Marou Bar - Dark Chocolate 64% Tropical Fruits and Roasted Cashews - Sept. 29, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat
Marou Bar - Dark Chocolate 64% Tropical Fruits and Roasted Cashews 
Good ++
Weight: 1.2 oz. (35 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1 snack bar
Cost: $3.20 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Vietnam Theme Week. 

Today's Dark Chocolate 64% Tropical Fruits and Roasted Cashews Marou Bar was from Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam), and Imported by A Priori Specialty Food (Salt Lake City, UT) into the U.S. 

Founded in 2011, by Samuel Maruta and Vincent Mourou, team Marou (a name that blends the founders' surnames) sources cacao from several provinces in southern Vietnam.

Aroma notes for this "bite-sized adventure," single origin (Vietnam) chocolate bar included: complex, high-end dark chocolate and fruit (citrus, mango, other diffuse tropical fruit, berry and very faint fruity floral).

The textural blend of smooth, rich dark chocolate was interspersed with chewy, flavorful fruits and small chunks of crunchy nutty pieces was satisfying, as were the flavors.

While the well-sealed package looked like a fancy "snack bar" this was truly a high-end single origin craft chocolate bar (dark, smooth, with a faint, fleeting and balanced earth note) with flavor inclusions: roasted nuts (cashews) and dried fruits (mango, faint passion fruit and citrus (kumquat). The latter contributed bursts of tart sweet flavors that complemented the nuts and chocolate very nicely. 

This 64% cacao chocolate was not too sweet (thank you). The dried tropical fruits provided the touch of bright sweet orange sunshine, just as the orange and gold packaging colors suggested might be the case.

Ingredients: Cacao nibs, cane sugar, cashews, cacao butter, dried mango, dried passion fruit,  dried kumquat.

Allergen-related information: Contains cashews. "Manufactured in a facility that also processes milk, tree nuts, peanuts, eggs."

Compartes Chocolatier - Fruit Cocktail 73% Dark Chocolate bar - Aug. 17, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Compartes Chocolatier

Fruit Cocktail 73% Cacao Dark Chocolate Mixed Fruits (bar)

Good + - Good ++

Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar

Calories: 166.66 calories in 1/3 bar

Cost: $7.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: (unknown gift shop on pier), Monterey, CA

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

And what better bar to celebrate this week than a dark chocolate fruit cocktail bar?

Today's Fruit Cocktail 73% Dark Chocolate Mixed Fruits bar was created by Compartes Chocolatier (Los Angeles, CA). Jonathan Grahm, took over Compartes in his twenties. 

Grahm, a native Angelino, has created a staggering array of bars and confections with flavor inclusions since then (more than 200), all artfully designed and packaged.

"Fruit Cocktail" didn't fully describe the dazzling display of dried/crystallized fruits pressed on the back of this gluten-free dark bar. It was a fantasy fashioned from the crown jewels of fruits.

You might find any or all of the following: apples, bananas, raspberries, peach, pear, kiwi, melon, raisins, strawberries, mango, apricot, pomegranate, cranberries...and more.

Good! Greens - Chocolate Raspberry bar - June 24, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Good! Nutrition, LLC
Good! Greens - Chocolate Raspberry bar
Good
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 202 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $2.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Safeway, Dublin, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate, Cherry and Berry Theme Week.

This gluten free, Chocolate Raspberry bar was from Good! Nutrition, LLC (Cleveland, OH) contained fruits and vegetables, and 12 grams of protein (sunflower seeds, soy, peanuts).

The flavor and texture of fruit, grain and vegetable constituents were more prominent than the chocolate.

Pirate Brands - Chocolate Granola Fruit Coins - Feb. 16, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Pirate Brands, LLC

Chocolate Granola Fruit Coins

Good 

Weight: .8 oz. (23 g.) / 4 oz. (115 g.) in total box of 5 bags

Calories: 80 calories in 1 bag 

Cost: $1.99 for 1 box of 5 bags

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

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate, Enchanted Islands and Pirates Theme Week.

These pirate-themed Chocolate Granola Fruit Coins—made in Canada and distributed by Pirate Brands, LLC (Parsippany, NJ)—were small compressed disks made of dates, raisins, oats, chocolate chips, dried coconut and quinoa. Each coin had a denomination (number) stamped on it. (Date doubloons?)

"Thar be chewy!" the pirate on the label advised. Aye, indeed they were, in a good way. The oats and quinoa helped give these snack pieces shape, and balanced out the sweetness from the dates and raisins. And the chocolate chips lent a rich flavor that tied together fruit and grain ingredients.

These fruit granola snack pieces contained "no artificial colors, preservatives or flavorings."

Backyard Brew - Nutella Hot Chocolate; Barlovento Bars; Nuts, Nibs, Nice - Feb. 26, 2017

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Backyard Brew
Nutella Hot Chocolate
Good++
Weight: 10+ oz. (estimate) for 1 serving
Calories: 168 calories (estimate) in 1 serving
Cost: $4.00 for 1 serving
Purchased from: Backyard Brew, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of LMNOPQR Theme Week. As we frolic through the alphabet, we arrive today at the letter "N."

Nuts, Nibs...Hmmm. How about Nutella Hot Chocolate? It just so happened I found such a thing at a new small business called Backyard Brew in Palo Alto, CA.

The duo working there I spoke to were thoughtful, bright, creative young men with a passion for creating community and a relaxing shared public space.

A place to relax and enjoy a coffee or tea, or a Nutella Mocha or Hot Chocolate. And, one could stay and do some creative doodling —on tables, chairs or walls too.

Backyard Brew's Nutella Hot Chocolate was full of pleasing cocoa and hazelnut flavor and had a light, whipped texture.

Accessible via alley from California Avenue—a street known for it's small businesses, restaurants and a thriving Sunday Farmers Market—Backyard Brew should do well.

Barlovento Chocolates
And, speaking of the Farmers Market, today was Sunday. So I bought two bars from the Barlovento Chocolates booth (not far from Backyard Brew) at the Market:

1.) 80 percent Venezuelan Dark Chocolate Cacao Nibs bar
2.) 73 percent Venezuelan Dark Chocolate Fruits and Nuts (Pistachios, Dried Blueberries, Dried Cranberries) bar

Wrapped in gold foil, both bars were made from dark, slightly earthy but smooth, Venezuelan chocolate by founder Peter Brydon and team at Barlovento Chocolates (Oakland, CA).

It was a very Nice morning indeed.