Texas Rattlesnake chocolate; Cactus Trail Mix - Aug. 26, 2017

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

(Made for Paradies Shops*)
Texas Rattlesnake Poop
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 7.8 oz. (221 g.) in total container
Calories: 165 calories (estimate) in 1 oz. serving
Cost: $7.99 for 1 container
Purchased from: Airport shop, DFW Airport, Dallas, TX

Arizona Cowboy Foods
Cactus Trail Mix
Good - Good +
Weight: 4 oz. (113.2 g.) in total package
Calories: 560 calories (estimate) in 1 package
Cost: $4.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Airport shop at PHX Airport, Phoenix, AZ

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Wild West Theme Week.

Travel to South and North Dakota this week meant no photos today. Being in these states presented the opportunity to see jackalopes (at Wall Drug and elsewhere), and to stray into Wyoming to visit Devils Tower. I resisted the urge to buy chocolate jackalope poop on the at Devils Tower Trading Post (Devils Tower, WY), in part because I'd already picked up some Chocolate Texas Rattlesnake Poop in Dallas, TX.

Today's Texas Rattlesnake Poop pieces (sorry, no photos) were, in fact, chocolate-covered sunflower seeds. There were no real rattlesnake ingredients, just compound** chocolate, seeds and other ingredients one might expect with high-volume, novelty items.

I paired theses chocolate seeds with a Western-themed Cactus Trail Mix from Arizona Cowboy Foods (Phoenix, AZ). The mix did not contain chocolate, but it too came from an airport (Phoenix). Airports in multiple states were a great source of Western-themed chocolates this week.

This relatively conventional trail mix contained nuts (peanuts, almonds) and dried fruits (cranberries). It also included pumpkin seeds, banana chips with honey, pineapple bits, dried papaya, and real (prickly pear) cactus candy pieces, which were quite nice (sweet but slightly lighter with more floral flavor than the other dried fruits).

*Paradies Shops, now known as Paradies Lagardere, has travel retail shops in several airports. 

Airport and travel-related shops seem to carry an abundance of chocolate scat pretending to be from local animals these days; and several of these have been featured on Chocolate Banquet in years past. It isn't always clear who is manufacturing all these chocolate-covered droppings (likely several different companies who prefer to private label or remain anonymous); but it must be a big, high-profit business.

** Compound chocolate is made with cocoa, vegetable fat and sweeteners. Today's chocolate ingredients list included: partially hydrogenated palm kernel oil, lactose, cocoa powder, reduced mineral whey powder, non-fat milk powder, soy lecithin and vanillin.

Cocoa Parlor - Cowboy Up 70% Roasted Almonds, Salt bar - Aug. 25, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Cocoa Parlor
Cowboy Up 70 Dark Chocolate bar
Good +
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 219 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.99 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Missing Information

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Wild West Theme Week.

Today's Organic and vegan Cowboy Up 70% Cacao Dark Chocolate bar was from Cocoa Parlor (Laguna Niguel, CA) and offered a good well-balanced, down to earth ride.

The Roasted Almonds and Salt bar had a pleasing dark chocolate aroma, a smooth and almost creamy texture; and subtle, pleasing nutty and earthy roasted flavor notes. The roasted almond bits provided a bit of crunchy texture now and then. The amount of salt was just right, and the chocolate* and the salt prevented the bar from being too sweet (thank you!).

I savored this bar on my (car) ride across the plains and hills and into Deadwood, South Dakota, one of a handful of towns west of the Missouri River that epitomized the Wild West.*

*Deadwood became a lively boomtown full of larger than life characters like Wild Bill Hickok (lawman, wild west showman who was shot in Deadwood while playing poker), Calamity Jane (horsewoman, stagecoach driver, wild west show participant and more), Charlie Utter (close friend of Wild Bill Hickok who wrote an epitath on Wild Bill's wood gravestone), Con Stapleton (Deadwood Marshal), Seth Bullock, Potato Creek Johnny, Poker Alice Tubbs; and George Hearst (father of a mining and publishing empire) after gold was discovered there in the 1870s. The entire community is listed on the National Historic Register.

Tahoe Bar - Peanut Butter Plus High Energy Bar - Aug. 24, 2017

Chocolate of the Day:

King Bars LLC
Tahoe Trail Bar - Peanut Butter Plus High Energy Bar
Good
Weight: 2.61 oz. (74 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 310 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $2.69 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Draeger's Market, Los Altos, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Berries Theme Week, and Day #2 of Chocolate and Wild West Theme Week.

What does the phrase the Wild West conjure up for you? Freedom to roam in wide open spaces? Tall mountains, granite boulders and mountain lakes? Cowboys and Native Americans? Exploring new trails, territory and parks that still haven't been fully developed on foot, bike or by horse? There is a mystique to the Western U.S. that still lingers.

Today's Peanut Butter Plus High Energy Tahoe Trail Bar* (South Lake Tahoe, CA) contained peanut butter, chocolate chunks, raisins, cranberries and coconut. This peanut, chocolate and berry combo looked capable of powering** a hike or a western-themed adventure or two. And it did. It was created in the Sierra Nevada Mountains and found its way to the Badlands of South Dakota today.

