Fujiya Co., LTD. - PekoPopo Chocolate (pops) - Dec. 1, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Fujiya Co., LTD. 
PekoPopo Chocolate (pops)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: .84 oz. (24 g.) in 1 package of 2 pops
Calories: 140 calories (estimate) in 2 pops
Cost: $3.25 for 1 package of 2 pops
Purchased from: de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA

Irasshaimase (welcome) to Day #8 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Theme Week. 

How about edible cartoon characters from Japan, courtesy of a Manga exhibit in San Francisco?

Today's PekoPopo Chocolate (pops) were from Fujiya Co., LTD. (a large confectionery business based in Bunkyo-ku, Japan*). The company was founded in 1910. 

In 1950, a cute cartoon of a six-year old girl named "Peko" became the mascot for Fujiya's Milky milk candy brand. Peko-chan was later joined by a young boy named Popo-chan when the sweets (and Peko-chan) proved popular. Seventy-five years later, the smiling faces of these two famous, forever-young characters can still be seen across Japan (and beyond).

Aroma notes included: biscuit/cookie; freshly toasted bread with jelly; and milky, sweet hot chocolate. 

Texture: light, creamy, milky

Flavor notes included: sweet, mild and creamy milk chocolate--with no bitterness or acidity one might encounter with darker chocolates.

It's probably not polite to say I enjoyed eating adorable children, but these two milky chocolate cartoon kiddos were sweet and tasty (despite containing a lot of additives).

I did enjoy the Manga exhibit at the de Young Museum; and I appreciated the museum's decision to offer these Japanese chocolate pops for sale in their cafe. (And, yes, there are numerous examples of "fan-created manga" featuring Peko-chan.)

Ingredients: Sugar, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil (Palm, Shea, Sunflower), Unsweetened Chocolate, Whole Milk Powder, Lactose, Powdered Skim Milk, Cocoa Butter, Hydrogenated Modified Oil and Fat (Sunflower, Rapeseed), Polyglycerol, Polyricinoleate, Soy Lecithin, Artificial Flavor, Red Beet Juice.

Allergen-related information: Contains: Milk and Soybeans. May Contain Wheat, Egg and Peanuts. Contains bioengineered ingredients

*This chocolate was imported by JFC International Inc. (Los Angeles, CA).

The Organic House - Movie Night Caramel Corn 60% Cacao Nicaragua (bar) - Nov.30, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

The Organic House
Movie Night 60% Cacao Nicaragua O'Payo (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 293 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order 

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Week.

Today's Movie Night 60% Cacao Nicaragua O'Payo (bar) was from The Organic House (Burlington, ON, Canada). 

The bar was hand-crafted with care--as was the animated film "The Man Who Planted Trees" (1987) by Frederic Back* that I "paired" with this chocolate. 

The film features the story of a man who planted Oak, Birch, Linden (and possibly Maple) trees, across miles of land, over decades, completely transforming a once barren landscape. 

This hand-crafted story seemed like a good match with today's "Proudly Canadian" chocolate bean-to-bar chocolate, sweetened with sugar from maple trees. 

Aroma and flavor notes for today's bar included: dark chocolate; caramel and caramel corn; faint fruit (berry, faint date); and uplifting warm spice and maple sugar.

The caramel corn (made from scratch) was ground into the O'Payo** Nicaragua cacao beans -- resulting in a smooth, relatively creamy chocolate with no detectable popcorn texture. (A faint, pleasant popcorn flavor did surface in some bites.)

I enjoyed the dark, satisfying caramel flavors and gentle fruit and maple complexity. Some of these notes certainly came from the use of a single origin cacao. Many thanks to the creative Canadian animators and chocolate makers who made tonight's special "Movie Night" possible.

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, Ontario maple sugar, Organic popcorn, Organic cacao butter, Organic maple sugar, Organic almond butter, Sea salt, Organic coconut oil. 

Allergen-related information: "Contains Almonds. May contain: Cashews, Hazelnuts, Oats, Pistachios"

*The "Man Who Planted Trees" is an award-winning, 30-minute long, animated film created from more than 20,000 drawings. It was adapted from a French story, created and directed by Frederic Back, and narrated by actor Christopher Plummer. The team also included Academy Award winning Canadian sound editor + composer Normand Roger and several other talented folks who worked to complete this film over a five-year period. The story was (and still remains) an inspiring tale of how one person can make a difference.

**The O'Payo Nicaragua cacao used in this bar was from Ingemann, a family-owned company in Nicaragua.

 

Compartes - Old Hollywood with Smoked Salt (bar) - Nov. 29, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Compartes Chocolatier
Old Hollywood Dark Chocolate Smoked Salt 75% Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Compartes Chocolatier, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Theme Week.

Today's Old Hollywood Dark Chocolate Smoked Salt 75% Cacao (bar) was from Compartes Chocolatier (Los Angeles, CA)--a company with chocolate roots in L.A. that began in 1950.

