao and cocoa butter for their line of chocolate bars and confections.

Aroma notes for this bar included: chocolate (rich cocoa, dark drinking chocolate), faint molasses and/or coconut sugar, and very faint salt (fleeting, salted potato chip).

This Organic, Fairtrade sweet and salty chocolate had a smooth, stoneground texture and taste, and a satisfying mouthfeel (cocoa butter).

Flavor notes included chocolate (dark chocolate ganache, faint fleeting earth), faint molasses cookie, and salt. The sweetness (coconut palm sugar) was uniform; and this less refined sugar felt less "buzzy" than cane sugar.*

There was one slightly more salty bite in the bar than the others that justified the "Salty" moniker. (Often the case with salted chocolates.) Otherwise the flavors were balanced and the bar was more sweet than salty.

Ingredients: Organic, Fairtrade cacao; Organic unrefined coconut sugar; Organic, Fairtrade cocoa butter, sea salt.

Allergen-related information: Contains coconut. May contain almond, cashews, hazelnut, pistachio, and dairy. Allergen cleans made prior to production, but beware that product is produced using equipment that also processes tree nuts, soy, dairy (and) wheat.

*Coconut palm sugar is made from coconut flower blossom sap--often hand harvested--from high up in palm tree canopies, growing in tropical locales. 

Notably, this sugar has a lower score on the Glycemic Index (than glucose or cane sugar). This is a good thing for those with insulin resistance or blood sugar management challenges. Although it must be noted there are many factors that go into blood sugar levels. E.g., a piece of fruit has high sugar levels, but may be accompanied by fiber and other nutrients.

Bottom line: with coconut palm sugar or brown sugars, you may experience a lower, or less rapid/pronounced, spike in blood sugar than you would with more processed "white" cane sugar used in most chocolates. 

My experience: coconut palm sugar feels (subjectively) like a lower blood sugar spike (up to 30-40% less) for me. And I enjoy less of a sugar buzz. Your mileage may vary.

Dr. Bronner's - Magic All-One Chocolate - Peppermint Cream Dark Chocolate 70% (bar) - Oct. 16, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Dr. Bronner's 

Magic All-One Chocolate

Cool Peppermint Cream Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa (bar)

Good ++ - Good +++

Weight: 1.93 oz. (54.78 g.) / 2.93 oz. (83 g.) in total bar

Calories: 340 calories (per label) in 2/3 bar

Cost: $ N/A - company supplied and sent samples

Purchased from: N/A - company supplied samples

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

Today's Magic All-One Chocolate - Cool Peppermint Cream Dark Chocolate 70% Cocoa (bar) was made in Switzerland and distributed by Dr. Bronner's (Vista, CA).

Dr. Bronner's is a U.S.-based, family-owned company ("family soapmakers since 1858"), best known for their organic soaps, that (full disclosure) I have used at home for many years. One of their most historically popular soap scents was peppermint. 

In 2021 the company introduced a line of six Organic, fair trade (fair for life) certified chocolate bars, with an emphasis on regenerative farming and ethical supply chains. (Cocoa is from Ghana and the Ivory Coast.)*

But, there was no mint, specifically peppermint, flavor in the initial Dr. Bronner's 2021 Magic All-One Chocolate line-up. This fall (2022), an eagerly anticipated Peppermint bar has become available; and it was worth the wait.

Peppermint Cream Dark Chocolate 70% 

Aroma notes for this organic, gluten-free bar included: a harmonious blend of rich, chocolate (fudge brownie, very faint lemon herb (oxalis)), very faint coconut and maple (tree sap), and menthol (peppermint).

The aroma immediately put me at ease that this was not going to be an overly sweet chocolate bar with a blast of amped up, sugary mint flavoring. Nor was the relatively bold 70% chocolate going to be overly sharp/bitter. And these first impressions were all true. 

The smooth, but relatively flavorful dark chocolate (made with what tasted like a milder, well-balanced Forastero variety of cacao) held a natural caramel-colored filling that was judiciously sweetened (with organic coconut sugar). And, it was infused with the perfect amount of authentic peppermint--enough to impart a little warmth and authentic botanical mint glow-- without the after-dinner-mint or mint toothpaste-level of sweetness. 

The gentler, harmonic flavor complexity showed what more subtle, authentic mint can offer. And the judicious use of the less buzzy (lower glycemic) coconut palm sugar reminded me why I've used Dr. Bronner's soaps all these years. They offer all of what I do want, and none of what I don't want or need. (Thank you!)

