Taza - Coconut Crunch bar - Jan. 3, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Taza Chocolate
Coconut Crunch bar
Good
Weight: .85 oz. (24 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 128 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $2.25 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Weeks.

Today's certified organic*, dark chocolate (65% cacao), Coconut Crunch Tazito mini bar (one of five different flavors in this small bar line) from Taza Chocolate (Somerville, MA) was packed with stoneground chocolate and coconut flavor, and crunchy texture.

For those who prefer a very smooth, creamy ("European style") chocolate, stoneground and rustic chocolate can take a bit of getting used to. However, mixing this robust bean-to-bar chocolate with the crunchy texture of brown rice crisps (made from brown rice flour, sugar, molasses, sea salt) resulted in a good, complementary combination.

*This bar was labeled USDA Organic; Certified Gluten Free; Direct Trade; Soy and Dairy Free; and Pareve

RawRah - Raw Cacao Coconut Macaroon - Jan. 2, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

RawRah
Raw Cacao Coconut Macaroon(s)
Good - Good+
Weight: 1.2 oz. (33.96 g.) (estimate) for 1 package of 3 pieces
Calories: 150 calories (estimate) in 1 package of 3 pieces
Cost: N/A - gift
Purchased from: N/A - gift

Today was Day #2 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Weeks.

Coconut has become a popular choice for sweets and chocolate, especially in the raw and organic world. Today's package of 3 small Raw Cacao Coconut Macaroon(s) from RawRah (Thousand Oaks, CA) were tasty and slightly chewy.

Many commercial coconut macaroons are sticky sweet. These were sweetened with shredded dried coconut and a hint of maple syrup, rather than sugar. They were satisfying in texture and flavor (enhanced by the raw cacao) without being too sweet. I'd rather savor quality ingredients than experience a sugar buzz.

These raw cacao macaroons were produced by Joy Dupuis at RawRah. Thank you to Katy who passed these on to me!

Theo - Coconut Mint bar - Jan. 1, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Theo Chocolate
Coconut Mint bar
Good
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) in 1/2 bar / 3 oz. (85 g.) total bar
Calories: 229.5 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.00 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to Day #1 of 2014 (Happy New Year!) and the first day of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Weeks.

Coconut was a good choice for this month (January). First, a touch of shredded coconut may be the closest thing we could see to "snow" here in California this week. We're experiencing a drought. Second, coconut reminds me of warm tropical islands during cold mornings and evenings; and that is a good thing.

This Coconut Mint bar from Theo Chocolate (Seattle, WA) was warm and cool at the same time, if that's possible. The organic and fair trade (45% cacao) milk chocolate, and the tiny riot of embedded coconut shreds, contributed the warmth and a hint of caramel. And, a faint, natural menthol note communicated a whisper of cool mint. These two flavors are tough to blend successfully together, and Theo did a reasonably good job with this bar. 

Cocopotamus - Razzmanian Devil + Yo-Ho-Ho - Dec. 31, 2013

Chocolate(s) of the Day: 

NYDC Chocolate, LLC
Cocopotamus

1.) Razzmanian Devil
Good+ - Very Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) for 1 box of 5 pieces
Calories: 78 calories in 1 piece
Cost: $11.95 for 1 box of 5 pieces
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

2.) Yo-Ho-Ho 
Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) for 1 box of 5 pieces
Calories: 82 calories in 1 piece
Cost: $12.00 for 1 box of 5 pieces
Purchased from: Cocopotamus (website, online order)

Happy last day of 2013, and a Very Happy New Year's Eve to all. Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Holiday Spirits Theme Week.

Rather than go with champagne and chocolate, I opted for four "fs" -- feisty, fun, fantastic and fudge: Cocopotamus dark chocolate fudge balls, individually wrapped in festive foil, and infused with spirits.

The Cocopotamus Razzmanian Devil dark chocolate fudge balls were bouncing with delicious, sweet black raspberry and raspberry brandy flavor. And the Cocopotamus Yo-Ho-Ho fudge balls were infused with jolly shot of Caribbean rum, lightly frosted with a gold shimmer, and rolled in crunchy, sweet grains of caramel colored Turbinado sugar.

