Exquisito Chocolates - Cafe Con Leche Per'La Coffee (bar) - July 9, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Exquisito Chocolates
Cafe Con Leche with Per'La Coffee (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35.5 g.) / 2.5 oz. (71 g.) in total bar
Calories: 194 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Exquisito Chocolates, online order

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

Today's Cafe Con Leche with Per'La Coffee (bar) was handcrafted by Exquisito Chocolates (in Little Havana, Miami, FL). 

The company (a small batch chocolate factory and retail shop) offers a line of truffles, bars and confections, including bean-to-bar and single origin chocolates.*

Today's smooth, creamy and cocoa-buttery dark coffee bar was a seamless blend of sweet, authentic coffee blended with 63% cacao dark chocolate. 

The espresso used to make this bar was from Miami-based Per'La Specialty Roasters.

All five ingredients were very effectively used and were well balanced. (No preservatives or emulsifiers.)

Ingredients: Cacao beans, unrefined cane sugar, cocoa butter, milk, espresso.

Allergy-related information: (Contained milk) (No other information on package. See website more more detail.)

*Exquisito Chocolates owner/founder, Carolina Quijano, has described a chocolate maker as a "masochistic chocolatier who also self-produces chocolate from cocoa beans." 

Humorous and very true. A chocolatier can buy blocks of chocolate from a chocolate maker; but a chocolate maker (making chocolates from scratch) must go through many more steps to create bean-to-bar chocolate.

Exquisito Chocolates - "Miami Vice" Cafe con Leche + Dulce de Leche chocolate - July 8, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Exquisito Chocolates

"Miami Vice"

Cafe con Leche + Dulce de Leche chocolate
Good ++

Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) (estimate) in 6-piece assortment box

Calories: 77 calories (estimate) in 1 piece

Cost: $3.50 for 1 piece ($21.00 for a 6-piece assortment box) 

Purchased from: Exquisito Chocolates, online order

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

Today's "Miami Vice" (Cafe con Leche + Dulce de Leche) chocolate was from Exquisito Chocolates (Little Havana, Miami, FL). These two flavors were part of a 6-piece Artisan Collection assortment box.

This festive ("painted" with tiny speckles of hot pink and turquoise) domed chocolate combined two Miami flavors: cafe con leche (coffee with milk) and dulce de leche (caramelized/cooked milk)

Aroma flavor notes for this smooth, flavorful and sweet Miami-infused confection included chocolate with a hint of coffee caramel.

Ingredients: (Not listed on box)

Allergen-related information: (Not listed on box) 

Lady Bird Provisions, LLC - Happy Cacao Coffee Bombs - July 7, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Lady Bird Provisions, LLC

Happy Cacao Coffee Bombs

Good ++

Weight: .6 oz. (17 g.) / 5.4 oz. (153 g.) in total package of 9 bombs/pieces

Calories: 110 calories in 1 bomb/piece 

Cost: $10.49 for 1 package of 9 bombs/pieces

Purchased from: Sprouts Farmers Market, Mountain View, CA (now closed) 

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

Today's "Happy Cacao" Coffee Bombs were from Lady Bird Provisions, LLC (Austin, TX). The company offers a line of Coffee Bombs and collagen coffee creamers (other flavors include: Peppermint Mocha and Vanilla Cinnamon) to blend with hot coffee, milk or tea.

The resulting hot beverage had a rich buttery, brothy texture and mouthfeel and had pleasing mocha cinnamon notes. 

The cacao tasted authentic, and the sweetness level was just about right, i.e. not too sweet (thank you). The judicious amount of maple sugar contributed a nice, naturally sweet accent flavor with the cinnamon.

Marketing these "bombs" just for coffee or tea, might be limiting the versatility of this tasty, low-carbohydrate (total carbs: 2 g. per bomb), rich buttery cacao add-in. I'm already planning to make a small hot shot with a small cup of hot water, with one or two cacao bombs (and very little coffee) to enjoy as a morning boost later this week. Mixing this "bomb" into oatmeal also would be tasty. 

Note: each bomb does contain a hefty amount of saturated (coconut and butter) fat; but if you're an active person and eat healthy, I don't see that as an issue. I tend to eat much less later in the day if I start my morning with some healthy fat and protein.

Ingredients: Organic, unrefined coconut oil, grass-fed bovine collagen peptides and grass-fed butter, organic cacao, pure maple sugar, organic Ceylon cinnamon.

Allergen-related information: Contains tree nuts (coconut), milk (butter).

Tillamook - Cold Brew Coffee Chocolate Chip Frozen Custard - July 6, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Tillamook
Cold Brew Coffee Chocolate Chip Frozen Custard
Good ++
Weight: 2/3 cup (132 g.) / 15 fl. oz. (444 mL) in total container
Calories: 350 calories in 1 serving
Cost: $2.49 for 1 container
Purchased from: Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Coffee Theme Week

Today's Cold Brew Coffee Chocolate Chip Frozen Custard was from Tillamook County Creamery Association (Tillamook, OR).