Ingredients: Fair trade organic cocoa beans, fair trade organic coconut sugar, fair trade organic cocoa butter, organic sunflower oil, organic peppermint oil, fair trade organic bourbon vanilla bean. 

Allergen-related information: "Made on equipment that processes almonds, hazelnuts, milk, coconut and soy." 

*The company's work with cocoa farmers in West Africa was a natural extension of work already underway with sustainably harvested palm oil (used in soaps). The current Bronner management team also continues in honoring their grandfather's (founder Emanuel Bronner's) philosophy--bits of which are printed on Dr. Bronner soap and chocolate labels.

"....we are all-one or none" appeared on the pieces of chocolate I enjoyed today. Still as relevant a sentiment today as it was in the 1900s.

Zotter - 60% Milk Chocolate with Coconut Blossom Sugar - Oct. 14, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Zotter
60% Milk Chocolate with Coconut Blossom Sugar (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.235 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.99 (sale) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Zotterusa.com, online order

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

Today's 60% Milk Chocolate with Coconut Blossom Sugar (bar) was made in Austria and distributed by Zotter Chocolates US LLC (Cape Coral, FL).*

Aroma notes for this 60% dark milk bar included: graham cracker, faint coconut cookie, very faint lemon-green herb (oxalis, sorrel, sour grass), very faint, diffuse fruit (mild red berry, mild sweet citrus) and barely there floral (vanilla) and caramel notes.

This approachable chocolate had gentle complexity, mellowed by vanilla and milk. A judicious amount of vanilla bean powder added pleasing flavor and implied sweetness. And milk added creaminess. The 60% cacao milk chocolate was sweet, but not overwhelmingly so. 

The bar was sweetened with a generous dose of coconut blossom sugar. (Coconut blossom sugar is collected/harvested from high up in the canopy of coconut palm trees, and is lower on the glycemic index (scale) than white cane sugar.) This coconut blossom-based sugar imparts a nice, mild flavor and less sugar buzz--even in today's bar where it comprised 23% of this bar's constituents.

Ingredients: Organic, fair traded cocoa mass; organic, fair traded coconut blossom sugar (23%); dry whole milk; organic, fair traded cocoa butter; salt; organic vanilla bean powder.

Allergen-related information: Contains coconut, milk. "Manufactured on equipment that processes other tree nuts, peanuts, sesame and soy."

*The company's Florida-based operation in the U.S. was affected by Hurricane Ian recently (Fall 2022) and there may be delays in ordering certain products. 

Equal Exchange - Organic Chocolate 55% Cacao Coconut Milk (bar) - June 14, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Equal Exchange 
Organic Chocolate 55% Cacao Coconut Milk (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories in 9 pieces (squares) of bar (1 serving)
Cost: $2.39 for 1 bar
Purchased from: New Leaf Community Markets, Half Moon Bay, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Tea Theme Week, featuring chocolate and tea pairings.

Today's Organic Chocolate 55% Cacao Coconut Milk with Coconut Palm Sugar (bar) was produced in Switzerland for Equal Exchange Co-op (West Bridgewater, MA).

Equal Exchange, a co-op owned company, has been building alternative supply chain relationships and focusing on fair trade and small farmers for many years. Their offerings include chocolate, coffee, and other packaged foods.

The ingredients used to make this bar were all grown by small farmer co-operatives around the globe. The organic cacao was grown in the Dominican Republic and Peru. The organic sugar was from Paraguay and Costa Rica. The organic vanilla was from Madagascar; and the organic coconut was from Sri Lanka and Indonesia.

This bar had notably thick, coconut (milk) creamy texture with rich, sweet, authentic toasted coconut, chocolate and brown sugar (aroma and) flavors. A hint of vanilla enhanced the sense of sweetness even more. This 55% cacao bar would be great for coconut lovers with a sweet tooth and/or those searching for a sweet diary milk chocolate alternative with a little extra flavor.

Tea Pairings

Pairing chocolate with wine, tea, coffee or milk(s), can be tricky. Ideally, one should not dominate or take the other chocolate or beverage flavor(s) sideways. The best pairings elevate each both items, resulting in delicious blend. 

