Theo Chocolate - Cinnamon Love Crunch bar - Feb. 21, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

Theo Chocolate
Cinnamon Love Crunch bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $6.95 (estimate) 
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Today's 70% Dark Chocolate, Cinnamon Love Crunch bar from Theo Chocolate (Seattle, WA) looked bright pink, sassy, and sweet.

This limited edition bar was created for Valentines Day this month. The bar, made with organic ingredients, also packed a complex, spicy flavor punch -- from cinnamon leaf oil, nutmeg and clove oils, cayenne*, and black pepper oil.

The flavorful bits of cinnamon brittle embedded in the smooth dark chocolate offered a refreshingly different take on cinnamon red-hots or more traditional crunchy candy bits.

*Cayenne and the Scoville Scale
What is the Scoville Scale, and what does it have to do with my chocolate? The Scoville Scale measures the level of capsaicin in chili peppers and hot, spicy foods. Bright red Cayenne peppers (named for the city, Cayenne, in French Guiana) rank a 3 out of 5 on the Scoville Scale. 

Love Bites - Mayan Heat - Feb. 20, 2014

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Love Bites Raw Confections

Mayan Heat
Good
Weight: .33 oz. (9.3 g.) (estimate) for 1 piece
Calories: 49 calories (estimate) for 1 piece
Cost: N/A - gift
Purchased from: N/A - gift

Vegan Milk Chocolate
Good +
Weight: .4 oz. (11.32 g.) (estimate) for 1 piece
Calories: 60 calories (estimate) for 1 piece
Cost: N/A - gift
Purchased from: N/A - gift

Today was Day #1 of Chocolate and Chili Theme Week.

The combination of cacao and chili peppers is as old as the hills -- if by "old" you mean thousands of years ago, and if by "hills" you mean the Maya Mountains in Central America.

So, it seemed only right to start this theme week with a piece of dark chocolate bark, dubbed 'Mayan Heat" by Merissa, the creator of Love Bites Raw Confections (Thousand Oaks, CA). Each piece of bark was peppered with warm, colorful specks of cayenne and paprika -- adding interest, but not too much heat.

I also sampled the star-shaped Vegan Milk Chocolate, made with cashews. As claimed, this piece was creamy and wonderful.

Today's two Love Bites Raw Confections were free of gluten, soy, corn and milk, and were sweetened with organic maple sugar. While not a chocolate-maker who starts with whole cacao beans from growers, Merissa is clearly focused on providing consumers with healthy end-products, and sources her ingredients carefully. (The company used cacao products from David Wolfe's Longevity Warehouse to make these raw chocolates.)

Thank you Katy for sending these chocolates from Southern California!

Chocolate Breakfast - Yes! - Feb. 19, 2014

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

1.) The Yes Bar Co.
The Yes Bar - Coffee Cayenne
Good +
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $N/A
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

2.) Hammond's Candies
Pigs N' Taters Bar
Good
Weight: .375 oz. (10.6 g.) / 2.25 oz. (64 g.) total bar
Calories: 55 cals. in 1/6 bar
Cost: N/A
Purchased from: N/A

Why eat bacon, hash browns and coffee, why you can have two different "breakfast" chocolates instead? Today's Chocolate Breakfast served as a transition between Chocolate and Cherries Theme Week, and Chocolate and Chilis Theme Week.

The Coffee Cayenne Yes Bar contained a healthy mix of nuts, seeds, coconut, chocolate chips, ground espresso and dried cherry bits. This gluten-free, GMO free bar from The Yes Bar Co. (Los Angeles, CA) did have a hint of cayenne, but it was very faint. So, there's no danger of burning yourself on this cup of java.

The cleverly named "Pigs N' Taters" Bar from Hammond's Candies (Denver, CO) incorporated (soy) bacon bits and flecks of potato chips into a smooth, milk chocolate bar base.

NewTree - Cherry Dark Chocolate Spread - Feb. 18, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

NewTree America Inc.
Cherry - Dark Chocolate Spread
Good - Good +
Weight: 2 Tbsp. serving / 8.8 oz. (250 g.) in 1 jar
Calories: 136 calories in 2 Tb serving
Cost: $8.45 (estimate) for 1 jar
Purchased from: NewTree Cafe/store, San Francisco, CA

Today was Day #14 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Week.

