Soklet - Spiced Chocolate Bar 60% Limited Edition (bar)

Chocolate of the Day

Soklet
Spiced Chocolate Bar 60% Limited Edition (bar)
Good 
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 239 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $9.00 (+ shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Soklet Limited Edition Spiced Chocolate 60% (bar) was manufactured by Regal Foods and Beverages (Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India).

When I think of culinary India, I think of spices and bold flavors. However, in the two tree-to-bar Soklet chocolates I have tried so far this week, there is a mastery of nuances. Today's Indian Origin 60% chocolate bar contained a warm, subtle spice blend that included cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, clove, nutmeg and mace.

The base chocolate had a relatively mild chocolately flavor with a low level of tart fruit acidity, almost no bitterness, and a slightly oxidized, malted cereal note. The level of sweetness was just right, not too sweet (thank you).

The light, lingering chocolate finish was relatively delicate with very faint traces of charcoal and wood ash notes that somehow conjured romantic notions of an artisan chocolate forge on the edge of a lush green forest.

Ingredients: "cacao beans, cacao butter, unrefined cane sugar, a blend of Indian spices" 

Soklet - Coconut Crunch - 60% Coconut Milk Chocolate (bar) - Feb. 9, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Soklet 
Coconut Crunch - 60% Coconut Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good 
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 270 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 (+ shipping) for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and India Theme Week. 

Today's Soklet (pronounced 'sohk let) Coconut Crunch 60% Coconut Milk Chocolate bar was made from tree to bar in India, manufactured by Regal Foods and Beverages (Pollachi, Tamil Nadu, India). 

Happily, in the past decade more single origin bars made with Indian cacao have become available in the U.S., including a series of Soklet bars featured this week. 

Cacao is grown in four southern states in India: Andhra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala--typically with other crops (e.g. palm and coconut trees) that can provide the smaller cacao trees with some shade. The cacao used to make this bar was grown in the foothills of the Anamalai(s) (also known as the Elephant Mountains) in Tamil Nadu.

This vegan milk chocolate bar had a pleasant aroma with coconut rice pudding, light sweet (coconut palm sugar/brown sugar/light molasses) and chocolate notes. 

It was a polite 60% chocolate, very low in fruit acidity and bitterness. And the bar was not overly sweet (thank you). 

This chocolate had a bit of an oxidized, cereal box/malt flavor--a taste that can develop during the cacao fermentation process--with sweet chocolate, faint floral honey, light coconut milk, nutty, and barely detectable spice notes (whispers of cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and saffron).

I'm guessing the maker(s) either used a mild cacao variety, or the coconut milk (and the constellation of tiny, embedded coconut flakes) effectively neutralized any strong cacao flavors.* (There was, however, a slight uptick of nutty cocoa flavor a minute or two into the finish.)

Ingredients: Cacao beans, cacao butter, coconut sugar, dehydrated coconut milk powder.

*In fairness to all concerned, when I opened the well-sealed inner gold packaging, it looked like there may have been some exposure to heat at some point during the shipping process, something that can influence the flavor a bit.

Nature's Path Foods - Love Crunch - Organic Dark Chocolate Macaroon granola bar - Feb. 8, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Nature's Path Foods

Love Crunch Premium Organic Granola Bars - Dark Chocolate Macaroon

Good

Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 6.35 oz. (180 g.) in total box of 6 bars 

Calories: 150 calories in 1 granola bar

Cost: $0.99 for 1 box of 6 granola bars 

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

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

Today's Love Crunch Organic Granola Bars Dark Chocolate Macaroon (bar) was distributed by Nature's Path Foods (Blaine, WA). 

The company offers a variety of cereals, granolas, oatmeals and snack bars including a Love Crunch granola and granola bar(s) with chocolate. (Happy Valentines Day month to you all.)

Today's individually-wrapped, Love Crunch Dark Chocolate Macaroon granola bar (that came in a box of 6 bars) was light, crunchy and conveniently portable with a sweet, oat-y aroma and flavor with coconut and chocolate accents (drizzle, chunks). 

The overall sugar level of this bar was a bit sweet for me; but I appreciated the bar's lighter, crunchy texture (think freshly baked oat granola), and the organic ingredients.*

This Organic bar had the satisfying texture of a crunchy cookie without the heavy, corn syrup-like sweetness of a chocolate drizzled coconut macaroon, or the excess butter or oils found in some cookies.