I tried pairing today's coconut milk chocolate with the following tea-related items:

1.) Frozen Brown Sugar Boba tea and vanilla ice cream bar (from Taiwan)
2.) Chilled Hibiscus kombucha tea
3.) Warm chai tea (oolong tea, chai spices and chai spice-infused honey)
4.) Hot/warm grapefruit leaf tea

Once again, I found that frozen and chilled tea items dulled chocolate (bar) flavors. (Cocoa butter melts at around body temperature, at which point fats and solids start separating and, arguably, the zone where embedded flavors are most easily released and enjoyed.)

Today's coconut chocolate bar was also quite sweet (a bit of a challenge), ruling out many sweetened tea offerings as partners for fear of creating overly sugared blends. 

The pairing winner? Hot/warm fresh grapefruit leaf tea (think light green, lemon, and faint lemongrass notes). This will not come as a complete surprise to those who like Thai warm coconut milk and lemon grass (savory) soups or chilled lemongrass and coconut sugar drinks. The unsweetened, fresh grapefruit leaf tisane/tea added some flavor depth/lift in the form of light acidic fruit and green notes and balanced the inherent sweetness of this bar.

Ingredients: Fairly traded, organic coconut palm sugar; fairly traded, organic chocolate liquor; fairly traded, organic cocoa butter; fairly traded, organic coconut flakes; organic coconut milk powder (fairly traded, organic coconut milk, organic tapioca maltodextrin).

Allergen-related: "Contains coconut. May contain milk, peanuts, hazelnuts and almonds."

The Oakland Chocolate Company - Caramel Bar - March 5, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

The Oakland Chocolate Company
Caramel Bar
Good ++ - +++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.35 g.) in total bar
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.50 for 1 bar + shipping
Purchased from: The Oakland Chocolate Company, Oakland, CA

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

Today's Caramel Bar was made by Nancy Nadel owner and chief chocolate maker at The Oakland Chocolate Company (Oakland, CA). Nadel makes reasonably priced, high-end craft chocolate bars and confections, from scratch, using cacao grown in Jamaica.

This snack-sized, filled, dark chocolate Caramel Bar was a very satisfying take on a traditional dark chocolate and caramel filled confection. A thick covering of flavorful, rich dark chocolate elevated this bar to the next level. 

When I started Chocolate Banquet in 2006, most chocolate covered caramels had fragile, bland and sweet chocolate shells that collapsed (into a sweet, sticky mess) if not handled very carefully. The emphasis was on the sugar and not on the chocolate. 

This Oakland Chocolate Co. bar was an artful melding of single origin (Bachelors Hall Estate (farm), Jamaica) dark chocolate (with fudge brownie aroma and flavor notes) and soft, rich, buttery caramel--made with real cream and butter.*

The addition of the coconut palm sugar used to make the caramel filling increased flavor depth and helped reduce the sugar buzz** a little (thank you Nancy!). Yet, there was enough sweetness to be appealing to caramel fans as well.

Today's Caramel Bar was a satisfying and enjoyable high-end take on a confectionery classic.

*Ingredients: "Cocoa mass (direct source from farmer Desmond Jadusingh, Bachelors Hall, Jamaica), organic cane sugar, cocoa butter, cream (milk), butter, organic coconut palm sugar, rice syrup, vanilla, sea salt." 

** Coconut palm sugar is lower on the glycemic index than processed cane sugar. I noticed I wasn't experiencing as rapid a rise in blood sugar, i.e. a "hard" sugar buzz, with this sweetener many years ago when I started sampling chocolates made with coconut palm sugar. And as long as a sweetener (of any sort) doesn't interfere with tasting the chocolate, I am all for that. The stimulants in cacao (primarily theobromine, and a bit of caffeine) in chocolate are enough for me. 

Coconut palm sugar starts with people climbing high up in palm trees to gather coconut flower sap/nectar that is then made into the sugar we see in stores and in chocolates. After watching people collect this nectar in SE Asia, I have a great deal of respect for those engaged in this work.

Soklet - Coconut Crunch - 60% Coconut Milk Chocolate (bar) - Feb. 9, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Soklet 
Coconut Crunch - 60% Coconut Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good 
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 270 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 (+ shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and India Theme Week. 

Today's Soklet (pronounced 'sohk let) Coconut Crunch 60% Coconut Milk Chocolate bar was made from tree to bar in India, manufactured by Regal Foods and Beverages (Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India). 

Happily, in the past decade more single origin bars made with Indian cacao have become available in the U.S., including a series of Soklet bars featured this week. 

