ChocolateBet: July 23, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:

2/5 bar
Endangered Species
Dark Chocolate with Espresso Beans (bar)
Very Good
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.)/3 oz. (85 g.) total bar
Calories: 168 calories
Cost: $
Purchased from:

Today's Dark Chocolate (72% cocoa) with Espresso Beans bar, from Endangered Species (Indianapolis, IN), had a very slight crunch from finely ground espresso beans embedded in the bar. It was just the right amount of texture for me. This bar was my selection for Day #5 of Chocolate and Espresso Theme Week.

Endangered Species focuses on wildlife conservation, and features different animals, such as this tiger, on each of their bars. ("10% of net profits donated to help support species, habitat and humanity.")

ChocolateBet: July 22, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece
Anthon Berg
Chocolate Espresso Drink
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .44 oz. (12.5 g.)/5.3 oz. (150 g.) total package of 12 pieces
Calories: 55 calories
Cost: $
Purchased from:

This dark chocolate with a liquid coffee center from Anthon Berg was my selection for Day #4 of Chocolate and Espresso Theme Week. This non-alcoholic, Chocolate Espresso Drink was nestled in a package with 11 other small foil-wrapped "drinks".

ChocolateBet: July 21, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Michael Mischer Chocolates
Espresso
Very Good +
Weight: .4 oz. (11.3 g.) (estimate) for 1 piece
Calories: 58 calories (estimate)
Cost: $
Purchased from: Michael Mischer Chocolates, in Oakland, CA

Yesterday I had the opportunity to visit Michael Mischer Chocolates in Oakland, CA, with Sunita de Tourreil of The Chocolate Garage. There, we had an opportunity to meet Michael Mischer, and to try his filled chocolates, which were every bit as good as his chocolate bars.

Today (Day #3 of Chocolate and Espresso Theme Week) I enjoyed the "Espresso" -- one of the filled chocolates I purchased yesterday (Oakland shop, and 12-piece box pictured at right). The Espresso consisted of a dark, coffee-bean shaped chocolate shell that surrounded an espresso flavored filling. I recommend trying Michael Mischer's filled chocolates. In a world of overly sweet caramels and centers, his are a skillful blend of flavors and textures, with some wonderful twists.

What delighted me most about Mischer's Espresso, I have to admit, was that I was immediately reminded of a Coffee-et -- a type of hard, coffee toffee candy from my childhood. One of these could yank a filling out if you weren't careful, but it tasted wonderful. These Coffee-ets were individually wrapped candies with "real cream, fresh butter and pure coffee" (according to a 1945 ad in Life magazine); they used to be made in Alameda, CA, by Miss Saylor's Chocolates. Sadly, I believe this brand disappeared from the commercial scene about 18 years ago.

ChocolateBet: July 20, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
6-7 pieces
Cocoa Bon
Dark Chocolate Espresso - "Bite-Size Chocolates"
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .3 oz. (10 g.) (estim.)/ 2 oz. (56 g.) in total package
Calories: 45 calories (estimate)
Cost: $2.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Candy Baron, in San Francisco, CA

Espresso and dark chocolate make good companions. Both have the potential to run over milder flavors, but they stand up to and complement each other. I could taste both the dark chocolate and the crunchy espresso bean centers in this Cocoa Bon offering. Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Espresso Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: July 19, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
2 pieces
Bissinger's - Naturals
Dark Chocolate-Covered Espresso Beans
Good+
Weight: .25 oz. (7 g.) / 3.5 oz. (99 g.) in total package
Calories: 22 calories (estimate)
Cost: $4.99 for total package
Purchased from: Draeger's in San Mateo, CA

Today marked the first day of Chocolate and Espresso Theme Week. The minute I opened Bissinger's Dark Chocolate-Covered Espresso Beans, the smell of strong coffee wafted out. The two little crunchy Sumatra Mandheling espresso beans -- covered in (60 percent) dark chocolate -- that I ate, helped to power my evening walk. Since I ate these late in the day, I ate just two pieces to avoid staying up all night.

ChocolateBet: July 18, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
.75 oz. melted for 1 sundae 
Taza Chocolate
60% dark chocolate bar (melted as sauce)
Good+
Weight: .75 oz. (21 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 112 calories for chocolate sauce (estimate) + 200 for ice cream

Cost: N/A - gift; thank you Alec
Purchased from: N/A - gift; store from Somerville, MA

Thank you to Alec for gifting me an assortment of Taza Chocolate bars (60%, 70% and 80% bars are pictured, right). He purchased these while on his recent bicycle trip from Boston to Detroit. (Taza Chocolate is based in Somerville, MA.)

Today I sampled the 60% dark Stone Ground Organic Chocolate Bar (yellow wrapper). All three bars were dairy free, gluten free, and soy free.

Since today (Sunday, July 18, 2010) was Sundae Day -- generally celebrated the third Sunday in July from what I gather -- I chose to melt 1/4 of this 60% Taza dark bar and use it as a topping for a scoop of homemade rum raisin ice cream (shown above right). Topped with a little mint, and it was officially a sundae -- also gone in six minutes. Did I lick the bowl? No I did not. I thought about it. But, my cat was watching.

ChocolateBet: July 17, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1/8 bar
Taza Chocolate
Good
Weight: .375 oz. (9 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 50 calories (estimate)
Cost: $ N/A - gift -- Thank you Alec
Purchased from: N/A -- gift (purchased in store in Somerville, MA)

Thank you to Alec for providing Taza Chocolate bars for a tasting. Tonight Alec and I did a taste test of three different Taza Chocolate stone ground, organic bars: 60%, 70% and 80% cacao dark bars. I had tried the 70% bar some time ago. Today's choice was the 80% cacao bar. All three bars were dairy free, gluten free, and soy free, and included ground vanilla beans.

All three Taza bars also had a slightly grainy consistency. I am not sure whether it came from the stone ground technique or the ground vanilla beans. Tomorrow, my Chocolate of the Day will be the 60% bar, and I will try melting it so see what effect this has.