Wild West Chocolate - Cowboy Coffee Dark Chocolate with Ground Espresso 70% Cacao (bar) - May 31, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Wild West Chocolate
Cowboy Coffee - Organic Dark Chocolate with Ground Espresso 70% Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.55 oz. (44 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65.2 g.) in total bar

Calories: 260 calories for 2/3 bar

Cost: $21.25 for 3 dark chocolate bars (approx. $7.08 each)
Purchased from: Wild West Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #1 of Wild West Theme Week, featuring chocolates with tie-ins to cowboys, outlaws, bears and other wildlife in the Great Outdoors.

Today's Cowboy Coffee - Organic Dark Chocolate with Ground Espresso 70% Cacao (bar) was distributed by Wild West Chocolate, LLC (Missoula, MT).

Aroma and flavor notes for this Cowboy Coffee bar included: balanced, smooth dark chocolate with very faint coffee; campfire marshmallow and vanilla; very light stone fruit/berry; and barely detectable salt/savory and warm spice.

Texture: creamy texture and melt with very little coffee ground grit (thank you).

I enjoyed this bar. It felt hearty and substantial without being acidic or bitter. The well-integrated coffee complemented the dark chocolate and vice versa.

I appreciated the organic and fair trade cocoa and coffee; the use of fruits to sweeten this dark chocolate; and the relatively short list of ingredients.

Ingredients: Organic Dark Chocolate (Organic Fruit Blend [Powdered Date+, Powdered Mulberry+, Powdered Peach+, Powdered Mango+], Organic Cocoa Liquor++, Organic Cocoa Butter++, Vanilla Extract+), Organic Coffee++, Cinnamon+. (+ Organic Ingredients; ++ 69% Fair Trade Ingredients, Fair Trade CertifiedTM)

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured on equipment that processes tree nuts, peanuts, milk, wheat and soy."

Nana Joes - Ocean Beach Granola Bar; San Francisco - Oct. 2, 2019

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Nana Joes
Ocean Beach Granola Bar - Almond Butter, Coffee and Cocoa Nibs bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.5 oz. (43 g.) in total bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Cowboy Country Theme Week.

Today's Ocean Beach Granola Bar Almond Butter, Coffee and Cocoa Nibs bar was from Nana Joes (San Francisco, CA).

Today's vegan, Certified Gluten Free, Non-GMO Project Verified granola bar was a light, crunchy and semi-sweet (sweetened only with maple syrup)—with subtle hints coffee (Organic decaf Equator coffee) and cacao (nibs). Almond butter helped hold these ingredients together and contributed a faint nutty note.

Ocean Beach is a long stretch of beach, where San Francisco meets the Pacific Ocean. It's truly inspirational and ruggedly beautiful, at sunset or anytime you want to feel sand between your feet and smell fresh sea air. Is San Francisco really cowboy country you may be asking? The short answer is yes.

Cowboys in San Francisco?
Ocean Beach alone has an interesting cowboy-related history. In 1769, the first Spanish explorers (with the Portola expedition) likely set foot on Ocean Beach with their horses. The Spanish soon established early ranches (ranchos) with cattle and horses in what is now California; and Spanish vaqueros (cowboys) contributed heavily to present day cowboy culture.

In 1902 Bill Cody (Buffalo Bill) lined up with his entire Wild West ensemble on horseback at Ocean Beach (with the original Cliff House in the distance on the right).

Today, Mar Vista Stables in Daly City, CA, still rents horses to riders who wish to ride near/on Ocean Beach and to exercise their inner cowboy and connect with nature. Inland a ways you'll find live bison and horses in Golden Gate Park. Traces of the old west live on.

Downtown San Francisco seems an unlikely setting for cowboys. But, a short stroll down Valencia Street in The Mission District, changed my mind. I spoke to a woman with a cowboy hat on who was getting ready to relocate to Bali. Then I saw the West of Pecos restaurant (complete with a set of swinging saloon doors), with a menu that included chocolate mousse with chipotle for dessert.

I thought this was a fluke, but then I saw two men with cowboy hats talking across the street where I was waiting to get into a movie at The Roxie theater ("Setting the Bar" about chocolate makers working with cacao farmers in South America).

And still more cowboy chocolates we missed...