Cacao is grown in four southern states in India: Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala--typically with other crops (e.g. palm and coconut trees) that can provide the smaller cacao trees with some shade. The cacao used to make this bar was grown in the foothills of the Anamalai(s) (also known as the Elephant Mountains) in Tamil Nadu.

This vegan milk chocolate bar had a pleasant aroma with coconut rice pudding, light sweet (coconut palm sugar/brown sugar/light molasses) and chocolate notes. 

It was a polite 60% chocolate, very low in fruit acidity and bitterness. And the bar was not overly sweet (thank you). 

This chocolate had a bit of an oxidized, cereal box/malt flavor--a taste that can develop during the cacao fermentation process--with sweet chocolate, faint floral honey, light coconut milk, nutty, and barely detectable spice notes (whispers of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and saffron).

I'm guessing the maker(s) either used a mild cacao variety, or the coconut milk (and the constellation of tiny, embedded coconut flakes) effectively neutralized any strong cacao flavors.* (There was, however, a slight uptick of nutty cocoa flavor a minute or two into the finish.)

Ingredients: Cacao beans, cacao butter, coconut sugar, dehydrated coconut milk powder.

*In fairness to all concerned, when I opened the well-sealed inner gold packaging, it looked like there may have been some exposure to heat at some point during the shipping process, something that can influence the flavor a bit.

Equal Exchange Chocolates - Organic Chocolate with Coconut Milk 55% (bar) - Feb. 3, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Equal Exchange Chocolates
Organic, Fairly Traded Chocolate with Coconut Milk 55% Cacao (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 225 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: FarmFresh CSA box inclusion, online order

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

Today's Organic, Fairly Traded Chocolate with Coconut Milk and Coconut Palm Sugar 55% (bar) was from Equal Exchange Chocolates (West Bridgewater, MA).* 

This bar had a sweet, rich milk chocolate aroma with a subtle coconut note. Like many of the best coconut chocolate bars, the melt was rich and creamy, and the texture was smooth.

The chocolate flavor was similar to drinking a warm cup of velvety, rich milk chocolate (drinking chocolate) melded with authentic, real coconut. The 55% cacao blend was a bit too sweet for me; but the drinking chocolate-like experience was a good match for a winter day.

The hot chocolate richness lingered and was accompanied by a faint, tangy/tart-sweet, fermented milk with raw coconut note.

Ingredients: Organic coconut palm sugar, organic chocolate liquor, organic cocoa butter, organic coconut flakes, organic coconut milk powder (organic coconut milk, organic tapioca maltodextrin)

*Equal Exchange, founded in 1986, is one of the largest democratic worker co-ops in the U.S. The organization, involved early on in fair trade efforts, began working with coffee and tea farmers in the 1980s, and in 2001 cocoa and chocolate relationships were forged.

This alternative for-profit organization structure mirrors the approximately 40 farmer organizations (co-ops) that Equal Exchange works with--in Africa, Asia, Latin America and the U.S.--that produce cacao, coffee, tea, sugar and other crops. And one hopes that this shared organizational trait facilitates understanding of co-op operations and needs as a result. Equal Exchange has been offering bean-to-bar chocolate bars for many years.

Cacao Crudo - Dark Organic Chocolate Fondente 90% (bar) - Nov. 19, 2020

Chocolate of the Day

Cacao Crudo S.r.l.
Dark Organic Chocolate Fondente 90% Peru (bar)
(Cioccolato Fondente Bio Criollo Non Tostato 90% Peru)
Good +++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 159.5 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: N/A - sample 
Purchased from: N/A - sample

Ciao, Hola and Greetings from California. Welcome to Day #12 of Chocolate and Peru Theme Week. 

Today's Dark Organic Chocolate 90% Peru bar was crafted by Cacao Crudo S.r.l. (Roma (Rome), Italy), using cacao beans grown in Peru, and was eventually shipped to California, where I live. Food often involves complex supply chains, and this is certainly true for chocolate.

The chocolate was made using high-quality, un-roasted Criollo cacao (beans). Cacao beans are generally roasted as part of the process of chocolate making. Roasting can develop certain flavors, but can also lead to a loss of other--often more delicate or volatile--flavors (e.g. green and floral notes). Each variety and/or batch of cacao may call for a different roasting profile.

Criollo cacao is prized for its subtle yet complex flavor notes, including: milder stone fruits, cream, light caramel. In skilled hands, a low roast (or in today's case a "no" roast) profile/choice can preserve subtle, heritage Criollo flavors and result in a truly great chocolate.

