Theo Chocolate - Lemon Hemp Chocolate Clusters - April 20, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Theo Chocolate
Lemon Hemp Chocolate Clusters
Good
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in total package
Calories: 220 calories in 1/2 package
Cost: $0.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Botanicals Theme Week.

Today's Lemon Hemp Chocolate Clusters were from Theo Chocolate (Seattle, WA). The company has a history of being "passionate about chocolate and making the world a better place." Founded in 2006, the company was one of the first to offer organic, fair trade cocoa products. (Today's USDA Organic, Non GMO Project Verified chocolate was "fair for life.")

Today's Organic Lemon Hemp Chocolate Clusters* contained a mix of dark chocolate, crunchy plant-based seeds and flakes and a hint of natural, lemon fragrance and flavor. One serving (1/2 package) of these crunchy clusters contained "50 mg cocoa flavanols per serving,"**

While not certified gluten free (these clusters were made on shared equipment with products containing soy, milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts and other tree nuts), they did not contain soy, dairy or gluten-containing ingredients.

*Ingredients: Cocoa Beans*, Cane Sugar*, Coconut*, Crisped Sorghum Flakes*, Cocoa Butter*, Crisped Sorghum Flakes*, Cocoa Butter*, Crisped Quinoa*, Low Fat Cocoa Powder* (with Ascorbic Acid with color retention), Hemp Seeds*, Lemon Oil*, Ground Vanilla Bean*  (* = organic ingredient)

**Flavanols are plant nutrients found naturally in cocoa beans that are thought to contribute to heart health by "supporting healthy blood flow." 

Whether flavanols from dark chocolate can help counteract our habits of sitting behind a desk or on a couch for many hours a day, will depend on the individual circumstances. However, research does seem to support claims on this package that healthy circulation contributes to exercise performance, cognitive health, skin and cardiovascular health.

Raphio Chocolate - Clementine Olive Oil bar - April 18, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Raphio Chocolate

72% Clementine with Olive Oil bar

Good +

Weight: 1.1 oz. (31.5 g.) / 2.2 oz. (63 g.) in total bar

Calories: 165 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Botanicals Theme Week.

This pleasant 72% dark chocolate Clementine with Olive Oil bar from Raphio Chocolate (Fresno, CA) had authentic, rich but smooth dark chocolate flavor.

It was infused with a light natural citrus flavor* and had a subtle, creamy/soft initial texture (olive oil) and melt. The chocolate had a very slight grainy finish, but it was not enough to affect the tasting experience.

*Raphio Chocolate's Elisia Otavi, skillfully incorporated Enzo Olive Oil Company's Clementine Olive Oil into this bar.

Violet Sky - 77% Guatemala Fennel Pollen bar - April 19, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Violet Sky American Craft Chocolate
Guatemala 77% with Fennel Pollen bar
Good +
Weight: 1.23 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 #3 of Chocolate and Botanicals Theme Week.

Today we're having fun with the herb fennel. Fennel grows wild in California. Every part of the fennel plant is edible, including the tiny flowers and yellow pollen.

High-end chocolatiers and chefs occasionally infuse or dust food and dessert items with fennel pollen. The naturally sweet, fennel particles have a licorice flavor.

While potent, the fennel in today's (Lachua) Guatemala 77% with Fennel Pollen bar—from Violet Sky American Craft Chocolate (South Bend, IN)—didn't overpower the base 77% dark chocolate. This chocolate had its own bold flavor with citrus notes.

La Naya Chocolate - Orange and Juniper bar - April 17, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

La Naya Chocolate
Orange and Juniper milk chocolate bar
Good+ - Good ++
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 229 calories (per label) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Orange Theme Week; Day #1 of Chocolate and Botanicals Theme Week.

Today's Orange and Juniper 54% milk chocolate bar from La Naya Chocolate (Lithuania).

The gluten free, organic dark milk chocolate bar was smartly dressed in botantically-themed and illustrated packaging. The chocolate was flat on the back side (as bars usually are) and a molded 3D sculpture on the front side.

The maker described his bar as "bean to emotion," likening the emotion evoked to a spring day at The Vatican...with the promise of victory, or words to that effect. That phrase did evoke a cuirous state of mind.