Fondue Cowboy - Chocolate Fondue 
Unfortunately, I found out about Fondue Cowboy (in the SOMA district of San Francisco, CA) after it was too late to visit. In the future, I hope to try their "Happy Trails" Dark Chocolate Fondue with Cayenne.

Cowboy Toffee - Rose Toffee 
As we say goodbye to this cowboy country themed week today, I couldn't resist highlighting this special Texas Rose Dark Chocolate Toffee from Cowboy Toffee Co. (Ranger, Texas) (pictured at right).

Decorated with rose petals and sprinkled with bee pollen, this is one beautiful toffee. It's a shame I didn't discover this in time to feature this week. Definitely will seek this out next Cowboy or Cowgirl themed week. We should probably do a whole week on chocolate + cowboy/cowgirl theme + Texas.

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Artisan du Chocolat - Buffalo Milk Chocolate bar; Morsey's - Buffalo Milk Hot Chocolate - Sept. 30, 2019

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Artisan du Chocolat
Milk Chocolate 35% Buffalo Milk bar
Good +
Weight: 1.59  oz. (45 g.) in total bar
Calories: 265.5 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $7.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Morsey's Farmhouse Kitchen 
Hot Chocolate made with buffalo milk
Good - Good +
Weight: approx. 8 oz. cup (small size)
Cost: $3.50
Purchased from: Morsey's Farmhouse Kitchen, Palo Alto, CA

Morsey's Creamery
Buffalo Milk (and small gelato samples)
Good +++
Weight: 1 oz. (sample cup)
Calories: unknown
Cost: free sample / $12.00 for 1 bottle
Purchased from: Morsey's Creamery, Palo Alto, CA

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

Artisan du Chocolat - Buffalo Milk Chocolate Bar
People have been raising different breeds of cattle and cow for centuries. This includes buffalo cows and steers, long before dairy farmers and ranchers set up shop in the U.S.*

Today's Buffalo Milk Chocolate 35% Bar was from Artisan du Chocolat (London). The company specializes in luxury chocolates (produced in Kent). The buffalo milk used in this bar came from buffalo cows raised on Laverstoke Farm in Hampstead.

Today's milk chocolate bar was very creamy and sweet. It became slightly bendy when it got a bit warm in the car. But it held its shape nicely. (Avoid transporting chocolate in a warm car. Bars will go directly from a solid form to fondue in as little as a minute or two if exposed to direct sun through a window.)

This buffalo milk bar had flavor notes of chocolate, fresh dairy milk, faint herb/earth and light caramel.

Morsey's Farmhouse Kitchen and Creamery
Since I couldn't visit Laverstoke Farm in the U.K. mentioned above, I did the next best thing. I tried domesticated (water) buffalo milk.

Morsey's Farmhouse Kitchen (restaurant in Los Altos, CA) specializes in buffalo-based offerings, and they've just opened a new business, Morsey's Creamery, in Palo Alto, CA.

The first stop was to the family restaurant, which resulted in the purchase of a small hot chocolate, to go, made with buffalo milk. (Thank you to Morsey staff for taking time during the lunch rush to say hello and offering a sample spoon from a tiny cache of dark chocolate gelato that remained. Very tasty.)

The underlying milk in the hot chocolate was quite good. (No gamey flavor in case you're wondering.) The added cocoa was quite light (likely alkalinized, to reduce acidity). There was a light layer of foam on top.

Morsey's Farmhouse Kitchen to go area offered buffalo milk gelatos (chocolate flavors were sold out) and chocolate desserts without buffalo milk, including two gluten free chocolate cakes. There will be return trips to try these in the future.

I drove north to Morsey's Creamery hoping to find some chocolate gelato there. Sadly, Morsey's Creamery was sold out of chocolate flavors (gianduja and others) of gelato di bufala as well. Again, we'll be back.

Morsey's (grass-fed) buffalo milk sampled at their Creamery came from buffalo cows pastured near Sacramento, CA. The milk was surprisingly good. It tasted very satisfying, and had a clean mouth feel and finish. It also was, we were told, higher in calcium and protein than traditional cow's milk.**

*In the U.S. we have bison (often referred to as buffalo), that used to roam the country in large herds  before European settlers arrived. However, while you may see bison meat in stores or in restaurants, it's unlikely you'll see bison dairy products or milk chocolate. (Undomesticated bison cows would not take kindly to your trying to milk them.)

