Treehouse Chocolate: Coconut Drinking Chocolate - July 4, 2017

Chocolate of the Day:

Treehouse Chocolate Co.
Coconut Drinking Chocolate with Coconut Milk
Good
Weight: .7 oz. (20 g.) / 1.4 oz. (40 g.) in 1 package
Calories: 70 calories in 1/2 serving (1/2 package)
Cost: $2.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

Coconut and coconut oil consumption have risen in the U.S. in the past several years; and there are more chocolate offerings that include coconut in some form.

Today's Coconut Drinking Chocolate from Treehouse Chocolate Co. (Portland, OR) was made with 72% cacao sourced from the Oro Verde Cooperative in Peru. And the packet of dry mix contained coconut nectar and coconut milk.

This vegan drinking chocolate was not too sweet, allowing one to enjoy the cacao and coconut flavors. It could be blended with hot water, a coconut beverage/milk, or used to make a vegan confection (add some nut butter, coconut oil, honey or maple syrup, etc.).

Larabar - Chocolate Macaroon - July 3, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Distributed by Small Planet Foods, Inc.
Larabar Bites - Chocolate Macaroon
Good
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 5.3 oz. (150 g.) in total package
Calories: 130 calories in 1 serving/4 bites
Cost: $2.99 (estimate) for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA


Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

Today's Chocolate Macaroon Larabar Bites were distributed by Small Planet Foods, Inc. (Denver, CO). These bites were "made with dates, fair trade chocolate chips, almonds, coconut, coconut flour and that's it!"

These soft, chewy rounds, with dried coconut and rolled in coconut flour, had an authentic, more coconut-forward aroma and flavor than previous chocolate items featured this week.

Dates gave the bites form, sweetness and dried fruit flavor and texture. And the chocolate chips yielded sweetness and very subtle, rich chocolate flavor.

These Larabar Bites were made with fair trade ingredients and were "Gluten Free, Non-GMO, Vegan, Dairy Free (and) Kosher."

RxBar - Coconut Chocolate bar - July 2, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Distributed by Chicago Bar Company LLC
RxBar - Coconut Chocolate
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.83 oz. (52 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 210 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $2.99 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: missing information

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

When it comes to snacks and confections, the watchwords for the 21st century have been a return to simplicity, health, and transparency about labeling.

Today's RxBar Coconut Chocolate protein bar (distributed by Chicago Bar Company LLC, Chicago, IL) is a great example of a bar you might not have seen very often in the 1990s.

The relatively short ingredients list for the bar base read like a manifesto and received headline treatment on the wrapper: "3 Egg Whites, 6 Almonds, 4 Cashews, 2 Dates, No B.S."..."No Gluten, No Soy, No Dairy, No Added Sugar," it continued. Today's bar also included cacao, coconut and sea salt.

This bar was a well balanced blend of subtle fruit, nut, cacao and coconut flavors; and it was chewy, substantial and delightfully un-sweet.

Torn Ranch - Dark Chocolate Covered Coconut - July 1, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Torn Ranch
Dark Chocolate Covered Coconut
Good+
Weight: .75 oz. (21.25 g.) / 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) in total package
Calories: 110 calories in 1/2 package
Cost: $3.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Draeger's Market, Los Altos, CA

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

Today's high-end Dark Chocolate Covered Coconut confection was from Torn Ranch (Petaluma, CA).

What tasted like toasted, crunchy golden brown coconut pieces were coated with 72% cacao dark chocolate.

The chocolate tasted darker and richer and of higher quality than most large-scale offerings; and this combination was one of my favorite items this week.

Raaka - Coconut Milk 60% Cacao bar - June 30, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Raaka Chocolate
Coconut Milk - Dominican Republic - 60% Cacao bar
Good - Good +
Weight: .9 oz. (25.47 g.) / 1.8 oz. (50.94 g.) in total bar
Calories: 135 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Raaka (part of larger online order), Brooklyn, NY

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

What better way to celebrate this week than with a small batch dark 60% chocolate Coconut Milk bar from Raaka Virgin Chocolate (Brooklyn, NY)?

Raaka makes their gluten and soy free, organic chocolate with un-roasted cacao.

Today's single origin (Oko Caribe Co-operative, Dominican Republic) bar offered a concentrated blend of authentic cacao and coconut flavor. Added cocoa butter gave it a relatively smooth texture and slightly buttery melt.

This Coconunt Milk (shredded coconut ground with cacao) dark bar offered a less sugary sweet and more flavorful cacao experience than most chocolate coconut treats.

Made in Nature - Figgy Pops Choco Crunch Energy Balls - June 29, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Made in Nature, LLC
Figgy Pops - Choco Crunch Supersnacks
Good
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 4.2 oz. (119 g.) in total package
Calories: 130 calories in 2 pops
Cost: $4.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Sprouts, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Cacao Nibs, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week.

Today's Figgy Pops Choco Crunch Supersnacks* were distributed by Made in Nature, LLC (Boulder, CO). They're part of a growing number of "energy ball" offerings in the market in recent years.

Moist and crunchy don't often co-exist in the same food item. However, these organic, round Figgy Pops pulled it off. They were moist and fruity (dates, figs, tart cherries), with a hint of cocoa and coconut flavor. And they had a slight, satisfying crunch (pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, cacao nibs). They were lightly sweetened (apple juice) and seasoned (Madagascar Bourbon vanilla, cinnamon, sea salt).

*These Organic, Non-GMO Project Verified Unbaked Energy Balls also had one of the longer descriptive product names this week.

Empact Bars LLC - Chocolate Cherry Bling protein bar -

Chocolate of the Day: 

Empact Bars LLC
Chocolate Cherry Bling with cacao nibs and dates bar
Good +
Weight: 1.26 oz. (36 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 130 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $0.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Cacao Nibs Theme Week.

Today's Chocolate Cherry Bling with cacao nibs and dates bar was distributed by Empact Bars LLC (Boulder, CO).

This protein* and energy bar was a small, cheery package of dense goodness. The "Goal Digger" tagline, on the shiny gold polka-dotted black and pink packaging was a play on gold digger. I'll take it either way.

The bar had well-balanced dried fruit (dates, unsweetened tart cherries), chocolate brownie (cocoa powder, cocoa nibs) and protein (whey protein, golden flaxseeds, white chia seeds) flavor and textures, compressed into a classy dark protein bar.

Today's bar had great natural flavor with less sugar than most other bars. And it was also gluten free. (Thank you!)

*This bar contained 10 grams of protein.