Cave Man Foods - Dark Chocolate Almond Coconut bar - Feb. 25, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Cave Man Foods, LLC
Dark Chocolate Almond Coconut bar
Good
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 220 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 #9 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

Today's Dark Chocolate Almond Coconut bar from Cave Man Foods, LLC (Lafayette, CA) was paleo, gluten free, dairy free, soy free and Non-GMO Project Verified—and part of the company's nutrition bar line. (They also make protein bars and other snack foods.)

This bar had a sweet,* nutty, coconut aroma, and a soft, crunchy chew. The almonds, seeds and coconut were tasty and satisfying. (A bit less sweetener would've been fine; but the syrup and the honey probably helped hold the bar together, along with the chocolate base.)

*The bar was sweetened with agave syrup and honey.

Goodio Craft Chocolate - Licorice and Sea Buckthorn bar - Feb. 24, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Goodio Craft Chocolate

Licorice and Sea Buckthorn bar

Good - Good +

Weight: .566 oz. (16 g.) / 1.7 oz. (48 g.) in total bar

Calories: 81 calories in 1/3 bar

Cost: 5.99 (Pounds) for 1 bar

Purchased from: Goodio (online order)

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

Today's Goodio Craft Chocolate Licorice and Sea Buckthorn organic, raw and vegan bar was made of stone-ground cacao by Helsinki Heaven Ltd (Helsinki, Finland).

The 53 percent cacao bar had balanced layered flavors: warm chocolate, followed by black licorice and then a hint of coconut. (Since I don't know what sea buckthorn tastes like, it was difficult to pick that out in the lineup.) Sweetened with coconut palm sugar, this was not as sweet as one might expect. (Thank you.)

Goodio Craft Chocolate - Coconut (bar) - Feb. 23, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Goodio Craft Chocolate
Coconut (bar)
Good +
Weight: .566 oz. (16 g.) / 1.7 oz. (48 g.) in total package
Calories: 80 calories in 1/3 bar (1 serving)
Cost: 5.99 (Pounds) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Goodio.com (online order)

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

Today's Goodio Craft Chocolate Coconut bar was manufactured by Helsinki Heaven Ltd (Helsinki, Finland). The company makes a line of craft chocolate bars and coconut milk ice creams.

With today's bar, Finland is now added to the Chocolate Banquet list of countries where chocolate is being made from scratch (from cacao bean to chocolate bar).

This 51% Cacao, raw, organic, vegan bar was crafted using five ingredients: organic cacao beans, organic coconut palm sugar, organic cacao butter, organic coconut flakes and organic vanilla powder.

This bar was soy, gluten and dairy free, yet had the sweet, rich melt of a coconut milk chocolate bar. The texture was smooth, and the flavor was unapologetically coconut, through and through.

We've had a cooler, wetter winter here in California, with an exotic dusting of snow on surrounding hilltops for a week or two this February. (See photo at right.) However, it's still warmer than what I imagine a Scandinavian winter is like.

In case you are wondering...Today (Feb. 23), it was 39 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius) in Helsinki, Finland; and the sun set at 5:31 p.m. Not so bad.

Chocolate like this helps bring cheer to winter. Enjoy, wherever you might be.

Tru Fru - Coconut Melts - Feb. 22, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Tru Fru, LLC
Coconut Melts
Good - Good +
Weight: 1/4 cup (30 g.) / 4.2 oz. (119 g.) in total package
Calories: 150 calories in 1 serving 
Cost: $5.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

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

We've sampled chocolates with shredded, raw and dehydrated coconut, coconut oil and coconut sugar. Today we're adding freeze dried coconut to this list.

The judicious used of crushed, freeze dried fresh fruit powder—to add concentrated, authentic fruit flavor to chocolate—seems to have been on the rise in recent years. And we like it.

Today's gluten free Coconut Melts were from Tru Fru, LLC (South Jordan, UT). The freeze-dried fresh coconut centers had an appealing light crunchy texture. And, as promised, a few seconds after you bit into them the coconut center swooned into a velvety melt with the chocolate coating.

These round pieces were a bit sweet, but the slightly earthy, dark chocolate helped balance the sweetness and lingered a bit in the aftertaste.

Koukla Delights - Matcha Macaroons with Cacao Nibs - Feb. 21, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Koukla Delights
Matcha Macaroons with Cacao Nibs
Good
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 5.29 oz. (150 g.) in total package
Calories: 100 calories in 1 serving (2 pieces)
Cost: $3.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Matcha Macaroons with Cacao Nibs were made in Canada by Koukla* Delights Inc. (Montreal, QC). These coconut macaroons were not as sweet as some (thank you); and they were gently flavored with green tea. Cacao nibs added flavor and a slight bit of crunchy cacao texture.

*Koukla is Greek for doll, and happened to be a father's pet name for his daughter, Evelyn Jerassy, who developed the Koukla line of dehydrated, vegan, paleo and gluten free, organic macaroons, including today's Matcha and Cacao Nibs flavor.

Alter Eco - Dark Chocolate Coconut Clusters, seeds and salt - Feb. 20, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Alter Eco
Organic Dark Chocolate Coconut Clusters - seeds and salt
Good
Weight: 1.02 oz. (29 g.) / 3.2 oz. (91 g.) in total package
Calories: 160 calories in 1/4 cup
Cost: $1.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's package of Dark Chocolate Coconut Clusters (with) seeds and salt was distributed by Alter Eco (San Francisco, CA).

These organic, 70% cocoa dark chocolate pieces were topped with a pleasant, authentic tasting layer of coconut. Flavors and textures were well balanced. They were not too sweet (thank you). Pumpkin and sunflower seeds added a soft crunch. And sea salt provided a hint of savory sparkle.

Luna - Rica Chocolate Coconut Almond bar - Feb. 19, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Clif Bar and Company
Luna - Rica - Chocolate Coconut Almond bar
Good
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 16.92 oz. (480 g.) in total box of 12 bars
Calories: 170 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $6.99 for 1 box of 12 bars
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Dates Theme Week, and Day #3 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

Today's Luna Rica Chocolate Coconut Almond bar was from Clif Bar and Company (Emeryville, CA). The Luna Rica filled bars are relatively new. ("Rica" means rich and delicious in Spanish.)

This almond butter filled fruit and nut bar was quite sweet. Organic date paste was the first ingredient listed on the label, followed by Organic almond butter and Organic unsweetened chocolate. It also contained dried cane syrup. Further down the ingredient list was organic coconut.

The segmented bar was, as promised, rich in flavor. (I would have preferred a less sweet bar with no sea salt myself, but others will like this.)

For those who are concerned about allergens, this organic bar was gluten free, but contained soy, peanuts, almonds, cashews and coconut.