ChocolateBet: February 24, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Yes Cacao
Gaba 13 bar
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31 g.) total bar
Calories: 179 calories (guesstimate)
Cost: $5.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Yes Cacao (Justin Frank Polgar)

I ate this surprising Yes Cacao Gaba 13 bar for breakfast early this morning. And I felt rather calm and relaxed afterward, even as I hurtled myself out the door and into my car to drive to the office. Who was driving? A more relaxed and focused version of my normal commuter self. Maybe it was the Turmeric and Coriander? Or, the Kava? Or, the Blue Lotus? There were thirteen interesting ingredients in all. Or the lovely blue skies and trees in bloom outside? Who can say. I did enjoy nibbling on this rich tasting (it contained cocoa butter and coconut butter) chocolate bar as my morning meal.

Yes Cacao owner, Justin Polgar, also known as a minister of chocolate, advises that people make a wish before biting into one of his Yes bars. Or, you could engrave your wish on the bar with a toothpick, in the area within the decorative border, before you take a bite. I'll have to try that next time.

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate Surprise Theme Week.

ChocolateBet: February 23, 2012

Chocolate of the Day: 

Yes Cacao

1.) Om Mama bar
Good +
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 218 calories
Cost: $5.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Yes Cacao (Justin Frank Polgar)

1.) Karamellowl bar
Good+
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 184 calories
Cost: $5.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Yes Cacao (Justin Frank Polgar)


Today was Day #2 of Chocolate Surprise Theme Week.

These two bars were made in California by Yes Cacao. Each was infused with an interesting and, yes, surprising, mixture of herbs, seeds, organic and "wild-crafted" ingredients, honed down to a fine particle size elixir. So you won't be crunching down on any identifiable pieces of leaves or seeds. Lower levels of sweetener allowed me to more easily taste the flavors, although I was hard-pressed to guess what was in the mix until I read the labels. Lacuma, maca, yacon, and much more.

I liked the 1.1 oz (31 g.) bar size, and the design. The mold used for these bars created an open space with a border around it -- plenty of room to fill in your own chocolate story or wish.

The Om Mama bar was crafted with Chinese herbs, lemon oil and poppy seed, and many other ingredients, creating a "raw, vegan, organic elixir" that was designed to balance hormones to bring "peace of body, mind, and soul" for women and men. It had a very slight bitter taste to it, and an array of other interesting flavor notes.

"Formulated to quicken recall memory and bring into focus our peripheral vision, the Karamellowl bar is Yes Cacao’s first 'white chocolate' bar." The dark golden color, comes from turmeric -- and maybe the Lion's Mane mushrooms, the cinnamon and/or the sage.

For more about these and other bars, go to Yes Cacao. Custom formulations may also be available.

ChocolateBet: February 22, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Sir Francis Bacon
Chocolate Peanut Brittle
Very Good
Weight: 3 oz. (85 g.) total box
Calories: 450 calories (estimate)
Cost: $N/A - sample
Purchased from: N/A - The National Peanut Board table, Fancy Food Show, San Francisco, CA

Surprise! That is to say, welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate Surprise Theme Week.

I discovered today's entry while making my way through the packed aisles of the Fancy Food Show in San Francisco recently. The folks at the National Peanut Board table were very helpful, and introduced me to a few of peanut and chocolate products I hadn't tried.

These generous squares of Sir Francis Bacon Chocolate Peanut Brittle were sweet-and-savory-tasty with a bacon and crunchy brittle center, a 32% milk chocolate coating, and  a dusting of peanut pieces.

ChocolateBet: February 22, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Give Bars, LLC
Two Degrees Chocolate Peanut Food Bar
Good +
Weight: 1.6 oz. (44 g.) total bar
Calories: 190 calories
Cost: $ (info not available)
Purchased from: Whole Foods, Cupertino, CA

Today was the last day (Day #7) of Chocolate and Seed Theme Week.

