Sweet Nothings - Nut Butter Bites - Chocolate Peanut Butter (2 bites) - Aug. 13, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Sweet Nothings
Nut Butter Bites - Chocolate Peanut Butter
Good +
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) in total package of 2 bites
Calories: 150 calories in 2 bites
Cost: $2.99 for 1 package of 2 bites
Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Surprise Theme Week, including several chocolates with unique ingredients and interesting stories.

Today's Organic Nut Butter Bites - Chocolate Peanut Butter, were manufactured for Sweet Nothings, Inc. (Menlo Park, CA). The company has worked to "reimagine" snack foods. Their organic, plant-based offerings have no added sugar; they are sweetened with dried fruit (dates, raisins) instead.

Chocolate and Nut Week starts tomorrow. Why not today? Some are surprised to find out: peanuts are legumes and not nuts. 

Aroma notes for these (1.5 in. (4 cm.)) peanut-butter filled round bites included: oats/oatmeal, nutty chocolate and dried fruit (date).

Texture: The outer chocolate-y layer had a soft, nutty, slightly seedy/fibrous (flax) chew with a creamier peanut butter center. 

Flavor notes for these small but hearty snack bites included: chewy chocolate oatmeal cookie with peanut butter, dates and seeds. These were surprisingly filling, and not overly sweet (thank you!).

Ingredients: "Just (Organic) Dates, (Organic) Peanut Butter (Peanuts), Organic Oats, Organic Cacao, (Organic Ground) Flax, Sea Salt"

Allergen-related information: Contains peanuts. ("Filled with Peanut Butter")

Hogarth Chocolate Makers - Kumara Milk Chocolate with Sweet Potato Flavour 46% Cacao (bar) - Aug. 12, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Hogarth Chocolate Makers
Kumara Milk Chocolate with Sweet Potato Flavour 46% Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.46 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 204 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Surprise Theme Week--a week that includes several chocolates with unique ingredients and surprising blends.

Today's Kumara Milk Chocolate with Sweet Potato Flavour 46% Cacao (bar) was made from bean-to-bar by Hogarth Chocolate Company Ltd. (Nelson, New Zealand).

I was surprised to find a second sweet potato-related (Kumara) chocolate to feature today. This is only the 4th time (in almost 17 years and 6,000+ different chocolates) that I've found a blend of these two ingredients. 

Days ago, I featured a Batata (sweet potato) chocolate bar from Arcelia Gallardo (Mission Chocolate, Sao Paolo, Brazil). (Both the cacao and the Batata in Arcelia's chocolate were from South/Latin America.*) 

Today's chocolate included not one but three varieties* of Kumara, in the form of crisps (aka chips in the U.S.) from Proper Crisps (Nelson, New Zealand). 

Aroma notes included: light chocolate, clean mineral, and pleasant botanical green tea and sweet straw.

The texture and melt were smooth and creamy. (All Kumara crisps seemed to be thoroughly incorporated into the chocolate).

Flavor notes included: smooth, flavorful milk chocolate; light sweet potato; light caramel; and very faint botanical: oolong and green teas, sweet cereal, and soft/diffuse fruit.

This was a surprisingly light, and likable, chocolate, in part due to the choice of a criollo cacao variety. The maker (Karl Hogarth) notes that "...our Peruvian criollo cacao...highlights the caramelisation of the crisps, adding caramel and fruit notes..." 

Criollo (heritage) variety cacao(s) are subtle, nuanced and flavorful, and are known for soft stone fruit (think peaches and cream), light caramel, clean mineral, and very faint floral notes. Criollo cacao is lower in bitterness as well. Great choice for this Kumara crisp-flavored chocolate.

Ingredients: Cocoa solids 46% (Cocoa Beans*^, Cocoa Butter*^), Sugar*^, Proper Kumara Crisps, Skim Milk Powder (*Organic, ^ Fair Trade)

Allergen-related information: Contains dairy (milk powder). "Gluten Free, Soy Free"

*Batatas, Kumara and Sweet Potatoes...Many varieties and cultivars, many stories, and at least two different origin stories.

White and red potatoes are part of the nightshade family and developed in South America. Sweet potatoes (part of the morning glory, not the nightshade family), were also thought to originate in South America. Recent research has suggested the morning glory clan (including sweet potatoes) may have originated in Asia, based on 50-60 million year old plant fossils. (Stay tuned for more origin stories from the paleo-botanists.)

