ChocolateBet: March 6, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Schurra's
Victorian Cream - Dark chocolate version
Good + - Very Good
Wt.: ~ .5 oz. (14.1 gram)
Calories: ~ 75 calories (estim.)
Cost: $0 (sample) included with purchase of several chocolates
Purchased from: Schurra's store in San Jose, CA

I don't usually care for chocolates with cream centers, but the rum taste to these dark chocolate-coasted creams made for an enjoyable flavor.

ChocolateBet: March 5, 2009

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Two different flavors of ice cream in one cup
1.) 1/4 cup Ben and Jerry's "Imagine Whirled Peace" - Very Good
2.) 1/4 cup Breyers (1/2 the fat light ice cream) Mint Chocolate Chip - Very Good
Wt.: 1.) 1/4 cup/1 pint total; 2.) 1/4 cup/1.5 quarts (1.41 Liters) in total container
Calories: 135 calories + 65 calories = 200 calories total
Cost: $ 3.50 + $6.49 = $9.99 total for both containers/flavors
Purchased from: Safeway in Menlo Park, CA

I wanted to focus on chocolate money, coins and a related theme this week, but I didn't have a chance to research this fully. Today, I ran out of time and ended up shopping at a local supermarket at 10 p.m. at night for my chocolate of the day. They had no chocolate coinage...So, I went with two ice creams that had some vague connection to this overall monetary theme.

First, Ben and Jerry's "Imagine Whirled Peace" contained what looked to be small chocolate coins, but they are really peace signs. Second, I sprung for some "1/2 the fat"/light Breyers Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream...well, because a "mint" is where money is made. OK, I realize this is a bad pun and a big stretch; but when you go shopping late at night, and the store employees start suspecting you are a bit strange as you walk down all possible aisles/areas that might harbor some chocolate coins, with the look of a hungry hunter, you have to get creative.

ChocolateBet: March 4, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:

1 coin
(Made in China - I couldn't find manufacturer's name)
Chocolate Golden Coins (Chinese symbols and Happy New Years greeting)
OK
Wt.: ~.3 oz. (9.4 g.)/3.67 oz. (104 g.) total package
Calories: ~ 50 calories
Cost: $1.49 for total package
Purchased from: Gum Sing Market, in Chinatown, San Francisco, CA

Many countries produce gold foil-wrapped chocolate coins. I won't have time to explore just how many, but there seems to be more fake candy money made of chocolate ("chocsimiles") than other candy types. I have not seen, for example, any gummy coinage, or peppermint dollar bills. But, they may be out there.

ChocolateBet: March 3, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
4 pieces
Gamesformotion (distributed in the U.S. by Ferrara Pan Candy Company)
Chocolate Monopoly
4 pieces (Park Avenue $350; Reading Railroad $200; Pacific Avenue $300, Chance (?))
Very Good - surprisingly good for novelty chocolates
Wt.: ~ .65 oz. (18.4 grams)/5.1 oz. (144 grams) total pkg./box
Calories: ~ 97.5 calories for 4 pieces
Cost: $9.99 for total package (~ 33 pieces of chocolate?)
Purchased from: Walgreens, in Palo Alto, CA

This week I'm focusing on chocolate high finance. Given the state of our economy, it's possible that chocolate is worth more (pound for pound) than certain real estate properties.

Today I ate Park Avenue -- and Reading Railroad, Pacific Avenue and a Chance (?) -- properties valued at ~ $950. Gamesformotion in the Netherlands makes a chocolate edition or version of the famous board game, Monopoly. This Chocolate Monopoly box/set also comes with a game "board" and spinner, so you can play a game with the chocolate pieces (provided it's not a very hot day). Also, property and chance cards tend to disappear before you are half-way through the game.

ChocolateBet: March 2, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
3 coins
Blue Frog Chocolates
Mardi Gras Chocolate Doubloons (wrapped in purple, green, gold and silver foil)
Very Good +
Wt.: ~ .73 oz. (20.6 g.)/~4.85 oz. (137.5 g.) in total package of 20 chocolate coins
Calories: ~ 109.5 calories for 3 coins
Cost: $ 10 for pkg of 20 doubloons/coins
Purchased from: Blue Frog Chocolates (online order), in New Orleans, LA

Happy very belated Mardis Gras all. This week I thought I would focus on chocolate money. These Blue Frog coins were surprisingly good. (I tried the purple, green and gold ones.) Perhaps my expectations were too low for chocolate coinage.

Also, Blue Frog, I salute your creativity! Hailing from New Orleans, the city so affected by Hurricane Katrina a few years ago, the company has incorporated humor in some of their chocolate offerings, such as the "FEMA Approved Blue Roof Houses" (I ordered one) and the "Hurricane Katrina Trash Piles" (which, sadly, was pictured on their site, but is no longer available). And, I enjoyed their claim that chocolate is "nature's way of making up for okra"...This is funny; however, I actually like okra, especially okra pickles. I haven't tried pickled okra with chocolate, yet.

ChocolateBet: March 1, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 serving
Chocorart
(Chocolate Organico Artesanal)
Mint
Good + - Very Good
Wt.: 30 grams (~1.06 oz.) in each of the six different pieces/flavors
Calories: ~ 155 calories (estimate)
Cost: $15.95 USD for total package of six different chocolates
Purchased from: Airport gift shop in San Juan, Costa Rica

Once again, an airport gift shop proved to be a great place to find some different local chocolates. Chocorart products, according to information I found on the web, come from an organic cacao plantation. The organic cacao farm and chocolate factory is near Playa Chiquita (just south of Puerto Viejo, on the Caribbean/east coast) in Costa Rica.

This mint chocolate was one in a package of six Chocoart flavors. I found these on the way out of Costa Rica at the end of a vacation. The consistency of these cigar-shaped chocolates was a bit different; they have just three ingredients: cacao, cane sugar, and flavoring (mint in this case). But the texture and taste grow on you.

ChocolateBet: February 28, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
2 oz.
Britt chocolates
Dark Chocolate covered Cocao Nibs
("Semillas de Cacao cubiertas de Chocolate Oscuro")
Very Good - Very Good +
Wt.: 2 oz. (56.6 grams)/6 oz. (170 grams) in total package
Calories: ~ 297 calories in 2 oz.
Cost: 3,539.82 c = ~ $6.43 for total pkg. (Orig. 4,000c = $7.26 USD)
Purchased from: Acacia Rosada gift shop in Hotel Bougainvillea, in San Jose/Heredia, Costa Rica