As mentioned in previous Cacao Crudo chocolate bar reviews, I believe the company has fulfilled the promise of what raw chocolate can be.* This 90% bar had an aroma that evoked fresh, alive, vibrant green (plants, green coconut) with faint floral and herbal notes.

It had a smooth, creamy melt and texture.

The flavors included freshly picked, mildly sweet, green coconut with light herbal notes, and a slightly nutty roundness in the finish. 

This was a very pleasant and accessible ultra dark bar with mild-medium acidity and a balanced, very light bitterness and low astringency. I highly recommend tasting this next to a conventional 90% bar made with roasted cacao. The differences may surprise you.

Ingredients: Organic, unroasted cacao beans ("Criollo beans paste"); organic concentrated coconut flower sap.

*Raw cacao is typically quite a bit higher in minerals (like iron, magnesium and potassium), and in certain enzymes and anti-oxidants, but traditionally has been much milder in flavor. Whereas roasting can help add flavor (that many people like) and also can help minimize/eliminate potentially harmful bacteria. So, some people shied away from earlier attempts at raw chocolate. Thank you Cacao Crudo for showing us out of this perceived dichotomy, with delicious proof that raw chocolate can be wonderful, without sacrifice.

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.)

Chamisa Chocolate - Zanzibar 61% dark blend bar - Sept. 7, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chamisa Chocolate
Zanzibar 61% dark bar with coconut and ginger
Good +++
Weight: 1 oz. (30 g.) / 2 oz. (60 g.) (per label) for total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chamisa Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chamisa Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Zanzibar 61% dark blend bar with coconut and ginger was made by Chamisa Chocolate (Santa Fe, NM).

Today's exotic-sounding Zanzibar chocolate bar had a cocoa and coconut aroma, and a creamy texture—thanks to added cocoa butter and coconut milk.

Coconut palm sugar (as well as flecks of ginger and pieces of coconut adorning the back of this bar) gave this chocolate a subtle, sweet, tropical island flavor. The cacao used to make this bar was an organic blend (multiple origins).

As with the other bars this week from this company, the bar had an appealing, restrained sweetness.

Goodio Craft Chocolate - Ginger and Lemongrass 59% bar - Apr. 24, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Goodio Craft Chocolate
Ginger and Lemongrass 59% Cacao (bar)
Good - Good +
Weight: .85 oz. (24 g.) / 1.7 oz. (48 g.) in total bar
Calories: 124.5 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate, Plants and Herbs Theme Week.

Today's Ginger and Lemongrass 59% Cacao (bar) was made by Goodio Craft Chocolate (Helsinki, Finland).

The authentic aroma of lemongrass in this raw, organic and vegan bar was heady and wonderful without being overwhelming. It smelled like a favorite Thai soup.

Although the brain started thinking savory, the flavor  of this bar (lightly sweetened with coconut palm sugar) brought our awareness back to chocolate. Ginger and lemongrass gave this chocolate a bright flavor lift, without the harsher processed sugar buzz.

This bar was labeled raw, organic and vegan.

Goodio Craft Chocolate - Licorice and Sea Buckthorn bar - Feb. 24, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Goodio Craft Chocolate

Licorice and Sea Buckthorn bar

Good - Good +

Weight: .566 oz. (16 g.) / 1.7 oz. (48 g.) in total bar

Calories: 81 calories in 1/3 bar

Cost: 5.99 (Pounds) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Goodio (online order)

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

Today's Goodio Craft Chocolate Licorice and Sea Buckthorn organic, raw and vegan bar was made of stone-ground cacao by Helsinki Heaven Ltd (Helsinki, Finland).

The 53 percent cacao bar had balanced layered flavors: warm chocolate, followed by black licorice and then a hint of coconut. (Since I don't know what sea buckthorn tastes like, it was difficult to pick that out in the lineup.) Sweetened with coconut palm sugar, this was not as sweet as one might expect. (Thank you.)

Goodio Craft Chocolate - Coconut (bar) - Feb. 23, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Goodio Craft Chocolate
Coconut (bar)
Good +
Weight: .566 oz. (16 g.) / 1.7 oz. (48 g.) in total package
Calories: 80 calories in 1/3 bar (1 serving)
Cost: 5.99 (Pounds) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Goodio.com (online order)

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

Today's Goodio Craft Chocolate Coconut bar was manufactured by Helsinki Heaven Ltd (Helsinki, Finland). The company makes a line of craft chocolate bars and coconut milk ice creams.

