Five Star - Ocho Coconut bar - January 20, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

Five Star Organics LLC
Ocho Candy - Coconut Bar
Good +
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 210 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $1.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Dark chocolate and coconut have long been paired together*. Today's Organic Coconut Bar covered in dark chocolate was slightly different than, but similar to, a Peter Paul Mounds bar (owned by Hershey's) -- a product that debuted around 1920.

In the last several years, chocolatiers such as Five Star Organics LLC, also known as Ocho Candy (Lafayette, CA), have been busy re-making the traditional chocolate candy bar, generally by leaving out artificial colors and flavoring agents, and favoring higher quality ingredients. This Coconut Bar is one of several different organic bars in the company's line-up.

This bar was sweet (from organic sugar), although the smooth, dark chocolate coating helped act as a counterweight to the sweetened coconut center.

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

*Regionally popular (in the Northeast U.S.), Maine Needhams may date back to the 1870s.

Scream Sorbet - Coconut Chocolate sorbet - January 19, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Scream Sorbet
Coconut Chocolate sorbet
Good +
Weight: .1 oz. (2.8 g.) (estimate)
Calories: 10 calories (estimate)
Cost: $N/A - taste
Purchased from: Scream Sorbet, San Francisco Ferry Building, SF, CA

What was better than attending the Good Food Award Winners marketplace tasting, at the SF Ferry Building, this morning?

...Seeing a sign for Scream Sorbet (Oakland, CA), a regular at the Saturday morning farmers market outside at this same location. I've visited the Scream Sorbet storefront in Oakland, with a two coolers in tow, to take various exotic, fresh flavors home. (Hazelnut Chocolate, Fennel Citrus, Lemon Beet, others). Happily, the company also sells (12 oz. containers and cups of sorbet) at farmers markets in the Bay Area.

Flavors listed on the chalkboard for today included Coconut Chocolate, a new one for me. Perfect for Day #5 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

Since I was on the go today (and far away from a refrigerator or freezer), I settled for a small tasting spoon's worth of lovely, creamy chocolat sorbet flavored with coconut.

As I was savoring this little lump of goodness on my tiny white spoon, others queued up for some cups of sorbet. Some were quite certain they'd received ice cream instead. Easy mistake to make. However, there were no dairy or eggs in this wonderful frozen line.

sweetriot - Dark Chocolate with Coconut bar - January 18, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

sweetriot, Inc.
Pure 70% Dark Chocolate with Kickin' Coconut bar
Good
Weight: .7 oz. (20 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 126 calories in 1/5 bar
Cost: $5.50 total bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Strawberry Village, Mill Valley, CA

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

Sarah and the rioters, of sweetriot (New York, NY), wanted to create a company that would change the world. So, care was taken to support and source fair trade, organic chocolate from Latin America, as well as organic fair trade vanilla extract, and organic dried coconut - a veritable riot of little shreds in each bite of this dark (minimum 70% cocoa solids) bar.

This Kickin' Coconut bar was kosher, vegan, and contained no gluten or dairy ingredients. And, as an added mindful flourish -- bar packaging contained reproductions of original artwork from "emerging artists" (in this case a painting by artist, Claudia Capelle. (See also www.sweetriot.com/art for additional colorful works of art by various artists.)

The bittersweet chocolate tasted much sweeter than 70% (cocoa solids) in part because of the high coconut content (18%). In many cases, dark chocolate will dominate other flavors and inclusions in bars or confections. However, in this case, the coconut riot was swirling around my taste buds.

Theo Chocolate - Toasted Coconut Dark bar - January 17, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

Theo Chocolate
Toasted Coconut Dark Chocolate bar
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 3 oz. (84 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1/3 bar
Cost: $4.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organics, Strawberry Village, Mill Valley, CA

Today was Day #3 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week. I was delighted to find three different coconut bars at a new shop (SweetE Organic) in Marin County, while on a Bay Walk recently. I'm always happy to see more options for organic, fair trade and gluten-free treats.

Today's chocolate was a Toasted Coconut dark chocolate bar from Theo Chocolate (Seattle, WA). Theo helped pioneer organic, fair trade, bean-to-bar chocolate making in the U.S. and they offer a line of different bars with inclusions (like coconut, or cacao nibs), made with beans from Peru, Ecuador and the Democratic Republic of Congo. And, if you'd like to know more about their story and making chocolate -- and you live in the Seattle area -- you can sign up for Theo Chocolate University* courses.

*Note: Chocolate Universities are popping up all over, a sign of renewed, and increased interest in chocolate making and fine chocolate, over the past decade. Related sites include Chocolate University Online; the Hershey's sponsored  All Chocolate site; and Askinosie Chocolate University, (.org) designed to benefit children near the Askinosie factory.

