Noi Sirius - Milk Chocolate with Raisins and Hazelnuts (bar) - Dec. 18, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Noi Sirius 
Milk Chocolate with Raisins and Hazelnuts (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 274.5 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $ missing information
Purchased from: (retail store in Iceland) 

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

Today's Milk Chocolate with Raisins and Hazelnuts (bar) was produced by Noi Sirius (Reykjavik, Iceland).

Aroma and flavor notes for this well-tempered milk chocolate bar included: thick, sweet milk chocolate; light, buttery caramel; fleeting, faint clean mineral/light clay; crunchy hazelnuts; densely sweet, chewy dried grape (raisins); and very faint, fleeting warm spice.

This milk chocolate nut and fruit confection was rich and sweet. The fruit and nut elements added flavor and textural interest.

Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, skimmed milk powder, cocoa mass, emulsifier (soya lecithin), bourbon vanilla. Cocoa dry solids min. 33%), hazelnuts and raisins (min. 10%), sunflower oil. 

Allergen-related information: Contains milk, soy and tree nuts (hazelnuts). "Produced in a factory which works with milk, soya, tree nuts and wheat."

Note: This post was delayed due to international travel in Iceland and elsewhere.

OmNom Chocolate - Dark Nibs + Raspberry (bar) - Dec. 17, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

OmNom Chocolate

Dark Nibs + Raspberry dark chocolate (bar)

Good ++ - Good+++

Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.12 oz. (60 g.) in total bar

Calories: 156.9 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: 990 ISK (145 Krona = $1 USD) for 1 bar

Purchased from: OmNom Chocolate Factory and Ice Cream Store, Reykjavik, Iceland

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

Today's Dark Nibs + Raspberry dark chocolate (bar) was made by OmNom Chocolate (Reykjavik, Iceland).

Aroma notes for this dark bar included: red berries (ripe, sweet red raspberries), dark chocolate (cocoa, dark ganache, very faint woodsy earth).

Texture: a hearty, satisfying mix of crunchy (freeze dried berries, cacao nibs) and thick, creamy dark chocolate.

Flavor: relatively bold but quite smooth dark chocolate interspersed with micro-bursts of bright red berry (red raspberry), dark chocolate (ultra-dark ganache) and cocoa nibs (offering the essence of cacao, cacao beans or seeds to be exact). 

The cacao nibs helped convey a darker chocolate flavor (than the 58% cacao chocolate base); and the classic pairing of raspberries and dark chocolate was well executed. And the choice of a Madagascar cacao (which is associated with bright berry and citrus notes) seemed particularly fitting with this flavor blend.

Ingredients: Organic cocoa beans from Madagascar organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, crispy raspberries (glucose syrup, sugar, raspberries, thickener (E401, aka sodium alginate). Contains a minimum of 58% cocoa solids.

Allergen-related information: "Designed and made in Iceland, in a facility that handles nuts, dairy, gluten and sesame seeds."

Note: This post was delayed due to international travel in Iceland and elsewhere.

Noi Sirius - 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Dec. 16, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Noi Sirius 

70% Dark Chocolate (bar)

Good ++ 

Weight: 1.17 oz. (33.3 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar

Calories: 173.8 calories in 1/3 bar 

Cost: $ missing information

Purchased from: (Store in Iceland)

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

Today's 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Noi Sirius (Reykjavik, Iceland).

This smooth dark chocolate bar had balanced, bold dark flavor with a hint of vanilla. It was the chocolate equivalent of the basic black dress that every young woman felt they needed or wanted to have. 

The basic 70% dark, relatively bold. flavor was softened a bit around the edges. Nothing too wild. Sophisticated in its dark, uniform simplicity. It's the kind of dark chocolate bar you might find across Europe, with a hint of vanilla.

It will please the palettes of those who enjoy a smooth dark chocolate without harsh acidity or bitterness. Not too sweet, with just enough dark flavor to be satisfying.

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, sugar, fat reduced cocoa powder, emulsifier (soya lecithin), bourbon vanilla. Cocoa dry solids min. 70%.

Allergen-related information: "Produced in a factory which works with milk, soya, tree nuts and wheat."

Note: This post was delayed due to international travel to Iceland and elsewhere.

Freyja - 70% Cocoa (bar) - Dec. 15, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Frejya ehf.

Frejya Original Lund Stk. 70% Cocoa (bar)

Good ++ - Good +++

Weight: 1.17 oz. (33.3 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar

Calories: 185.1 calories in 1/3 bar (556 per 100 g.)

Cost: 750 ISK for 1 bar

Purchased from: IceWear Iceland (store), Reykjavik, Iceland

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

Today's 70% Cocoa (bar) was made by Freyja ehf. (Kopavogur, Iceland). Founded in 1918,* Freyja is one of Iceland's oldest confection makers; and the company offers a wide range of chocolates/confections, including this bar that featured a picture of a puffin (bird)* on the packaging.

Aroma notes included rich, sweet chocolate, vanilla angel food cake, and very light aromatic tobacco notes.

The texture of this chocolate was rich, creamy, almost velvety. And the taste: creamy dark chocolate ice cream and vanilla wafer.

This was a very appealing and friendly 70% dark chocolate bar, with a good deal of vanilla come-hither. Warning: It would be very easy to sit down and consume more of this bar than you originally planned.

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier (rapeseed lecithin), vanillin. "This chocolate contains minimum 70% dry cocoa solids."

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of milk and nuts."

*The company describes their history as follows: "In the middle of Iceland receiving sovereignty from Denmark, the Spanish Flu pandemic in Reykjavik, the end of the first World War and one of the largest volcanic eruptions in recorded Icelandic history a few chaps thought it would be a splendid idea to start a confectionery company...and what a splendid idea it turned out to be over a century later....Freyja still manufactures...over 100 delicious and unique products."

