Trader Joe's - Almond Butter Cups - Sept. 14, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Trader Joe's
Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups
Good ++
Weight: 1.27 oz. (36 g.) / 8 oz. (227 g.) in total container
Calories: 190 calories in 1 serving (3 small cups)
Cost: $3.99 for 1 container
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Nut Butter Theme Week.

Today's Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups from Trader Joe's (Monrovia, CA) were thick, creamy, sweet and satisfying.

Individually wrapped in gold foil, these filled chocolate cups were thick, creamy, sweet and satisfying. Great for hikes, personal (or work) field trips, bag lunches, etc. as long as they aren't left in direct sun.

Even then, these cups proved to be more resilience than, say, a thin, single origin dark chocolate bar, which converts to a lovely solar-induced chocolate fondue fairly quickly on a hot day. And, since we're experiencing a last blast of hot weather (edging toward triple digits) and trying to spend time outdoors, chocolate meltdowns can be avoided only with careful planning.

Chocolove - Hazelnut Butter Cup Dark Chocolate - Sept. 13, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Chocolove
Hazelnut Butter Cup
Good ++
Weight: .6 oz. (17 g.) in 1 package/cup
Calories: 100 calories in 1 cup
Cost: $1.99 (estimate) for 1 cup
Purchased from: New Leaf Markets, Half Moon Bay, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Nut Butter Theme Week.

Sometimes you just want one nut butter cup in its own individually packaged serving size, to prevent you from overeating a second one.

Today's Hazelnut Butter Cup was from Chocolove (Boulder, CO). The dark chocolate cup was very creamy in texture and the filling was a slightly more textured (but also quite smooth), praline-like hazelnut butter filling.

Chocolove also makes dark and milk almond butter and peanut butter cups.

Nana Joes - Granola, Chef's Blend Series - Strawberry, Coconut and Chocolate Chip - Sept. 12, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Nana Joes
Chef's Blend Series Granola - Strawberry, Coconut, Chocolate Chip
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 8 oz. (227 g.) in total package
Calories: 170 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $12.00 (estimate) for 1 package
Purchased from: Nana Joe's table, CUESA's Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Nut Butter Theme Week.

Sometimes nut butters can take the place of other/more processed oils and fats, and we're all for that if it's done right. One example: Today's Chef's Blend Series Granola - Strawberry, Coconut and Chocolate Chip, from Nana Joes (San Francisco, CA), created using Hu Kitchen (New York, NY) chocolate chips*

This vegan and gluten free granola was flavorful, sweet and crunchy, and had a nutty texture and taste (almonds and almond butter + seeds).* The nuts and seeds were accented with micro flavor bursts of authentic, concentrated strawberry, raspberry and chocolate.

This was a great blend of high-quality ingredients, resulting in a great granola. And, unlike some granolas, it still felt relatively "light." Instead of added/processed vegetable oils, the fat content was provided by nuts, seeds, and almond butter.

This granola was sweetened with both organic maple syrup and organic coconut sugar, but contained no refined white or brown sugar.

*Ingredients: "Organic sliced almonds, organic shredded coconut, organic maple syrup, organic pecans, organic pumpkin seeds, organic almond butter, Hu Chocolate Gems (organic cacao, unrefined organic coconut sugar, organic fair-trade cocoa butter), seeds, hemp seed, hulled, dried strawberries, raspberry fruit powder, organic chia seeds, sea salt"

Nana Joes - Paleo Sunrise Series Granola, Hu Kitchen Blend - Sept. 11, 2019

Chocolate of the Day:

Nana Joes
Paleo Sunrise Series Granola - Hu Chocolate Blend
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 8 oz. (227 g.) in total package
Calories: 160 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $10.00 (estimate) for 1 package
Purchased from: Nana Joes table, Ferry Plaza Farmers Market, San Francisco, CA


Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Nut Butter Theme Week.

And, today, marks Chocolate Banquet's 13th anniversary. We're firing off some confetti in the background here, celebrating more than 4,740 chocolates sampled to date.