Give Bars, LLC (San Francisco, CA) offered a line of several Two Degrees bars. This Chocolate Peanut Food Bar incorporated Quinoa, Chia and Millet seeds. Again, as yesterday, there was a very thin layer of gel around the Chia seeds, barely detectable when packaged with other flavorful ingredients such as chocolate, prune puree, raisins, sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, rice syrup and peanuts and peanut butter.  This healthy vegan option with heritage grains was a far cry from commonly sold chocolate and peanut butter candy options, and very satisfying. 

ChocolateBet: February 20, 2012

Chocolate of the Day:

Fearless Chocolate
Super Seeds! Hemp Chia Flax bar
Good+
Weight:.8 oz. (22.64 g.) / 2 oz. (56.7 g.) total bar
Calories: 97 calories
Cost: $6.49 total bar
Purchased from: Alameda Natural Grocery, Alameda, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Seeds Theme Week. This raw, organic Super Seeds! dark chocolate (70% cacao) bar from Fearless Chocolate (San Francisco/Oakland) incorporated three different types of seeds: hemp, chia and flax. Each type of seed added a slightly different texture and taste. The base dark chocolate tasted rich and complex up front with a relatively hard snap; and it had a mild finish with a few seed notes trailing after the chocolate flavor had subsided.

Remember those chia pets -- with the little green sprouts growing as "hair" or "fur" out of clay/ceramic heads and animals? Well, chia seeds are also edible, and they have a slightly nut-like taste and gel-like textural quality that you may detect if you eat enough of them. All three seeds in this bar are reputed to have beneficial nutritional properties on top of those found in raw dark chocolate.

What does raw chocolate mean? Fearless crafted this bar (and others in their product line) from unroasted cacao, and with low heat under 118 degrees, to help preserve nutritional, mineral and anti-oxidant content that might be otherwise lost in conventional processing.

ChocolateBet: February 19, 2012

 

Chocolate of the Day:

NewTree
Flax bar
Good+
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 119 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $ (not available)
Purchased from: Piazzas Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Seeds Theme Week.
This dark (65% cocoa solids) bar from NewTree (San Anselmo, CA/Belgium) with toasted, golden flaxseeds and crisped rice was a perfect single serving, snack-sized bar. 

ChocolateBet: February 18, 2012

Chocolate(s) of the Day:


1.) Landgarten
Pumpkin Choco-Snack
Good - Good+
Weight: 1.9 oz. (53.7 g.) in 1 package
Calories: 306 calories
Cost: $1.99
Purchased from: N/A - gift - Thank you Megan!

2.) Gnosis Chocolate
Passion Collection - Set of 3 pieces
Cupuacu truffle
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 148 calories (estimate)
Cost: $10.49 for 3-pc box
Purchased from: Gnosis Chocolate, New York, NY

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Seed Theme Week.

Yesterday I enjoyed the dark chocolate version of Pumpkin Choco-Snack(s) from Landgarten (Austria). Today, I sampled the company's milk Pumpkin Choco-Snack flavor -- roasted pumpkin seeds covered with 37% Belgian milk chocolate. No surprise, this version was quite a bit sweeter; it also had a slightly floral taste. You could still taste the pumpkin seeds though -- a definite plus.

I also tried the Cupuacu (aka Cupassao, and many other spellings) truffle from Gnosis Chocolate, one of a three-piece "Passion Truffle Collection" package that also included Wild Rose (made with white chocolate and topped with a rose petal), and Cherry Vanilla.

The Cupuacu is a tropical fruit that is a relative of the cacao tree. There is more fruit surrounding the seeds in a Cupuacu fruit than what can be found in cacao fruit (pods), and the seeds have a slightly different flavor. However, there are a few chocolate makers experimenting with making Cupuacu confections (e.g. Nat at Madre Chocolate in Hawaii) and making bars and truffles with it.

This Gnosis Cupuacu truffle also contained passion fruit -- and had a slightly smokey and mildly tart passion fruit flavor. These Gnosis truffles were made with no refined sugar, dairy, gluten or peanuts. They did contain cashew butter.