Note: This post was delayed due to international travel in Iceland and elsewhere.

*Sadly, from a bird watching point of view, my visit to Iceland in December prevented me from seeing Puffins. These charismatic birds with colorful beaks gather in nesting colonies in the warmer months off Iceland, Greenland and other North Atlantic locations. But there was not a one to be spotted mid-December.

Konungsberg - Dark Chocolate 72% (bar) - Dec. 14, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Konungsberg 

Dark Chocolate 72% (bar)

(Yule Lads of Iceland)

Good ++

Weight: 1.17 oz. (33.3 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar

Calories: 289.5 calories in 1/3 bar

Cost: 790 ISK for 1 bar (approx. 145 ISK = $1 USD)

Purchased from: IceWear Iceland shop, Reykjavic, Iceland

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

Today's Konungsberg Dark Chocolate 72% (bar) celebrated the Yule Lads of Iceland.* This gluten-free, Iceland (Icemart) souvenir dark chocolate was made for/by Creaciones Jumi, S.L. (Girona, Spain); and it was adorned with festive illustrations of the Yule Lads* and the Christmas cat--characters frequently seen in December in Iceland. 

This bar had a relatively thick, creamy texture with a faint astringency toward the finish.

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate pudding, slightly smokey vanilla, and balanced light bitter and earth notes.

The balanced dark chocolate aroma and flavor was reminiscent of a roasted, African Forastero variety of cacao with bold, but smooth, dark flavor. A touch of vanilla added warmth.

Ingredients: Cocoa paste, sugar, cocoa butter, defatted cocoa powder, emulsifier: lecithins (soy), flavour (vanillin). Cocoa 72% minimum. Cocoa origin: Non-EU.

Allergen-related information: "Traces of nuts and milk."

*The Yule Lads are an interesting group of characters, a bit like elves or trolls, and somewhat mischievous in nature. They are the face(s) of Christmas, rather than our Father Christmas/Santa Claus in the U.S. It was lovely to find and take home this chocolate as a Christmas souvenir.

According to their Wikipedia entry: "The Yule Lads are the sons of Grýla and Leppalúði. They are a group of 13 mischievous pranksters who steal from or harass the population and all have descriptive names that convey their favorite way of harassing. They come to town (down from the mountains) one by one during the last 13 nights before Yule."

Note: This post was delayed due to travel in Iceland and elsewhere.

Mokka Kaffi - Hot Chocolate - Dec. 13, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Mokka Kaffi

Hot Chocolate

Good ++ - Good +++

Weight: 1 cup (approximately 10 fl. oz.)

Calories: unknown

Cost: $6.03 USD 

Purchased from: Mokka Kaffi, Reykjavik, Iceland

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Iceland Theme Week. This entry is the third (of three) chocolate items featured today from Iceland.

Today's Hot Chocolate was from Mokka Kaffi (Reykjavik, Iceland). 

Mokka Kaffi was opened in 1958 and is one of the oldest coffee houses in Iceland.

There is something about magical about a steaming hot, authentic hot chocolate with real whipped cream, that is extremely satisfying on a very cold day.

This hot chocolate had rich, sweet cocoa flavor with a very faint butter/cream, nut and savory/salt notes. Is was sweet, but not too much so. The whipped cream was very lightly sweetened, if at all, and dissolved at exactly the right speed. 

Mokka Kaffi was a cozy, popular cafe, where patrons at nearby tables were enjoying coffees, waffles and hot chocolate. It was a memorable evening stop in Reykjavik.

Ingredients: (unknown)

Allergen-related information: (Contained milk/cream.) Ingredients unknown.

This post was delayed due to international travel in Iceland and other places.

Saett & Salt Sukkuladi - Rjomasukkuladi (bar) - Dec. 13, 2022

Chocolate(s) of the Day

Saett and Salt Sukkuladi

(Sweet and Salt Chocolate)

Rjomasukkuladi 

(Milk Chocolate)

Good ++

Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar

Calories: 275 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: 1,750 ISK for 1 bar (145 Icelandic Kronur = $1 USD)

Purchased from: Blaa Lonid HF (Blue Lagoon) cafe/shop, Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Iceland Theme Week, featuring chocolate bars, confections and beverages made in Iceland, from a variety of chocolate makers and chocolatiers.

Today's Milk Chocolate bar was handmade by Elsa Gugga of Saett and Salt Sukkuladi (Sweet and Salt Chocolate) in Westfjords, Iceland.

Aroma notes for this bar included: rich milk chocolate, faint salt/savory, faint caramel and vanilla.

Texture: thick, creamy, almost velvety melt and mouthfeel.

The flavor was a bit too sweet for me; but it was satisfying, with nice milk/cream and a faint sparkle of sea salt and caramel. The touch of salt (from Saltverk) was just right--not enough to overwhelm, but enough to help balance the sweetness.

Saltverk (also located in far West Iceland, in the Westfjords area, where today's chocolatier is based) produces mineral-rich, flake sea salt.

Ingredients: Cocoa mass, cream, milk powder, cocoa butter, sugar, vanilla, soya lecithin, flake salt from Saltverk.

Allergen-related information: Contains milk and soy. "May contain nuts in trace amounts."

*The Blue Lagoon is a geothermal spa located in Southwest Iceland. This popular destination spot is surrounded by a lava rock field. When we visited, the dark lava rocks were limned with white frost crystals. The landscape was one of fire and ice punctuated by geothermal plant steam and the aquamarine colors of the warm Blue Lagoon. Very scenic.