Herbal Cacao - Chaga and Cacao Medicinal Drinking Chocolate - Oct. 26, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Herbal Cacao 
Chaga and Cacao Medicinal Drinking Chocolate
Good +
Weight : .35 oz. (10 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total package
Calories: 60 calories in 1 wedge (1/10 package)
Cost: $19.00 for 1 package
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Chaga and Cacao Medicinal Drinking Chocolate was from Herbal Cacao (Groningen, NL).

Aroma notes for this chocolate blend included: forest (wood), very faint green (stalks, wood), subtle, fleeting diffuse dark red berry, cacao, and vegetable (red bell pepper/ripe red tomato, mushroom red sauce). (Later, after the chocolate sat on a plate in the open air for a few hours, very light spice (cinnamon) and vanilla became more detectable.)

Flavor notes for the chaga,* cacao and spice blend included fibrous plant/wood, dried chilis, fruit (apple), fleeting bitter cacao notes--suffused with a hot, spicy kick (cayenne pepper).

Once melted and whisked, the texture was smoother than expected, almost velvety. (I melted this slowly in a small quantity of warm water.)

The un-sweet chocolate (think a 100% cacao bar or drinking chocolate with flavor inclusions) had an untamed complexity about it that transported me to a Central American jungle in Southern Belize. This was a two forest fiesta. (The cacao was from Belize (warm forest); the chaga* was harvested in Siberia (cold forest.) Ceylon cinnamon, cayenne pepper and vanilla added authentic flavor depth and interest.

Overall, this unsweetened blend grew on me over time. However, sweetening it a bit--with a bite of another, smoother, stevia-sweetened dark chocolate--made the woody and wild notes recede a little, and made the drinking chocolate more approachable. I could see this as a flavorful addition to other items. (While the directions advise against boiling it as some of the health benefits may diminish, perhaps it could be chopped and melted on warm breads or low-sugar brownies.)

Ingredients: Cacao beans, Inonotuus Obliguus (chaga mushroom powder), ceylon cinnamon, cayenne pepper, vanilla

Allergen-related information: (None listed on packaging.)

*Chaga mushrooms are described as having an earthy, slightly bitter flavor; and as containing a form of natural vanilla-adjacent flavor. Some have described them as having a coffee-like flavor.

As with other mushroom flavor inclusions this week, this fungus is non-psychoactive. (Note: chaga mushrooms contain antioxidants and have health benefits, but are also high in oxalates, which are not great for those with kidney issues/prone to kidney stones.)

Chaga is native to colder climates in the Northern Hemisphere (Canada, Alaska, Russia, Northern Europe). It appears as a dark protrusion on (birch and other) trees.

Cherie Sweet Heart - Cacao and Reishi - Oct. 25, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Cherie Sweet Heart 

Cacao and Reishi

Good - Good +

Weight: 2 Tablespoons (15 g.) / 8 oz. (227 g.) in total package

Calories: 60 calories in 1 serving

Cost: $5.99 for 1 package

Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Cherie Sweet Heart Organic Cacao and Reishi* (mushroom) blend was manufactured for Sweet Heart Group Ltd (City of Industry, CA).

Aroma notes for this blend included: subtle, slightly savory (mushroom soup) note and cocoa.

After a few minutes of stirring this powdered blend with water and letting it sit for a while, the resulting beverage was smooth, with no powdery grit.

This unsweetened, two-ingredient blend was unadorned with any sugars, sweeteners or fillers, and it had bold cacao and earthy mushroom flavor with a slightly bitter finish. (It was hard to tell whether this bitterness was from the cacao or the mushroom powder, or both.)

Ingredients: Organic cacao powder, organic reishi mushroom powder

Allergen-related information: (None listed/found on packaging.) "Organic, Non-GMO, Plant-based"

*Reishi mushrooms (Ganoderma lucidum) are non-psychoactive mushrooms, native to East Asia but also found in the Americas and elsewhere, that have an earthy, somewhat bitter flavor. 

They have a relatively tough texture, and look like semi-circular shelf fungus (bracket fungus)--typically growing on the side of hardwood and conifer trees. (As with any wild foraging, make sure you consult an expert before hunting for yourself.)

