ChocolateBet: July 15, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Coracao Confections
Macadamia Coconut Dream
Good + - Very Good
Weight: ~.8 oz. (22.6 grams) (estimate)
Calories: ~120 calories (estimate)
Cost: ~$1.99 ($15.92 for total of 8 pieces)
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Los Altos, CA

This chocolate was similar to the Coconut Dream with almonds, only this one had macadamia nuts inside. It was dipped/covered in dark chocolate. The image above is from the Coracao Confections website.

ChocolateBet: July 14, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Coracao Confections
Coconut Dream - with almonds (dipped in dark chocolate)
Very Good - Very Good+
Weight: ~.8 oz. (22.6 grams)
Calories: ~120 calories (estimate)
Cost: ~$1.99 ($15.92 total for 8 pcs.; divided total by 8 to get cost of 1 pc.)
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Los Altos, CA

The Coracao team describes the Coconut Dream as their version of an Almond Joy (candy bar). The image above was taken from the Coracao Confections website.

ChocolateBet: July 13, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
2 pieces
Coracao Confections
Goji Hearts - dark raw chocolate & goji berries
Very Good
Weight: 1.0 oz. (28.3 grams) in 2 pieces
Calories: ~ 150 calories in 2 pieces (estimate)
Cost: $~$3.98 ($15.92 total for 8 pieces divided by 8, x 2 pieces)
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Los Altos, CA

I enjoyed the fact that there wasn't too much sugar/sweetener in these heart-shaped chocolates. The image above is from the Coracao Confections website.

ChocolateBet: July 12, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
2 pieces
Coracao Confections
Superberry/Acai Cup
Very Good
Weight: ~1.0 oz. (28.3 grams) for two pieces
Calories: ~ 145 calories
Cost: ~$3.98 for two pieces
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Los Altos, CA

These were very satisfying. And, from the description, it sounds like Coracao chocolates are healthier than your average chocolates as well.

I've included two images of this chocolate: one from the Coracao Confections web site, and the second is a scanned image of the cup (placed "face" down on the scanner bed). The actual pink topping color was somewhere in between these two images.

ChocolateBet: July 11, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

2 pieces
Reese's
Reese's Select Clusters
OK + - Good
Weight: .5 oz. (15 grams) x 2 = 1.0 oz. (29 g.) for 2
Calories: 146 calories (estimate) in 2 pieces/clusters
Cost: $4.79 for total package (sale)
Purchased from: Walgreens, in Palo Alto, CA

These individually-wrapped clusters maintained much of the classic Reese's peanut butter cup flavors; they were made from peanuts, pecans, peanut butter, caramel, and were "wrapped in milk chocolate."

I ate these clusters with some chocolate ice cream and nuts; and later in the day, I read an article by Stephanie Sandoval (ABC Arizona website*), reminding readers that July is National Ice Cream month (established in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan). Her piece also included a chocolate and nut ice cream recipe that happened to look a lot like what I just ate earlier today. Hard to beat the combination of chocolate, nuts and ice cream.

*Postscript: link removed; article no longer available

ChocolateBet: July 10, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
Trail's End Company/Weaver Popcorn Co.
Chocolatey Caramel Crunch (chocolate-coated caramel popcorn)
Good +
Weight: ~ 2 oz. (56.6 grams)
Calories: ~ 250 calories (estimate)
Cost: $? (could have been a gift)
Purchased from: (was part of a popcorn gift tin); not sure where this came from

I am embarrassed to say that this round gift tin, packed with three different types of popcorn, dates back to a Christmas past. Fortunately, all three types of popcorn were nicely sealed in their own pouches, and this chocolate-coated popcorn still tasted reasonably fresh. Trail's End is part of Weaver Popcorn, a large U.S. manufacturer of popcorn. (In fact, according to Weaver Popcorn's website, they produce 30% of all popcorn sold.)

ChocolateBet: July 9, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Brehmer's Handmade Candies
Dark Chocolate Coffee
Good + - Very Good
Weight: ~ .5 oz. (14.2 grams) (estim.)
Calories: ~ 75 calories (estim.)
Cost: ~ $1.62 (estim.)
Purchased from: Confetti, le chocolatier, in San Francisco, CA

Very pretty to look at, I felt like this flower-shaped chocolate could have been lifted from the top of a fancy cupcake. Note: the scanned image shown here is a bit washed out, i.e. it doesn't quite do the colors justice.