**We were told that the A2 (beta casein) protein in this milk would be less likely to trigger milk protein allergies (than the mix of A1 and A2 proteins found in most cow's milk today). 

A2 proteins tend to be higher in cows from Southern Europe. A1 protein levels tend to be higher in cows from Northern Europe. Beyond that, I suggest doing your own research. Lactose (milk sugar) would still be present in all cow milk(s) as far as I know. So, for those who rely on lactase (the enzyme that breaks down lactose that we humans produce less of over time), don't throw away your lactase pills quite yet.

Farm Supply Company - Cowboy Chocolate Bar - Sept. 29, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Farm Supply Company
Cowboy Chocolate Bar
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 4.5 oz. (127 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. (28.3 g.) of bar
Cost: $3.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Farm Supply Company, San Luis Obispo, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Cowboy Country Theme Week.

Today's Cowboy Chocolate bar was made for Farm Supply Company (San Luis Obispo, CA), a farmer-owned cooperative that has catered to Central Coast farm, home and ranch needs for more than six decades.

The Farm Supply Company store in San Luis Obispo (one of several locations on the central coast) was filled with cowboy hats and all kinds of outdoor farm and ranch gear. In the parking lot, we paused to look at some large wagons and windmills. This farm supply store (established in 1950) was the real deal.

I walked out with a sturdy green feed bucket, a sample packet of mealworms (marketed for chickens)* and an orange bandana...and three chocolate items.


Make no mistake about it, today's milk chocolate bar with toffee and slivered almonds had a pleasant milk chocolate and toffee aroma, and was also very sweet.

*Yes, there are chocolate covered mealworms, but these were not for personal consumption. For those who are curious, these mealworms were used as a visual aid, in a children's science class on micro creatures and bugs. Thank you to Farm Supply for letting me have a small sample packet of these, as a 5-pound bag would have been overkill for this city dweller.

Texas Rattlesnake chocolate; Cactus Trail Mix - Aug. 26, 2017

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

(Made for Paradies Shops*)
Texas Rattlesnake Poop
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 7.8 oz. (221 g.) in total container
Calories: 165 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. serving
Cost: $7.99 for 1 container
Purchased from: Airport shop, DFW Airport, Dallas, TX

Arizona Cowboy Foods
Cactus Trail Mix
Good - Good +
Weight: 4 oz. (113.2 g.) in total package
Calories: 560 calories (estimate) in 1 package
Cost: $4.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Airport shop at PHX Airport, Phoenix, AZ

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Wild West Theme Week.

Travel to South and North Dakota this week meant no photos today. Being in these states presented the opportunity to see jackalopes (at Wall Drug and elsewhere), and to stray into Wyoming to visit Devils Tower. I resisted the urge to buy chocolate jackalope poop on the at Devils Tower Trading Post (Devils Tower, WY), in part because I'd already picked up some Chocolate Texas Rattlesnake Poop in Dallas, TX.

Today's Texas Rattlesnake Poop pieces (sorry, no photos) were, in fact, chocolate-covered sunflower seeds. There were no real rattlesnake ingredients, just compound** chocolate, seeds and other ingredients one might expect with high-volume, novelty items.

I paired theses chocolate seeds with a Western-themed Cactus Trail Mix from Arizona Cowboy Foods (Phoenix, AZ). The mix did not contain chocolate, but it too came from an airport (Phoenix). Airports in multiple states were a great source of Western-themed chocolates this week.

This relatively conventional trail mix contained nuts (peanuts, almonds) and dried fruits (cranberries). It also included pumpkin seeds, banana chips with honey, pineapple bits, dried papaya, and real (prickly pear) cactus candy pieces, which were quite nice (sweet but slightly lighter with more floral flavor than the other dried fruits).

*Paradies Shops, now known as Paradies Lagardere, has travel retail shops in several airports. 

Airport and travel-related shops seem to carry an abundance of chocolate scat pretending to be from local animals these days; and several of these have been featured on Chocolate Banquet in years past. It isn't always clear who is manufacturing all these chocolate-covered droppings (likely several different companies who prefer to private label or remain anonymous); but it must be a big, high-profit business.

** Compound chocolate is made with cocoa, vegetable fat and sweeteners. Today's chocolate ingredients list included: partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil, lactose, cocoa powder, reduced mineral whey powder, non-fat milk powder, soy lecithin and vanillin.