Belvie Chocolate Maker - Vietnam Ben Tre Single Terroir - Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao bar - Oct. 23, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Belvie Chocolate Maker
Vietnam Ben Tre Single Terroir - Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 225.2 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Vietnam Theme Week.

The best thing about this Ben Tre Single Terroir Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao bar from Belvie Chocolate Maker (Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)) was its delicious, multi-faceted aroma—with true chocolate, intermingled with ripe red fruit, light spice, malt, and green notes. The flavor was good too.

This particular bar lacked the indulgently creamy mouthfeel the other Belvie bars had that we've sampled this week. This one had a faint, granular/astringent quality, but without the off flavors that sometimes accompany this trait in other craft chocolate bars.

Belvie Chocolate Maker - Dong Nai 70% bar - Oct. 22, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Belvie Chocolate Maker

Dong Nai Single Terroir Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao bar

Good +++ - Very Good

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

Calories: 224 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA 

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

Today's Dong Nai Single Terroir Dark Chocolate 70% Cacao bar was made by Belvie Chocolate Maker (Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam).

The aroma and flavor for this bar contained notes of red fruit (tart cherry, plum), warm spices and true chocolate. The melt was fairly creamy and the texture smooth. There was a slight, but balanced bitterness in the finish. 

Belvie Chocolate Maker - Black Diamond - Dark Chocolate 100% Cacao bar - Oct. 21, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Belvie Chocolate Maker

Black Diamond - Dark Chocolate 100% Cacao Chocolat Noir bar

Good ++

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

Calories: 240.8 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $8.25 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Chocosphere, online order

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Vietnam Theme Week.

Today's Black Diamond Dark Chocolate 100% Cacao Limited Edition bar was created from Belvie Chocolate Maker (Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam), using cacao grown in the Dong Nai province, in the central highlands of Vietnam.

A growing number of chocolate bars made with Vietnamese cacao have become available in the U.S. in recent years. And, this week, we're featuring several Belvie Chocolate single origin bars made with Trinitario cacao grown in Vietnam.

The description printed on the back of this bar's packaging read in part:

"As a black diamond is the fruit of a volcano, these beans are the fruit of cacao trees growing on an ascent volcanous (sic) soil. The result is a bar with exceptional flavours of red fruit and deep chocolate."

The aroma of this single ingredient (100% cacao) bar included balanced malt/toast and red fruit notes. The bar had a creamy and even melt; and the flavor was a complex blend of true chocolate, (mostly red) fruit, and balanced ebony bitterness. Even this bean-to-bar chocolate did not contain sugar, it still had a hint of fruit sweetness. The finish lingered a bit, but was clean with no off notes. Altogether, this was a good 100% cacao bar.

Don't Go Nuts - Gorilla Power Chewy Granola Bar with Chocolate Chips - Oct. 20, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Don't Go Nuts
Gorilla Power - Chewy Granola Bar with Chocolate Chips
Good
Weight: 1.26 oz. (36 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $0.50 for 1 bar (2 for $1.00)
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Gorilla Power - Chewy Granola Bar with Chocolate Chips was from Don't Go Nuts (Salida, Colorado).

The kid-sized bar contained organic honey, and was (as advertised) chewy, with semi-crunchy (gluten free) grains (oats, rice) and chocolate chips.

The company specializes in nut-free items. This bar was also gluten free and Certified Organic.

Madecasse - Honey Crystal Dark Chocolate 63% Cocoa bar - Oct. 19, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Madecasse LLC

Honey Crystal Dark Chocolate 63% Cocoa bar

Good - Good +

Weight: 1.32 oz. (37.5 g.) / 2.64 oz. (75 g.) in total bar

Calories: 220 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $4.49 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Sprouts Farmers Market, Mountain View, CA

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

Today's Honey Crystal Dark Chocolate 63% Cocoa bar was from Madecasse LLC (Brooklyn, NY).

Made with Heirloom Cocoa, this dark bar had some of the hallmark flavor notes associated with Madagascan cacao (citrus, bright berry fruit acidity).

The honey was less obvious. There weren't honey crystals that I could detect per se, but there was both sugar and honey granules (honey and sugar) in this bar. 

Ritter Sport - Milk Chocolate with Honey Salt Almonds bar - Oct. 18, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Ritter Sport
Milk Chocolate with Honey Salt Almonds bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 315 calories (per label - seems high) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $2.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Ava's Downtown Market and Deli, Mountain View, CA

Guten Morgen (Good Morning) and Willkommen (Welcome) to Day #5 of Chocolate and Honey Theme Week.

Today's Ritter Sport Milk Chocolate with Honey Salt Almonds bar was from Alfred Ritter GmbH and Co. KG (Waldenbuch, Germany).

Honig (honey) is an important part of German cuisine. Going beyond the vastly popular clover honey on grocery shelves in most of the U.S., a variety of honeys from flowers, trees and forests can be found in German markets. Today's milk chocolate bar incorporates honey covered, salted, roasted almonds.

This bar had a rich milk chocolate and nut aroma. The milk chocolate around the generously sized (largely whole) almonds emitted a strong sweetness (from the base chocolate and the slightly crunchy candied honey and salt coating), as it melted and was eaten.

However, the sweetness receded markedly about half way through, and I enjoyed the natural tasting flavor and texture of the almonds—an authentic flavor that lingered, along with a trace of chocolate, in the finish.

Gelato Fiasco - Deep Maine Woods - Chocolate Gelato Smoky Caramel Swirl Honeycomb Candy - Oct. 17, 2018

Chocolate of the Day:

Gelato Fiasco
Deep Maine Woods - Chocolate Gelato Smoky Caramel Swirl Honeycomb Candy
Good+
Weight: 1/2 cup (100 g.) / 1 Pint (400 g.) total container
Calories: 210 calories in 1/2 cup (100 g.) serving
Cost: $2.99 for 1 container
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

This morning's Deep Maine Woods Chocolate Gelato Smoky Caramel Honeycomb Candy from Gelato Fiasco (Brunswick, ME) was sweet, chocolatey and rich, but, oddly, wasn't as objectionably sweet as it might have been. Higher-quality ingredients (deeper chocolate, bits of dark chocolate, smoky caramel, other flavors) helped balance the sweetness.

Is there any honey in your honeycomb candy? If not, you can always add some, drizzled over the top...And, speaking of over the top...I'd say this gelato might be for breakfast. But, what the heck, that's the way we live sometimes.

This was enjoyed in the early morning deep woods of my backyard. I could almost smell the wood smoke coming from a stone fireplace. I say "almost," because, sadly, fireplaces are discouraged (for air quality reasons) in our urban neighborhood. But, one can imagine.

Have a honey of a day.