Chocolove - Pumpkin Spice in 33% Milk Chocolate Bites - Oct. 16, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolove 
Pumpkin Spice in 33% Milk Chocolate Bites
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 7.05 oz. (200 g.) in total package
Calories: 130 calories in 3 pieces
Cost: $9.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: FarmFresh, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate, Pumpkin and Warm Spice Week.

Today's Pumpkin Spice in 33% Milk Chocolate Bites were from Chocolove (Boulder, CO).

Each, individually-wrapped, milk chocolate-covered pumpkin confection was emblazoned with a heart-shaped outline (two "Cs" facing each other), consistent with the Chocolove's love themed chocolates.*

Aroma notes included: chocolate, pumpkin pie/warm spices, and a faint sweet and savory vegetable blend note (pumpkin, sweet potato-tomato sauce).

These individually-wrapped treats had a smooth creamy, easy melt.

Flavor notes included: rich, sweet milk chocolate and authentic pumpkin (with pie spices included). The 33% cacao outer milk chocolate shell was made a bit sweeter by the white chocolate filling. And that bit of extra cocoa (more than you'd find in most holiday/novelty chocolates) helped balance out the sweetness, while still allowing the pumpkin and spices to shine.

This bite was the closest I've ever tasted to real pumpkin pie blended with chocolate. Hats off to Chocolove for using real pumpkin and real spices, and going the extra mile to achieve this.

Ingredients: Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter**, Milk, Cocoa Liquor**, Soy Lecithin and/or Sunflower Lecithin, Vanilla), Organic White Chocolate (Organic Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter**, Organic Milk, Organic Soy Lecithin, Organic Vanilla), Organic Cream (Milk, Gellan Gum), Pumpkin Puree, Pumpkin Concentrate (Pumpkin, Citric Acid), Cane Sugar, Cocoa Butter**, Organic Glycerin, Tapioca Syrup, Organic Butter Oil, Spices (Ginger, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cloves), Sea Salt, Sunflower Lecithin.

(** Rainforest Alliance Certified. Find out more at ra.org.)

Allergen-related information: "Contains milk, soy. Made in a facility that also processes eggs, peanuts, and tree nuts."

*E.g., Chocolove chocolate bars I've purchased have come with a love poem inside the wrapper. 

And printed on the outside of the package of bites was this tagline: "Share it with someone you love."

 

 

Chocolove - Peanut Butter in 55% Dark Chocolate Bites - Oct. 15, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Chocolove 
Bites - Peanut Butter in 55% Dark Chocolate
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 7.05 oz. (200 g.) in total package
Calories: 170 calories in 1 serving (3 pieces)
Cost: $9.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: FarmFresh, online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate, Pumpkin and Warm Spice Week.

Today's Peanut Butter in 55% Dark Chocolate Bites were from Chocolove (Boulder, CO). The company uses Belgian chocolate in their bars and confections. 

Each, individually-wrapped, dark pumpkin (filled) confection was emblazoned with a heart-shaped outline (two "Cs" facing each other), consistent with the Chocolove's love theme.*

Aroma notes for these bites included: rich dark chocolate and faint nut.

Texture varied slightly with temperature throughout today. The outer dark chocolate shell will be a bit firmer if it's cold. Either way the chocolate had a uniform, smooth texture and slightly creamy melt. And the center was a bit softer with smooth, ground peanut butter mouthfeel.

Flavor notes included: bold but smooth 55% cacao dark chocolate (that tasted darker--more like 65% - 70% dark chocolate), and authentic nut (peanut) butter.

This treat will please dark chocolate lovers. Also, it was not too sweet (thank you!).

Ingredients: Dark Chocolate (Cocoa Liquor**, Sugar, Cocoa Butter**, Soy Lecithin and/or Sunflower Lecithin, Vanilla), Peanut Butter (Dark Roasted Blanched Peanuts), Milk Chocolate (Sugar, Cocoa Butter**, Milk, Cocoa Liquor**, Soy Lecithin and/or Sunflower Lecithin, Vanilla), Organic Palm Fruit Oil, Organic Butter Oil, Sea Salt, Sunflower Lecithin.

(** Rainforest Alliance Certified. Find out more at ra.org.)

Allergen-related information: "Contains peanuts, milk, soy. Made in a facility that also processes eggs and tree nuts."

*E.g., Chocolove chocolate bars I've purchased have come with a love poem inside the wrapper. Printed on the outside package containing today's bites was this tagline: "Share it with someone you love."

 

Honey Mama's - Cocoa Truffle Bar Pumpkin Spice (bar) - Oct. 14, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Honey Mama's 
Cocoa Truffle Bar Pumpkin Spice (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 345 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $5.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: FarmFresh, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate, Pumpkin and Warm Spices Week. Most of the bars and confections featured this week are seasonal or limited edition items; so act fast if you want to find/order these fall and winter special treats.

Today's Honey Mama's Limited Edition Pumpkin Spice Cocoa Truffle Bar was from Nectar Foods, Inc. (Portland, OR).