I liked today's Toasted Coconut, dark (70% cacao) bar, but it had a slightly bitter aftertaste. The small pieces of toasted coconut in the bar were very pleasing (almost sesame seed-like in size, texture and flavor), and the bar was not heavily sweetened (which I generally prefer). Not wanting to add more sweetener (although I contemplated trying a bit of coconut palm sugar), I neutralized the "bitter" taste by eating this chocolate with a tiny pinch of sea salt -- and imagined myself on a sunny tropical white sand beach with salty sea air and coconut trees (instead of sitting in front of a digital hearth (laptop) on a cold winter day). Then, all was well. 

Digression about Taste Buds, Bitter Flavors
The tongue is like a painter's palette -- with our "colors" being our taste receptors for sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami, etc. The right mixture of colors and textures will create a painting that is pleasing to the eye; but just as preferences for art will vary, so will tastes in food, drink and chocolate.

Most people are sensitive to bitter flavors. Bitter substances such as tannins (in red wine), or hops (in beer), or certain compounds in chocolate, help balance out sweet or fruity flavors, or round out a tasting experience. Others, particularly "super tasters" may not care for bitter flavors in general. Does this help explain why some people don't like dark chocolate? Perhaps. But, I've had 90%+ cacao bars that were surprisingly mellow; so the cacao beans, and how beans are fermented, roasted and turned into chocolate play a role in the final product as well.

What one eats before or with chocolate can also affect the tasting experience. A garlic pasta, or strong cheese, can shift flavors of other foods, as could a wine. In this case, I sampled this bar with only water -- and, later, salt.

Indahphoria - Coconut Nectar bar - January 16, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:

Indahphoria Chocolate
Coconut Nectar bar
Very Good
Weight: .625 oz. (17.5 g.) / 1.25 oz. (35 g.) total bar
Calories: 93 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $N/A - part of a larger package
Purchased from: online

Today was the second day of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

This Coconut Nectar bar from Indahphoria Chocolate (Bend, OR) was vegan, gluten free, soy free and dairy free.

Anyone leery of a bar with so many "withouts?" No need for concern. Made of coconut milk chocolate (65% cacao), this organic and fair trade, smooth and rich dark bar had great flavor overall, with just the right amount of acidity (citrus fruit notes) to balance the sweet (coconut sugar). The coconut flavor was subtle; one side of the bar was sprinkled with coconut shreds; the other side was imprinted with the Indahphoria logo (a ship tethered to either a large kite sail or hot air ballon). I look forward to trying other Indahphoria bars in the future.

Fiorello's - Coconut Almond Chip Gelato - January 15, 2013

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Fiorello's
Coconut Almond Chip Gelato
Good
Weight: 1/2 cup (115 g.) serving/ 1 Pint (473 mL) container
Calories: 330 calories in 1/2 cup serving
Cost: $7.99 for 1 Pint
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today marked Day #1 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week. While the popularity of the coconut seems to wax and wane in haute cuisine, there seemed to be a bounty of coconut and chocolate items available in bar, truffle and many other forms.

Cool coconut 

Today's first chocolate choice came straight from my freezer -- a scoop of Coconut Almond Chip gelato from Fiorello's (San Rafael, CA).

According to the label, 1/2 cup of this gelato clocked in at 330 calories, probably due to its dense cream base, coconut cream and egg yolks. It was rich enough that I left off the fudge topping, and opted for chopped, roasted, unsalted almonds instead. The chocolate chips/flakes embedded in this gelato added some subtle chocolate flavor that helped balance the cream and coconut.

And to warm things up...

Later in the evening I sampled two Coconut Rum truffles (pictured at right) with a chocolate ganache interior, and a white chocolate and tropical orange exterior, from Laderach's truffle and praline collection. I enjoyed their festive color and crescent shape, as well as just a hint of rum flavor. 

Wonka - Chipperberry Swirl ice cream - January 14, 2013

Chocolate of the Day:


Dreyer's / Nestle
Wonka - Chipperberry Swirl ice cream
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1/4 cup (43.5 g.) serving/ 14 oz. (414 mL) container
Calories: 105 calories in 1/4 cup
Cost: $3.99 (estimate)
Purchased from: Safeway, in Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate, Seeds and Berries Theme Week.

It was a frosty January day today, but the sun was shining. So it seemed like a good day for some ice cream. Wonka Chipperberry Swirl -- black raspberry and vanilla ice cream with chocolatey chips, from Dreyer's Grand Ice Cream (Oakland, CA) -- to be precise.

Designed to sit, and be read, upside down, this Wonka just-shy-of-a-pint-size-container was covered with snazzy berry colored swirls. The ice cream inside was a more soothing and edible version of this swirl pattern, with authentic tasting black raspberry and vanilla ice cream -- the kind I remember from childhood, peppered with small chocolate flecks.

Topped with fresh berries, and a few sunflower and pumpkin seeds, and I was ready to call this dessert.