Tillamook is an Oregon-based dairy farmer co-op formed in 1909, that produces dairy products like cheeses, ice creams, yogurts and other dairy products.

Aroma notes for this frozen dessert included authentic roasted coffee with rich, whole milk.

This "ultra-creamy" (16 percent butterfat) frozen custard style ice cream contained egg yolks and featured an abundance of actual cream. Not surprisingly it had a satisfying creamy texture, creamy flavor and an authentic cream finish. 

And it featured three flavors that blend very well with cream without being completely neutralized: coffee, chocolate and vanilla. (The other flavor that comes to mind is caramel.) This creamy frozen custard was infused with lovely cold brewed coffee flavor, sugar, a smattering of small chocolate chunks/chips, and a faint hint of vanilla.

Ingredients: Cream, skim milk, sugar, tapioca syrup, coffee, milk, pasteurized egg yolks, chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, locust bean gum, guar gum, vanilla extract.

Allergen-related information: "Contains milk, eggs." "Made on equipment that makes products containing milk, egg, peanut, soy, tree nuts, wheat."

 

Blue Tree Gourmet - Mocha Crisp - July 5, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Blue Tree Gourmet

Mocha Crisp

Good +

Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) / 7 oz. (198 g.) in total package

Calories: 160 calories in 1 serving (2 pieces)

Cost: $8.95 (estimate) for 1 package of 10 pieces (Thank you John!)

Purchased from: Crissy Field, Warming Hut, San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Coffee Theme Week. There are many ways to enjoy coffee, and not always in beverage form.

Today's Mocha Crisps were from Blue Tree Gourmet, LLC (Sun Valley, CA). The company offers a line of oat-based crisps, including two containing chocolate (Mocha and Chocolate Chip).

The aroma for this granola/biscuit was oat-forward with very faint mocha and vanilla notes. These substantial crisps had a robust, crunchy, crispy, oat-y texture, and were very lightly sweetened (thank you).

The Mocha Crisps had a very authentic oat-y flavor, from aroma to finish, with faint cocoa and mocha, and very faint sunflower seed background notes.

These hearty crisps with a whole oat biscuit flavor would go well with coffee, mocha or hot chocolate, especially on a chilly, foggy day. 

Ingredients: Gluten free rolled oats, tapioca syrup, brown cane sugar, expeller-pressed sunflower oil, pure maple syrup, cocoa powder processed with alkali, coffee, vanilla extract (vanilla extractives in water, alcohol), salt.

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that processes tree nuts, soy, and/or wheat." "Vegan, Gluten Free, Non-GMO"

Shekoh Confections - Irish Cream - July 4, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Shekoh Confections
Irish Cream
Weight: .4 oz. (11.3 g.) in 1 piece
Calories: 62 calories (estimate) in 1 piece 
Cost: $4.40 ($22 for a 5-piece box)
Purchased from: Shekoh Confections, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Irish Cream chocolate was created by Chef Shekoh Moossavi at Shekoh Confections (Palo Alto, CA). 

Aroma notes for this Irish Cream chocolate included: smooth, dark cocoa, and a very faint lemon-green herb (oxalis, wood sorrel, lemon balm).

This filled chocolate had layered textures and flavors. Under the yellow-green surface, was a perfectly executed thin, velvety, domed dark chocolate cover/couverature, and inside that was a softer, creamy ganache (filling).

The filling was infused with a soft touch of Bailey's Irish Cream liqueur, conjuring up the taste of a creamy, after-dinner adult coffee. It was just the right amount to add pleasing complementary flavor to the dark chocolate, and not enough to taste any alcohol or overwhelm the other chocolate flavor nuances.

Chef's description: "Bailey's Irish Cream infused with Valrhona dark chocolate."

Ingredients: (Not listed on small box)

Allergen-related information: (Not listed on small box)

 

Shekoh Confections - Espresso - July 3, 2022

Chocolate of the Day

Shekoh Confections
Espresso
Good++
Weight: .48 oz. (13.6 g.) in 1 piece
Calories: 74 calories (estimate) in 1 piece 
Cost: $4.45 ($22.25 for a 5-piece box)
Purchased from: Shekoh Confections, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Espresso filled chocolate was created by Chef Shekoh Moossavi at Shekoh Confections (Palo Alto, CA).

Aroma and flavor notes for this thimble-shaped, domed confection included coffee latte, light caramel and smooth dark chocolate notes. The dark chocolate had very faint tart green notes (oxalis, wood sorrel) and true chocolate/mocha notes.

Today's filled chocolate had well-executed, relatively subtle, well-balanced, layered flavors. This creamy, sweet dark espresso chocolate will likely appeal to dark and milk chocolate lovers.

Maker's description: Espresso beans infused with Valrhona dark chocolate ganache.

Ingredients: (Not listed on small box)

Allergen-related information: (Not listed on small box)