More recently, there has been considerable botanical moving and mixing (some by earth changes, some by humans).

We do know that Kumara has long been cultivated in the South Pacific. Some sources say the Kumara is slightly sweeter than our (American) sweet potato; but I can't be sure as I've never done a side-by-side tasting; and I think that would depend on variety/cultivar. (We grow mostly Beauregard variety of sweet potato in the U.S.)

Getting back to today's bar...Crisp maker, Proper Crisps, "make their crisps using seasonally selected (Kumara) varieties, mostly Red Kumara (Owairaka), Gold Kumara (Toka Toka) and Orange Kumara (Beauregard)."

Sweetduet - Mango - Organic 83% Dark Chocolate Enrobed Mangos - Aug. 11, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Sweetduet
Mango - Organic 83% Dark Chocolate Enrobed Mangos
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total package
Calories: 110 calories in 1 serving 
Cost: $9.00 for 1 package
Purchased from: Provision, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate Surprise Theme Week. Today's chocolate was a pleasant surprise, because of where I found them--in the middle of downtown San Francisco in a relatively new retail store.

These Organic 83% Dark Chocolate Enrobed Mangos were manufactured in a designated gluten and nut free facility, packed by Earth Source, Inc. (Vista, CA), and distributed by Sweetduet, LLC (Los Angeles,  CA). 

Aroma notes included: fermented cacao/sweet dark chocolate, dried fruit (mango), molasses fig/date cookie and very faint sweet, green floral-banana. (These did not contain any banana.)

The dark chocolate tasted surprisingly dark with a creamy texture and balanced bitterness. (I'd forgotten it was 83% cacao chocolate when I took the first bite.)

This ultra-dark chocolate offered a strong, but complementary, contrast to the pieces of fruit it covered. Inside the chocolate coating were chewy, tart-sweet dried strips of mango with bright tropical fruit and green tea flavor notes.

This bold and flavorful blend had lingering mango fruit and dark chocolate finish notes.

Ingredients: "Organic Mango, Organic Cacao, Organic Cacao Butter, Organic Date Nectar."

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a designated gluten and nut free facility."

Chimes Herbal Chews - Calmer Cacao - Aug. 10, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Chimes Herbal Chews
Adaptogenic Chews - Calmer Cacao Ashwagandha Reishi + Dark Cacao, Ginger
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .282 oz. (8 g.) / 2.5 oz. (72 g.) in total package
Calories: 30 calories in 2 chews
Cost: $3.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate Surprise Theme Week.

This "Surprise" week includes chocolates with unique ingredients, insights about food, farmers and/or culture, and/or found in interesting places. 

Today's Calmer Cacao Ashwagandha Reishi + Dark Cacao, Ginger Chimes Herbal Chews were a product of Indonesia, and manufactured for Roxy Trading, Inc. (Pomona, CA).

The creators indicated on the packaging that they were influenced by "Ayurvedic wisdom."    

Subtle aroma notes for these small, chewy, individually-wrapped bites included: rich, spiced cafe mocha; chai tea blend (ginger, very faint, fleeting black pepper); and very faint herbal-mushroom (reishi) hot chocolate.

Spicy ginger bloomed when I took a bite, and tickled the back of my throat on the way down. I liked the surprisingly strong ginger. (The heat subsided fairly quickly.) The cocoa was subtle and helped balance the spiciness.

I also was pleasantly surprised by the information provided about the approximate amount of theobromine: 4 mcg of theobromine (from cacao) in each chew. (Each chew also contained 80 mg. of KSM-66 Ashwagandha, and 120 mg. of Reishi mushroom/extract.) Not everyone will care about these details; but I appreciate them.

Ingredients: Cane sugar, tapioca starch, ginger, cacao powder, reishi, ashwagandha root.

Allergen-related information: "Made on equipment that processes peanuts." "Gluten Free" "Vegan"

Breyers - CarbSmart Vanilla Bars - Aug. 9, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Breyers 
CarbSmart Vanilla Bars 
Good +
Weight: 3.96 fl. oz. (56 g.) / 18 fl. oz. (532 mL) in total box of 6 bars
Calories: 140 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $5.99 for 1 box of 6 bars
Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate Surprise Theme Week.