With today's bar, Finland is now added to the Chocolate Banquet list of countries where chocolate is being made from scratch (from cacao bean to chocolate bar).

This 51% Cacao, raw, organic, vegan bar was crafted using five ingredients: organic cacao beans, organic coconut palm sugar, organic cacao butter, organic coconut flakes and organic vanilla powder.

This bar was soy, gluten and dairy free, yet had the sweet, rich melt of a coconut milk chocolate bar. The texture was smooth, and the flavor was unapologetically coconut, through and through.

We've had a cooler, wetter winter here in California, with an exotic dusting of snow on surrounding hilltops for a week or two this February. (See photo at right.) However, it's still warmer than what I imagine a Scandinavian winter is like.

In case you are wondering...Today (Feb. 23), it was 39 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) in Helsinki, Finland; and the sun set at 5:31 p.m. Not so bad.

Chocolate like this helps bring cheer to winter. Enjoy, wherever you might be.

Big Tree Farms - Cashew-Cacao Cluster - June 21, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Big Tree Farms
Cashew-Cacao Cluster
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 4 oz. (113 g.) in total package
Calories: 167 calories in 1 oz. serving
Cost: $missing information for 1 package
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Cashew Theme Week, and Day #1 of Cacao Nibs Theme Week. Today's crossover entry contained both cashew nuts and cacao nibs.

Crunchy and not too sweet, these Cashew-Cacao Cluster pieces from Big Tree Farms (Bali, Indonesia) were very lightly sweetened with coconut palm sugar and had a pleasant nutty crunch with distinctive yet smooth cacao nib flavor.

If you're ever in Bali, the company also gives tours of their factory facility, where you can see one of the largest commercial structures made of bamboo in the world. (They produce coconut sugar, aminos and nectar as well.)

Caven Creations - Coconut Meat and Sweet bar - Mar. 22, 2016

Chocolate of the Day: 

Caven Creations
Coconut Meat and Sweet bar
Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14 g.) / 1 oz. (28 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 90 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's 78% raw dark chocolate Coconut Meat and Sweet bar was created by Caven Creations (Santa Cruz, CA).

The vegan, gluten-free and fair trade bar had a slight green coconut aroma, and a crunchy, slightly bitter flavor, with a tiny bit of ferment funk.

The raw dark chocolate and coconut flavors were uniform and consistent throughout the bar.

This bar was (refreshingly) very lightly sweetened with coconut palm sugar, making it lower on the glycemic index than a sugar-filled bar.

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

Hu Kitchen - Almond Butter Puffed Quinoa Chocolate Bar - July 20, 2015

Chocolate of the Day:

Hu Kitchen
Almond Butter + Puffed Quinoa Chocolate Bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 2.1 oz. (59.4 g.) in total bar
Calories: 340 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $6.59 in 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate, Grains and Grasses Theme Week, with a focus on alternatives to wheat, barley and other gluten-containing grains.

Hu Kitchen (New York, NY) is an eatery specializing in less processed foods; and they make chocolate bars with no refined or cane sugar. They also minimize the use of grains. Today's Almond Butter + Puffed Quinoa Chocolate Bar was lightly sweetened with coconut palm sugar. No overly sweet sugar taste or sugar buzz. That was refreshing and wonderful.

This 4-ingredient*, vegan and "primal" 72% cacao dark bar was filled with almond butter, and contained no gluten, no emulsifiers or soy lecithin, and "No GMO."

*The 4 ingredients in this bar were: cacao, almonds, organic puffed quinoa and organic coconut sugar.

Lulu's Chocolate - Maca Buttercups - Feb. 24, 2015

Chocolate of the Day: 

Lulu's Chocolate
Maca Buttercups
Good
Weight: 1.3 oz. (37 g.) in 1 package of 2 cups
Calories: 192 calories in 2 cups
Cost: $5.59 for 1 package of 2 cups
Purchased from: Country Sun

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

One of the best things about these Maca Buttercups from Lulu's Chocolate (Sedona, AZ) -- was the filling.

Maca powder was incorporated into a base of sprouted, ground almond butter, and judiciously sweetened with coconut palm sugar -- a great, lower glycemic sweetener. (It's pleasantly sweet, without the hard buzz of processed sugar.)

Covered in raw chocolate, these cups were vegan, soy-free, fair trade and gluten-free.