ChocolateBet: December 12, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
6 pieces
FreeHeart Farm
Dark Chocolate Almonds
Good +
Weight: .93 oz. (26.4 g.) / 8 oz. (226 g.) total package/bag
Calories: 132 calories (estimate) for 6 pieces
Cost: $11.00 total package
Purchased from: Califia Market A Go Go, Town and Country Village, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #5 of Dark Chocolate and Nuts Theme Week. I live in California, a large nut-producing state (and by nuts, I mean the food crop, not the people). Today's selection: dark chocolate covered almonds from FreeHeart Farm, gives me the opportunity to give some recognition to all the nut producers in the valley(s) east of where I live. FreeHeart Farm is located in the small, agriculturally-focused town of Esparto, California -- and is part of the Capay Valley Region of Central California.

ChocolateBet: December 11, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:

1/2 bar
Patric Chocolate
PBJ OMG - dark chocolate with peanut butter bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) total bar
Calories: 169 calories (estimate)
Cost: $8.00 (member price)
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, in Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #4 of Dark Chocolate and Nuts Theme Week.

Peanut butter and jelly, also known as PB and J or PBJ, generally refers to a type of sandwich in the U.S. However, some of the most original chocolate flavor combinations borrow from food favorites like this. This Patric Chocolate PBJ OMG -- a rendition of an American lunchbox sandwich staple in bar form -- blended dark roasted peanut butter and cane sugar with cacao that had "naturally occurring jam-like bursts of berry flavor."

And, in fact, I did taste peanut butter and jelly notes in this dark chocolate bar. The talented maker(s) at Patric Chocolate (Columbia, MO) handcraft their bars with great skill.

ChocolateBet: December 10, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 package - 3 cups
SunSpire
Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups
Good +
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) total package of 3 cups
Calories: 190 calories
Cost: $0.99 (sale)
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

The peanut butter cup resides in the pantheon of chocolate. Today's SunSpire chocolate is a version of this popular staple -- made with MaraNatha almond butter instead of peanut butter. (Note for people with peanut allergies, these may contain traces of peanuts.) Having tried these cups, I'm thinking it might be interesting to compare different legume and nut butter chocolate cups side-by-side. Another future chocolate lab experiment to be scheduled.

Today was Day #3 of Dark Chocolate and Nuts Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: December 9, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1/4 bar
Michael Mischer Chocolates
65% Cacao with toasted Almonds (bar)
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .75 oz. (21.25) / 3 oz. (85 g.) total bar
Calories: 105 calories (estimate) in 1/4 bar
Cost: $
Purchased from: Michael Mischer Chocolates, Oakland, CA

Today was Day #2 of Dark Chocolate and Nuts Theme Week. Michael Mischer does nuts well -- perfectly toasted, and sprinkled across a rich, dark chocolate (65% cacao) bar base, made from single origin Criollo beans from Venezuela.

ChocolateBet: December 8, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1/6 bar
Theo Chocolate
Nutcracker Toffee (bar)
Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (14 g.) / 3 oz. (84 g.) total bar
Calories: 70 calories in 1/6 bar
Cost: $4.00 total bar
Purchased from: REI store, in Mountain View, CA

The holiday season is in full swing here in the Western U.S. Today was the first day of Dark Chocolate and Nuts Theme Week, and Seattle-based Theo Chocolate's Nutcracker Toffee dark chocolate (70% cacao) bar package was adorned with a likeness of the famous wooden soldier/king nutcracker. The nuts in this bar were tiny bits of almonds and hazelnuts.

* - * - * - *
Elsewhere in the world, chocolate continued to play a key role in recent holiday celebrations, such as the two below:

1.) Ferrero unveiled a large, edible Christmas tree in London's Covent Garden (November 25, 2010)
This 11-foot high tree was made of more than 10,000 Ferrero Rochers (Golden Ferrero Rochers, Rafaello chocolates, and Ferrero Rondnoir chocolates). The tree took five hours to erect, and likely was picked clean in short order. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c-ZhjzL5Aeg

2.) Chocolate Nativity Scene in Cordoba, Spain (December 2010)
http://gospain.about.com/b/2010/12/07/chocolate-nativity-scene-in-spain.htm

ChocolateBet: December 7, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:

1 square
gnosis chocolate
Aphrodisia bar
Good +
Weight: .33 oz. (9.3 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 47 calories (estimate)
Cost: $
Purchased from: gnosis chocolate, Long Island City, New York

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

This gnosis chocolate raw, vegan chocolate bar was infused with herbs (like maca root and dong quai), fruits (figs, raspberry), and contained coconut oil. It was also gluten, soy and dairy-free, and was sweetened with palm nectar rather than processed sugar.

The sun was out, in between storm fronts this week. Not that there's really a bad place to eat chocolate, but sampling a square outside in the sunshine is a great thing to be able to do in December.

ChocolateBet: December 6, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece/bottle
Anthon Berg
Malibu Caribbean Rum with Coconut
Good +
Weight: .55 oz. (15.5 g.)
Calories: 82.5 calories (estimate)
Cost: $
Purchased from: BevMo, in Mountain View, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

I often try to include a beverage of some sort as part of a theme week. The beverage in this case came in a unique form: a miniature, dark chocolate bottle with Malibu coconut rum flavored filling. This little foil-wrapped bottle was part of a set of 16 liquor/liqueur inspired chocolates from Anthon Berg.