The taste has been described using words like "tree bark-like." This may explain why you won't see the reishi mushroom on many restaurant menus. Instead, it may be listed more in medicinal and health-related items. (Note: reishi may lower blood pressure and increase blood clotting time; so consult your health professional if you're on medication(s) or have questions.)

Four Sigmatic - "Perform" Mushroom Cacao Mix with Cordyceps - Oct. 24, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Four Sigmatic 

"Perform" - Mushroom Cacao Mix with Cordyceps 

Good +

Weight: .21 oz. (6 g.) in 1 packet

Calories: 25 calories in 1 single-serving packet

Cost: $2.09 for 1 packet

Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's "Perform" Mushroom Cacao Mix with Cordyceps was manufactured for Four Sigmatic Foods Inc. (Santa Monica, CA).

Aroma notes for this dairy-free cacao blend included: gentle warm spice, light citrus, very faint sweet warm mint/menthol, and subtle cocoa.

This lightly sweetened (coconut sugar), subtle warm cocoa was livened up with the spicy flavor of ginger. I did feel a little lift after drinking this; it may have been from the ginger.

I did not detect any noticeable texture or flavor from the added cordyceps mushroom extract. Mushrooms, in general, often have a slightly savory, umami flavor with earthy and/or nutty notes. Cordyceps mushrooms tend to have a more mild flavor, sometimes with a very slightly sweet finish.

Ingredients: Organic cacao powder, organic coconut palm sugar, organic cordyceps extract (500 mg), organic ginger powder.

Allergen-related information: "Contains Tree Nuts (Coconut)."

Dream Pops - Chocolate Lion Pops - Oct. 23, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Dream Pops LLC

Chocolate Lion (frozen pops)

Good ++ 

Weight: 1.42 fl. oz. (42 mL) / 5.68 fl. oz. (168 mL) in total package of 4 pops

Calories: 80 calories in 1 pop

Cost: $ (N/A - bought by a friend; thank you Don!)

Purchased from: Piazza's, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate, Mushroom and Umami* Theme Week.

Today's Chocolate Lion Dream Pops were from Dream Pops LLC (Los Angeles, CA), a company offering a line of frozen, non-dairy, plant-based frozen desserts. These coconut milk-based chocolate frozen pops contained Lion's Mane mushroom powder.

These pops reminded me of the frozen fudge Popsicle (Fudgesicle Fudge Pops) and similar chocolate pops I enjoyed as a child. Both had a smooth, frozen creamy texture, and frozen hot cocoa flavor. 

If I didn't know these dairy-free, gluten-free and soy-free chocolate pops contained mushroom, I might have missed this fact. The mushroom powder had a very faint, mild flavor--barely detectable toward the "finish," as ingredients warmed and melted in the mouth.* The coconut milk also had a very faint flavor. 

Props to Dream Pops for creating these tasty, relatively low sugar (coconut sugar) frozen pops, with a short list of ingredients, and no artificial ingredients, gums or emulsifiers listed.

Ingredients: Coconut milk, organic coconut sugar, cacao powder, lion's mane mushroom powder, chocolate extract, vanilla extract.

Allergen-related information: "Contains: Coconut."

*Lion's mane mushrooms have mild sweet earthy flavor, that some liken to seafood (lobster or crab). Most people I know suggest eating it cooked. (In its uncooked form, this almost fluffy-looking ivory-colored fungus looks a little like a lion's mane.)

Chocolarder - Wild Gorse Flower 50% Milk Chocolate (bar) - Oct. 22, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolarder
Wild Gorse Flower 50% Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 401 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Wild Gorse Flower 50% Milk Chocolate (bar) was from small batch, bean-to-bar chocolate maker, Chocolarder (Falmouth (Cornwall), England, U.K.). 

Aroma notes for this bar included sweet milk chocolate and floral coconut. 

You'll be forgiven if you swear this four-ingredient, milk chocolate bar contained coconut. It did not. Pretty yellow gorse flowers (Ulex europaeus) bloom in the spring on spiny bushes across the Cornish landscape (where today's chocolate company is based). While painful to pick, these wild flowers when infused into cream--or, in today's case steeped in cocoa butter-- yield a "...heady, warm coconut scent..."

Yes, this 50% cacao bar was smooth and sweet, but I also enjoyed the special opportunity to sample the warm floral coconut + milk chocolate flavors. I did wonder what a 60% version might taste like; but generally there are reasons chocolate makers have when selecting more or less sugar.