Ingredients: Whole grain rolled oats,* cane sugar,* sunflower oil,* Fair Trade dark chocolate chunks* (cane sugar,* unsweetened chocolate,* cocoa butter,* vanilla*), dark cocoa coating* (cane sugar,* palm kernel oil,* Fair Trade cocoa powder* (processed with alkali), sunflower lecithin,* vanilla,* milk), dried coconut,* invert cane syrup,* honey,* Fair Trade cocoa powder,* oat fiber,* oat syrup solids* (oat syrup solids,* tocopherols (Vitamin E), sea salt, coconut flavor,* tocopherols (Vitamin E).

*An asterisk above indicated Organic ingredients.

Nature to Go - Dark Chocolate Covered Coconut - Feb. 7, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Nature to Go
Dark Chocolate Covered Coconut 
Good  - Good +
Weight: 2 oz. (56.6 g.) / 6 oz. (170 g.) in total package
Calories: 260 calories in 2 servings
Cost: $2.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week. Happy Super Bowl Sunday to football fans in the U.S. This day is often celebrated with beer, guacamole (avocado) dip, and an assortment of savory snacks and desserts.

Today's Nature to Go Dark Chocolate Covered Coconut was produced in Vernon, CA, and distributed by Food Castle Inc. (Los Angeles, CA).*   

These large pieces had a fudgey dark chocolate aroma and smooth dark chocolate flavor. A relatively thick chocolate coating surrounded a generously-sized, chewy, dried coconut piece. I enjoy chewy and crunchy foods. (Just ask my dentist.) And I appreciated the texture of this less processed coconut.

The sweetness level was balanced and not overly sweet (thank you). This chocolate and coconut offering also had a more authentic taste than some of its chocolate-covered confection peers. 

For those with food sensitivities, today's product did have a shorter ingredients list than many comparable offerings. There was one reference to a "natural flavor" (in the chocolate), but no gluten, and no artificial flavors or artificial colors. (The coconut was treated with sulfur dioxide.)

Ingredients: Dark chocolate (sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, butter fat, cocoa powder processed with alkali, soy lecithin, salt, natural flavor). Dried coconut (coconut, cane sugar, sulfur dioxide (for freshness)). 

*Food Castle, Inc., part of the "Food Wholesalers Industry," has specialized in dried fruits and nuts. Today's Nature To Go offering was processed/packaged in Vernon, California--an industrial area located south of downtown Los Angeles, CA. (The company's headquarters offices are located in Los Angeles, CA.)

Lamontagne Chocolate - Coconut Almonds Dark Chocolate - Feb. 6, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Lamontagne Chocolate
Coconut Almonds Dark Chocolate
Good
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 7 oz. (200 g.) in total package
Calories: 220 calories in 1 serving 
Cost; $2.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate and Coconut Theme Week, where I'm featuring a mix of bean-to-bar chocolate bars as well as coconut and chocolate coconut snacks. 

Today's Coconut Almonds Dark Chocolate pieces were created by the Lamontagne family at Lamontagne Chocolate Inc. (Sherbrooke (QC) Canada). 

The aroma of this sweet coconut chocolate candy immediately took me to memories of a summer day at the beach redolent of coconut-scented suntan oil, and coconut vanilla cake bought at the store. My first thought was, I'll need to eat a lot of green vegetables today to balance out all this sugary goodness.

At the heart of each glossy round was a whole roasted almond. Said almond was surrounded by a layer of sweet white chocolate and coconut flakes, covered with a dark chocolate outer layer and finished with confectioners glaze.

And, yes, these pieces were quite sweet and enhanced by "natural flavors" and preservatives. The sugars eclipsed any subtleties of flavor that might have been there with the cacao in the dark chocolate, but that wasn't really the point with this sandwich of confectionery ingredients. These were meant to be fun, to satisfy a sweet tooth. 

The after-taste was one of coconut cake.

Ingredients: White chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, soy lecithin (an emulsifier), natural vanilla extract), dark chocolate (sugar, unsweetened chocolate, cocoa butter, soy lecithin (emulsifier), salt, natural vanilla extract), whole roasted almonds, coconut (sugar, dextrose, salt), water, corn syrup, sugar, gum arabic, potassium sorbate (preservative), citric acid, confectioner's glaze, vegetable oil, natural flavor.

