Baru - Milk Chocolate Honey Almond Hippos - Aug. 8, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Baru
Dreamy Chocolate Hippos
Milk Chocolate Honey Almond
Good
Weight: 1.05 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total package
Calories: 167 calories (estimate) in 2 pieces
Cost: $5.99 for 1 package of 4 pieces
Purchased from: Draeger's Market, San Mateo, CA

Welcome to the first day of Chocolate and Honey Theme Week.

Sometimes people think that eating a new chocolate every day must be like dwelling in the land of milk and honey. More accurately, it involves visits the land of milk chocolate and honey.

Today's Milk Chocolate Honey Almond Chocolates from Baru (Belgium) were molded into small (individually-wrapped) hippo shapes. Cute!

The 33% milk chocolate hippos had a sweet milk chocolate aroma and flavor with a creamy melt.
The almonds were difficult to detect in the honey nougat flavored milk chocolate. A bit of nice honey flavor surfaced in the finish.

*Note to those watching their allergens: While there was no specific wheat ingredients called out, this chocolate contained glucose, a sweetener that can contain/be made from wheat. And the label carried a "may contain traces of wheat/gluten" type advisory.

Hershey's Spreads - Chocolate with Almond - Aug. 7, 2017

Chocolate of the Day:

Hershey's
Chocolate with Almond spread
Good
Weight: 2 TB (37 g.) / 13 oz. (368 g.) in total jar
Calories: 200 calories in 2 Tablespoons
Cost: $0.99 (sale table) for 1 jar
Purchased from: Safeway, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Almond Theme Week.

Hershey is well known for their chocolate bars, Kisses and confections, but the company has a big footprint in the candy scene and also ventures out periodically with new offerings, such as this Chocolate with Almond spread.

Today's spread had the look, texture (and sweetness*) of chocolate frosting, but was tastier and creamier than most frostings one can buy.

I paired this spread with a few small gluten-free Aleias Almond Horns (cookies), that were also quite sweet. If one wants to bring down the sugar level, a slice of toast or a toasted muffin might be a better substrate choice.

*Sugar was the number #1 ingredient, followed by vegetable oil, nonfat milk, almonds, cocoa and a bit of hydrogenated oil, soy lecithin, and natural vanilla flavor. (Speculation: The hydrogenated oil may have been why this was found on a heavily discounted sale a few years ago. Hershey's still offers a line of chocolate spreads; but I don't have the ingredients for subsequent offerings.)

Cachet - 72% Organic Dark Chocolate with Almonds bar - Aug. 6, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Cachet
72% Organic Dark Chocolate with Almonds bar
Good +
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 192 calories (per label) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Stars USA, online order

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Almond Theme Week.

Today's Cachet 72% Organic Dark Chocolate with Almonds bar was made with cacao from Kyela, Tanzania.

This relatively thin, dark, flavorful and smooth bar in the African-themed print packaging was quite good. Almond pieces gave the chocolate a slight nutty, almond flavor and crunchy texture.

The organic (bio) bar was also the favorite pick for this almond-themed chocolate week so far.

Sadly, this Biolands Tanzania bar was out of stock when we tried to order more at the Chocolate Stars USA website today.

Stone Grindz Chocolate - Almonds & Sea Salt 60% Cacao bar - Aug. 5, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Stone Grindz Chocolate
Almonds and Sea Salt 60% Cacao bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .66 oz. (18.8 g.) / 2 oz. (56.6 g.) in total bar
Calories: 99 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $7.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Stone Grindz Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Almond Theme Week.

Today's Almonds and Sea Salt 60% Cacao bar (Batch #234) was made by Stone Grindz Chocolate (Scottsdale, AZ), a company that produces organic, bean-to-bar, small batch chocolate in their workshop in the Phoenix, Arizona area.

The smooth, rich chocolate was embedded with small crunchy pieces of roasted almonds that added a bit of texture and very subtle nut flavor. The light touch of sea salt was balanced and relatively even.

This dark bar contained nuts (almonds), but no gluten, soy or dairy.

August Storck - Merci Marzipan dark chocolate bar - Aug. 4, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

August Storck
Merci - Marzipan dark chocolate bar
Good+
Weight: .447 oz. (12.6 g.) / 7 oz. (200 g.) in total assortment package of 16 pieces
Calories: 70 calories in 1 piece/small bar
Cost: $N/A - gift
Purchased from: N/A - gift (thank you Heather!)

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Almond Theme Week.

Today's Merci Marzipan dark chocolate was made in Germany by August Storck KG for Storck USA.

Generally speaking, there is a greater variety of fine almond marzipan chocolates in Europe. However, ordering chocolates from out of state (or country) in the summer, is challenging and expensive. Five minutes in the sun on a loading dock somewhere can ruin an entire shipment.

If one is fortunate enough to travel, hand carrying chocolate items through airports is a convenient way to avert disaster.

Sometimes a generous friend will share chocolates when they return from a trip overseas.

Such was the case today. Thank you to Heather ("Yazz") for bringing back a Merci chocolate assortment pack, that included this small marzipan filled bar.

For chocolate fans, we know many of you prefer plain dark chocolate bars. However, for marzipan lovers, good almond marzipan covered with dark chocolate somehow manages to be quite sweet, yet quite tasty as well, e.g., today's elegantly wrapped bar-shaped confection.

Brownie Brittle - Sheila G's Thindulgent Organic Dark Chocolate Bark with almonds - Aug. 3, 2017

Chocolate of the Day:

Brownie Brittle, LLC
Sheila G's - Thindulgent Dark Chocolate Bark
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 16 oz. (454 g.) in total package
Calories: 230 calories in 1 serving (1/11th pkg.)
Cost: $7.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Almond Theme Week.

Today's Sheila G's Thindulgent Dark Chocolate Bark was from Brownie Brittle, LLC (West Palm Beach, FL)—a company founded by Sheila G. Mains.

This Organic dark bark had a rich, slightly earthy, fruity chocolate aroma. It contained bits of almond, dried cranberries, quinoa, and a hint of vanilla and sea salt. A generous scattering of pumpkin seeds added color and texture.

Organic, high-end trail mix enveloped in thin sheets of fair trade dark chocolate brittle. Not a bad idea for a snack.

The generously-sized, large package held enough bark pieces to satisfy more than a dozen people.

Note: This flavor may not currently be available, or may have been discontinued; it was not listed on the company website this week.

Endangered Species - Natural Almond Spread with Cocoa - Aug. 2, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Endangered Species Chocolate, LLC
Natural Almond Spread with Cocoa
Good
Weight: 1 TB (18.5 g.) / 9.7 oz. (275 g.) in total jar
Calories: 105 calories in 1/2 serving (1 TB)
Cost: $1.98 for 1 jar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Almond Theme Week.

This Natural Almond Spread with Cocoa was from Endangered Species Chocolate, LLC (Indianapolis, IN).

The company is known for their chocolate bars with pictures of wildlife and support for threatened species habitat preservation. Today's jar of chocolate almond spread was adorned with an image of a regal-looking lion.

Fans of dark chocolate may find this sweet, nutty spread a little too sweet for their taste. The texture and flavor was in between a nut butter and a frosting.

Pairing this with slightly salty or savory crackers or toast seemed to be a good way to balance out the sweetness.

Or, going the other way, it might make an interesting (relatively less sweet) frosting layer on a cake, or a mix-in with ice cream.