Aroma and flavor notes included: chocolate (cocoa), botanical (seed, honey, warm spices, citrus (light orange), vanilla, and very faint (barely there), fleeting earthy vegetable (carrot, pumpkin coconut soup). Note: there were no vegetable ingredients.*

This refrigerated Pumpkin Spice bar had a uniform, satisfying chew with a generous helping of softly crunchy pumpkin seeds. Refrigeration helped guard against possible melting; but if you let the bar warm up to room temperature (not in direct sun), you can taste more of the warm spice and other flavors.

I liked that this was honey-sweetened, and that it was not too sweet. The (alkalized) cocoa used to give this Truffle Bar a rich dark color and cocoa flavor depth was smooth and subtle.

Ingredients: Organic Raw Honey, Organic Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Unrefined Coconut Oil, Organic Alkalized Cocoa Powder, Himalayan Pink Salt, Organic Cinnamon, Vanilla Extract, Organic Ginger Root, Organic Allspice, Organic Cloves, Organic Nutmeg, Orange Oil. 

Allergen-related information: "Contains Tree Nuts: Coconut"

Ingredients: Organic Raw Honey, Organic Sprouted Pumpkin Seeds, Organic Unrefined Coconut Oil, Organic Alkalized Cocoa Powder, Himalayan Pink Salt, Organic Cinnamon, Vanilla Extract, Organic Ginger Root, Organic Allspice, Organic Cloves, Organic Nutmeg, Orange Oil.

Allergen-related information: "Contains Tree Nuts: Coconut"

*Occasionally, I taste certain ingredients in chocolate (in this case warm spices + coconut) and I experience a brief flicker of recognition, and a leap to a food or flavor memory. Today, for a brief second or two, I "tasted" a sweet and savory vegetable soup -- similar to a sweet Thai-style pumpkin coconut soup (with a touch of carrot, orange and spices). 

 

Stone Grindz - Spiced Hot Cocoa 55% Cacao (bar) - Oct. 13, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Stone Grindz Chocolate
Spiced Hot Cocoa 55% Cacao (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Stone Grindz, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Vietnam and Day #1 of Chocolate, Pumpkin and Warm Spices Theme Week.

It's October; and as the weather cools warm spices and treats seem more attractive.

Today's Spiced Hot Cocoa 55% (bar) was made by Stone Grindz (Scottsdale, AZ). The cacao used to make this chocolate came from Ecuador and Peru. 

It was judiciously seasoned with Vietnamese cinnamon* and vanilla from Madagascar. And adorned with small, roasted marshmallows. A truly international bar.

The aroma notes for this 55% chocolate included: chocolate (appealing cocoa, hot chocolate), fragrant cinnamon and warm, authentic and aromatic vanilla. 

This chocolate had a smooth texture with a creamy melt. (No dairy ingredients, but there was some coconut (and added cocoa butter) that felt like creamy hot chocolate.) The marshmallows added a light, puffy chew to the texture--as well as vanilla and lightly-toasted marshmallow flavors.

This was a beautifully layered and faithful rendition of an excellent spiced hot chocolate. The smooth, warm and complex blend of flavors flowed and bloomed, just as they might in a hot beverage. Rich cocoa, cinnamon, vanilla with a small spicy kick (cayenne) in the last half. Very nicely done.

Warning: mildly addictive.

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar, organic cacao butter, organic coconut, cinnamon, cayenne pepper, Dandies vegan marshmallows (tapioca syrup, tapioca starch, soy protein), Madagascar vanilla bean, maldon sea salt

Allergen-related information: Contains coconut, soy.

*Vietnamese cinnamon (also known as Saigon cinnamon or Vietnamese cassia in English) is high in the oils that give cinnamon its characteristic taste. I enjoy its bold, warm, spicy-sweet flavor and aroma. Because of these characteristics, Saigon (and Ceylon) cinnamon(s) are often found in fall and winter warm beverages (hot chocolate, hot spiced cider) and baked goods (apple pie, spice cakes and cookies).

Cinnamon sticks hint at this spice's origin. They're made from the inner bark of cinnamon trees. Further grinding transforms this "bark" into the powdered, reddish-brown spice that we sprinkle on hot chocolate, oatmeal...or maybe on a chocolate bar or dessert.

Marou - So Co La Den 100% Single Origin Vietnam Dark Chocolate (bar) - Oct. 12, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat
100% Single Origin (Vietnam) Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.05 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's 100% Single Origin Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Marou Chocolate (Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat), based in Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Vietnam.

It's worth noting up front, this ultra-dark single origin bar was crafted using one single ingredient (cocoa nibs).

Aroma notes included: subtle cocoa, dark chocolate, and very faint botanical (barely detectable floral (orchid); very faint, diffuse fruit; nut)

Flavor notes included: dark, unsweetened chocolate; subtle, unfolding fruit (pomegranate, tangerine, green fig) and fruit (pomegranate-date) molasses; and very faint nut (Brazil). 

When I take a bite of a 100% cacao bar, I brace myself for the probable disconnect between the friendly cocoa aroma--that my brain associates with something sweet--and the bitterness that may follow. There wasn't that kind of jolt this time. 

