ChocolateBet: September 5, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Lillie Belle Farms
Fresh Mint Ganache
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .4 oz. (11.32 g.) (estimate) for 1 piece
Calories: 65 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $N/A sample - thank you Sunita
Purchased from: N/A - from The Chocolate Garage, in Palo Alto, CA

This Fresh Mint Ganache chocolate from Lillie Belle Farms (Central Point, in Southern Oregon) was made with refreshing mint from -- Lillie Belle Farms. It must be great to have fresh ingredients readily available. (The Farm also produces at least three types of berries.)

Decorated with a festive sprinkle of what looked to be mint-infused, green sugar crystals, the dark chocolate ganache (filling) was also infused with a touch of mint. Not overwhelming; rather, just a hint of authentic, fresh mint flavor.

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: September 4, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Amazing Grass
Organic Green SuperFood
Chocolate Whole Food Energy Bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 230 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $2.50 total bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

This Organic, raw, vegan Green SuperFood bar (distributed by Amazing Grass, San Francisco, CA) was so jam-packed with gluten and dairy free ingredients, such as greens (spinach, alfalfa, spirulina, broccoli), nuts, seeds, dried fruit, cacao nibs, and peppermint, that it could have been a meal by itself. Dates and agave nectar provided a moist, slightly chewy texture and sweetness. This green, "alkalinizing" bar was coated in chocolate.

I'd seen two different versions of this bar this month in local stores (both versions shown at right), likely the result of a recent packaging change. The two bars were the same weight and the ingredients and calorie count appeared to be the same. I tried both to be sure. Sure enough, they tasted the same too.

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Nibs Theme Week. And, even though the peppermint flavor was difficult to pick out in this tasty green salad bar, today was also Day #1 of Chocolate and Mint Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: September 3, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Olive and Sinclair
Bourbon Nib Brittle
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 2.2 oz. (62 g.) serving / 5 oz. (141.5 g.) total box
Calories: 300 calories (estimate)
Cost: $16.00 total box
Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Inside this attractively designed box was a package of Bourbon Nib Brittle from Olive and Sinclair Chocolate Co. (Nashville, TN). The delicious, thin shards of brown sugar and butter brittle were coated with dark chocolate on one side, and the brittle was full of crunchy cacao nibs.

How strong the Bourbon flavor was seemed to be batch-dependent. This batch was a bit lighter on the whiskey; both batches/boxes I sampled from were good.

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

ChocolateBet: September 2, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Taza Chocolate
Organic, Chocolate Covered Nibs
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) total package
Calories: 135 calories in 1 oz. serving (estimate)
Cost: $2.99 (sale price)
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Taza Chocolate (Somerville, MA) specializes in traditional stone ground chocolate -- which they used used to coat this cocoa nibs, small rough ground bits of the larger fermented and roasted cocoa beans. Taza is offering a nuts and nibs collection this year (2012); and all these items are covered in Taza's signature chocolate, that they make themselves by hand in small batches.

It is more difficult to distinguish the texture of this ("67% dark") stone ground chocolate when it is serving as a thin covering for a crunchier item in the middle. It tasted fairly sweet but smooth, creating a contrast with the drier, rougher and earthier nibs.

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Nibs Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: September 1, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Alter Eco
Dark Cacao Organic Chocolate bar
Good +  - Very Good
Weight: .564 oz. (16 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) total bar
Calories: 88 calories in 1/5 bar
Cost: $3.99 total bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods, in Los Altos, CA

Alter Eco's Dark Cacao (63% cocoa) bar with cacao nibs tasted like a rich cup of coffee -- smooth with light acidic and roasted notes and a bittersweet bite -- with the added textural dimension of crunchy cocoa nibs.

Information on the farmers/partners and the cacao bean origins (Fortaleza and Acopagro Co-op, and the coast of Ecuador) for this dark, organically grown and fairly traded chocolate is printed on the back and inside of the bar package. Alter Eco bars typically contain a short list of quality ingredients (5 in this bar), with no emulsifiers or artificial ingredients; this bar was free of soy or gluten ingredients and was GMO-free and vegan. Alter Eco is an international company, with a base in San Francisco, CA.

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Nibs Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: August 31, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Trader Joe's
Dark Chocolate Nibs
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1/4 oz. (7 g.)/ 1 oz. (28 g.) total container
Calories: 35 calories (estimate) in .25 oz. serving
Cost: $
Purchased from: Trader Joe's

Cacao was, at one time, used for currency in Latin America. If that's true, today's Dark Chocolate Nibs (cacao nibs covered in 65% dark chocolate) from Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA) could have been the gold nuggets of that time.

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Nibs Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: August 30, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolate and More
Cocoa Nibs
Good + - Very Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) (estimate for total bag)
Calories: 65 calories (estimate) in 1/2 oz. (14 g.) serving
Cost: $ N/A - gift from friends - Thank you Claire and Naomi (approx. 6 Euros for 100g. bag)
Purchased from: N/A - gift from friends (brought back from Germany)

Ah, a humble little bowl of nibs -- ground bits of cocoa beans, where chocolate making often begins. These slightly nutty flavored, slightly sweet, earth-colored gems were also good eating by themselves.

Thank you to Claire and Naomi for sharing these very lightly sweetened (with cacao blossom syrup) nibs, from Chocolate and More Munchen (Munich), Germany. I can't read German, but from looking at their website, this shop looks like a fun place to go for chocolate(s).

I really enjoy cacao in this less processed, more versatile form. Nibs are good on salads and savory dishes too. One serving of these cacao nibs kept me humming along this morning.

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Nibs Theme Week.