ChocolateBet: July 8, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 bar
Trader Joe's
Lumpy Bumpy bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 2 oz. (57 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 290 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $1.99
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, in Menlo Park, CA

The Lumpy Bumpy bar. What a great name; and there were, in fact, a few random lumps (peanuts) in the dark chocolate coating that surrounded a caramel and peanut nougat filling. I realize some people cut a chocolate bar with a knife to show a nice clean cross-section. But, this image (right) is closer to what you might see if you enjoy this bar like a real human might.

ChocolateBet: July 7, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 piece
Monique's Chocolates
Hawaii - Dark 55% Waialua
Very Good
Weight: .45 oz. (12.7 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 66 calories (estimate)
Cost: $2.00
Purchased from: Monique's Chocolates, in downtown Palo Alto, CA

This single origin dark truffle (shown at right) from Monique's Chocolates was made from cacao grown on an old Dole pineapple plantation in Hawaii. The taste was rich and smooth; and the texture was fine, but perhaps a bit on the stiff side. (The trick was to warm this truffle slightly - so the ganache (filling) was nice and velvety.)

ChocolateBet: July 6, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1 truffle
Monique's Chocolates
Bolivia - Dark 68% truffle
Very Good  - Very Good +
Weight: .45 (12.7 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 65 calories (estimate)
Cost: $2.00 for 1 truffle
Purchased from: Monique's Chocolates, in Palo Alto, CA

My choice for Day #7 of Chocolate and Single Origin Week (with an emphasis on chocolates from South America) was this 68% dark truffle from Bolivia. It had clear and pleasant notes for a dark chocolate, and was apparently made from a strain of wild cacao trees that had been fenced in and allowed to grow. There are many interesting stories that come with single origin and/or single plantation chocolates. And, the more ingredients that are mixed together, the more stories. Thank you also to the (more local) cows who contributed the nice cream for these truffles, and to Monique's Chocolates for skillful blending of ingredients from so many different parts of the world.

ChocolateBet: July 5, 2010

Chocolate(s) of the Day:
2 truffles
Monique's Chocolates
1.) Columbia 70% - Very Good
2.) Brazil (Santarem) 65% - Very Good + - Yum
Weight: ~.9 oz. (25.47 g.) (estimate for 2 pcs.)
Calories: 131 calories (estimate)
Cost: $4.00 for 2 truffles
Purchased from: Monique's Chocolates, in downtown Palo Alto, CA

To celebrate Day #6 of Chocolate and Single Origin Theme Week, I visited Monique's Chocolates, a shop with a nice selection of single origin and blended chocolate truffles. The 70% Columbia truffle was nice and smooth. However, my favorite was the 65% truffle (made with cacao) from Brazil. This dark truffle (pictured above right, with green pattern on top) had wonderful smoky and earthy notes. Thank you to the owners and staff at Monique's for making some helpful suggestions, and answering questions about chocolate suppliers and origin stories.

ChocolateBet: July 4, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:

3/4 bar
Trader Joe's
The Dark Chocolate Lover's Chocolate Bar - 85% Cacao (Columbia)
Very Good +
Weight: 1.31 oz. (37.5 g.) = 3/4 of 1 (1.75 oz.) bar/ 3.5 oz. (100g) in total package of 2 bars
Calories: 189 calories (estimate) 3/4 of 1 bar
Cost: $1.49 for package of 2 bars
Purchased from: Trader Joe's, in Menlo Park, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Single Origin Theme Week.

It's hard to beat Trader Joe's for interesting single origin chocolate bars, offered at a reasonable price. What a great South American chocolate geography lesson this week has been. After exploring chocolates from Ecuador for the past few days, I moved over to Columbia today. This Trader Joe's 85% cacao dark bar -- advertised as "smooth and fruity" (with a light, pleasant root beer-like note at the beginning I'd add) --  came from the Tumaco (Pacific Coastal) Region of Columbia.

ChocolateBet: July 3, 2010

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

1/12 (each) of 2 bars
Vintage Plantations

1.) 90% Dark bar - Very Good
Weight: .29 oz. (8.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 42 calories (estimate)
Cost: $ (not available)
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

2.) 100% Dark bar - Very Good
Weight: .29 oz. (8.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 44 calories (estimate)
Cost: $ (not available)
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, in Palo Alto, CA

Both these bars contained cacao that was processed in Ecuador. I enjoy tasting low or no sugar chocolates. It's easier to detect the flavors inherent in the chocolate itself. After tasting these truly dark bars, I went back and re-tasted a bit of yesterday's (Republica del Cacao) 67% bar from Ecuador -- which tasted like a spritely milk chocolate bar in comparison to its darker compatriots.

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Single Origin Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: July 2, 2010

Chocolate of the Day:
1/3 bar
Republica del Cacao
Single Origin Dark Chocolate Bar - Ecuador
Very Good - Very Good +
Weight: .586 oz. (9.3 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) total bar
Calories: 85 calories (estimate)
Cost: $misplaced info
Purchased from: misplaced info

Part of the fun of single origin bars is the story that comes with the chocolate. For the last two days, I tasted single origin chocolates from Venezuela; and now I've moved southwest to Ecuador. This particular 67% (cacao solids) bar was made from Arriba cacao beans from the Del Oro province, near the coast of Ecuador. The bar's label states that the chocolate was harvested and produced in Ecuador.

And now for the story part: According to the packaging, "The origin of (the name) 'Arriba' goes back to the XIX century, when a Swiss Chocolatier, traveling on the Guayas River (in Ecuador), impressed by the aroma, asked workmen unloading cacao sacks from a boat, where does the cacao aroma come from? They answered 'de rio arriba' or 'from up the river.'"

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Single Origin Theme Week, with a focus on South America.