Sted Foods - Almond Maple Brittle 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Jan. 27, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Sted Foods  
Almond Maple Brittle 70% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (56.6 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Sted Foods, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate, Warm Spices & Maple Theme Week.

Today's Sted Foods Organic Almond Maple Brittle 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) was made by TC Foods, LLC (Fergus Falls, MN).

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate (fudge-y, chocolate chips, roast-y), warm toffee and maple, and faint fruit (cherry).

Texture: smooth dark chocolate with a quiet riot of tiny, embedded crunchy-crispy bits (maple toffee).

Flavor notes included: smooth dark chocolate with a faint, balanced and muffled earthiness; smooth, mellow and faint nut (almond); and micro-bursts of warm and slightly buttery brown/maple sugar toffee.  Seasoned, very judiciously, with just the right dose of salt. Warning: this bar was relatively addictive (more-ish).

I really appreciated the thinness of this bar--that enabled easy access to the gently complex dark chocolate flavors, and the multitude of impossibly tiny sparkles of maple toffee embedded into the chocolate. I also liked the choice of quality, organic ingredients.

Maker's Tasting Notes: "Nutty, Hardy + Lakeside Bonfire"

Ingredients: organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, organic almonds, organic MN maple toffee (organic cane sugar, organic butter, organic maple syrup, sea salt), organic cocoa butter, sea salt

Allergen-related information: "Contains almonds and milk. Made in a facility that uses coconut, macadamia, almonds, pecans, and milk." 

Sted Foods - Maple Toffee with Cacoa Nibs - Jan. 25, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Sted Foods  
Maple Toffee with Cacoa Nibs (box)
Good ++ 
Weight: (unknown, not found on box)
Calories: (unknown, not listed)
Cost: $12.00 for 1 box of toffee pieces
Purchased from: Sted Foods, online order

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate, Warm Spices & Maple Theme Week.

Today's Sted Foods Maple Toffee with Cacao Nibs offering was manufactured by TC Foods, LLC (Fergus Falls, MN).

Aroma and flavor notes for this box of tasty toffee pieces included: buttery toffee brittle, lightly browned maple sugar, cacao (nibs, dark chocolate) and very faint nut (almond) and seed (cacao nibs).

Texture: crunchy-crispy shards of delicious maple toffee, covered with a layer of smooth dark chocolate, topped with a sprinkling of softly crunchy nibs.

I loved this balanced, well-executed brittle. The pieces were just the right size (not too big, not too little). The brittle was just the right thickness (not too thick and hard; not so thin that it shattered on contact; it was just right). It was made with real butter, real maple syrup,  and judiciously seasoned with a faint dose of sea salt.

The thin layer of creamy dark chocolate and the "cacao" bean nibs provided a grounded, authentic cacao flavor that balanced out the sweet brittle. And there were no "off" notes in the nibs (thank you).*

Ingredients: "organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, organic almonds, organic MN maple toffee (organic cane sugar, organic butter, organic maple syrup, sea salt)."

Allergen-related information: "Contains almonds and milk. Made in a facility that uses coconut, macadamia, almonds, pecans, and milk."

*Nibs from different cacao origins may taste quite different from each other. Some may have a slightly fermented (wine) aroma, others might be slightly earthy or roast-y. Some will have floral, nut or seed notes. Generally the taste will correlate with the chocolate made from the nibs. Roasting times selected by the chocolate maker will also affect flavor and aroma.

Charles Chocolates - Cocoa Nib Brittle Bar - Ruby Cacao - Nov. 13, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Charles Chocolates
Cocoa Nib Brittle Bar - Ruby Cacao
Good
Weight: .875 oz. (25 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Cost: $8.50 for 1 bar (white dot w/ line through it)
Calories: 137.5 calories in 1/4 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA


Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Nibs Theme Week.

Today's picturesque pink Cocoa Nib Brittle Bar—made with Ruby Cacao—was from Charles Chocolates (San Francisco, CA).

This creamy and sweet ruby chocolate* had a slightly fermented red berry (red raspberry and cherry plum jam) flavor, and had golden veins of faintly smoky-savory** toffee brittle running through it.

*Ruby chocolate (made with special ruby cacao beans) was introduced in 2017 by Barry Callebaut, a Belgian-Swiss chocolate company.

**At least compared to the ruby chocolate, these pieces of sweet toffee brittle seemed less sweet and relatively more savory.

Ingredients: ruby cacao bean (sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, unsweetened chocolate, citric acid, soy lecithin), cane sugar, cacao nibs.