ChocolateBet: July 12, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 bar
Dolfin
Dark Chocolate - Pink Peppercorns from Brazil
Very Good + - I couldn't taste the peppercorns that much, but this bar had a very nice overall flavor.
Wt: 30 grams (1.058 oz.)
Calories: ~160 (estim. - not listed on wrapper)
Cost: $2.99 (Canadian)
Purchased from: Beniamino & Co., in Montreal, Canada

Thank you Melanie for the introduction to these little Dolfin chocolate bars.

ChocolateBet: July 11, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Bovetti (Artisan Chocolatier)
Milk Chocolate - Anis/Aniseed (32% cacao)
Very Good + - It's fairly sweet, but I love the anise flavor
Weight: 100 grams (~3 1/2 oz.) (~ 4 servings)
Calories: 520 calories (estimate) for whole bar
Cost: $7.39 (Canadian)
Purchased from: Le Cartet (boutique alimentaire) in Montreal, Quebec

Le Cartet is a wonderful shop in Montreal. I grabbed a handful of chocolate bars while walking from a business meeting back to the hotel. This aniseed bar became a late night/early morning dinner.

Dinner was eaten before I had a chance to capture the image of this chocolate bar in the wrapper. (See image empty wrapper/container (above right).)

ChocolateBet: July 10, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Dolfin (Belgium)
"Summer Memories - Apple Crumble"
(Limited Edition 2008 - with apple, hazelnuts, sugarcane)
Very Good - nice blend of cinnamon and other flavors
Weight: 30 grams (1.058 oz.) in 1 bar
Calories: 160 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $2.39 (Canadian)
Purchased from: Le Cartet ("boutique alimentaire"), in Montreal, Quebec

ChocolateBet: July 9, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Holder - Resto-Bar
Guayaquil Chocolate Truffle (drk choc.)
Very Good - drk, bittersweet
Wt: ~.4 oz.
Calories: ~ 72 calories
Cost: $2.50 (Canadian)
Purchased from: Holder Resto-Bar, in Montreal, Quebec

Thank you Melanie for the great visit to Montreal.

ChocolateBet: July 8, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece
Starbucks Chocolates
Vanilla Bean Truffles - Drk (indiv. wrppd.)
Good+
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) (estimate) for one piece
Calories: 75 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $4.99
Purchased from: Rite Aid Pharmacy, in Pacifica, CA

I'm fighting off a cold. I hope a combination of these dark chocolate covered Vanilla Bean Truffles from Starbucks and cold medicine will do the trick, as I'm flying across country today on a business trip. A good walk and a piece of chocolate (coupled with rest) often makes me feel better.

ChocolateBet: July 07, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

2 cups/1 serving
Boyer Candy Co.
Mallo Cup (Milk Chocolate, Whipped Creme Center, some coconut flavor)
Good + - this was not bad for milk chocolate
Weight: 1.6 oz. (45.3 grams); back of package says 46 grams, so not sure which is correct.
Calories: 200 calories
Cost: $? (I need to find receipt)
Purchased from: ?(I need to find receipt)

ChocolateBet: July 6, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 small chocolate coin
MICO?/Chocolate Heaven
"Alcatraz Pirates" shot glass - fill with milk chocolate gold coins
Good + - Very Good - not bad for milk chocolate
Wt: 1.5 oz. total (~20 gold foil-wrapped coins)
Calories: ~11.2 cals. for 1 coin
Cost: $5.99 for pirate shot glass and choc. coins
Purchased from: Chocolate Heaven, at Pier 39, in San Francisco, CA

I was hoping to save up enough chocolate items to have a "chocolate and money" theme week, but I will likely just eat an item as I find it. The chocolate in chocolate coins is usually OK; the real value of the item tends to be the novelty. And, now that I think about it, chocolate money may have held up better in value in the last several months than the U.S. dollar. So,....I'm making an investment. Right.

The printing on the gold foil indicates that the coins are solid milk chocolate, and lists the U.S. as the country of origin, and the date of coinage as 1865. (It does not look like a Spanish 2-escudo dubloon coin, but then again, I think making exact replicas of money items may be illegal anyway.) I'm not sure about where the "pirate" connection comes in here. There is a place called Pirate's Cove on Alcatraz and there were pirates in the 1800s. I may be missing out on a story here. And maybe I'm just trying to read way too much into a cheap San Francisco souvenir. Entirely possible! :-)