Today's Paleo Sunrise Granola with Hu Kitchen dark chocolate was made by Nana Joes (San Francisco, CA). Their Hu Kitchen blend included almond butter, pecans, coconut and dark chocolate from Hu Kitchen (New York, NY). For a full list of ingredients, see below.*

The granola had a satisfying texture and crunch and was full of nutty and chocolate flavor. The almonds and almond butter helped tie everything all together.

Ingredients: Organic almonds, organic shredded coconut, organic maple syrup, organic pecans, organic pumpkin seeds, organic almond butter, Hu Chocolate Gems (organic cacao, unrefined organic coconut sugar, organic fair trade cocoa butter), organic hemp seeds, organic cocoa powder, organic chia seeds, Jacobsen sea salt, organic maca powder 

Marshall's Munchies - Rocky Road Chunks - Sept. 10, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Marshall's Munchies
Rocky Road Chunks
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) /6 oz. (171 g.) in total container of 6 pieces
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 serving
Cost: $5.99 for 1 container
Purchased from: The Willows Market, Menlo Park, CA

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Nut Butter Theme Week.

Today's container of Marshall's Munchies Rocky Road Chunks were obtained from a local small market. The Willows Market (Menlo Park, CA) carries an impressive array of foods, spirits, deli items and a few chocolate items of their own.

The basic pairing of nuts and nut butters with chocolate is tried and true. Rocky road confections embrace this marriage while adding marshmallows. And today's chocolatey and nutty treats were also sweetened with butterscotch and toffee.*

We reached for a few extra nuts and some nut butter to balance the sweetness.

*Ingredients: Dark chocolate, peanuts, marshmallows, butterscotch morsels, toffee, nuts

Chamisa Chocolate - Flower Petal and Sea Salt 65% Belize bar - Sept. 9, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chamisa Chocolate
Flower Petal and Sea Salt 65% Belize bar
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (30 g.) / 2 oz. (60 g.) (per label) for total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chamisa Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #10, the last day, of Chamisa Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Flower Petal and Sea Salt 65% Belize dark bar was made by Chamisa Chocolate (Santa Fe, NM).

This sweet dark chocolate bar had fairly light, upbeat, fruit and floral notes. The texture was smooth with a thick and creamy melt and mouthfeel. The sea salt helped balance out the sweetness. The cacao was from Belize.

While it was difficult to pick out any individual flower flavor, the colored petals (flecks of blue cornflower, golden marigolds, rose and orange blossom) on the back of the bar were an attractive visual element.

Chamisa Chocolate - Maruya Miso 71% Honduras bar - Sept. 8, 2019

Chocolate of the Day: 

Chamisa Chocolate
Maruya Miso 71% Honduras dark bar
Good +++
Weight: 1 oz. (30 g.) / 2 oz. (60 g.) (per label) for total bar
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chamisa Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #9 of Chamisa Chocolate Theme Week.

Today's Maruya Miso 71% Honduras dark bar was from Chamisa Chocolate (Santa Fe, NM).

This umami* bar had subtle and balanced aroma notes of chocolate, fermented sweet grapes, and multi-layered and savory soy**. In fact this bar (made with Honduras cacao) contained a small amount of Maruya Miso.

The bar had a smooth texture and melt, and a flavor not unlike a nice dark milk** chocolate with salt, only salt/sodium with a more depth and mellow flavor.

If you're a fan of chocolate with savory flavors, please do try this bar.

*Umami is a Japanese term coined to describe another dimension of flavor, akin to what some call savory. We often talk about our taste buds being able to detect sweet, sour, salty and bitter flavors. Umami would be closest to salt, but it goes beyond that. (Think mushrooms, cheeses, meats, bacon, soy, etc. ) Umami is often correlated with the presence of glutamates, including (but certainly not limited to) monosodium glutamate.

**There was no milk in this bar. The ingredients list read: "Organic cacao beans, organic sugar, organic cacao butter, Maruya Miso (contains soy)." Maruya Miso is based an an early fermented food that originated in China and Japan, thought to date back to the sixth century A.D.