Heart of Shasta - Spicy Cayenne Ginger Love bar - Aug. 31, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Heart of Shasta
Spicy Cayenne Ginger Love bar
Good - Good ++
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31.13 g.) in total bar
Calories: 165 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: SweetE Organic, Mill Valley, CA

Welcome to Day #24 of Chocolate, Fruits and Botanicals Month.

The Spicy Cayenne Ginger Love bar from Heart of Shasta (Mount Shasta, CA) had a great tasting arc. It started with a light honey sweetness and moved to an authentic ginger spiciness. And then, wait for it, it finished with a spicy cayenne heat that receded after a polite interval.

Heart of Shasta specializes in dairy, soy and gluten free organic, raw chocolates (confections and bars).

The ingredients list for today's bar: 100% cacao powder, cacao butter, honey, coconut oil, cayenne pepper and crystallized ginger.

MilkBoy - Lemon and Ginger bar - Aug. 30, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Menrose GmbH
MilkBoy Lemon and Ginger chocolate bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .7 oz. (20 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) total bar
Calories: 110 calories in 1/5 bar
Cost: $5.29 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #23 of Chocolate, Fruit and Botanicals Month.

Today's sunny Lemon and Ginger bar was from MilkBoy (Zurich, Switzerland). Sweet, creamy 33% cacao milk chocolate was stuffed full of lemony crunchy bits. I'm assuming the bits were tiny granules of candied ginger, with some twinkles of vanilla pod. The ginger flavor was very subtle.

This blend with essential lemon oil resulted a pleasant lemon cookie aroma and flavor, reminiscent of Lemon Snap cookies from my childhood. Dark chocolate aficionados may consider this more baked good than bar, but if you like the authentic flavor of lemon blended with milk chocolate it's worth a try.

The Xocolate Bar - Ginger, Absinthe chocolates - Aug. 29, 2016

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

The Xocolate Bar

1.) Chocolate Dipped Ginger
Good++
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) (estimate) in 1 piece
Calories: 70 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $2.50 (estimate) for 1 piece
Purchased from: The Xocolate Bar

2.) St. George Absinthe Truffle
Good - Good +
Weight: .4 oz. (11.32 g.) (estimate) in 1 piece
Calories: 60 calories (estimate) in 1 piece
Cost: $2.50 (estimate) for 1 piece
Purchased from: The Xocolate Bar

It's Day #22 of Chocolate, Fruit and Botanicals Month. I'm moving away from fruits and into spices today, with a short series of chocolates blended with ginger. The ginger we eat is from a rhizome* of the ginger plant, although it's commonly referred to as ginger root.

Today I enjoyed two bonbons from The Xocolate Bar (Berkeley, CA). One was a generous round slice of candied ginger, partly dipped in dark chocolate. And the second was infused with Absinthe (a botanical based spirit) from St. George Distillery (Alameda, CA).**

The dark chocolate-dipped ginger piece had a great, natural sweet and spicy ginger kick and a slightly chewy texture. The ginger was a great match with the rich, dark chocolate.

The attractive Absinthe chocolate was a shimmering turbaned man's face (Aladdin or a genie perhaps?) and had a creamy dark chocolate melt and faint Chinese five spice flavor (fennel/anise) notes.

*A rhizome is actually a stem that spreads out horizontally in the ground. Both roots and shoots can grow from rhizhomes. I'm growing ginger in my kitchen. I started this plant from a piece of ginger I bought at the store. I hope, by next year if all goes well, to be able to harvest my own crop of fresh ginger. 

**Note: I was tempted to re-sample the company's Cardamom Truffle (a spice made from the seeds of a plant from the ginger family). I'd tasted this Cardamom Truffle in 2010, and it was also came in a face-shape form (Ramses or King Tut perhaps?).

Santosha Chocolate - Goji Berries, Ginger and Ashwagandha bar - Aug. 28, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Santosha Chocolate
Goji Berries, Ginger and Ashwagandha Root bar
Good
Weight: "about 1 oz. (29 g.)" in 1 bar
Calories: 130 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $3.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #21 of Chocolate, Fruit and Botanicals Month.

Today's Goji Berries, Ginger and Ashwagandha Root bar from Santosha Chocolate (Asheville, NC) was made with Raw, Organic 70% cacao.

