Nibble Chocolate - Strawberry Cream Oat Milk Chocolate (bar) - Jan. 19, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Nibble Chocolate
Strawberry Cream Oat Milk Chocolate (bar) 
Good +
Weight: 1.15 oz. (32.5 g.) 2.3 oz. (65 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $5.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate, Berries and Vanilla Theme Week.

Today's Strawberry Oat Milk Chocolate (bar) was from Nibble Chocolate, LLC (San Diego, CA).

Aroma notes for this non-dairy bar included: sweet green, oatmeal/oats, brown sugar, chocolate and faint fruit.

Texture: relatively thick, creamy texture with a slow melt. The oats (oat milk) and berry fruit ingredients were fully incorporated, but there was a slight, fine-grained, "milky" thickness in the mouthfeel.

The diffuse fruit evolved into a brighter, sweet red fruit, to clear strawberry, and back again over the tasting experience, adding some very subtly layered flavor interest.

Ingredients: Organic nibble chocolate (organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic oats, organic strawberries, organic vanilla, sea salt.

Allergen-related information: "Processed in shared equipment with products containing nuts." "Vegan, Paleo, Gluten Free, Soy Free"

Touched by Nature - Cashew Dips, Milk Chocolate Strawberry - Jan. 18, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Touched by Nature
Cashew Dips - Milk Chocolate Strawberry
(Distributed by Thrive Brands LLC)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 4 oz. (113 g.) in total package
Calories: 678 calories in 1 package (per label)
Cost: $1.49 (marked down) for 1 package
Purchased from: Ross Stores

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate, Berries and Vanilla Theme Week.

Today's Cashew Dips were made in Slovenia and distributed by Thrive Brands LLC (Chicago, IL). 

Aroma notes for this chocolate covered cashews included: sweet baked goods (doughnut), very faint potato, chocolate and red berry fruit (candy). 

These roasted nuts had a soft crunch with natural milk chocolate and strawberry flavors as promised. Surprisingly, these were not too sweet--largely due to their construction, and the goal to have "less chocolate, more cashews."

After a thin coating in milk chocolate these cashews were rolled in freeze-dried strawberry powder providing a layer of sweet-bright, concentrated strawberry flavor. Both coating layers were light enough that they didn't overwhelm the cashew nuts. The end result was an authentic-tasting, somewhat addictive snack.

Ingredients: "Cashews, milk chocolate [sugar, cocoa butter, milk powder, cocoa liquor, lecithin (from soy), vanilla extract], freeze dry strawberry powder."

Allergen-related information: "Contains, cashews, soy. May contain traces of peanuts, other tree nuts or gluten." 

Coracao - Superberry Bars - Acai, Pomegranate & Raspberry 81% Dark Choc. - Jan. 17, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Coracao Chocolate 

Superberry Bars - 81% Dark Chocolate

Good ++

Weight: 2 oz. (56 g.) in total 

Calories: 240 calories in 2 small bars

Cost: $8.25 for package of 2 small bars

Purchased from: Missing information

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate, Berries and Vanilla Theme Week.

Today's Coracao Chocolate Superberry Bars covered in 81% dark chocolate were created in Oakland, CA. Coracao produces a variety of "healthy, more nourishing" confections, bars and drinking chocolates.

Aroma and flavor notes included: dark chocolate (deep dark, high percentage cacao, faint tart green herb (oxalis, wood sorrel), brown sugar and warm spice (faint smoky vanilla), and faint fruit (berries).

Inside a smooth 81% ultra dark chocolate coating was a generously jammy fruit center captured the sweet depths of rain forest berries (acai berries), tempered with some bright pomegranate and naturally sweet-tartness of raspberry.

Loved that this confection was not made with ultra-sweet chocolate. (These bars were sweetened with coconut sugar and stevia.) Less sugar meant being able to enjoy bold, balanced and complementary dark chocolate and berry flavors. The bars had authentic flavor depth and complexity. 

Ingredients: Organic cacao, organic coconut sugar, organic coconut butter, organic acai, organic pomegranate, organic raspberry, organic lime, Himalayan salt, organic vanilla bean and organic stevia.

