ChocolateBet: August 24, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece
Godiva Chocolatier
Mango (seasonal?)
Good - Good +
Weight: .5 oz. (estimate)
Calories: 75 calories (estimate)
Cost: The cost for this chocolate was/is either ~$1.76 or ~$2.34 - (depending on whether I bought 3 or 4 bulk chocs/truffles; the total for a small bag (pictured above) of individual chocolates that I bought was $7.04.)
Purchased from: Godiva Chocolatier (shop), in Portland, OR

This Mango chocolate from Godiva Chocolatier was good, but a bit too sweet for me. (To be fair I bought this chocolate a few weeks ago, which may have diminished its flavor a bit.)

Moonstruck Chocolatier - Grenada Truffle - August 23, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

1 piece
Moonstruck Chocolatier
Grenada Truffle
Very Good + - very nice chocolate ganache center
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) (estimate) in 1 piece
Calories: 75 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $2.00 (estimate)
Purchased by: Moonstruck Chocolatier, in Portland, OR

ChocolateBet: August 22, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Moonstruck Chocolatier
Golden Crown Truffle
Good + - Very Good
Wt: ~ .5 oz.
Calories: ~ 75 cals.
Cost: ~$ 2.00
Purchased from: Moonstruck Chocolatier, in Portland, OR

ChocolateBet: August 21, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

3/4 bar
Venchi
Absinthium - dark chocolate bar (75% cacao) with Absinthe flavors
Very Good + - nice rich flavor combination and finish (licorice-like taste)
Weight: 1.185 oz. (33.75 grams) for 3/4 bar/ 1.58 oz. (45 g.) for total bar
Calories: 178 calories (estimate - info not on label)
Cost: $5.75
Purchased from: Cacao Drink Chocolate, in Portland, OR

I enjoyed sharing this dark chocolate absinthe bar (made in Italy) with friends on a summer eve. (Thank you Elise for the great dinner with fresh veggies from your garden.)

About Absinthe/A. Absinthium: (See info copied and pasted from wikipedia.org entry below)

"...Absinthe originated in the canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland. It achieved great popularity as an alcoholic drink in late 19th- and early 20th-century France, particularly among Parisian artists and writers. Due in part to its association with bohemian culture, absinthe was opposed by social conservatives and prohibitionists. Charles Baudelaire, Paul Verlaine, Arthur Rimbaud, Vincent van Gogh, Oscar Wilde, and Aleister Crowley were all notorious "bad men" of that day who were (or were thought to be) devotees of the Green Fairy. Absinthe was portrayed as a dangerously addictive psychoactive drug.^[2] The chemical thujone, present in small quantities, was blamed for its alleged harmful effects. By 1915, absinthe had been banned in the United States and in most European countries except the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, and the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Although absinthe was vilified, no evidence has shown it to be any more dangerous than ordinary liquor. Its psychoactive properties, apart from those of alcohol, had been much exaggerated.^[2] A revival of absinthe began in the 1990s, when countries in the European Union began to reauthorize its manufacture and sale..."

ChocolateBet: August 20, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Moonstruck Chocolatier
Conquistador Hazelnut Praline
Very Good +; a bit sweet, but excellent combination of hazelnut-and-chocolate textures and flavors in this truffle
Wt.: ~ .5 oz.
Calories: ~ 75 calories
Cost: ~ $2.00
Purchased from: Moonstruck Chocolatier, in Portland, OR

This is the second truffle in a 4-piece box (box also pictured, above right).

ChocolateBet: August 19, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Moonstruck Chocolatier
Clear Creek Pear Brandy Truffle
Good + - Very Good; nice chocolate, but I can't really taste any brandy or pear flavors.
Wt.: ~ .5 oz.
Calories: ~ 75 cals.
Cost: ~$2.00
Purchased from: Moonstruck Chocolatier, in Portland, OR

I'm still working from my chocolate stash from a vacation day trip to Portland earlier this month. While visiting one of Moonstruck's (smaller) Portland locations in a mall, I found out that the company has expanded to other states, including: California, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Virginia and New Jersey. So, I may be stopping by their San Francisco (Marina area) store to try a few other truffles, and also to try their chocolate "animals." (Stay tuned for chocolate animal theme week later this year.)

ChocolateBet: August 18, 2008

Chocolate of the Day:

2 small squares
Dolfin
Earl Grey - dark chocolate
Very Good
Weight: ~.313 oz. (9 grams) for 2 pieces; 3.76 oz. (108 grams) total package of 24 pieces (variety pack with 2 pieces each of 12 different Dolfin flavors)
Calories: 46 calories (estimate) for 2 small squares
Cost: $11.00 total package of 24 pieces
Purchased from: Cacao Drink Chocolate, in Portland, OR

These Earl Grey chocolate squares from Dolfin (Belgium) were lightly crunchy. (Perhaps they contained bits of ground cocoa nibs?)

I was concerned that the dark chocolate might overwhelm the lighter, floral flavor notes present in Earl Grey tea, but I needn't have worried.