ChocolateBet: October 22, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

1 package, 2 cups
Reese's (H.B. Reese Candy Co./The Hershey Company)
Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter Cups
Very Good
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42 grams) in package of 2 cups
Calories: 210 calories
Cost: $0.69 (sale price)
Purchased from: Walgreens, in midtown Palo Alto, CA

Hershey's has gone over to the dark side with these new Reese's peanut butter cups. I have always liked the regular milk chocolate variety. I figured: I like dark chocolate better than milk chocolate, so it stands to reason that I would like the dark version of these peanut butter cups better than the originals. However, I think I liked these equally well. Odd to think how much of the taste of something can come from nostalgia.

ChocolateBet: October 21, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

1 bar
Garden Island Chocolate Co.
Kauai Chocolate Macadamia Nut and Coconut bar
Very Good
Weight: 2 oz. (57 grams)
Calories: ~ 300 calories (estimate)
Cost: $0 (gift - Thank you Alec!)
Purchased from: N/A

Well, I couldn't make it to Kauai this year, but Alec made a quick trip there and brought back two Garden Island chocolate bars.

Today's (organic) dark chocolate (80% cacao) bar was made with local, organic Hawaiian cacao, macadamia nuts, sugar and vanilla beans. How great to live in the one U.S. state where it's possible to grow cacao fruit.

ChocolateBet: October 20, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

2 small squares
TCHO
Dark Chocolate "Citrus" squares
Weight: 2 squares = .36 oz. (10 g.)
Calories: ~ 54 cals. for 2 squares (estim.)
Cost: $0
Purchased from: N/A

To help clarify complex language used to describe high-end (mostly dark) chocolate products, TCHO began affixing simpler descriptions to their chocolate: e.g. fruity, nutty, chocolatey, and citrus.

Today I tried two small "Citrus" squares with dark chocolate (70%) made from (organic) beans from Madagascar. I detected a very mild citrus flavor after slowly eating the second square. I didn't do a side-by-side tasting of all four TCHO flavors, but perhaps I will in the future.

ChocolateBet: October 19, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

2 small squares
TCHO
Dark Chocolate "Chocolatey" squares
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: 2 squares = .36 oz. (10 g.)
Calories: 54 calories (estimate) for 2 small squares
Cost: $0
Purchased from: N/A, from gallery opening last weekend in San Francisco, CA

TCHO dark chocolate squares are made with cacao beans from Ghana (70% cacao). And, as advertised, they had a nice, rich (earthy, almost mocha) chocolatey taste. TCHO is a Bay Area-based chocolate manufacturing company, located on the waterfront (Pier 17) in San Francisco, CA.

ChocolateBet: October 18, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 truffle
Chubby Chipmunk Hand-Dipped Chocolates
Moose - Milk Truffle
Very Good
Weight: 1.48 oz. (42 g)/~9.9 oz. (290 g.) in total 7-pc. tin
Calories: ~222 calories in 1.48 oz. truffle
Cost: ~$5.14 for 1 truffle (includes shipping, etc.)/~$36.00 for total order
Purchased from: Chubby Chipmunk Hand-Dipped Chocolates, in Deadwood, South Dakota

Five dollars sounds like a lot for one truffle; however, that included shipping and handling and all costs. And it was a heck of a lot cheaper than flying there to pick one up. I'd still like to see North and South Dakota one day. But, for now, I'm happy to enjoy a large Chubby Chipmunk Moose truffle, topped with chocolate sprinkles, from Deadwood, South Dakota.

ChocolateBet: October 17, 2009

Chocolate(s) of the Day:
2 truffles
Chubby Chipmunk Hand-Dipped Chocolates
1.) Royal Raspberry - Dark Truffle - Very Good
2.) Moose Toffee - Milk Truffle - Very Good
Weight: 2.89 oz. (82 grams) for both truffles/~9.9 oz. (290 g.) in 7-pc. tin
Calories: ~ 432 calories for both truffles
Cost: ~$10.28 for 2 truffles/~$36.00 for whole order
Purchased from: Chubby Chipmunk Hand-Dipped Chocolates, Deadwood, South Dakota

The Fall days are growing shorter and temperatures are cooling off, especially in the northern U.S. states. While some animals begin to slow down, Chubby Chipmunks Hand-Dipped Chocolates continues to turn out Truffles to "Sigh" For (Chubby Chipmunk's tagline). I had two of these meal-sized truffles for brunch. Think of a pudgy-cheeked chipmunk, speeding around getting chores done, and you get the picture. The Royal Raspberry Dark truffle was decorated with a tiny bit of red dust, and the Moose Toffee Milk truffle was topped with small bits of toffee.

ChocolateBet: October 16, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 truffle
Chubby Chipmunk Hand-Dipped Chocolates
Signature Dark Chocolate Truffle
Very Good
Weight: ~ 1.41 oz. (40 grams)/~9.9 oz. (290 g.) for 7 pieces
Calories: ~ 210 calories (estimate)
Cost: ~$5.14 for 1 truffle/~$36.00 for total order
Purchased from: Chubby Chipmunk Hand-Dipped Chocolates, Deadwood, South Dakota

These truffles came in a special acorn-shaped tin. (The image above came from www.chubbychipmunk.net.) Today is a special occasion, not only because I was able to eat a gold-dusted dark truffle associated with a chubby chipmunk, but also because with the addition of this South Dakota-based chocolate vendor to this blog, I can now say that I have eaten chocolates made from all 50 states in the United States. Hurray! Another chocolate eating milestone. I look forward to trying the other truffle flavors in this assortment.