Cacoco Drinking Chocolate - Original flavor - Jan. 2, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Cacoco, Inc.
Drinking Chocolate - The Original (flavor)
Good
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 7.11 oz. (202 g.) in total package
Calories: 140 calories in 4 TB (1/8 package)
Cost: $12.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Piazza's Fine Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #14 of Chocolate, Holiday Spices and Maple Theme Week.

Today's attractively-packaged Original Flavor Drinking Chocolate with Cinnamon, Nutmeg and Lucuma from Cacoco, Inc. (Santa Cruz, CA) was  hand-crafted, organic and Non-GMO Project Verified.

The dry mix had a slightly bitter herb and aroma; however, once stirred with water and simmered for several minutes (until all the larger particles had dissolved), the flavors mellowed and improved significantly.

Do follow directions and heat, whisk and/or blend as indicated for best results. This is one product where preparation really mattered.

Adding a bit of organic milk of your choice may make the resulting hot beverage a bit smoother in flavor and texture; but the mix was really designed to evoke a long lost, "authentic" drinking chocolate tradition from many centuries ago that the Native peoples of Central America might have experienced—without proximity to dairy cows.

The first ingredient listed was cacao butter, then coconut crystal sugar,* making it lower on the glycemic index. Lucuma added some natural sweetness as well. I added a bit of maple syrup, although that was not necessary.

*Ingredients: "Cacao Butter, Coconut Crystal Sugar, Unroasted Cacao, Carob, Lucuma, Himalayan Salt, Vanilla Bean, Cinnamon, Nutmeg, Cayenne"

Alexander's Patisserie - Chocolate Pillow dessert - Jan. 1, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Alexander's Patisserie
Chocolate Pillow dessert
Good +++ - Very Good
Weight: unknown
Calories: unknown
Cost: $10.00 (per website) for 1 dessert
Purchased from: Alexander's Patisserie, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to 2018! and Day #13 of Chocolate, Holiday Spices and Maple Theme Week.

This fancy, Chocolate Pillow dessert was purchased on a sunny winter day at Alexander's Patisserie (Mountain View, CA).

Filled with light, airy chocolate mousse, this Valrhona*-based chocolate dessert was luxurious and delicious.

The dark chocolate mousse-filled "pillow" was resting on what appeared to be a caramelized chocolate rice cake bed, and was topped with a small, thin chocolate square.


Aside from a light touch of nutty/hazelnut flavor in a few bites and crispy texture of the base, this was all decadent, velvety chocolate.

Meanwhile, up North people are getting ready for the February-March maple season. I raised my glass to these winter harvesters, as I poured a small drizzle of maple syrup into a hot spiced chai tea.

*Alexander's Patisserie uses Valrhona (French) chocolate for almost all their chocolates and chocolate-based desserts.

Organic Gemini - TigerNut Cacao Bean Smoothie Mix - Dec. 31, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Organic Gemini TigerNut Smoothie Mix
Good
Weight: 2 TB (22 g.) / 9.3 oz. (264 g.) in total package
Calories: 40 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $14.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Berkeley, CA

Welcome to Day #12 of Chocolate, Holiday Spice and Maple Theme Week(s).

Cacao beans come from a fruit, and tiger nuts come from...not a tiger, but a tuber.

Today's 5-ingredient, organic Tigernut Cacao Bean Smoothie Mix was from Organic Gemini (Brooklyn, NY) and was sweetened with maple sugar.*

Organic Gemini founders, George and Mariam, developed offerings that incorporated Organic TigerNuts—a nutritious root vegetable—as part of their own journey to wellness.

I mixed this organic, paleo, vegan, kosher and nut and gluten free smoothie mix into a glass of organic milk. The drink had a slight vegetable and cocoa aroma, and slight fine-grained texture until mixed well. Letting the mixture sit for 20 min. seemed to improve flavor and texture. It had a pleasant cocoa flavor, healthy/satisfying "feeling" and no aftertaste.

Happy New Year's Eve to all who celebrate. Wishing you all a Happy and Healthy 2018.

Ingredients: Whole ground TigerNuts (Cyperus esculentus)*, pea protein powder*, cacao powder,* maple sugar*, vanilla bean powder*

Pearson Candy Company - Maple Bun bar - Dec. 30, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Pearson Candy Company/Pearson's Candy
Bun - Artificially Flavored Maple (bar)
Good
Weight: 1.75 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 240 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $1.79 for 1 bar/package
Purchased from: Rocket Fizz Soda Pop and Candy Shop, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate, Holiday Spices and Maple Theme Week.

The Maple Bun confection was from the Pearson Candy Company (Saint Paul, MN), a company that's been in business since 1909 and has seen its share of candy bar trends.*

Today's gluten free Bun bar contained "Real milk chocolate, Virginia peanuts and nougat," and was flavored with maple.

This candy bar was shaped like a patty or bun rather than a uniform, rectangular bar, making it look homemade. It contained more chocolate and peanuts than expected. The layer of sweet nougat-y filling was slightly less dominant than imagined (a good thing).

The maple flavor was subtle and relatively natural tasting.

Rather than broken nut pieces, the Virginia peanuts in this bar maintained a sense of integrity and added a satisfying crunchy texture.

