ChocolateBet: October 6, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 bar
MaryJanesFarm
"Ginger Jive" bar
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 grams) in 1 bar
Calories: 193 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $3.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: REI, in San Carlos, CA

I picked up some tasty shrimp and mushroom take-out food from Chinatown last night (in San Francisco, on the way home from a trip up north). There was just the right touch of ginger. This dish inspired me to try this dark chocolate (66% cacao) organic bar with crystallized ginger. Also, I like smaller bars like this. (I'm not always able to share leftover chocolate with others, so I hate the thought of wasting extra chocolate often left from larger 3 oz. bars.)

ChocolateBet: October 5, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 bar
Green & Black's Chocolate Ltd.
Very Good + - Yum
Weight: 3.5 oz. (100 grams) in 1 bar
Calories: ~ 520 calories (estimate)
Cost: $3.79
Purchased from: Gualala Supermarket, in Gualala, CA

Good, professional execution on texture, ingredients, and taste is the way I would describe this organic, dark chocolate bar. The bar tasted freshly made as well, which always helps.

And where is Gualala you might ask? (It is a small town on the Pacific Ocean, a few hours North of San Francisco.)

ChocolateBet: October 4, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Sonoma Chocolatiers
Spicy Peanut Butter
Very Good
Weight: ~.6 oz. (17 g.) in 1 piece
Calories: ~ 90 calories (estimate)
Cost: $2.20
Purchased from: Infusions Tea House, Sebastopol, CA

The Infusions Tea House carries several interesting flavored chocolates from Sonoma Chocolatiers (and a few from Love Bird Chocolates). This individual Spicy Peanut Butter chocolate has a ganache (filling) made with 62% cacao and peanut butter. (If you're looking for a Reese's style peanut butter center, this is not it. It's more dark cacao than peanut butter.) The ganache is surrounded by a 75% cacao coating, and finally rolled in chopped peanuts. The hot, spicy flavor is more of a slight aftertaste than a full-on burn.

Note: the image above is from the Sonoma Chocolatiers website: http://sonomachocolatiers.com/flavors

ChocolateBet: October 3, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1/2 bar
Choco-Lina
Sheep Milk Chocolate bar
Good +
Weight: 1.51 oz. (45 grams)/3.17 oz. (90 g.) in total bar
Calories: 226 calories (estimate)
Cost: $7.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Chocolate Covered, in San Francisco, CA

The actual name for this bar from Vienna, Austria, is "Schafmilchschokolade" (Sheep Milk Chocolate). I am always impressed when I see words this long. I couldn't really detect any strong sheep milk taste. However, milk chocolate can be very sweet, and this sweetness can mask flavors almost as well as the taste of very dark chocolate. I liked the individual sheep stamped in each square of the chocolate bar.

Today's chocolate choice was inspired by a trip I'm making today up to The Sea Ranch, along the Northern California Coast. Grassy fields that once held sheep now contain (mostly vacation/second) homes, and occasionally small groups of deer. Although there were small design concessions made to honor a sheep ranch past. The Sea Ranch logo is based on a ram's horns, and unpainted wood siding on homes seems like a nod to old sheep ranch structures. Digression: I have yet to hear about any deer milk chocolate, although I would not be surprised to hear that someone, somewhere in the world is considering this. Maybe reindeer milk?

Note: Chocolate eating will continue while I'm gone for the next several days, but posting will be delayed, due to lack of Internet connectivity.

ChocolateBet: October 2, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 Tall Espresso Drink
Starbucks
Caffe Mocha Latte
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 12 oz.
Calories: 200 calories in 1 tall, no whipped cream
Cost: $3.00
Purchased from: Starbucks, in Menlo Park, CA

It's that time. The weather is cooling down and I ordered one of my first hot lattes of the season at Starbucks. I'm happy to report that there were even two beverages/flavors (with chocolate) that I haven't tried there yet. Hurray.

Apparently, today, October 2, is also "Name Your Car Day." My apologies to those who are tired of my zany holidays month....But, so many of these strange holidays seem to have the potential for chocolate tie-ins, I couldn't resist. I hereby name my car, "The Chocolate Wagon."

ChocolateBet: October 1, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1 bar
Tree Huggin' Treats
Crispy Cat - Toasted Almond (Dark Chocolate) bar
Very Good
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 grams) in 1 bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $2.39
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, in Cupertino, CA

This dairy-free and gluten-free bar and is, according to their web site, 95% organic. I liked the fact that it was not too sweet. Agave syrup is used as a sweetener. It's gotten a little easier to find a decent tasting gluten-free health or granola-type bar. I'm looking forward to trying the two other Crispy Cat bar flavors.

ChocolateBet: September 30, 2009

Chocolate of the Day:
1/2 bar
Equal Exchange Chocolates
"Organic (& fairly traded) Mint Chocolate" bar
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: 1.75 oz. (49.5 g.)/3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: ~262 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $?
Purchased from: Global Exchange Fair Trade Store, on 24th St., Noe Valley, San Francisco, CA

This dark chocolate bar (with 67% cacao content) had a slightly crunchy texture from peppermint and vanilla beans, which worked.

Switching to strange holidays...September 30 is (according to holidayinsights site) National Mud Pack day. So, my daughter and I applied a packet of Masque Chocolat to our faces. Mud never smelled so good. This followed a stroll along San Francisco Bay with a friend and her dog, Sadie -- who supplied her owner with a few extra spots of mud, at no charge. She's a smart dog.