Here's a fifth "f": fearless. I hope you live joyfully and fearlessly in 2014. May all your dreams come true -- chocolate and otherwise.

TCHO Craft Bourbon truffles - Dec. 30, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

TCHO Ventures, Inc.
"Nutty" PureNotes + Woodford Reserve Craft Bourbon (truffle)
Very Good
Weight: .85 oz. (24 g.) (estimate for 2 pieces)
Calories: 127 calories (estimate) for 2 pieces
Cost: $5.00 for 2 pieces
Purchased from: TCHO, Pier 17, San Francisco, CA

TCHO was a leader in helping educate chocolate lovers about specific flavor notes that could be coaxed from cacao beans from various origins. They created (and still offer) four basic PureNote dark bars: "Citrus," "Nutty," "Chocolatey" and "Fruity" -- so named because of flavor notes that are present with certain beans.

More recently, the company has branched out into different products, and this last year decided to produce a limited number of confections. In the display case of their shop in San Francisco, were four different flavors -- one that corresponded to each of their four basic flavor groupings, available by the piece. Each confection/truffle was paired with complementary flavor additions.

Today's dark truffle used TCHO's PureNotes dark "nutty*" 65% cacao chocolate as a base, made with beans from Ecuador. (This chocolate was described as having hints of roasted nuts, espresso and toasted malt.) It paired very nicely with a touch of spirits, a great choice for the winter holidays. The smooth, dark ganache (filling) was infused with Woodford Reserve Craft Bourbon (Versailles, KY).

*Note: "Nutty" describes a flavor profile. There are no nuts in this blend.

Cocopotamus - Humpty Eggnog truffles - Dec. 29, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

NYDC Chocolate, LLC
Cocopotamus
Humpty - Eggnog + Brandy Caramel Fudge Truffles
Good
Weight: .5 oz. (14 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) total mesh bag of 5 pieces
Calories: 78 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $12.00 in 1 bag
Purchased from: NYDC Chocolate (online order)

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Holiday Spirits Theme Week.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall, Humpty Dumpty had a great fall...Well, he wouldn't have survived long, even if the king's men had found him, because he was eaten.

Nursery rhymes can be pretty grim, can't they. But, today's chocolate Humpty was definitely on the sweeter side.

Today's "Humpty" Eggnog + Brandy Caramel Fudge Truffle was part of the Cocopotamus chocolate family from NYDC Chocolate (Albuquerque, NM), the creation of Max and Ally Sinclair. These gluten-free, fudge and caramel filled truffles, with brandy flavoring, were covered with chocolate and decorated with a light golden eggnog colored icing swirl.

Individually wrapped in gold foil, five of these Humpty truffles were nestled inside a shiny mesh bag, tied with a slender white ribbon. As noted on the label, Cocopotamus truffles have also been included in celebrity gift bags at high-profile awards events: "Oscars, Golden Globe, Emmys." Packaged as they were, they made an attractive small gift.

Taza - Spiked Eggnog chocolate - Dec. 28, 2013

Chocolate of the Day: 

Taza Chocolate
Dark Spiked Eggnog
Good - Good +
Weight: .675 oz. (19.25 g.) / 2.7 oz. (77 g.) total package
Calories: 101 calories (estimate) in 4 wedge serving (1/4 package)
Cost: N/A - sample
Purchased from: N/A - sample from Taza

Today was Day #4 of Chocolate and Holiday Spirits Theme Week.

Taza Chocolate's Chocolate Mexicano Disc line included many different flavors. A seasonal favorite, the Dark Chocolate (55% Dominican cacao) Spiked Eggnog offering, blended stoneground chocolate with eggnog flavors (essence of rum, spices) for a holiday twist on a cold weather favorite. The Eggnog was labeled as a "Winter Warmer" flavor.

Break off the desired number of chocolate wedges; and stir them into a small mug of very hot water until they're fully dissolved. Or you could add some hot milk and grate some fresh nutmeg over the top. Either way, these wedges make an authentic-tasting, flavorful drinking chocolate.