Yes, this chocolate was bitter (unsweetened), but not too bitter (or sour). It had some natural sweetness to it; and the feel of a high-quality, well-managed chocolate. This was a pleasant dragon, with gently complex cacao flavors.

Ingredients: Cocoa nibs

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that also processes: Coconut"

SOMA Chocolate maker - Tien Giang, Vietnam dark chocolate 70% (bar) - Oct. 11, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

SOMA chocolatemaker 
Tien Giang, Vietnam dark chocolate 70% (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) / 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Vietnam Theme Week--a week with some excellent single origin bars made from cacao grown in southern Vietnam.

Today's Tien Giang*, Vietnam dark chocolate 70% (bar) was from SOMA chocolatemaker (Toronto, ON, Canada). The cacao beans used for this bar came from Marou Faisseurs de Chocolat in Vietnam.**

Aroma notes for this deliciously dark bar included: rich, deep dark chocolate; faint, earthy molasses and botanicals (maple, warm spices).

The texture was smooth and uniform.

Flavor notes included: rich dark chocolate with bold cocoa shimmering with subtle dark complexity (faint, balanced earth; faint, fleeting dark, sweet berries; and faint molasses and warm spice). 

Bold and dark, yet also subtle and complex. These adjectives rarely converge in one chocolate. And oh what a beautiful, well orchestrated, convergence it was. The cacao was excellent, and so was the implementation.

This three-ingredient bar embraced the best traits cacao has to offer (across different varieties). The deep almost earthy boldness of a Forastero variety, the flavor and tart-sweet fruit of a Trinitario variety, and the beautiful complexity of a heritage/heirloom (South American) cacao (Criollo, Chuao and perhaps Nacional). 

Even the choice of organic cane sugar seemed just right. The cacao was already, inherently deep and dark. I'm always curious about what darker versions of bars would have tasted like. Not here. Going with a higher cacao percentage in this case--where flavors "darken" with proportionately less sugar--made less sense. And the sugar helped showcase the bright-dark-sweet dark berry/dark cherry fruit flavor notes.

Maker's tasting notes: "cinnamon, wild ginger, cherry jam, Brazil nut."

Ingredients: Cacao Nibs, Organic Cane Sugar, Cocoa Butter

Allergen-related information: "May contain trace amounts of peanuts, tree nuts, soy and dairy.

*Tien Giang is one of several cacao-growing provinces in southern Vietnam. The southern part of the country is warmer, and well-suited for cacao trees. Some of the best cacao grows in areas that are close to the coast and the Mekong River delta.

** Marou was founded by Vincent Mourou and Samuel Maruta in Vietnam over a dozen years ago. It's not an exaggeration to say that the Marou team was largely responsible for the Chocolate and Vietnam Theme Weeks on Chocolate Banquet for the past several years. Marou works directly with farmers in at least five provinces in southern Vietnam and makes bean-to-bar chocolates in Vietnam.

The company also has enabled other high-end chocolate makers around the globe to obtain fine Vietnamese cacao for their own single origin Vietnam chocolate offerings--such as today's SOMA chocolatemaker's Tien Giang bar.

Stone Grindz - Ba Ria, Vietnam 70% Cacao (bar) - Oct. 10, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Stone Grindz Chocolate
Ba Ria, Vietnam (The Origin Project) 70% Cacao (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 155 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Stone Grindz, online order

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

Today's Ba Ria*, Vietnam (The Origin Project) 70% Cacao (bar) was from Stone Grindz Chocolate (Scottsdale, AZ).

Aroma notes for this bar included: dark chocolate (attractive cocoa with very faint, fleeting and well-balanced fermentation notes; chocolate ganache/frosting).

Both the overall texture and melt were smooth and creamy. 

Flavor notes included: chocolate-y--in the best way possible: smooth, creamy, flavorful with gentle complexity. Very light and smooth bittersweet quality; like excellent drinking chocolate with a long, satisfying creamy finish.

This 70% dark chocolate had a fairly high degree of natural sweetness. The well-executed, authentic and rich flavor(s) balanced the sweetness. Mildly addictive and/or more-ish**. 

I also would have loved to have tried a slightly darker (73%-75%) version of this 70% bar. (One can fantasize; but makers have to make tough choices when they're working with a limited batch of cacao beans.

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic cocoa butter, organic cane sugar

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

*Ba Ria is one of several cacao-growing provinces in southern Vietnam. Cacao likely first arrived and was cultivated in Vietnam in the 1800s. High-quality, fine cacao from these provinces in recent decades (and the hard work of dedicated people) has enabled a growing number of excellent, small-batch, craft chocolates. (Sadly, I think this Ba Ria bar (and its Dak Lak Vietnam 79% sibling) are already gone/sold out.)

**More-ish is a slang reference to certain sweets, snacks and other foods that tempt a person to over-consume. After one bite/serving, one still feels compelled to eat more...and more. 

I've never experienced this compulsion after eating a big salad--or other higher fiber/protein foods. I'm also fully satisfied after just a few bites of eating darker (80%+ cacao) chocolates. 

But occasionally I find chocolate flavors so divine that I just want to savor and appreciate them just a little longer. Today's chocolate fell more into that category.