There was no cacao (country of) origin listed on the bar's packaging. (However, previous versions of this bar were made with cacao grown in Nicaragua.)

There was something wonderful, akin to virtual travel, that I felt as I read about the chocolate maker's treasured, albeit prickly, local (botanical) flavor inclusion. The description was engaging as well as informative.*

Maker's tasting notes: "Warming toasted coconut with hints of fudge and hazelnut ending in light red fruit."

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, unrefined raw sugar, milk powder (milk), gorse flowers.

Allergen-related information: "Made in a factory that also handles tree nuts."

*Gorse bushes can offer cover/habitat for "many insects and birds, such as Stonechats, Dartford Warblers, and Yellowhammers...During their bloom, clouds of warm coconut scent drift on the breeze...and are integral to our nostalgia for the long unmitigated summers of childhood..."

"Traditionally, Gorse has had many roles aside from its burst of coconut fragrance as we trek the coastal paths. The dry branches can be gathered for an effective fuel, used in bread ovens and stoves, and when bound together could form an efficient chimney brush. The flowers have also been used in wine-making and cordials, but more surprisingly the vibrant yellow has been used in making colours for Easter eggs."

"Larder fact: Picking gorse flowers really, really hurts."

While I may never have the privilege of seeing a Dartford Warbler (bird), I can picture the landscape and the town of botanical origin mentioned here as clearly as if I was taking a hike along a coastal path there.

Kuli Kuli - Mint Chip Super Bark Dark Chocolate Superfood Snack - Oct. 21, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Kuli Kuli
Mint Chip Super Bark Dark Chocolate Superfood Snack
Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 4.2 oz. (119 g.) in total package
Calories: 170 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $4.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Mint Chip Super Bark Dark Chocolate Superfood Snack was distributed by Kuli Kuli, Inc. (Oakland, CA).

Aroma notes for these two-bite sized, roughly rectangular, dark chocolate pieces included relatively aromatic mint, chocolate and other faint botanical and light seed notes.

Dark chocolate was interspersed with tiny bits of coconut, chia seeds (as well as puffed quinoa and breadfruit flour), yielding very faint green/botanical (moringa powder*), very slightly malty dark chocolate and mint flavors, with a hint of sea salt. Not too sweet (thank you).

Ingredients: Chocolate liquor, Kuli Kuli Proprietary Blend (organic cacao nibs, organic moringa powder, organic moringa coated coconut [flaked coconut, organic moringa powder], organic black chia seeds, puffed quinoa, breadfruit flour), erythritol, inulin (extract of chicory root), cocoa butter, sea salt, soy lecithin, vanilla, Reb A (extract of stevia), peppermint oil 

Allergen-related information: Contains soy, coconut. "Processed in a facility that also processes dairy, eggs, peanuts, wheat and tree nuts."

*Kuli Kuli offers several moringa-containing products. Moringa oleifera is a nutrient-dense green plant native to southern Asia (India, Pakistan) and Africa. The plant is also known as the drumstick tree and/or the miracle tree.

Zotter - Mi-Xing bar - "Flower Power" - Oct. 20, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Zotter
Mi-Xing bar - "Flower Power"
Good +
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 300 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.99 for 1 bar (+ warm weather shipping charge)
Purchased from: Zotter, online order 

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

Flowers are botanicals. One can argue cacao and many chocolates are botanicals. 

Today's "Flower Power Mi-Xing bar created by Zotter (Austria). It was a generously-sized, flower-shaped milk chocolate bar adorned with embedded flower and fruit flourishes.

Aroma notes for this pretty bar included different gradations of chocolate (milk, white) as well as flower and fruit notes.

The bar was relatively thick, with a creamy mouthfeel and texture.

This bar contained different levels of milk chocolate (40% and 50%), some decorative swirls of white chocolate, and what looked like candied flavor bits. 

Delicate clusters of dried cornflowers (petals) added blue violet color. And tiny "crunchy fruit" and caramel baubles (candy) were imbued with 1.) bright sparkles of tart-sweet passion fruit and 2.) caramel-flavored candy-coated cacao nibs, respectively--creating a nice flavor "reveal" when bitten into, and some welcome flavor complexity.

Ingredients: (Ingredients no longer listed online; product may no longer be available.)

Allergen-related information: Contained milk.