Barlovento - 80% bar with dried cherries - Feb. 15, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

Barlovento Chocolates
80% Extra Dark Chocolate Bar with Dried Cherries
Good +
Weight: .7 oz. (19.8 g.) / 3.5 oz. (99 g.) in total bar
Calories: 105 calories in 1/5 bar
Cost: $7.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Barlovento Chocolates, Palo Alto Farmers Market

Today was Day #11 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Weeks.

This extra dark beauty from Barlovento Chocolates (Oakland, CA) was crafted from 80% Venezuelan chocolate.

The back side of this bar was covered with neat rows of dried, moist cherries from Hidden Star Orchards (Clements, CA). I could smell the rich, natural aromas from this bar as soon as I lifted up the gold foil wrapping. Each square packed in satisfying chocolate and cherry flavor.

Bixby - Heart's Delight bar - Feb. 14, 2014

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

Chocolate Cherry Cocktail
Made with: Talenti Black Cherry gelato

Bixby and Co.
Heart's Delight
Good
Weight: .75 oz. (21.2 g.) / 1.5 oz. (42.45 g.) total bar
Calories: 110 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Abe's Market (online order)

Hope you all had a great Valentines Day. I decided to keep it simple -- a modified Chocolate Gatail (cocktail with dark rum, cherry brandy and creme de cacao) and 1/2 of a Heart's Delight bar from Bixby and Co. (Belfast, ME).

The Heart's Delight bar was jammed with large pieces of dried strawberries, and bits of almond, giving the dark chocolate (72%) bar, with a very mild hint of Ceylon Cinnamon, a slightly chewy texture.

Today was Day #10 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Weeks, and the sight of cherry and other fruit tree blossoms against blue sky was a lovely reminder that Spring was already waiting in the wings.

Kind - Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew bar - Feb. 13, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

Kind, LLC
Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 180 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $1.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

Today was Day #9 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Week.

The Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew bar from Kind, LLC (New York, NY) was a perfect choice for Valentines Day Eve. It was a healthy amalgam of dark chocolate, sweet/tart dried cherries, crunchy nuts (almonds, cashews and peanuts), and all good. The gluten free, low sodium bar was also a welcome break from solid chocolate and candy hearts.

Sugar, a touch of honey, glucose, and a few raisins and dried cranberries sweetened up this bar, and yet, surprisingly, it didn't seem overly so. The nuts and fiber helped balance the sweetness level.

Not all the Kind bars are drizzled with dark chocolate, but I've relished all the company's fruit and nut bars I've tasted so far. These gluten-free, Non-GMO bars were easy to tuck into a pocket, or pocketbook, for a snack on the go.

Theo Chocolate - My Cherry Baby bar - Feb. 12, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

Theo Chocolate
My Cherry Baby bar
Good + - Very Good
Weight: 3 oz. (85 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 440 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $3.69 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

Today was Day #8 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Weeks.

Two great Limited Edition bars for Valentines Day from Theo Chocolate (Seattle, WA):

1.) Today's My Cherry Baby 45% Milk Chocolate bar
2.) The Cinnamon Love Crunch 70% Dark Chocolate bar (that I'll feature later)

Both bars were made from organic and fair trade ingredients.

The Cherry Baby bar was devilishly good. The kind of creamy, tasty milk chocolate, enhanced with natural cherry bits, that gets gobbled up gleefully and quickly. So beware all virtual eaters, and dieters out there. You may be tempted to fall off the wagon, just a little.

Happy Valentines Day Week to all.

Bohme - Cherry and Brandy Filled Chocolates - Feb. 11, 2014

Chocolate of the Day:

Delitzscher Schokoladenfabrik GmbH
Weinbrand Kirschen
Good+
Weight: .353 oz. (10 g.) / 5.3 oz. (150 g.) total box of 15 pieces
Calories: 42.5 calories in 1 piece
Cost: $3.90 for 1 box of 15 pieces
Purchased from: Gourmet Haus Staudt (store), Redwood City, CA

Today was Day #7 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Weeks.

It was cold this evening -- a good opportunity for a hot brandy with Kirsch (cherry brandy), and a German Bohme Weinbrand Kirschen -- a Cherry and Brandy Filled Chocolate.

A simple drink + dessert, with a pleasing flavor combination.

Coco Polo - 70% Cherries bar - Feb. 10, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Coco Polo
70% Cocoa - Cherries bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35.4 g.)
Calories: 170 calories (per label) for 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Today was Day #6 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Weeks.

The 70% cocoa, smooth dark chocolate "Cherries" bar from Coco Polo (New Brunswick, NJ) was sweetened with Stevia (Non-GMO Reb A*), and dotted with a generous smattering of dried, tart Montmorency cherries.

The company also included some non-GMO Erythritol as a secondary sweetener (which can be easier to digest than Maltitol, Xylitol or Sorbitol).

This bar was gluten-free, but did contain some non-GMO soy lecithin.

*Reb A is an extract of stevia

Tonic Scene - Wild Cherry bar - Feb. 9, 2014

Chocolate of the Day: 

Tonic Scene Company
Wild Cherry bar
Good
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 181 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $3.79 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Today was Day #5 of Chocolate and Cherry Theme Weeks. (There are so many chocolate + cherry items that I'll be extending this theme week to two weeks.)

Tonic Scene Company (Dana Point, CA) is a relatively new company that makes organic, soy free and gluten free chocolate bars.

Today's "Wild Cherry" bar was composed of organic, raw, dark chocolate (70% cacao), and dried cherries. The bar was sweetened with coconut nectar.