Dandelion Chocolate - 70% Mantuano, Venezuela 2016 Harvest bar - May 8, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Dandelion Chocolate
70% Mantuano, Venezuela 2016 Harvest bar
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ N/A - gift 
Purchased from: N/A - gift

Buenas dias y bienvenido a (good day and welcome to) Chocolate and Venezuela Theme Week.

Venezuela has produced some of the best cacao in South America in the past. We hope that present economic troubles will resolve and that cacao varieties and farms will not be lost as things work themselves out there. Given the present circumstances, it is with great appreciation that we feature several single origin bars made with cacao grown in Venezuela this week.

Today's 70% Mantuano, Venezuela bar was made crafted by Dandelion Chocolate (San Francisco, CA), and was received as a gift. (Thank you Mike and Donna!)

The makers at Dandelion describe this Mantuano, Venezuela 2-ingredient* bar as being chocolatey with mild spice notes; and they provided the following origin story printed on their packaging:

"The beans are fermented and dried by the Flor de Mantuano co-op in northern Venezuela (that was founded in 2008). Minda (a Dandelion employee) loves the cocoa and coffee flavors we find in these beans year after year. In this bar, we taste notes of classic dark chocolate, roasted almonds, and espresso."

Our tasting found this bar to have a pleasing, dark chocolate aroma with light spice and a hint of green. The flavor had dried fruit notes, and pulses of rich and chocolatey taste (baked brownies). The chocolate was was uniformly delicious with a light, lingering finish.

Sadly, this bar made with 2016 Harvest cacao is no longer available on the Dandelion website—unless you buy it as part of a Dandelion Chocolate 2017 Collection box. But after this collection sells out, you may have missed the opportunity to try this chocolate.

*Ingredients: Cocoa beans and cane sugar

High Road Craft Ice Cream - Cherry Almond Chip Ice Cream - May 7, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

High Road Craft Ice Cream
Cherry Almond Chip ice cream
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1/2 cup (107 g.) / 1 Pint (473 mL) in total container
Calories: 250 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $1.99 for 1 container
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Week.

Cherry Almond Chip ice cream was from High Road Craft Ice Cream (Marietta, GA). The product packaging indicates this ice cream was designed and made by chefs.*

The rich (16% butterfat) ice cream was good. It was more delicate and flavorful than many bulk commercial ice creams. It was flavored with dark, sweet cherry pieces; roasted, praline almond bits; small, soft dark chocolate chunks; and vanilla.

There was also a very faint coconut* flavor note, but there was no coconut listed in the ingredients.

It contained vegetable gums as stabilizers but otherwise no artificial or superfluous items that we could detect.

*CEO and Founder of High Road Craft Brands (and Ciao Bella Gelato Co.), Keith Schroeder, is also a chef.

Health Lab - Choc Cherry Collagen Ball - May 6, 2019

Chocolate of the Day; 

Health Lab
Choc Cherry Collagen Ball
Good +
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) in 1 ball
Calories: 170 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $0.69 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Choc Cherry Collagen Ball was made in Australia for Health Lab (Melbourne, Australia).

This ball had a soft, relatively moist chew and was full of balanced, natural-tasting flavors.*

The first ingredient was dates. And too much date can sometimes create a saturated fruit, sweet acidity that can be too much. However, pumpkin seeds, collagen (marine) protein, and nuts (almonds and cashews) helped balance the acidity from dates, cherries and cacao in an unexpectedly satisfying way.

A chocolate with added protein and a little fat—and less (or no) sugar—often gives us this satisfied feeling. And this gluten-free ball contained 7.3 mg of protein and contained no added sugar (thank you!).

Ingredients: Dates, pumpkin seeds, hydrolyzed marine collagen (fish); sour cherries, organic coconut, almonds, cashew nuts, organic raw cacao, organic coconut oil, natural "choc" flavor, sea salt.

The Market's Tart Cherry and Hazelnut bark - May 5, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

The Market at Edgewood
The Market's Tart Cherry and Hazelnut bark
Good+
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.45 g.) / 13.28 oz. (375.82 g.) in total container
Calories: 225 calories (estimate) in 1.5 oz. serving
Cost: $14.10 for 1 container of pieces
Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Week.

Today's The Market's Tart Cherry and Hazelnut Bark from The Market at Edgewood (Palo Alto, CA) was made with smooth, and not too sweet (thank you!), dark chocolate seasoned with pieces of dried, tart cherries and whole hazelnuts.

The darker chocolate (percent not listed) in these slabs of bark helped balance the concentrated tart sweetness of the cherries. And the hazelnuts paired very nicely with both the dark chocolate and the cherries.

NibMor - Dark Chocolate Bites with Tart Cherries - May 4, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

NibMor Inc.
Dark Chocolate Bites with Tart Cherries
Good
Weight: 1.8 oz. (51 g.) / 5.4 oz. (153 g.) in total package
Calories: 240 calories in 1 serving (6 pieces)
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: missing information

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

Today's Dark Chocolate Bites with real Tart Cherries were manufactured for NibMor Inc. (Kennebunk, ME). NibMor, short for Nibble More, had its start in a New York City kitchen. Eventually the company moved to Maine.

These NibMor small rectangular bites (think mini bars but without the extra packaging of individually-wrapped chocolates), were an easily consumable and shareable size.

They had a fairly strong cherry/cherry almond aroma* and bits of authentic tart, sweetened cherries complemented the sweet 52% cocoa dark chocolate.

Sugar was the first ingredient listed*. We would love to see a 70% cacao dark version to take down the sweetness a bit. But, we understand many people do like sugar.

*Ingredients: Sugar, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, natural cherries, natural cherry flavor*, soy lecithin (an emulsifier), vanilla.

Marich Confectionery - Milk Chocolate Cherries - May 3, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Marich Confectionery Co.
Milk Chocolate Cherries
Good
Weight: 2 oz. (56.6 g.) / 2.3 oz. (64 g.) in total package
Calories: 265 calories in 2 oz. (56.6 g.) serving
Cost: $2.49 for 1 package
Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA

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

These generously-sized Milk Chocolate Cherries were from Marich* Confectionery Co. - Marich Pancrafted Chocolates, based in Hollister,  CA.

At the center of each large, muted red**, glossy confection was a chewy, sweet dried cherry. The surrounding chocolate***—made with fair trade certified cocoa—helped balance the sugar-sweetened fruit.

*Marich Confectionery (pronounced Mahr-ich) was established in 1983 by Marinus van Dam (creator of the Jelly Belly Jelly Bean).

**The company, now run by the second generation of family, has moved toward natural fruit and vegetable colorings over the years, as well as improving plant efficiency (energy conservation). (Thank you.)

***Marich uses chocolate from Guittard Chocolate Company, another large, family-owned and operated (since the 1850s) chocolate company based up the peninsula in Burlingame, CA. Guittard makes chocolate from scratch and supplies many high-end chocolatiers with the base chocolate they need for their bars and confections.

Open Nature - Dark Chocolate Cherry fruit and and nut bar - May 2, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Open Nature
Dark Chocolate Cherry - fruit and nut bar
Good
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: Safeway, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Open Nature Dark Chocolate Cherry fruit and nut bar was distributed by Lucerne Foods, Inc. (Pleasanton, CA).

The flavorful bar was chewy, sweet and fruity (dried cherry and cranberry bits) blended with chocolate and nuts (almonds, cashews, peanuts).

The label called out that the bar contained: "Vitamins A, C and E."