Rawmio - Hazelnut Quinoa Crunch Dairy Free Oat Milk Chocolate with Puffed Quinoa, Salt (bar) - Mar. 11, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Rawmio 
Hazelnut Quinoa Crunch - Dairy Free Oat Milk chocolate with Puffed Quinoa, Sea Salt (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ Missing information
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA 

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate, Pistachios, Hazelnuts & Almonds Theme Week.

Today's Rawmio Hazelnut Quinoa Crunch - Dairy Free Oat Milk chocolate with Puffed Quinoa, Sea Salt (bar) was made by Windy City Organics, LLC (Northbrook, IL). 

This family-owned company got its start back in 2003 with an interest in raw/minimally processed cacao chocolate and healthy ingredients in mind, and offers several small-batch bars made with stoneground cacao chocolate. They source much of their fairly traded cacao from farmers in Peru.

Aroma and flavor notes included: smooth dark chocolate, nut, coconut/brown sugar, faint toffee, vanilla and malt. I like salt with nuts and chocolate, so I enjoyed the relatively generous dose of sea salt.

Texture: smooth dark milk chocolate, crunchy quinoa, with soft crunchy whole hazelnuts

I liked that I couldn't taste the oats (oat milk).* balance? sweetness level? use of organic ingredients/organic certified? 

I enjoyed the blend of textures and the tiny crunchy quinoa bits in every bite. And I appreciated the choice of organic and fairly traded ingredients and the lack of emulsifiers.

Ingredients: Oat Milk Chocolate* (Raw Cacao Butter*, Coconut Sugar*, Raw Cacao Nibs*, Oat Milk Powder*, Lucuma Powder*, Vanilla Bean Powder*, Sea Salt), Toasted Hazelnuts*, Puffed Quinoa*, Celtic Sea Salt (* Certified Organic)

Allergen-related information: Contains hazelnuts. Crafted in a facility that also handles Tree Nuts and Sesame but does not process any soy, dairy, or gluten. May contain naturally occurring shell and pit fragments.

*Nothing personal about oat milk; but I'm not always a fan of oat-y texture or flavor in chocolates. Happily there are now several good oat milk chocolates. That wasn't always the case a decade ago.

Rawmio - Chocolate Covered Sweet Cherries 70% Dark Raw Chocolate - Nov. 18, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Rawmio
Chocolate Covered Sweet Cherries 70% Dark Raw Chocolate  
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (56.7 g.) in total package
Calories: 130 calories in 1/2 package 
Cost: $4.99 for 1 package 
Purchased from: Vitacost, online order 

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Week.

Today's Rawmio Chocolate Covered Sweet Cherries 70% Dark Raw Chocolate (pieces) were made by Windy City Organics, LLC (Northbrook, IL).

Aroma notes included: rich, lightly fermented, authentic fruit (cherry, cacao pulp) and chocolate.

Texture: whole, dried (but moist) cherries were dusted with 70% "cacao powder" 

Flavor notes included: authentic cherry texture and balanced, tart-sweet stone fruit (cherry) flavor. The 70% cacao dark chocolate was a smooth and satisfying background flavor.

I liked that these real cherries were "glaze-free"--not over-sweetened (thank you)--and were allowed to shine while the dark chocolate added flavor depth. I could really appreciate the true flavors, and that was a very good thing.

Ingredients: Raw Chocolate (Raw Cacao Nibs*, Coconut Sugar*, Raw Cacao Butter*), Cherries*, Raw Cacao Powder*.

Allergen-related information: "Crafted in a GMP facility which processes Tree Nuts and Sesame, but no peanuts, soy, or gluten." (* Organic)

Rawmio - Sprouted Almond & Sea Salt 70% Peruvian Cacao - Feb. 9, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Rawmio
Sprouted Almond and Sea Salt 70% Peruvian Cacao
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Almonds Theme Week.

Today's Rawmio Sprouted Almond and Sea Salt 70% Peruvian Cacao (bar-shaped "bark") was made by Windy City Organics, LLC  (Northbrook, IL).

Made with Organic 70% Peruvian cacao the maker describes this chocolate as follows: "Stone Ground Raw Chocolate and topped with crunchy sprouted almonds, a sprinkle of Celtic sea salt, and lightly sweetened cacao nibs..."

