Kind - Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew bar - Feb. 13, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

Kind, LLC
Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 180 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $1.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

Today was Day #9 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Week.

The Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew bar from Kind, LLC (New York, NY) was a perfect choice for Valentines Day Eve. It was a healthy amalgam of dark chocolate, sweet/tart dried cherries, crunchy nuts (almonds, cashews and peanuts), and all good. The gluten free, low sodium bar was also a welcome break from solid chocolate and candy hearts.

Sugar, a touch of honey, glucose, and a few raisins and dried cranberries sweetened up this bar, and yet, surprisingly, it didn't seem overly so. The nuts and fiber helped balance the sweetness level.

Not all the Kind bars are drizzled with dark chocolate, but I've relished all the company's fruit and nut bars I've tasted so far. These gluten-free, Non-GMO bars were easy to tuck into a pocket, or pocketbook, for a snack on the go.

Theo Chocolate - My Cherry Baby bar - Feb. 12, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

Theo Chocolate
My Cherry Baby bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 3 oz. (85 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 440 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $3.69 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

Today was Day #8 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Weeks.

Two great Limited Edition bars for Valentines Day from Theo Chocolate (Seattle, WA):

1.) Today's My Cherry Baby 45% Milk Chocolate bar
2.) The Cinnamon Love Crunch 70% Dark Chocolate bar (that I'll feature later)

Both bars were made from organic and fair trade ingredients.

The Cherry Baby bar was devilishly good. The kind of creamy, tasty milk chocolate, enhanced with natural cherry bits, that gets gobbled up gleefully and quickly. So beware all virtual eaters, and dieters out there. You may be tempted to fall off the wagon, just a little.

Happy Valentines Day Week to all.

Bohme - Cherry and Brandy Filled Chocolates - Feb. 11, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

Delitzscher Schokoladenfabrik GmbH
Weinbrand Kirschen
Good+
Weight: .353 oz. (10 g.) / 5.3 oz. (150 g.) total box of 15 pieces
Calories: 42.5 calories in 1 piece
Cost: $3.90 for 1 box of 15 pieces
Purchased from: Gourmet Haus Staudt (store), Redwood City, CA

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Weeks.

It was cold this evening -- a good opportunity for a hot brandy with Kirsch (cherry brandy), and a German Bohme Weinbrand Kirschen -- a Cherry and Brandy Filled Chocolate.

A simple drink + dessert, with a pleasing flavor combination.

Coco Polo - 70% Cherries bar - Feb. 10, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Coco Polo
70% Cocoa - Cherries bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35.4 g.)
Calories: 170 calories (per label) for 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Weeks.

The 70% cocoa, smooth dark chocolate "Cherries" bar from Coco Polo (New Brunswick, NJ) was sweetened with Stevia (Non-GMO Reb A*), and dotted with a generous smattering of dried, tart Montmorency cherries.

The company also included some non-GMO Erythritol as a secondary sweetener (which can be easier to digest than Maltitol, Xylitol or Sorbitol).

This bar was gluten-free, but did contain some non-GMO soy lecithin.

*Reb A is an extract of stevia

Tonic Scene - Wild Cherry bar - Feb. 9, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Tonic Scene Company
Wild Cherry bar
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 181 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $3.79 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Cherry Theme Weeks. (There are so many chocolate + cherry items that I'll be extending this theme week to two weeks.)

Tonic Scene Company (Dana Point, CA) is a relatively new company that makes organic, soy free and gluten free chocolate bars.

Today's "Wild Cherry" bar was composed of organic, raw, dark chocolate (70% cacao), and dried cherries. The bar was sweetened with coconut nectar.

John and Kira's - Chocolate Cherries - Feb. 8, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

John and Kira's
Chocolate Cherries
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) total box of 9
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 3 pieces
Cost: $29.00
Purchased from: John and Kira's, Philadelphia, PA

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

John and Kira's box of 9 attractive, shiny red Chocolate Cherries were filled with 62% Valrhona dark chocolate ganache with a hint of brandy -- a nice warm combination of flavors for a cool winter's day.

The company has developed relationships with a number of interesting growers, some local, all with a good story. The cherries in today's Chocolate Cherries were from King's Orchards, in Central Lake, IL. 

Sjaak's - Hearts of Cherry - Feb. 7, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

Sjaak's Organic Chocolates
Hearts of Cherry
Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) (estimate) in 1 piece
Calories: 70 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $0.95 for 1 piece
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

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

This "Hearts of Cherry" chocolate wrapped in bright fuschia-colored foil from Sjaak's Organic Chocolates (Petaluma, CA) was filled with a smooth blend of cherry and nut butter ganache, an interesting variation on the traditional artificially sweetened and preserved cherry.