Goldbaum's - Gluten Free Cocoa Sugar Cones - April 2, 2018

Chocolate of the Day:

Goldbaum's Natural Food Co.

Gluten Free Cocoa Sugar Cones

Good - Good +

Weight: .42 oz. (12 g.) / 5 oz. (144 g.) in total package of 12 cones

Calories: 41 calories in 1 cone

Cost: $0.99 for 1 package

Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Chocolate and Strawberry Theme Week!

This week began with strawberry ice cream nestled inside a Gluten Free Cocoa Sugar Cone from Goldbaum's Natural Food Co. (Newark, NJ).

Yes, ice cream an ice cream cone was on the sweet side for breakfast; but it was tasty. The crunchy cocoa-flavored cone held its shape (no broken cones in the package either which was a surprise); and the light cookie-like cone wasn't too sweet.

Fresh, organic strawberries and a tiny handful of nibs added some real fruit texture and tartness—and some unsweetened cacao intensity—that helped balance the sugar in the ice cream.

Dick Taylor - Single Origin Chocolate Rabbit 72% Belize - April 1, 2018

Chocolate of the Day:

Dick Taylor 

Chocolate Rabbit Single Origin 72% Belize Dark Chocolate

Very Good

Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total rabbit

Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 rabbit

Cost: $15.00 for 1 rabbit

Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Bonus Feature!

This year April Fool's Day and Easter fell on the same Sunday (which also overlapped with Passover). Regardless of where and how you celebrate the return of Spring, today's bonus item would have delighted dark chocolate lovers.

Today's Single Origin 72% Dark Chocolate Chocolate Rabbit was lovely, complex, and made with Belize-grown cacao. This rabbit was not too sweet, and full of exquisitely-crafted and well-balanced flavor depth, including bold fruit, light spice and bittersweet notes.

It was the perfect finish to a great Spring celebration meal, and it was followed by a hike up in the green hills.  

Yves Thuries - Dark Chocolate Peppermint Oil and Flowers bar - April 1, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Yves Thuries
Dark Chocolate with Peppermint Essential Oil and Flowers bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories in 5 pieces of bar
Cost: $2.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Dark Chocolate with Peppermint Essential Oil and Flowers bar from Yves Thuries (France) was made in France with cacao from the company's plantation in Ecuador.

Yves Thuries is award-winning French Chef that who made his name in cookies and pastry. This namesake chocolate bar was manufactured by Excellent SAS Marssac Sur Tarn, France, and distributed by Salpa Inc. (Greenwich, CT).

This 70% cocoa dark bar consisted of smooth dark chocolate and creamy peppermint ganache (filling); and the pretty, sparkly green, mint chips were sweet and slightly crunchy and flavored with both peppermint oil and flowers as well as other ingredients.*

*The ingredients list: Chocolate liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, mint chip (sugar, mint flower, acacia gum, sodium copper chlorophyllin color, artificial flavor), whole milk powder, water, sorbitol, butterfat, dextrose, glycerol, soy lecithin, natural flavors mint and vanilla"

Chuao Chocolatier - Dark Chocolate Organic Blueberry Lavender 72% - March 31, 2018

Chocolate of the Day:

Chuao Chocolatier

Dark Chocolate Organic Blueberry Lavender 72% 

Enamored Collection

Good - Good +

Weight: 1.05 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar

Calories: 143 calories in 1/2 bar 

Cost: $2.99 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Flowers Theme Week. We're sampling another chocolate with blueberry and lavender today.

Today's Dark Chocolate Organic Blueberry Lavender 72% bar from Chuao Chocolatier (Carlsbad, CA) contained whole wild, organic blueberries infused with lavender flavor. (The blueberries were more visible when the bar was broken into pieces.)

Like most of the other blueberry + lavender blends this week, this chocolate tasted fairly sweet for a 72% dark chocolate bar.

