Haagen-Dazs - Heaven Cold Brew Espresso Chip Ice Cream + Coconut Cones - Oct. 30, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Haagen-Dazs 
Heaven Collection - Cold Brew Espresso Chip Light Ice Cream
Good + 
Weight: 1/3 cup (60 g.) / 14 fl. oz. (414 mL) in total container
Calories: 110 calories in 1/3 cup serving (1/2 suggested serving)
Cost: $1.99 for 1 container
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Sprouts Farmers Market
Coconut Cones 
Good ++
Weight: .636 oz. (18 g.) / 5 oz. (144 g.) in total package/box of 8 cones
Calories: 90 calories in 1 cone 
Cost: $3.99 for 1 package of 8 cones
Purchased from: Sprouts Farmers Market, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Waffle Theme Week, including several waffle (ice cream) cone-related chocolates.

Today's Haagen-Dazs* Cold Brew Espresso Chip Light Ice Cream was part of the company's* "Heaven Collection" (with approximately half the fat, and lower calories). 

Typically low-fat or low-calorie ice creams contain extra ingredients, such as one or more vegetable gums. Thankfully this light ice cream flavor did not. (Haagen-Dazs has, historically, offered high-quality ice creams with shorter ingredient lists.)

This espresso ice cream had a creamy texture and relatively subtle roasted coffee and chocolate chip flavors. 

Ingredients: Ultra-filtered skim milk, skim milk, cream, tapioca syrup, cane sugar, chocolate (cane sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, milkfat, soy lecithin, vanilla extract), egg yolks, coconut oil, coffee, Vitamin A palmitate. 

Allergen-related information: "Contains milk, egg and soy ingredients" 

Coconut Cones
I paired today's ice cream with some great-tasting, waffle-style ice cream cones. These gluten free and dairy free Coconut Cones were made in Thailand and sold in the U.S. under the Sprouts Farmers Market label.

The cone was large enough to fill with the Haagen-Dazs Coffee Chip ice cream along with (on top of) a layer of toasted walnut pieces, toasted coconut chips + dark chocolate pieces. 

I loved the short ingredient list (see below) for these honeycomb patterned waffle-style cones, as well as the crispy texture and authentic coconut (milk and sugar) taste. For a (gluten-free) ice cream cone, it had surprisingly delicious, rich flavor. 

There were no vegetable gums, stabilizers or other extraneous ingredients. (And thanks to very secure packaging, not one cone was broken.)

Ingredients: Coconut milk (extracted from coconut meat), rice flour, coconut sugar, egg, sea salt.

Allergen-related information: "Contains: tree nuts (coconut), egg."

*Haagen-Dazs was once an independent company. Pillsbury bought Haagen-Dazs back in 1983. Later, in 1999, Pillsbury merged with Nestle. According to a Reuters news story (in 2019), Nestle owns the rights to Haagen-Dazs in the U.S., while General Mills sells the brand "in non-U.S. markets." This ice cream was listed as being distributed by "Nestle Dreyer's Ice Cream Company" in Oakland, California.

Note: For waffle cone fans, Haagen-Dazs also offered (at the time of this write-up) a Strawberry Waffle Cone flavor as part of their Heaven Collection (with "chocolatey cone pieces"). I would have gladly featured this flavor today, the waffle cone pieces contained wheat (this flavor was not gluten-free).

Joe Chocolate Co. - Roasted Cacao - Dark Chocolate Espresso Bark with Nibs - Nov. 9, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Joe Chocolate Co.
Roasted Cacao - Dark Chocolate Espresso Bark with Coffee and Roasted Cacao Nibs
Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14 g.) / 1 oz. (28 g.) in total package
Calories: 85 calories in 1/2 package
Cost: $ N/A - gift from a friend
Purchased from: N/A - gift from a friend

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Cacao Nibs Theme Week.

Today's Joe Chocolate Co. (Seattle, WA) dark chocolate bark was a gift from a friend. Thank you Elise! She found this Roasted Cacao - Dark Chocolate Espresso Bark with Coffee and Roasted Cacao Nibs snack while traveling in Washington.

The long product name seemed appropriate to fully capture the big flavor from these small pieces of rich dark bark—flavorful "bits of buzz."

The team at Joe Chocolate turn out "functionally caffeinated" offerings at their combined chocolate factory and coffee bar. (Founders, Sam Tanner and Peter Keckemet,* opened the first Joe Chocolate Co. retail location at Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle on June 1st, 2019.)

As soon as this small package was opened, it yielded wafts of freshly roasted, bold coffee and cacao nibs—uplifting on a cool, misty morning. Each small shard of the bark broke with a snap and each bite offered a roasted espresso and cacao bean nib (heavy on the crunch) extravaganza. The roasted beans complemented the fairly smooth and steady dark chocolate bark base.

*Joe Chocolate Co. was founded in 2016. The founders started production with a trail snack initially aimed at (Pacific Crest Trail) thru-hikers and friends. They use fair labor chocolate and Latin American, co-op sourced coffee beans in their snacks.

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Sorbabes - Coffee Almond Frozen Dessert - Sept. 30, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Sorbabes Gourmet Sorbet
Coffee Almond Frozen Dessert with Espresso Bark
Good
Weight: 5 fl. oz. (147 mL) total container
Calories: 160 calories in 1 container
Cost: $0.50 for 1 container
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Ice Cream Theme Week; and Day #1 of Chocolate and Almond Theme Week.

Sorbet is not ice cream; but this offering was a frozen dessert, and it served as a transitional item into Today's Coffee Almond Sorbet with Espresso Bark and other natural flavors was from Sorbabes Gourmet Sorbet (Le Mars, IA).

This frozen dessert was rich, sweet and refreshing, and was made with no soy or gluten; and it was labeled Non-GMO.

Trader Joe's - Dark Chocolate Baton 60% Cocoa - Espresso - May 23, 2018

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Trader Joe's
Dark Chocolate Baton 60% Cacao - Espresso
Good
Weight: .416 oz. (11.6 g.) / 1.25 oz. (35 g.) in total bar
Calories: 66.6 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $0.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, Mountain View, CA

Trader Joe's
Joe's Dark Coffee Squares
Good
Weight: .353 oz. (10 g.) / 4.9 oz. (140 g.) in total package
Calories: 60 calories in 1 square
Cost: $2.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, Mountain View, CA

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

Today we sampled two chocolate and coffee offerings from Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA): an elongated dark chocolate bar with ground espresso, and Coffee Squares—a clever blend of sugar, cocoa butter, milk, very finely ground coffee and vanilla. What's missing? Cocoa solids. But, you may not notice.

Dark Chocolate Espresso Baton
The (organic, fair trade) 60% Cocoa Dark Chocolate Espresso Baton was segmented into six pieces, and was chock full of coffee/espresso grounds and flavor. Enjoy the caffeinated ride. The chocolate itself was smooth and dark with a quick melt.

Joe's Dark - Coffee Squares
While these squares could certainly pass for milk chocolate, notice the word "chocolate" does not appear in this title. The squares do contain coffee and cocoa butter, but no cocoa solids, as noted above.

No surprise, these squares had a very strong coffee aroma. Intoxicating if you love coffee. A little intimidating for others. The square had a unique, slightly chewy soft melt with a sweet coffee and milk chocolate flavor—followed by a bittersweet edge (from all those coffee solids), and a lingering bittersweet coffee aftertaste.