Scharffen Berger - "Breaks" Salted Almond Bark - Oat Milk Chocolate with Coconut Sugar - Feb. 20, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Scharffen Berger 
"Breaks" Salted Almond Bark - 43% Cacao Oat Milk Chocolate with Coconut Sugar
Good ++
Weight: 1.2 oz. (34 g.) / 4.5 oz. (128 g.) in total package
Calories: 180 calories in 4-piece serving
Cost: $5.99 for 1 package
Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate and Salt Theme Week, and Day #1 of Chocolate and Almond Theme Week.

Today's "Breaks" Salted Almond Bark, made with 43% Cacao Oat Milk Chocolate and Coconut Sugar, was manufactured by Scharffen Berger* Chocolate Maker (Ashland, OR). This was one of 4 flavors in the company's Breaks oat milk chocolate product family.* 

Aroma and flavor notes included: dark chocolate, coconut/brown sugar, and very faint (barely detectable) sweet oatmeal with nuts (almonds). 

The generous field of tiny, crunchy bits of almond harmonized well with the 43% cacao dark oat milk chocolate in these bark pieces. The choice of coconut sugar (and very faint vanilla) added some pleasant warmth and flavor depth (memories of sprinkling brown sugar on hot oatmeal). The salt was subtle, and helped balance the sweetness.

Ingredients: Cacao Beans, Oat Powder (Oat Flour), Coconut Sugar, Almonds, Cocoa Butter, Sea Salt, Sunflower Lecithin, Vanilla Bean.

Allergen-related information: "Contains Almonds, Coconut." "Processed in a Facility That Processes Tree Nuts and Dairy."

*The three other Scharffen Berger 43% cacao oat milk "Breaks" flavors include: Gluten Free Pretzel Bark (featured previously), Salted Sunflower Seed Bark and Coconut and Quinoa Bark.

Copper Kettle Co. - Dark Chocolate Truffles with Sea Salt - Feb. 19, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Copper Kettle Co.
Dark Chocolate Truffles with Sea Salt 
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 16 oz. (448 g.) in total package
Calories: 150 calories in 1 serving (2 pieces) 
Cost: $N/A gift from friends
Purchased from: N/A - gift from friends

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

Today's Copper Kettle Co. Dark Chocolate Truffles with Sea Salt were manufactured by CandyCo (Lindon, UT).

Aroma notes for these individually-wrapped chocolates included: subtle dark chocolate and very faint (barely detectable) tart sweet green (wood sorrel, oxalis); and almost undetectable, very diffuse fruit (dried fruit and very faint coconut.

A smooth dark chocolate coating surrounded an even smoother, dark chocolate ganache ("melt-away centers").

Flavor notes included: satisfying chocolate-y, smooth (tasting and textured) dark chocolate with small upticks of sea salt and very faint warm, dark chocolate fudge with vanilla.

What I enjoyed: this dark chocolate confection 1.) wasn't too sweet; 2.) had a smooth, textural dark chocolate gradient (from outer shell to generous center); and 3.) had a relatively short list of ingredients.*

Ingredients: "Dark Chocolate (Chocolate Liquor*, Sugar, Cocoa Butter*, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla Flavor), Coconut Oil, Sea Salt. (*Rainforest Alliance Certified. Find out more at ra.org)"

Allergen-related information: Contains: "Coconut, Soy. May Contain Traces of Milk, Eggs, Almonds, Cashews, Hazelnuts, Macadamia Nuts, Pecans, Pistachios, Wheat."

*Some chocolatiers have never put artificial preservatives, colorings, emulsifiers, gums or "Natural Flavors" in their chocolates. Happily, more chocolatiers now offer bars and confections with a shorter, simpler or less processed list of ingredients, as more customers are avoiding extra ingredients in their food, and chocolates.

jcoco - Mango Plantain 47% Cacao (bar) & Edamame Sea Salt 47% (bar) - Feb. 18, 2024

Chocolate(s) of the Day 

jcoco
Mango Plantain 47% Cacao Peruvian milk chocolate (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: jcoco, online order

jcoco
Edamame Sea Salt 47% Cacao Peruvian milk chocolate (bar)
Good +
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories (estimate) in 1 bar
Cost: $3.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: jcoco, online order

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Sea Salt Theme Week.

Today's jcoco Mango Plantain 47% Cacao and Edamame Sea Salt 47% Cacao Peruvian milk chocolate bars were from Seattle Chocolate Company (Seattle, WA).*

Mango Plantain (bar)

Aroma notes included: sweet milk chocolate and subtle, diffuse tropical fruit(s).

Texture: chewy dried mango and crunchy bits of plantain chips in a creamy smooth milk chocolate base.

Flavor notes included: creamy, sweet milk chocolate and hints of dried tropical fruit (dried mango) and plantain chips. Subtle sea salt helped balance the sugar content of the 47% milk chocolate.