For a double cherry and chocolate experience, I heated and drizzled Cherry Dark Chocolate Spread from NewTree America (San Anselmo, CA -- with offices in Belgium) on black cherry gelato. Topped off with chopped almonds and a cherry, my dessert sundae was complete.

NewTree makes their chocolate spreads with organic and fair trade ingredients, and with less fat (no oils) and sugar than most other commercial brands, something I really appreciated. This particular jar was made with a minimum of 62% cocoa solids.

The first American President, George Washington, was born on February 11, 1731. (The date was "moved" to later dates in February in subsequent years.) Regardless, happy birthday to all our Presidents celebrating birthdays this month. One tale depicted a young George Washington as so honest that he confessed having chopped down a cherry tree to his father. True, or not, cherry and fruit trees are in bloom now where I live, and we've enjoyed celebrating chocolate + cherries this month.

Endangered Species - Dark Chocolate Cherries bar - Feb. 17, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

Endangered Species Chocolate, LLC
Dark Chocolate with Cherries bar
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $3.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's, San Mateo, CA

Today was Day #13 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Weeks.

Eating this relatively new Dark Chocolate (72% cocoa) with Cherries bar from Endangered Species Chocolate (Indianapolis, IN) reminded me of drinking a dark cup of hot chocolate around a campfire. That is to say, there was a very subtle flavor note that reminded me of wood burning in a campfire. This faint flavor, neither good nor bard, could have been introduced in the drying, roasting, or other, phase of the chocolate-making process.

The bits of dried cherry were natural tasting, relatively small and non-intrusive, allowing the main focus to be on the dark chocolate.

Endangered Species highlights a given bird or animal as part of each bar they create, to help raise awareness. A story about Puffins, or "Sea Parrots," accompanied this bar (printed inside the wrapper). The company has dedicated 10% of their net profits to organizations that promote species conservation, habitat preservation and humanitarian efforts. Best wishes to the puffins; may your numbers and colonies be restored/protected.

Mariette - Cherry chocolates - Feb. 16, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Mariette Chocolates
1.) Cherry Jubilee
2.) Cordial Cherry
3.) Sour Cherry Cluster
Good
Weight: 1.6 oz. (45.2 g.) (estimate) for 1 piece
Calories: 240 calories (estimate) for 3 pieces
Cost: $5.25 total purchase
Purchased from: Mariette Chocolates, San Jose, CA

Today was Day #12 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Week.

What amazes me most about eating more than 2,700 different chocolate items in the past 7 1/2 years? The fact that I am still finding 100s of new chocolates every year, where I live in the San Francisco Bay Area still surprises me.

The bustling and innovative metropolis that is Silicon Valley is fertile ground for a high number of new products being introduced each year, for technology and chocolate. So, I wasn't surprised to find two more new chocolate sources this weekend while on a walk through the Willow Glen neighborhood of San Jose, CA, with my friend Laurie.

Mariette Chocolates (San Jose, CA) had several chocolates with cherries in their display case. So, I picked up four of them, and sampled three of them today.

The Cherry Jubilee was a generously sized domed truffle, with a cute cherry stem "pigtail." The chocolate ganache (filling) contained a red cherry, reminiscent of the kind you'd pluck out of a Shirley Temple (non-alcoholic drink) as a child.

I bit carefully into the Cordial Cherry; the center was a deep red pool of cherry liquid. (Eat with caution or you may end of with cherry cordial spillage on your clothes.)

The Sour Cherry Cluster was an irregular shaped chocolate with small chunks of natural tasting, dried sour cherry.

I also picked up some (red coated) chocolate covered cherries at Mariette's; however I'll wait to feature those later.

Barlovento - 80% bar with dried cherries - Feb. 15, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

Barlovento Chocolates
80% Extra Dark Chocolate Bar with Dried Cherries
Good +
Weight: .7 oz. (19.8 g.) / 3.5 oz. (99 g.) in total bar
Calories: 105 calories in 1/5 bar
Cost: $7.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Barlovento Chocolates, Palo Alto Farmers Market

Today was Day #11 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Weeks.

This extra dark beauty from Barlovento Chocolates (Oakland, CA) was crafted from 80% Venezuelan chocolate.

The back side of this bar was covered with neat rows of dried, moist cherries from Hidden Star Orchards (Clements, CA). I could smell the rich, natural aromas from this bar as soon as I lifted up the gold foil wrapping. Each square packed in satisfying chocolate and cherry flavor.