Aroma and flavor notes for this bar(k) included: smooth, balanced, unroasted cacao and chocolate; faint warm spice; nut (almond); faint, sweet herbal green/botanical; very faint coconut; and barely there sweet wood.

Crunchy almonds and cocoa nibs made a great foil for the smooth dark chocolate base. As is often the case for higher quality unroasted cacao, the chocolate was quite low in bitterness and acidity. The field of whole almonds further neutralized acidity, balanced sweetness and mellowed the flavors. 

Judiciously seasoned, this Organic chocolate was low in sweetness. (It was lightly sweetened with coconut sugar and yacon.) I preferred this over a sugar buzz; and my teeth felt grateful afterwards. It was also low in salt. (I could barely taste the sea salt.) Since I like savory chocolates, I would have been OK with a bit more; although I enjoyed being able to really taste the raw chocolate and cacao nibs.

The end result: an almond studded, vegan and fairly traded, chocolate with pleasant, mellow and authentic flavors that reminded me what roasting cacao does. Roasting can give you more robust flavors (think espresso), and it can cover up off flavors; but with roasting you can also lose gentle, authentic flavors when you roast/process high-quality cacao.

Ingredients: Organic, raw cacao nibs; organic coconut sugar; organic raw sprouted almonds; organic raw cacao butter; organic yacon sweetened cacao nibs; sea salt

Allergen-related information: Contained almonds. "Produced in a raw, vegan, and certified organic facility which processes tree nuts and seeds, but no aflatoxin peanuts, soy, gluten or dairy." 

Rawmio - 100% Cacao Unsweetened bar - Feb. 9, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Rawmio

100% Cacao Unsweetened (bar)

Good + - Good ++

Weight: .55 oz. (15 g.) / 1.1 oz. (30 g.) in total bar

Calories: 190 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $2.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of 100% Cacao Theme Week; and Day #1 of Chocolate and Peru Week.

Today's Organic Raw Chocolate Rawmio 100% Cacao Unsweetened (bar) was from Windy City Organics, LLC (Northbrook, IL).

Aroma notes for this chocolate included light, sweet green herb, very faint marshmallow, molasses and cocoa nib notes.

The flavor: chocolate that tasted like smooth, un-roasted cocoa nibs--pieces of fresh, dried cacao seeds (beans)--with nutty and barely detectable tobacco, light wood, and cherry kirsch notes.

This chocolate truly mirrored the taste of pure cocoa nibs. And that was good. (The company uses organic and fairly traded cacao, from native communities in Peru.)

Rawmio maker's notes: "...Rich in antioxidants with a dark, complex, and fruity flavor, our 100% cacao bar is the perfect way to experience the magic of raw, heirloom cacao without any added sugar..." (Fairly traded, Vegan)

Ingredients: Certified Organic raw cacao nibs, Certified Organic raw cacao butter

Allergen-related information: "Produced in a facility which also processes tree nuts and seeds, but no peanuts, soy, gluten or dairy."

Rawmio Organic Salted Coconut Caramel Cashew Raw Bark - Nov. 12, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Rawmio
Organic Salted Coconut Caramel Crushed Cashew Raw Chocolate Bark
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 126 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Raw Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's bar has a long name. The rawmio Organic Gourmet Salted Coconut Caramel and Crushed Cashew Raw Chocolate Bark (bar) was manufactured by Windy City Organics, LLC (Northbrook, IL).

The 70% cacao raw, stone-ground dark chocolate base was made from raw Peruvian cacao nibs.
The bar had an appealing rich chocolate aroma. It lacked some of the stronger/developed flavors and acidity found in roasted cacao bars. However, some may prefer the smoothness, punctuated by hints of earthiness and mellow sweet and salty flavor notes.

Coconut sugar gave the bark a slight caramelized flavor. This "vanilla bean and caramel-infused" raw cashew bark (bar) had an attractive "rawmio" imprint and pattern on one side, with a scattering of cashew pieces and cacao nibs on the reverse side. The nuts and nibs offer some pleasant crunchy texture.

Thank you to Elana at SweetE Organic for her curated array of sweets. She is elevating the definition of "candy" and what many people think about "raw" chocolate.