ChocolateBet: February 11, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece
Harry London
Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffle
Very Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) for this piece /2 oz. (56 g.) for total box of 4 pieces.
Calories: 95 calories for this one piece
Cost: $5.00 for 1 box of 4 pieces (~$1.25/piece)
Purchased from: Macy's, Palo Alto, CA

I wasn't able to pick out the taste/mouth feel of hydrogenated oils as much with this Dark Chocolate Raspberry Truffle as the other three pieces in same box. It was quite good overall. The center was lighter, more gel-like than expected, and raspberry taste was authentic - including a few seeds.

ChocolateBet: February 10, 2008

Chocolate of the Day

1 piece
Harry London
Milk Chocolate Praline
Good+
Wt: .5 oz. piece/2 oz. (56 g.) total (for 4 pcs.)
Calories: 95 calories (estimate) per piece
Cost: $5.00 for whole box
Purchased from: Macy's, Palo Alto, CA

This Milk Chocolate Praline (with a hazelnut cream center and a "praline crunch") from Harry London was part of a 4-piece assortment box.

Chocolate in the News:
 (and spiced chocolate truffles with cocoa nibs recipe) by Greg Atkinson that appeared Feb. 10, 2008, in the Seattle Times (link below)

"Get a kick out of chocolate with salt, pepper and curry, too"
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/pacificnw/2004163209_pacificptaste10.html

Summary:
- An increase in flavor combinations with chocolate (salt, spices, and cocoa nibs) were discussed.
- It's worth nothing that some of these flavor combinations (like chocolate and chilis) were popular centuries ago, and are now back in favor
- Local Seattle chocolatiers (Chocolate Box, Fran Bigelow, Theo Chocolate) were mentioned.

ChocolateBet: February 9, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece
Harry London
Cappuccino Truffle
Good+
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) for 1 box of 4 (different) pieces
Calories: 95 calories (estimate) for 1 piece (seems like a lot, but fat content was high)
Cost: $5.00 for a 4-piece assortment box
Purchased from: Macy's, Palo Alto, CA

These were nicely packaged and flavored truffles from Harry London. The Cappuccino Truffle had a coffee infused center, was coated with white chocolate, and dusted with cocoa powder. My only issue: I don't care for hydrogenated oils in chocolate.

ChocolateBet: February 8, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece
Harry London
Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Cream
Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) total for 4-piece assortment box
Calories: 95 calories (estimate) for 1 piece (This seemed like a lot of calories for just one .5 oz. piece, but the fat content is high.)
Cost: $5.00 for 1 box of 4 pieces
Purchased from: Macy's, Palo Alto, CA

These were nicely packaged in a black box with beige/gold script and the four (different) chocolates looked nice. And, I like peanut butter with chocolate. The only down side: I don't like chocolate with hydrogenated oils (palm, others). It may be psychological, but I can almost imagine these oils clogging up my arteries.

ChocolateBet: February 7, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1/4 bar
Godiva
Sugar-free chocolate with almonds bar
Good - Very Good - almost tasted too sweet to me, even though it was sugar-free
Weight: .375 oz. (~11 grams) in 1/4 bar; 1.5 oz. (43 grams) total
Calories: 50 calories in 1/4 bar; 200 calories total
Cost: $3.50
Purchased from: ? (purchased last year - last few months of 2007?)

ChocolateBet: February 6, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
Ben & Jerry's
Karamel Sutra ice cream
Very Good - sweet, gooey and chocolatey (caramel and chocolate ice cream with caramel swirl)
Wt.: 1/2 cup serving (107 grams)
Calories: ~ 270 calories for 1 serving
Cost: $4.49 for one pint, entire container
Purchased from: Walgreens, Palo Alto, CA

ChocolateBet: February 5, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1/2 serving
Williams-Sonoma
The Original Peppermint Hot Chocolate - Bittersweet Chocolate Shavings Infused with Peppermint Oil
Very Good
Weight: ~ 20 grams (2 1/2 Tbs.) for 1/2 serving. Total container = 14.5 oz. (410 g.)
Calories: from cocoa/choc shavings = 105 + large glass milk = 350 calories
Cost: $19.50 for a large tin
Purchased from: Williams-Sonoma, San Francisco, CA

I bought this hot chocolate a few months ago in a Williams-Sonoma store in San Francisco. It was a cold evening and the holiday decorations were out, and it was a great time to buy hot chocolate. I'm enjoying it a lot this evening too. All that was lacking was a fire in the fireplace.