This dark, raw bar—made from fair trade, "heirloom variety" Peruvian cacao beans—was vegan, and low-glycemic (made with coconut palm sugar.) It was also nut, soy and gluten free.

The flavor inclusions were subtle. I couldn't really taste the ginger. Occasional whole goji berries provided pleasing mild fruit flavor. Ashwagandha is a bit of an acquired taste, but is said to offer certain health benefits.

I bought this bar in Dec. 2014; but it still tasted fine in 2016—in part due to the bar's sealed silver wrapper and careful storage (in a cool, dry place).  That said, I wouldn't recommend keeping most chocolate bars this long.

Even though well-tempered dark chocolate bars can last up to 18-24 months, it's almost always best to eat chocolate as soon as you can.* (And, some chocolates, e.g. truffles, should be eaten within a week or purchase date.)

*Some might actually benefit from a little "resting" or aging during the making process; but that time usually occurs in the early stages, before you purchase a bar.

Himalania - Cacao Dusted Dark Chocolate Goji Berries - Aug. 27, 2016

Chocolate(s) of the Day:

BrandStorm, Inc.
Himalania
Cacao Dusted Dark Chocolate Goji Berries
Good+
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 6 oz. (170 g.) in total package
Calories: 170 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $3.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #20 of Chocolate, Fruit and Botanicals Theme Week.

Himalania Cacao Dusted Dark Chocolate Goji Berries were distributed by BrandStorm, Inc.* (Los Angeles, CA). These dried berries that have mild red fruit, molasses and tea/floral notes were dusted with dark chocolate (alkalinized cocoa powder).

*Thierry Ollivier is the founder, CEO and president of Natierra. In 2014 Natierra became the umbrella for Himalania and Nature's All Foods lines/brands, which Ollivier had previously created. One of the first BrainStorm Himalania offerings was goji berries. 

New Earth Superfoods, Inc.

I also enjoyed trying two raw, organic chocolate offerings from New Earth Superfoods, Inc. (San Luis Obispo, CA).

I sampled: 1.) Probiotic Chocolate Truffles (Goji), and 2.) Probiotic Chocolate Bars (Goji Cream flavor).

(Thanks David and Katy for sharing these not too sweet, non-GMO chocolates with a quick, slightly velvety melt.)

Next by Nature - Dark Chocolate Goji Berries - Aug. 26, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

Next by Nature
(Tropical Valley Foods)
Dark Chocolate Goji Berries
Good +
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total package
Calories: 190 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $1.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Today I "tasted" the lack of certain ingredients in these chocolates; and that was a good thing. What was missing? Ingredients (and processing) that can mask or dampen authentic flavors, or seem to seek 100% uniformity as a goal.

When eating fruits and other plant-based foods (like chocolate), it's important to have a minimum level of quality and freshness. However, beyond that, slight variations in (and natural unfolding of) flavors are what make many foods more interesting and delicious.

Welcome to Day #19 of Chocolate, Fruit and Botanicals Month.

Next by Nature Dark Chocolate Goji Berries were "produced by Tropical Valley Foods" (Plattsburgh, NY).

Today's small, elongated red berries had hints of mild dried berry fruit, molasses, faint earthiness and almost floral sweetness, and all the true goji flavor and texture that I would have hoped for. I could taste the real fruit and the dark chocolate in this gluten free and well balanced snack (with no additives or preservatives).

Brookside - Dark Chocolate Goji and Raspberry - Aug. 25, 2016

Chocolate of the Day:

The Hershey Company
Brookside - Dark Chocolate Goji and Raspberry Flavors
Good
Weight: .7 oz. (20 g.) / 7 oz. (198 g.) in total package
Calories: 85 calories in 1/2 serving (8 pieces)
Cost: missing information
Purchased from: missing information



Welcome to Day #18 of Chocolate, Fruit and Botanicals Month, and a transition day from raspberry to goji berry flavors.

These Brookside Dark Chocolate Goji and Raspberry "Flavors" were from The Hershey Company (Hershey, PA) and were made in Canada. The round pieces consisted of "soft fruit flavored centers, covered in smooth dark chocolate."

I would call these chocolate candies. The dark chocolate was very sweet, as were the fruit centers. I have a bias: I like to taste the chocolate and the fruit(s); and I prefer sugar as a light accent flavor.  So (news flash to myself) I probably shouldn't be reviewing most candies.