Pearson Candy Company was founded in Minneapolis in 1909, and later moved to Saint Paul. Pearson's acquired the Bun Bar from Clark Bar America in 1998. Pearson's Bun line now includes a Maple, Vanilla and (new) Sea Salt Caramel flavored Bun bars.

*Candy Bar History Trivia: Between WWI and WWII, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of candy bars debuted. One of most interesting was the "Chicken Dinner" candy bar that hit the market in 1923. (It contained peanuts, but no chicken.) Pearson's acquired Sperry, the candy bar maker behind the Chicken Dinner bar. I would have included this Pearson Candy Company bar today. However, Pearson discontinued the Chicken Dinner bar in the early 1960s.

Neo Cocoa - Mocha Cinnamon truffles - Dec. 29, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Neo Cocoa 

Mocha Cinnamon truffles

Good + - Good ++

Weight: .8 oz. (23 g.) / 2.4 oz. (69 g.) in total box of 6 pcs.

Calories: 120 calories (estimate) in 2 pieces

Cost: $12.00 for 1 box of 6 pieces

Purchased from: La Cocina retail space, San Francisco Ferry Building, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate, Holiday Spices and Maple Theme Week.

Today's Mocha Cinnamon truffles were from Neo Cocoa (Belmont, CA) and were part of holiday snack duo on the go.

These Neo Cocoa rectangular truffles were lightly dusted with dark cocoa powder, had a roasted coffee (espresso) and cinnamon (cassia) aroma, a creamy, velvety texture, and a rich 72% dark chocolate flavor.

I paired these silky chocolate pieces with a snack "opposite:" a Larabar Nut and Seed Maple and Cinnamon Crunchy Bar.* Both were great with fresh fruit.

The company specializes in the heart of truffles, meaning the lovely silky smooth chocolate "insides" of some chocolates covered with a harder chocolate shell or couverture.

Neo Cocoa founder Christine Doerr was trained as a chef and worked as a graphic designer, but she was eventually drawn to chocolate. With the help of La Cocina (a kitchen incubator in San Francisco) she launched her own company, offering soft, shell-less truffles (the "hearts of truffles") in a variety of delicious flavors.

*This Larabar Maple and Cinnamon Crunchy Bar did not contain any chocolate.

Know Foods - Chocolate Chip Donuts - Dec. 28, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Know Foods
Know Better Donuts - Chocolate Chip
Good+
Weight: 2.66 oz. (76 g.) / 16 oz. (454 g.) in total package of 6
Calories: 200 calories in 1 donut (+ frosting)
Cost: $9.99 (estimate) for 1 package of 6 donuts
Purchased from: Draeger's Market, Los Altos, CA

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate, Holiday Spices and Maple Theme Week(s).

Today's Chocolate Chip Know Better Donut, from Know Foods (Atlanta, GA), looked a little lonely; so it received some homemade "frosting" (made of organic cream cheese, maple (syrup), cinnamon and spices).

This baked good looked like a cross between a bagel and a donut, and appeared to be far healthier than most donuts, even with a rich topping.

Know Foods is building a brand for itself based on products like these Know Better Donuts, billed as: "...natural, non-GMO, grain/gluten free*, high protein, high fiber, low carb and low sodium—and have a near zero sodium index..."

Other health stats of note:

• 8 grams of fiber per donut
• 12 grams of protein per donut
• 6 grams net carbs per donut

Sounds good. These donuts were made with almonds* instead of grains. And the donut tasted better than many gluten-free baked goods. It was substantial and, refreshingly, not too sweet. (It did use allulose, a relatively new sweetener that we know little about.)

The company used Enjoy Life ("vegan, soy, nut, dairy and GMO free") chocolate chips in these donuts, and has plans to incorporate their own chocolate chips in the future.

*Ingredients: water, almonds, chocolate chips (cane sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter), apple puree, allulose, organic prebiotic fiber, flax seeds, dried egg whites, apple cider vinegar, organic coconut flour, chia seeds, organic flax flour, coconut oil, leavening (Potassium Bicarbonate), organic sea salt. Contains: egg and tree nuts

Sirene Chocolate - Winter Warmer bar - Dec. 27, 2017

Chocolate of the Day: 

Sirene Chocolate

Winter Warmer bar

Very Good 

Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar

Calories: 132 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar

Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: The Chocolate Garage, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate, Holiday Spices and Maple Theme Week.

Today's Winter Warmer bar from Sirene Chocolate (Victoria, BC, Canada) was a delicious creation of dark milk chocolate—made from cacao beans grown in "balmy Tanzanie" (Tanzania*)—

nutmeg and cloves.

The scent of this bar was full of fresh spice and herb notes, despite there being "just" nutmeg and cloves infused into very fine chocolate.

There was no star anise, black pepper, allspice or bay, yet there were whispers of these—and all kinds of heavenly cacao flavors—in this creamy, smooth, very-well executed bar with wonderful depth.

Many holiday chocolates are considered novelties and are not made with the highest-quality (or percentage) cacao. So to sample this bar was to experience much happiness and gratitude.

Sadly, this bar was seasonal and is likely no longer available.

*Tanzania is a republic in East Africa near the Indian Ocean, and the source of some great small batch single origin bars in recent years.