Dagoba - Organic Lavender Blueberry Cacao Gems - March 30, 2018

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

Dagoba Organic Chocolate
Organic Lavender Blueberry Cacao Gems - Good
Organic Picante Chocolate Cacao Gems - Good +
Weight: .706 oz. (20 g.) / 4.2 oz. (119 g.) in total package of  pieces/3 flavors
Calories: 100 calories in 2-piece serving
Cost: $2.99 (estimate) for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

What chocolate will be in your Easter basket this Sunday? How about today's Organic Lavender Blueberry or Picante Chocolate Cacao Gems, from Dagoba Organic Chocolate* (Ashland, OR)? 

Today's three-flavor variety pack included Picante Chocolate, Lavender Blueberry, and Ginger Lime chocolates. We're featuring the first two of these three individually-wrapped chocolates.

Made with Rainforest Alliance Certified Cacao, these chocolates were linked with "The One for All Cacao Project: Inspired Chocolate Empowering Women." Dagoba established this project in 2016; and the goal of this program is to "strengthen cacao communities by advancing the role of women in cacao production worldwide," a laudable goal.

The Organic Picante Chocolate cacao gem may have been "74% extra dark," but the facet-cut dark chocolate (adorned with an image of a cacao pod) tasted very sweet. The smooth, dark chocolate had a slight, soft crunch from a cacao nib or two, and hot chili kick that you could feel as you swallowed a bite, but it wasn't overwhelming.

As one might expect, the Organic Lavender Blueberry Cacao Gem had more of an aroma—lavender and blueberry. And, though it was only 59% cacao, this gem seemed to have about the same level of sweetness as the Picante Chocolate Cacao Gem. (It also contained milk.)

*Dagoba Organic Chocolate is a division of the Artisans Confection Company—which is owned by The Hershey Company.

Violet Sky - Star Brightened Day Dark Blueberries and Flowers bar - March 29, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Violet Sky

Star Brightened Day

77% Dark Chocolate with Blueberries and Flowers bar

Good - Good +

Weight: 1.236 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar

Calories: 185 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar

Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA
 

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

Today's Star Brightened Day 77% Dark Chocolate with Blueberries and Flowers bar was the creation of Violet Sky, an American Craft Chocolate maker based in South Bend, IN.

Most of the chocolates featured in this chocolate and flower-themed week contain some combination of blueberries and lavender. I'm not sure where this trend started, but it's certainly popular this year. I prefer just lavender and chocolate, as the blueberry flavoring varies in different bars, and seems to mute the lavender and the chocolate.

However, today's flavorful bar* at least contained more authentic blueberry flavor than most (with a hint of natural berry tartness/acidity).

Jasmine flowers and powdered honey amped up the floral profile a bit—a fun blend if you like floral flavors.

*Ingredients: Cocoa beans, cane sugar, blueberries, lavender flowers, powdered honey, jasmine flowers

Chocolita - Moontime Rose 78% - March 28, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolita 

Moontime Rose 78% raw dark chocolate

Good 

Weight: .625 oz. (17.5 g.) / 1.25 oz. (35 g.) in 1 bar

Calories: 80 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $4.59 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Moontime Rose 78% raw dark chocolate was from Chocolita (Sedona, AZ).

The company offers several dark bars that "utilize chocolate as a medium for delivery of herbs."

The blend of ground pink rose petals, chocolate and herbs* in this bar were designed to help balance hormones. Like other Chocolita bars sampled this week, today's raw, dark chocolate bar had a slightly bitter medicinal aroma and flavor.

The rose flavor appeared as a nice aftertaste, but was largely overshadowed in the beginning by chocolate and herbs.

The base dark chocolate was made with organic, fair trade, stoneground, Arriba Nacional Ecuadorian Fino de Aroma Cacao. The gluten-free, vegan bar was sweetened with coconut sugar and also contained a hint of vanilla.

Ingredients: Stone-ground heirloom cacao, coconut sugar, maca, Vitex, valerian, vanilla, cramp bark, sea salt