Bonaris Cacao de Peru - Chocolate Negro con aceite de oliva y sal - Jan. 14, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Bonaris - Cacao de Peru
Dark Chocolate with Olive Oil and Salt 80% Cacao bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.16 oz. (33.3 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 176 calories (estimate) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $N/A - gift
Purchased from: N/A - gift

Welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Surprise Me Theme Week.

Surprises come in many forms. Sometimes wonderful chocolate surprises arrive by mail or via an acquaintance who has come back from a trip.

Today's Bonaris Dark Chocolate bar with Olive Oil and Salt was was purchased by a colleague who was visiting Barcelona, Spain.* (Thank you Eileen!)

The bar looked like a conventional dark bar, and had pleasing dark chocolate flavor. However, don't expect this to break with a hard snap, the sign of a fully tempered bar.

It was surprisingly soft and a wee bit granular; however the olive oil, and added cocoa butter, helped give this gluten and dairy free bar an almost velvety stoneground melt. This was labeled as an 80 percent cacao bar, but it was quite sweet and approachable for an ultra-high percentage bar.

A generous sprinkle of salt on the back yielded surprise bursts of salt sparkle, more on some bites than others.

This was a fun bar to try, with a great journey story to tell. And the repurposed envelope and inner wrapper packaging was clever, resourceful and functional.

*As far as I can tell, Bonaris bars (available in Spain in several flavors) are made in the Lleida Province of Catalonia in northeast Spain, using at least some cacao grown in Peru. These bars (or tabletas) are sold through Chocolates IVIS SL at outdoor markets in the region, including in Barcelona. Picture at right is from the company's Facebook page and shows the variety of bars they offer.

DeMet's - holiday turtle egg; Storck - Toffifay - Jan. 13, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

DeMet's Candy Company

Turtles - holiday eggs

Good

Weight: 1.2 oz. (33.96 g.) in 1 egg

Calories: 180 calories (estimate) in 1 egg

Cost: $ missing information 

Purchased from: missing information

August Storck AG

Toffifay

Good

Weight: .3 oz. (8.25 g.) / 1.2 oz. (33 g.) in total package

Calories: 45 calories in 1 piece (1/4 package) 

Cost: $0.79 for 1 package

Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Caramel Theme Week.

Today we're featuring two milk chocolate and caramel items—both acquired during the December holiday season.

DeMet's Turtles

The first item was a DeMet's egg-shaped chocolate and caramel "turtle," complete with milk chocolate, caramel and nuts (pecans and possibly hazelnuts).

DeMet's (Stamford, CT) has been making turtles* for decades. (These holiday turtles were a product of Turkey.)

These holiday eggs were wrapped with red and white festive holiday foil wrappings with images of polar bears and penguins. However, if you looked carefully before biting into the egg, it was possible to spot the likeness of the iconic DeMet's turtle character imprinted on the chocolate.

August Storck Toffifay

The second item: Toffifay, a chocolate, caramel and hazelnut cream, semi-spherical, sweet confection from August Storck AG (Germany).

The sweet caramel outer cup had a soft chew texture, and the chocolate center was slightly more firm. 

*The original chocolate, caramel and nut turtles resembled turtles; often pecans or nut pieces protruded (from the chocolate oblong body or "shell"), resembling a turtle's head and legs.

Chocolate and Love - Dark Chocolate Organic 55% Cocoa Sea Salt and Caramel bar - Jan. 12, 2018

Chocolate of the Day:

Chocolate and Love
Dark Chocolate Organic 55% Cocoa Sea Salt and Caramel bar
Good ++
Weight: 9 pieces (37 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 210 calories in 1 serving (9 pieces) bar
Cost: $6.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate and Caramel Theme Week.

Today's Dark Chocolate Sea Salt and Caramel bar was a good example of the international supply chain that exists with many chocolate bars.

This 55% Cacao, Organic Sea Salt and Caramel bar was made in Switzerland for Chocolate and Love Ltd. (Perth, UK) and imported by Belgium's Chocolate Source (Milton, MA). And it was purchased and eaten in California.