Marou - Coconut Milk and 55% Ben Tre Single Origin Vietnam (bar) - Feb. 5, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat

(Marou Chocolate Makers)

Coconut Milk and 55% Ben Tre Single Origin Vietnamese Chocolate (bar)

Good + - Good ++

Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 2.8 oz. (80 g.) in total bar

Calories: 225 calories in 1/2 bar

Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar

Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order 

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

Today's Coconut Milk and 55% Ben Tre Single Origin Vietnamese Chocolate (bar) was created by Marou Faiseurs de Chocolat,* chocolate makers (based in Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), Vietnam, and with a presence further north in Hanoi as well). This chocolate bar was imported into the U.S. by A Priori Specialty Food (Salt Lake City, UT).

Marou makes single province/region chocolate from cacao grown in southern Vietnam. The cacao in today's bar was grown in Ben Tre--a province known for coconut farming--where the great Mekong River delta has created rich soil for agriculture in general.

Like other dark milk chocolate and coconut milk bars featured this week, this one had a silken texture, with a slow, increasingly creamy melt. The only potential down side to this lovely coconut milk attribute is that (like dairy milk) and sugar, coconut milk can obscure cacao flavors. I generally have preferred slightly higher cacao percentage (60%+ cacao) coconut dark milk chocolates for this reason.

Thankfully, today's Vietnam 55% chocolate (made with Trinitario cacao) did have more detectable cacao flavor. Some balanced, acidic/fruit cacao flavor notes managed to shine through. It helped that cacao nibs were the first ingredient listed (see below for complete ingredients list).

Ingredients: cacao nibs, sugar, coconut powder, cacao powder. 

*Marou Chocolate Makers was co-founded in 2010 by Sam Maruta and Vincent Mourou, who had banking and advertising backgrounds (but, they're much more 3D than this), respectively. 

The company name "Marou" appears to be a melding of the two co-founders last names; and there is also a reference that points to its translation as meaning "gift of God." 

Well, either way, their chocolate bars that I've seen in the last ten years have been beautifully packaged and have offered a great tasting experience. Today's 55% dark milk coconut bar was swathed in an outer wrapper with a spring green and ivory background pattern, stamped shiny gold cacao pod, flower and cloud design elements. Suitable for framing.

Mirzam Chocolate - 52% Dark Milk Chocolate with Coconut (bar) - Feb. 4, 2021

Chocolate of the Day

Mirzam Chocolate 
52% Dark Milk Chocolate with Coconut (bar)
Good +
Weight: 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 352.8 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $11.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

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

Today's Mirzam Chocolate Makers* 52% Dark Milk Chocolate with Coconut (bar) was made in Dubai (United Arab Emirates), produced by Kakaw Manufacturing, LLC.

The aroma of this chocolate was redolent with cocoa and coconut. The texture was uniformly laced with a tiny, quiet riot of coconut bits, providing a satisfying chewy, crunchy texture--in the same way that certain sesame and coconut candies satisfy a craving for something sweet and crunchy.

Many of the artisan chocolate and coconut bars featured this week were a very finely ground mind meld of these two flavors, resulting in bars with silken, creamy coconut milk texture, often using coconut milk as a vegan replacement for dairy milk. 

Today's 52% cacao bar differed in at least two significant ways: 1.) the "milk" in the "dark milk" name was dairy milk powder; and 2.) the more intact coconut bits yielded a stone-ground-like melt, with layers of flavor and texture. 

This week's line-up has shown that multiple approaches to blending cacao and coconut can, and do, result in successful, high-end, flavorful chocolate bars. 

While I initially felt that today's bar might be too sweet (it was a bit harder to detect any subtle flavor nuances in the cacao), I managed to consume the entire bar with no trouble whatsoever.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, skim milk powder, sugar, cocoa butter, coconut, organic coconut extract.

*Mirzam is the name of a bright star (in the southern constellation of Canis Major) that helped Arab traders navigate to far-away lands as they searched for/traded in exotic spices and other goods. Mirzam Chocolate Makers honors this history, and specializes in high-end bean-to-bar chocolates, confections and desserts that feature dates, coffee, cardamom, sesame seeds and other flavor blends from the Arab world.