Allergen-related information: "Contains coconut. Made in a factory processing other tree nuts." 

Standout Chocolate - Nordic Nature Black Currant 63% (bar) - Jan. 16, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Standout Chocolate
Nordic Nature Black Currant 63% (bar)
Good ++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 146 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.25 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar and Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate, Berries and Vanilla Theme Week.

Today's Nordic Nature Black Currant 63% cacao (bar) was made in a small town (Kallered) in Sweden. Standout Chocolate maker, Fredrik Martinsson, crafts chocolate from bean to bar, and offers single origin bars, as well as a tasty line of Nordic-influenced flavors, including today's bar.  

Aroma notes for this chocolate included: chocolate (dark cocoa), berry jam (ripe black currants, mixed berries), very slight fermentation (freshly baked bread) and very faintly warm, smoky spice (imagined vanilla).

This 63% cacao chocolate yielded skillfully layered flavors: dark chocolate (relatively bold but smooth, possibly faint fruit, and fleeting, balanced earth) integrated with ripe dark berry (bright, dark-sweet currant, ripe blackberry). 

The blending of chocolate and berry flavors was perfect. It was almost seamless, yet this chocolate still had the benefits of a layered chocolate (vibrant, distinguishable flavors).

Today's black currant bar had appealing complexity and excellent balance. It was full of authentic fruit flavor; and it was neither too tart nor too sweet. (Too much sugar can mask flavors, and is sometimes an issue with chocolates that are less than 70% cacao--and higher in sugar). 

Note for dark fans: This bar tasted closer to a 70% cacao than a 63% cacao chocolate). 

As already mentioned, this was a particularly nice capture of the black currant (Ribes nigrum) fruit. If it weren't for an occasional, beloved blackcurrant pastille (candy) from a metal tin in childhood, I would have entirely missed out on tasting this fruit in the U.S.*

Ingredients: Organic cacao beans, organic cane sugar, organic cacao butter, organic blackcurrant. 

Allergen-related information: May contain traces of milk.

*Due to a possible (disease) threat to certain pine trees (potential timber industry damage/losses), cultivation of blackcurrants was banned in 1911 in the U.S. And during this period of restrictions, most people in the U.S. missed out on tasting these fresh black berries.

Happily blackcurrants (aka black currants) are now grown commercially, in cooler, wetter areas most like Scandinavia in climate--i.e., the Pacific NE and NW. I look forward to trying this fruit one day.

Zotter - Wild Berries with Vanilla (filled bar) - Jan. 15, 2023

Zotter
Wild Berries with Vanilla (filled) bar
Good +
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.99 (sale) for 1 bar
Purchased from: zotter.com, online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate, Berries and Vanilla Theme Week.

Today's Wild Berries with Vanilla (filled) bar was made in Austria and distributed by Zotter Chocolates US LLC (Fort Myers, FL).

The company offers a wide variety of filled bar (with a range of layered flavors) as well as bean-to-bar, single origin bars (their "Labooko" line), using organic, fair trade ingredients.

Aroma notes for today's sweet, winter warmer filled bar included: sweet red berry (red currant, strawberry) jam, vanilla and chocolate.

A thin chocolate coating enveloped two (fruit and vanilla) soft, internal layers. 

Relatively thin, layered, flavors like this can have an advantage over chocolates where distinct flavors everything thoroughly blended. Each complementary berry fruit flavor was able shine.

The overall flavor was rich in berry jam notes (strawberry, red raspberry and tart currant, and faint blueberry). Rich cocoa (dark milk chocolate) and warm vanilla notes made me feel like I was eating a sweet, complexly sophisticated dessert. 

Speaking of dessert, yes, this bar was very sweet. (Organic, fair traded sugar was the number one ingredient; and it also contained honey and glucose syrup.) A few confection-sized bites made for a fun treat. 

I plan to share the rest of this attractively layered bar with a few people and/or cut it up and display the pieces on a dessert/fruit plate.