This gluten-free and vegan energy bar was made with gluten-free oats. It was slightly chewy, substantial and not too sweet (thank you). Dried cranberry bits and coconut offered hints of flavor sparkle. Chocolate chunks were present, but were more of an accent flavor.

* The Tahoe Trail Bar was born in the Hot Gossip coffee shop on the shores of Lake Tahoe in 1995.
**The marketing tagline for this bar read: "fuel for the journey"

Brown-Haley - Mountain Thins - Dark Chocolate Wild Berry - Aug. 23, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Brown-Haley
Mountain Thins - Dark Chocolate Wild Berry
Good
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 5.3 oz. (150 g.) in total package
Calories: 190 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $3.45 (sale) for 1 package
Purchased from: Safeway, Alameda, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Berries Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Wild West Theme Week.

Today's package of Dark Chocolate Wild Berry Mountain Thins from Brown-Haley--also known as Brown and Haley* (Tacoma, WA)--were enjoyed in the mountains of the old West, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, at Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse (a very large statue emerging from a granite mountain) and Rapid City.

These bark-like squares of dark chocolate contained dried blueberries and "raspberry crunch," creating a sweet blend of bright red berry aroma and flavor.

Also enjoyed was a mountainous vanilla ice cream sundae with a Native American inspired berry topping.

*The company is perhaps best-known for Almond Roca, a tiny log-shaped, individually-wrapped confection wrapped in shiny foil with a butter-crunch toffee center, covered in chocolate and then in chopped nuts. The company also makes a Mountain Bar that may have been inspired by Mount Tacoma in Washington State.

Lindt - Blackberry with Acai Dark Chocolate bar - Aug. 22, 2017

Chocolate of the Day:

Lindt and Sprungli
Blackberry with Acai Dark Chocolate bar
Good - Good+
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 210 calories in 4 pieces of bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: CVS/Pharmacy, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Blackberry with Acai Dark Chocolate bar from Lindt and Sprungli* was relatively sweet and full of berry flavor.

It contained 47% minimum cacao solids, but could have passed for a higher percentage bar. The bar was sugary, but remained surprisingly well-balanced and uniform. I'd take this over a candy bar any day.

This dark bar had a blackberry candy aroma and pleasant, rich, dark berry flavor. The bar was smooth, dark and had a soft texture, with a slightly buttery melt.

The berry finish lingered for a full minute after the last bite.

*Lindt and Sprungli AG is headquartered in Kilchberg, Switzerland. Today's dark bar was "manufactured in the USA by Lindt and Sprungli (USA) Inc." (Stratham, NH).

Sargento - Sweet Balance Breaks - Dark Chocolate Cranberries - Aug. 21, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Sargento Foods Inc.
Sweet Balance Breaks
Monterey Jack Cheese with Dried Cranberries and Dark Chocolate Covered Peanuts
Good
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42 g.) in 1 snack/container
Calories: 190 calories (estimate) in 1 container
Cost: $2.99 (estimate) for 1 package of three containers
Purchased from: Safeway, San Jose, CA

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

Chocolate, cheese and berries are great summer snack foods to enjoy together.

Today's Monterey Jack Natural Cheese with Dried Cranberries and Dark Chocolate Covered Peanuts snack item was part of a line of "Sweet Balance Breaks" snacks (sold in 3-container packs) from Sargento Foods Inc. (Plymouth, WI)—a large producer and marketer of cheeses and now protein snacks.

The cranberries had just the right amount of tart sweet berry flavor and paired nicely with the dark chocolate covered peanuts. And the cheese helped balance out the sweetness and provided some savory protein/umami flavor.

Dagoba - Superberry 74% Cacao dark bar - Aug. 20, 2017

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Dagoba Organic Chocolate
Superberry 74% Cacao dark chocolate bar
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) total bar
Calories: 135 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $1.99 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Hello and welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Flowers Theme Week, and Day #4 of Chocolate and Berries Theme Week.

Today's Superberry dark* chocolate bar from Dagoba Organic Chocolate (Ashland, OR; part of The Hershey Company (Hershey, PA) contained blueberries, cranberries, raspberries and acai**.

Today's 74% Cacao Dagoba bar was a blend of bold dark chocolate and bright, slightly tart-sweet berry flavors. The chocolate had a slight bittersweet (almost coffee) finish.

Where are the flowers you ask? While this Superberry bar was all about berries, I used part of a Dagoba Lavender Blueberry bar (featured yesterday) and lavender flowers to amp up a chocolate lavender cake. Mmm. Lavender.

For those who love lavender, this chocolate lavender (gluten free) cake, topped with a dose of aromatic lavender flower buds, couldn't be better.

For those who are reminded of aromatic soaps and oils when they smell lavender, you may have mixed feelings about this edible flower (and cake). Even if you're on the fence, I hope you'll try lavender chocolate edibles some day.

*Note: This 74% cacao dark bar also contained milk.
**Acai berries originated in the rainforests of South America.