Today's CarbSmart Vanilla Frozen Dairy Dessert (bars) were from Breyers* (Englewood Cliffs, NJ). The company's frozen "CarbSmart (tm)" line has relatively low net carbs (5 grams) and added fiber.

As with most frozen treats, the aroma for this frozen treat was very faint: a barely detectable whiff of chocolate. 

The bar's thin dark chocolate shell broke with a slight crackle and had an even, creamy melt. It was made with dutched (alkalized) cocoa--resulting in a smooth, uniform chocolate that was lower in acidity and bitterness.

The frozen dairy center had a light ice cream texture and a pleasant, sweet vanilla flavor. It was sweet, but not overly so.

I appreciated the smooth chocolate and vanilla textures and flavors. I didn't care for the long ingredient list with additives and sucralose (artificial) sweetener. But, for others who need to limit sugars and carbs, this might be a good-tasting, relatively low carbohydrate option.

Ingredients: Milk, coconut oil, water, maltitol syrup, sugar, polydextrose, less than 2% of: soybean oil, dutched cocoa (processed with alkali), sodium caseinate, whey, glycerin, calcium carbonate, cream, soluble corn fiber, natural flavor, vegetable gums (guar, carob bean), salt, soy lecithin, sucralose, mono and diglycerides, acesulfame potassium.

Allergen-related information: Contains dairy, soy. "Contains a bioengineered food ingredient." 

*Breyers ice cream was started by William A. Breyer in Philadelphia, PA, in 1866. In 1993, Unilever (Englewood Cliffs, NJ) bought Breyers Ice Cream from Kraft.

 

Sesame Plus - Dark Chocolate Sesame Plus (bar) - Aug. 8, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Sesame Plus Inc.
Sesame Plus Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $1.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate Surprise Theme Week.

Today's Crunchy with Dark Chocolate Sesame Plus bar(s) were made in Greece and imported into the U.S. by Sesame Plus Inc. (Burlingame, CA). 

Aroma notes for these gluten free bars included: subtle sesame seed candy, (faint roasted, sweet, nutty, seedy, malty) and faint chocolate (cocoa).

The package contained two thin corrugated bars ("slices") that had a delicate crunch. After I opened the package, I was surprised to see that the small amount of dark chocolate (about 10% of total content) was not coating the reverse side, but rather was thoroughly incorporated into these sesame seed bars--all but invisible except for a slight golden brown hue (and a very faint chocolate flavor) compared with the plain and honey Sesame Plus bars the company offers.

These thin bars ("slices") tasted light and crunchy. They were also very lightly sweetened with glucose syrup and honey (thank you!)--especially when compared with other, heavily-sweetened, thicker (teeth-grabbing) sesame candies I've tasted in the past.

Ingredients: Sesame seeds, glucose syrup, sugar, 10% dark chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin - as emulsifier), honey.

Allergen-related information: "Contains soya. May Contain peanut and other tree nuts." "Non-GMO, Dairy Free, Gluten Free"

Mission Chocolate - Dark Batata 58% Dark Mylk Chocolate (bar) - Aug. 7, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Mission Chocolate 
Dark Batata 58% Dark Mylk Chocolate (bar) 
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.05 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 164 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate Surprise Theme Week. 

Today's Dark Batata 58% Dark Mylk Chocolate (bar) from Mission Chocolate (Sao Paolo, Brazil) was created by chocolate maker Arcelia Gallardo.

The word batata (in several South American countries, including Brazil) means sweet potato. Aroma notes for this dark "mylk" chocolate batata bar included: chocolate (rich, creamy cocoa; very faint fermented cacao; and slightly bitter/earthy-sweet vegetable (sweet potato).

This surprisingly unique alternative "mylk" chocolate had a smooth texture with a creamy, uniform melt. (The batata, a native of Latin America, serves as a substitute for dairy milk.)

Balanced flavor notes included dark chocolate (relatively intense but smooth cocoa) flavored with slightly earthy-sweet vegetable (cooked sweet potato, with skin), and very faint warm spice.

Ingredients: "Organic cacao, organic sugar, cocoa butter, sweet potato."

Allergen-related information: "May contain wheat, oats, milk, almonds, hazelnuts, cashew nut, Brazil nut, nuts, macadamia, pecan, pistaches, pinoli, and natural latex. May contain traces of gluten."