The bar was riddled with tiny caramel pieces (10%) (cane sugar, whole milk powder, butter, glucose* syrup) and sea salt crystals, making it rich and slightly crunchy.

It was a hit with those who provided tasting help. ((Thank you Trudi and Holly!)

*Not sure if this was gluten free.

Lulu's Artisan Chocolate - Salted Caramels with Vanilla, Sea Salt - Jan. 11, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Lulu's Artisan Chocolate
Salted Caramels with Vanilla and Sea Salt
Good ++
Weight: 1.3 oz. (36 g.) in 1 package of two pieces
Calories: 212 calories in 1 package
Cost: $5.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Whole Foods Market, Los Altos, CA

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Caramel Theme Week.

Today's vegan Salted Caramels with Vanilla and Sea Salt, from Lulu's Artisan Chocolate (Sedona, AZ) were covered in dark chocolate that was made with "Wild Harvested, Heirloom, Arriba Unroasted Ecuadorian Cacao."

The package contained two chocolate rounds filled with silky caramel. These seemed to lack the sugar rush that often accompanies similar products. And in fact these were labeled as being low glycemic.*

Dark 78% cacao chocolate surrounding the caramel filling had smooth, rich flavor. And the hint of citrus flavor (essential oil of lemon) added a unique, pleasing finish.

*The Salted Caramels were sweetened with coconut nectar and coconut palm sugar.

GuyLian - Belgian Chocolate Caramel Milk Chocolate bar - Jan. 10, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

GuyLian

Belgian Chocolate Caramel Milk Chocolate bar

Good

Weight: 1.27 oz. (36 g.) in 1 bar

Calories: 170 for 1 bar

Cost: $0.79 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Caramel Theme Week.

This GuyLian Belgian Chocolate Caramel bar—imported and distributed by GuyLian USA Inc. (Englewood Cliffs, NJ)—was a slightly more elegant take on a candy bar. The milk chocolate bar (scored into four segments) was filled with a thin layer of soft caramel.

Each of the 4 squares that comprised this bar was adorned with a sculpted white chocolate likeness of a marine creature, mollusk or shell.

The milk chocolate was relatively sweet and lacked the depth of flavor a darker bar might have had, but I enjoyed looking at these sea-inspired shapes.

Alexander's Patisserie - Chocolate and Caramel Macarons - Jan. 9, 2018

Chocolate of the Day: 

Alexander's Patisserie
1.) Chocolate Macaron
2.) Caramel (fleur de sel) Macaron
Good +
Weight: unknown
Calories: unknown calories in 2 pieces
Cost: $11.25 for a box of 5 macarons
Purchased from: Alexander's Patisserie, Mountain View, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Caramel Theme Week.

Today's Chocolate and Caramel Macarons were from Alexander's Patisserie (Mountain View, CA).

These attractively packaged, flavorful macarons were sweet and light with creamy centers, and were displayed in a macaron case containing a variety of colors and flavors.

Other flavors sampled included: Earl Grey, Lemon Poppyseed and Raspberry.

Chuao Chocolatier - Salted Caramel Dreamin' bar - Jan. 8, 2018

Chocolate of the Day:

Chuao Chocolatier
Salted Caramel Dreamin' bar
Good - Good +
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 210 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $1.99 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Salted Caramel Dreamin' bar from Chuao Chocolatier (Carlsbad, CA) was true to its name.

The milk chocolate bar was a blend of smooth, salty and crunchy— with bits of caramel toffee* and sea salt crystals commanding a good deal of the flavor and texture attention.

I would call this more of a toffee; however, sometimes the boundary between caramel and toffee is a thin one.* I've tasted caramels that ranged from soft and flowing to stiff enough to yank out fillings, and toffees that ranged from shards of crunchy brittles to chewy squares.

This bar was part of the company's California Collective series of milk and dark chocolate bars blended with California-inspired flavor inclusions.

*The caramel toffee bits contained cane sugar, butter (pasteurized cream, salt)

British toffees may be more likely to contain brown sugar or molasses, whereas American toffees are likely to be made with the more flavor-neutral white cane sugar, said to better highlight the buttery flavors. Caramelized sugar is enjoyable in many forms.