Compartes bar with mango - May 26, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

Compartes Chocolatier
Okavango Delta
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) in 1/3 bar / 3 oz. (85 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 148 calories (estimate) for 1/3 bar
Cost: $9.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Compartes Chocolatier, Los Angeles, CA (online order)

Compartes Chocolatier (Los Angeles, CA) offers a colorfully packaged line of bars and chocolates, many with exotic flavor combinations. Today's "World Series" (Vol. 1, Bar 12) Okavango Delta, contained bits of mango and grains of paradise in a dark base of 73% cacao.

I had to work to find hidden sweet bits of fruit and flavor in this very earthy, dark, gluten free bar, much like a trek through the jungle I imagined. In fact, the packaging (complete with zebra art) offered a similar description:

"Trekking through fields of mango and grains of paradise, the African Zebra's celebrate(d) triumphant journey end(s) at the Okavango Delta*."

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

*The Okavango Delta is located in Botswana (a land-locked country in Southern Africa). The Delta is a large inland delta that supports many types of wildlife (including zebra) with water levels that fluctuate with seasonal flooding. Unlike other deltas that empty into a sea or ocean, the waters end at the Kalahari, with most water evaporating or being absorbed. The Delta has been called one of the seven wonders of Africa.

Tamarind Mango Caramel - May 25, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

The Oakland Chocolate Company
Tamarind Mango Caramel
Very Good
Weight: .4 oz. (11.32 g.) (estimate) for 1 piece
Calories: 60 calories (estimate)
Cost: $2.00 for 1 piece
Purchased from: The Oakland Chocolate Company (Oakland, CA)

Nancy Nadel of The Oakland Chocolate Company (Oakland, CA) has done it again -- another great flavor combination.

Today's Tamarind Mango Caramel had just the right amount of tamarind and mango flavors infused into a beautiful caramel center, that was wrapped in 70% cacao dark chocolate from the parish of St. Mary in Jamaica, and topped with a thin mango tile. Very flavorful, without being too overpowering.

Today was the first day of Chocolate and Mango Theme Week.

Agouti Cacao Drinking Chocolate - May 24, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

Agouti Cacao Farm
Drinking chocolate (stoneground)
Good +
Weight: 3 oz. (85 g.) (estimate) for 1 bag
Calories: 300 calories (estimate) for 2 cups (added honey)
Cost: $4.00 (estimate) BZ dollars for 1 bag
Purchased from: Agouti Cacao Farm, San Pedro Colombia Village, Belize

Today I savored the last bit of chocolate that I'd brought back from a trip to Belize last month, following a visit to Agouti Cacao Farm (in San Pedro Colombia Village) in Southern Belize.

I added boiling water to the contents of this small bag of organic, unsweetened, stoneground cacao paste, and stirred it up thoroughly with some orange blossom honey. The smell, slightly smokey from roasted cacao beans and allspice berries over a comal (hot plate over a fire), brought me back to Agouti Cacao Farm, run by Eladio Pop and family, where I'd enjoyed a cacao farm tour and tasting. (Eladio and his family were featured in a documentary, called "The Chocolate Farmer" a few years ago.*)

I poured some of this deliciously rich drinking chocolate into a traditional cup (from Belize), and a drinking gourd from Agouti Cacao Farm. On the gourd were carved a woodpecker, a squirrel and an agouti -- all three have been known to nibble on fruit and seeds found in cacao pods.

The only unfortunate thing about today's cacao is that you may have to travel to Southern Belize to enjoy this. I hope that some of you will have the chance to do so. There is a lot to see and experience in the Toledo District of Belize, an area where some Mayan farmers, like Eladio are still growing cacao, using traditional methods going back thousands of years.

*Note: I highly recommend the documentary about Eladio Pop and his farm and family, called "The Chocolate Farmer" directed by Rohan Fernando (2011) (available on Amazon, and other sources). 

Mackenzies - Airplanes - May 23, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

Mackenzies Chocolates
Airplanes (Milk and Dark Chocolate)
Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) x 2 / 2 Airplanes
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. worth of airplanes
Cost: $2.50 (for 2 small airplanes)
Purchased from: Mackenzies Chocolates, Santa Cruz, CA

Today was the last day (Day #7) of Chocolate and Transportation Theme Week.

Planes, trains and automobiles. We are blessed with multiple modes of travel in the U.S.; and Mackenzies Chocolates (Santa Cruz, CA) has made chocsimiles (chocolate facsimiles) of just about every mode possible, including today's milk chocolate and dark chocolate airplanes -- not to mention trucks, flying saucers and jet rockets (not pictured here).

And, speaking of (chocolate) trains, congratulations to the master chocolatier from Malta, Andrew Farrugia, who constructed the world's longest structure/train (recognized by Guinness World Book of Records), made of 2,755 pounds of Belgian chocolate, this past year. Impressive. 

Mackenzies - Sailboat - May 22, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

Mackenzies Chocolates
Sailboat
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) piece / 3.84 oz. (108.6 g.) total sailboat
Calories: 152 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. serving
Cost: $5.95 for 1 sailboat
Purchased from: Mackenzies Chocolates, Santa Cruz, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Transportation Theme Week. I would be remiss if I didn't include at least one chocsimile (chocolate facsimile) of a sailboat, given that I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and we're ramping up for the America's Cup races this coming month, with practice sessions and trials already underway.

Pictured is a solid milk and dark chocolate Sailboat (6.75 x 4.5 x .25 inches) made by Mackenzies Chocolates (Santa Cruz, CA).

It's doubtful that a chocolate sailboat would last in the San Francisco Bay, or the Pacific Ocean. However, as a post-sailing snack, it would be just fine. 

Mackenzies - Surfboard - May 21, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Mackenzies Chocolates
Surfboard
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) piece / 2.08 oz. (58.8 g.) total surfboard
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. serving
Cost: $3.95 for 1 surfboard
Purchased from: Mackenzies Chocolates, Santa Cruz, CA

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

Surf's Up! I wanted to say. Only I was sitting, working at a desk, inside. So, instead, I settled for part of a solid milk chocolate Surfboard, from Mackenzies Chocolates, located in Santa Cruz, CA -- a city that knows a thing or two about surf and surfboards.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to observe a few hundred sea lions and a large "raft" of 39 sea otters (in the water, south of Santa Cruz). A few lucky people in kayaks, plus one man on a (surfboard like) stand-up paddleboard, were quietly navigating around the otters. It was hard to imagine a better mode of transportation on a day like that.

Note: I haven't spotted any chocolate sea otters, or sea lions, yet; but I'm sure they do exist.)

Mackenzies Chocolate Motorcycle - May 20, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Mackenzies Chocolates
Motorcycle
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 4.64 oz. (131.3 g.) in 1 Motorcycle
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. piece
Cost: $5.95 for 1 motorcycle
Purchased from: Mackenzies Chocolates, Santa Cruz, CA

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

Happy Motorcycle Safety Awareness Month (May). And, National Ride (your motorcycle) to Work Day is just around the corner (June 17).

In honor of these days, it was time to unwrap the box with the pretty green bow from Mackenzies Chocolates (a family-run shop in Santa Cruz, CA) -- so I could take a bite of their dark chocolate motorcycle chocsimile (chocolate facsimile).

This medium-sized (5 x 2.5 inch) replica looked so beautifully detailed and authentic, I hesitated ruining it. But, all things chocolate come to an end, generally sooner rather than later. Like many molded confections, the chocolate base was good, but not super high-end, single origin chocolate. I did enjoy the (less sweet) dark chocolate a bit more than the the milk chocolate items.