Compartes offers a wide selection of chocolates with different flavor inclusions, including several with references to Hollywood, movies and/or entertainment. 

Aroma and flavor notes for today's Hollywood-themed bar included: smooth, rich and relatively sweet dark chocolate; very faint, diffuse fruit (berry) and even fainter wood and smoked salt. The salt was not obvious in the aroma, but it complemented (and helped balance) the relatively sweet 75% dark chocolate.

I liked the slightly darker chocolate with a smooth, barely there bitterness and the use of smoked salt. The very faint, dark berry note rounded out the flavor profile.

I enjoyed the bar's attractive packaging--with a dark ebony wood (or marble) background adorned with slightly faded, gold, bird-like art deco shapes. A good fit with today's Old Hollywood theme + smoked salt. (While you'd be hard-pressed to find as many smokers in Hollywood venues today, I'm sure there were many smoky bars and Hollywood hang-outs back in the day.)

I "paired" this chocolate with two movies: "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" (2019) and "The Artist" (2011) as well as an animated short "Hollywood Steps Out" (1941) from Leon Schlesinger Productions (pre Warner Bros.); and Disney's "Once Upon a Studio" (2023)--a short reunion of the studio's historic range of animated characters. 

A balanced, albeit eclectic, 4-course classic movie meal to enjoy with today's Old Hollywood chocolate.

Ingredients: Dark Chocolate (Cocoa Mass, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin as an emulsifier, Vanilla), Smoked Sea Salt

Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility that handles Dairy, Peanuts, Wheat, Egg, Soy, Tress Nuts"

  

Unreal - Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds - Nov. 28, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Unreal
Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds 
Good ++ 
Weight: 2 oz. (56.5 g.) / 4 oz. (113 g.) in total package
Calories: 300 calories in 1/2 package
Cost: $5.89 for 1 package
Purchased from: Vitacost, online order 

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate, Movies and Entertainment Theme Week. Some of my most favorite confections in movie theaters were candy-coated almonds (Jordan Almonds); chocolate-covered almonds; or chocolate candy with almonds (Almond Roca).

Today's Dark Chocolate Covered Almonds were made in the USA for Unreal Brands, Inc. (Boston, MA).

Unreal founders started the company to create snacks "made with simple, real ingredients" that everyone might enjoy.

Aroma notes for these almonds included: warm, authentic cocoa; faint warm spice (vanilla); and very faint nut (almond).

What I liked: the authentic dark chocolate coating that was just thick enough to add balanced, chocolate-y flavor, but the coasting wasn't so thick that I couldn't taste the perfectly toasted/crunchy, whole California almonds inside. Despite my first guess that they'd been rolled in dark cocoa powder, my hands were left completely clean (in cool weather at least) after holding and eating them.

I also appreciated the thoughtful execution/creation behind this brand and their short list of fair trade and Non-GMO ingredients. When the founders first unveiled their products years ago, this was a novel and refreshing concept. So glad they're still delivering simple, tasty and arguably much healthier, snacks at a relatively reasonable price.

Ingredients: Almonds, Dark Chocolate (chocolate liquor*, cane sugar*, cocoa butter*, vanilla) (* = Fair Trade Certified by Fair Trade USA.)

Allergen-related information: Contains Almonds. "Made in a facility that handles other tree nuts, milk, peanuts, soy and wheat. Made on equipment that processes milk chocolate."

Compartes - The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows Deep Milk Chocolate (bar) - Nov. 27, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Compartes Chocolatier
The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows Deep Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 240 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Compartes Chocolatier, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Theme Week on Chocolate Banquet. Also, Happy Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating and feeling grateful today.

Today's The Beverly Hills Hotel and Bungalows Deep Milk Chocolate (bar) was from Compartes Chocolatier (Los Angeles, CA). 

Compartes offers a wide selection of chocolates with different flavor inclusions, including several with references to Hollywood, movies and/or entertainment. 

Aroma and flavor notes for today's Beverly Hills Hotel-themed bar included: sweet milk chocolate. 

This sweet, creamy and rich 46% cacao milk chocolate was also addictive. It was gone all too quickly--just like the Hollywood stars who've visited The Beverly Hills Hotel since it opened in 1912.

I enjoyed the bar's attractive packaging--with lush greenery and flowers inspired by the hotel grounds (and the wallpaper inside) this pink- and green-tinged Beverly Hills resort. (The hotel may even carry Compartes Chocolatier Beverly Hills Hotel-themed bars. After stopping at the gift shop to check, I'd head to the Polo Lounge for a chocolate souffle.)