Ingredients: Organic, fair traded cane sugar; organic, fair traded cocoa butter; organic, fair traded cocoa mass; dry whole milk; milk; dry skim milk; honey; organic glucose syrup; organic strawberries; organic blue berries; organic dried raspberries; organic almonds; organic cranberry concentrate; organic redcurrant concentrate; organic dried strawberries; organic dried blackcurrants; organic dried blueberries; dry sweet whey; organic dark brown cane sugar; organic soy lecithin; organic vanilla bean powder; salt; organic lemon powder (organic lemon juice concentrate, organic corn starch, organic sugar); organic cinnamon; organic rose petals; (78% organic)

Allergen-related information: "Contains milk, almonds, soy. Manufactured on equipment that processes other tree nuts, peanuts, eggs and sesame." 

Zotter - Currant 'n' Chili (filled bar) - Jan. 14, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Zotter
Currant 'n' Chili (filled) bar
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.47 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.99 (sale) for 1 bar
Purchased from: zotter.com, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate, Berries and Vanilla Theme Week.

Today's Currant 'n' Chili (filled) bar was made in Austria and distributed by Zotter Chocolates US LLC (Fort Myers, FL).

The company offers a wide variety of filled chocolate bars with thinly layered creative flavors, as well as single origin chocolate bars.

The relatively complex aroma of today's Currant 'n' Chili bar included: dark chocolate, roasted coffee (there was no actual coffee), slightly savory chili powder and salt, and very faint dried fruit (dark berry) and vanilla.

Soft layers revealed many flavors. The relatively thin, outer envelope of smooth dark chocolate had brownie and very light and balanced earth notes, and contributed a steady taste "center," while a cast of different, complementary, flavors took the stage: rich brown sugar, tart sweet berries (with imagined sweet, tart berry lemonade), very subtle chili blend with warm spice + very faint salt.

I enjoyed the layered, complex flavors in this Zotter filled bar. It was almost jammy fruit sweet, but the dark chocolate and chili-salt balanced out the sweetness. Bold, skillfully orchestrated, festive flavors in this creation offered a unique and delightful variation on the chocolate, berry and vanilla blends often found in bars and confections.

Ingredients: Organic, fair traded cane sugar; organic, fair traded cocoa mass; organic, fair traded cocoa butter; organic redcurrant concentrate; milk; organic glucose syrup; dry skim milk, dry whole milk, organic dried blackcurrants; dry sweet whey; organic, fair traded dark brown cane sugar; organic soy lecithin; organic vanilla bean powder; salt; organic chili ("bird's eye"), organic cinnamon. (85% organic)

Allergen-related information: "Contains milk, soy. Manufactured on equipment that processes tree nuts, peanuts, eggs and sesame."

Javier Confectionery - 5x Very Berry All Natural Dark Chocolate (bar) - Jan. 13, 2023

Chocolate of the Day

Javier Confectionery
5x Very Berry All Natural Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.4 g.) / 3 oz. (84 g.) in total bar
Calories: 232 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $7.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Sweet Shop, Los Altos, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Cherries Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate, Berries and Vanilla Theme Week.

Berries are adding color and flavor to a rain-soaked January. Dark chocolate adds depth to bright sweet berries. And vanilla adds a warm baked-goods flavor. The blend of all three offers the perfect antidote for our unusually long stretch of gray, wet weather.

Today's 5x Very Berry All Natural Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Javier Confectionery (Burlingame, CA). The company offers a range of bars and confections; and this Very Berry bar was part of the company's All Natural Dark Chocolate Bar Collection.

Aroma notes for this very berry dark bar included: cocoa, vanilla and very faint spice and barely detectable dried fruit.

This bar had a handsome look: rich ebony color off-set with burgundy and berry fruit gem tones. The relatively thick chocolate had a creamy melt and texture, interspersed with chewy dried fruits. 

Hearty but smooth dark chocolate flavor complemented the bright dried fruits: berries (goji, raspberry, blueberry), raisins and cherries. Flavors were well balanced; and this 63% cacao chocolate bar was not overly sweet (thank you).

Ingredients: 63% bittersweet chocolate (cacao beans, pure cane sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin, vanilla beans), dried goji, raisins, raspberry, blueberry and cherries.

Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility that also makes products containing milk, soy, egg, peanuts, tree nuts, and wheat."