Bounce USA - Orange Cacao Protein Energy Ball - April 16, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Bounce USA

Orange Cacao Protein Energy Ball

Good - Good +

Weight: 1.48 oz. (42 g.) in 1 ball/package

Calories: 170 calories in 1 ball/package

Cost: $1.09 for 1 ball/package

Purchased from: Missing information

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

Today's Orange Cacao Protein Energy Ball was manufactured in the US for Bounce USA (Bend, OR).

This substantial, chewy protein* ball had natural, balanced chocolate and orange flavor and a healthy dose of crunchy cacao nibs. The natural flavors were more present, vs. the traditional, tell-tale grainy, protein bar taste. Hurray. Also cause for celebration: this protein energy item was not overly sweet. Thank you!

*This Non-GMO Orange Cacao Protein Energy Ball contained 9 grams of protein. It was made without artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. It was gluten free, but did contain milk (whey protein).

Note: This Orange Cacao flavor did not appear on the company's website on the date of this posting. So, it's not clear if it's a new, or possibly a discontinued, flavor. There was a Cacao Mint flavor though.

Chocolate Tree - Orange and Amaretti 70% bar - April 15, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chocolate Tree

Orange and Amaretti 70% Dark Chocolate bar

Good - Good +

Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in total bar

Calories: 192 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Orange and Amaretti 70% Dark Chocolate bar was made by Chocolate Tree (Haddington, Scotland).

Owners Alastair and Friederike Gower and their team at Chocolate Tree, use premium heritage single origin cacao that is "precisely roasted, obsessively winnowed, slowly conched and patiently matured to create exceptional chocolate."

This, and more, is what it takes to be successful, bean-to-bar chocolate makers. The groundwork begins (and continues over time), back at the country of cacao origin where relationships with farmers/plantation owners are developed, to help ensure one has the best cacao possible.

The Gowers are have been doing this work. And speaking of duos, there were two, individually-wrapped Orange and Amaretti 70% chocolate  bars inside a colorful outer package, making it easier to enjoy single portions, and/or to share this chocolate with friends.

The 70% dark chocolate had a relatively subtle dark chocolate aroma with citrus, light cookie and green* notes. The chocolate flavor was pure, relatively robust but smooth with citrus notes. (The chocolate was made from Trinitario cacao from Akesson's Ambanja estate in northern Madagascar.) Small, slightly crystallized amaretti bits added crunchy texture.

This bar was made with organic ingredients and contained no gluten-containing items. Ingredients: cacao beans, cane sugar, cocoa butter, amaretti biscuit (9%): almonds, sugar, eggs, bitter almond, orange oil

*The faint green notes were similar to a blend of green tea and green plants/green wood (think meadow/forest), green grass.

Millcreek Cacao Roasters - Orange 70% Dark Chocolate - April 14, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Millcreek Cacao Roasters

Orange 70 percent Dark Chocolate 

Good + 

Weight: .875 oz. (25 g.) / 1.75 oz. (50 g.) in total bar

Calories: 140 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $11.00 (estimate) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, San Francisco, CA

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

Today's Orange 70% Dark Chocolate bar was made by Millcreek Cacao Roasters (Salt Lake City, UT).

This thin, well-tempered bar had an aroma and flavor with robust, but smooth dark chocolate and very light citrus (tangerine) notes. The makers at Millcreek used Arriba Nacional cacao from the Hacienda Limon Farm in Ecuador for this bar.

Unlike other orange chocolates this week, the citrus flavor was infused into this bar using a "proprietary method," presumably during the curing process. That is, the three-ingredient list for this bar read: "cacao, pure cane sugar and cacao butter"—but no orange. How is that possible?

More chocolate makers are experimenting with different ways to infuse natural flavors into their chocolates in recent years; for example, they may barrel-aged their cacao nibs, or expose chocolate to flavors during fermentation or aging.*

Just as foods can be stored in a smokehouse and pick up a BBQ flavor, they may also pick up more subtle flavor nuances if stored with certain substances or exposed to vapors or volatiles in a confined area for a period of time.

*Once a batch of chocolate is made, blocks of chocolate may sit on a shelf (covered, in a cool storage area away from direct sunshine) for a period of curing, before bars are tempered and packaged into final bars for sale.