I "paired" this chocolate with a classic film: "Designing Woman" (1957) starring Lauren Bacall and Gregory Peck. (Their characters in this film met at the famed hotel.) I also enjoyed a documentary called "The Beverly Hills Hotel: A Red Carpet Glamour House" -- a fitting tribute to the Pink Palace.*

Ingredients: Milk Chocolate (Cocoa Mass, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Milk, Soy Lecithin as an emulsifier, Vanilla)

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk, Soy. "Gluten Free"

*The choice of pink was allegedly inspired by the colors in southern California sunsets.

 

Droste - Milk-Dark Pastilles - Nov. 26, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Droste
Milk-Dark Pastilles
Good ++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) (9 pastilles) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total package
Calories: 255 calories (estimate) in 1/2 package
Cost: $N/A - gift from a family
Purchased from: N/A - gift; thank you friends!

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Week.

Today's Milk-Dark Pastilles were from Droste BV (The Netherlands). The company was founded in 1863 in Haarlem, Netherlands. They began selling their famous chocolate pastilles in 1890, five years before movies began to be widely shown in theaters. (Movie houses opened in 1895 in Paris and Berlin, soon followed by movie theaters in the U.S.)

Today's pastilles reminded me of an old art house movie theater in California that stocked European chocolates behind their shiny chrome and glass-covered snack case.

That theater is long gone, but the memories of the independent films, slightly squeaky theater seats, and the special European chocolates they sold--that seemed pretty exotic at the time--live on. And one of those chocolate brands was Droste.

Today's well-tempered, milk-dark chocolate discs broke with a hard snap (in a cold room). The milk chocolate half and the dark chocolate half (of each pastille) were merged neatly together, right down the middle.

Was it better to eat the milk chocolate or the dark chocolate first? (Spoiler alert: the results were smooth, chocolate-y and delicious either way. But, eating the sweeter, creamier milk chocolate side first, followed by the slightly darker side squeaked out the win. 

These smooth chocolate pastilles had enough warm vanilla and milk to serve as comfort food while watching an old film classic at home.

Ingredients: sugar, chocolate liquor processed with alkali, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, milk fat, soy lecithin, natural vanilla flavor. 

Allergen-related information: Contains: Milk, Soy. "May contain traces of hazelnuts."

Raaka Chocolate - Popcorn Unroasted Dark Chocolate 64% Cacao (bar) - Nov. 25, 2025

Chocolate of the Day

Raaka Chocolate
Popcorn Unroasted Dark Chocolate 64% Cacao (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.8 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 275 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Raaka Chocolate, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate, Movies & Entertainment Theme Week--where chocolates intersect with film, animation and other forms of entertainment.

Following on the heels of yesterday's Cherry Licorice bar, we're enjoying another movie snack bar item reimagined with chocolate. 

Today's Popcorn Unroasted Dark Chocolate 64% Cacao (bar) was created by Raaka Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY). The makers "crushed salted popcorn and blended it into our (Semuliki Forest, Uganda cacao) dark chocolate, crafting a thrillingly chunky, buttery, and adventurous treat."

Aroma and flavor notes included: pleasing dark chocolate with faint diffuse fruit (stone fruit, dark berry, green/floral banana) and slightly savory (buttery).

Texture: the base dark chocolate was smooth with a relatively creamy melt. There were bites with very tiny pieces of popcorn hull (but it wasn't overwhelming). Raaka's description for this bar read: "Chunky, Crunchy, Buttery!" I found the tiny ivory-colored clouds (popcorn) floating in the dark chocolate to be pleasantly soft and pillow-like.

A digression about salt and chocolate...

My first impression: "This dark chocolate contained popcorn and salt, but the bar tasted surprisingly sweet, and not salty enough to taste like popcorn." Well, that was incorrect. At one point I added salt; and it did not work. Too much salt obscured the fruity, chocolate-y Ugandan (unroasted) cacao chocolate. 

The makers were right in holding back on the salt. Instead they tickled sweet movie theater memories of multiple concession stand snacks, including: dark, slightly fruity chocolate bars; dark hot chocolate/cocoa; fruit (cherry, red raspberry, banana) drinks and candies (even candied popcorn); and a wee bit of my all time favorite: salted, very lightly buttered popcorn. 

This was a fun and educational bar to taste and retaste, and retaste again. 

Movie and dark chocolate fans will appreciate this balanced, flavorful blend; the short list of authentic and organic ingredients; the gentle, fruity and chocoate-y complexity in the unroasted dark chocolate; the incorporation of popcorn (with minimal hulls); and the fact this elevated movie snack wasn't too sweet.

 A perfect bar to watch with a movie, or to savor slowly all by itself.

Maker's tasting notes: " The makers are using unroasted cacao to "capture the "brighter, bolder, and fruitier" side of cacao."

Ingredients: "organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic popcorn, organic extra virgin coconut oil, organic nutritional yeast, salt"

Allergen-related information: "Vegan, Gluten-Free, Soy Free, Nut Free"