Edamame Sea Salt (bar)

Aroma: sweet milk chocolate with very faint, diffuse, aromatic and almost perfumed (tropical) fruit. 

Texture: a blend of creamy milk chocolate and toasted edamame with a soft crunch.

Flavor notes included: sweet, creamy milk chocolate and salted, toasted edamame (young, more tender soybeans). The salt in the edamame provided a welcome counterbalance to the sugar/sweetness of the chocolate for me.

*The jcoco brand (created in 2012) and line of bars are part of Seattle Chocolate Company. A portion of the sales of jcoco bars go toward feeding people in need. (The company describes the jcoco line as: "Chocolate that feeds"...the farmer, your neighbor and yourself.)

Farmhouse Chocolates - 70% Dark Chocolate with Cacao Nibs and Alaska Pure Sea Salt (bar) - Feb. 17, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Farmhouse Chocolates
70% Dark Chocolate with Cacao Nibs and Alaska Pure Sea Salt (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 190 calories in 1 serving (8 squares) of bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Etsy, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Salt Theme Week.

Today's 70% Dark Chocolate with Cacao Nibs and Alaska Pure Sea Salt (bar) was from Farmhouse Chocolates (Bristol, VT).

Aroma notes for this bar included: smooth, flavorful dark chocolate with very faint (barely detectable) balanced earth (peat, cacao nibs ); floral (incense); and diffuse red fruit (berry, red apple).

This bar broke with a satisfying (well-tempered) snap, and had a blended texture: smooth dark chocolate + soft crunchy (nibs).

Flavor notes included: true chocolate (cacao nibs, smooth dark chocolate), and light sparkles of sea salt.

What I liked: 1.) the sweetness level, i.e. it was not too sweet; 2.) quality (house-roasted) cacao nibs; 3.) balanced chocolate complexity with a dose of tiny, squareish, flake-patterned (Alaska) sea salt crystals.

Ingredients: "70% Chocolate (Fair Trade Organic Chocolate Liquor, Fair Trade Organic Cane Sugar, Fair Trade Organic Cocoa Butter, Fair Trade Organic Vanilla Extract), Sustainably Grown, House-Roasted Cacao Nibs, Alaska Pure Sea Salt."

Allergen-related information: "Made in a Kitchen That Also Processes Milk (and) Tree Nuts."
 

Maya Chocolates - "Sassy" 65% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Feb. 16, 2024

Chocolate of the Day 

Maya Chocolates 
"Sassy" 65% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 2.2 oz. (62.4 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 341 calories (estimate) for 1 day
Cost: $4.79 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

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

Today's Sassy 65% Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Maya/Maya'a Chocolates (Pinole, CA). 

Aroma and flavor notes included: bold, smooth fudge-y dark chocolate with diffuse red fruit (berry); balanced, (barely detectable) earth; and accented with sassy sparkles of sea salt.

Texture: bar broke with a hard snap, and had a creamy melt and texture 

What I liked about this bar: 1.) smooth yet flavorful dark chocolate with subtle complexity; and 2.) an attractive, complementary balance of dark chocolate and salt. (I like savory chocolate flavors.)

Ingredients: Unsweetened Chocolate, Cane Sugar, Cocoa, Butter (Milk), Soy Lecithin, Sea Salt

Allergen-related information: Contained milk (butter). May contain traces of tree nuts.

Ritter Sport - Caramello Salato (Salted Caramel) (bar) - Feb. 15, 2024

Chocolate of the Day

Ritter Sport
Caramello Salato (Salted Caramel) (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 480 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.49 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Piazza's, Palo Alto, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Salt Week. 

Today's Ritter Sport Caramello Salato (Salted Caramel) (bar) was from Alfred Ritter GmbH & Co. KG (Waldenbuch, Germany). 

Aroma notes included: salt caramel, milk chocolate, and faint sweet caramel toffee.

Texture: smooth, creamy milk chocolate studded with crunchy caramel (toffee) bits.

Flavor notes included: rich, milky chocolate, with microbursts of salted caramel/sweet toffee.

After the first bite (square), I wanted a squeak more salt, to help balance the sweetness (sugar is the number one ingredient). But subsequent squares turned up a bit more salt; and then the whole bar lit up in the sweet-salt addictive, "Goldilocks" zone. Beware, if you were only planning on having just a few bites.

Ingredients: "Milk chocolate with salter butter-caramel-crisps and caramel pieces. Ingredients: sugar, cocoa butter, chocolate liquor, milk, lactose (milk), skim milk, glucose syrup, butterfat (milk), butter (milk), soy lecithin, cream, salt.

Allergen-related information: (Contains milk, soy.) "May contain traces of peanuts, tree nuts, wheat and egg."

Maya - 65% Dark Chocolate with Raspberry (bar) & Castronovo - White Chocolate Lemon Sea Salt (bar) - Feb. 14, 2024

Chocolate(s) of the Day 

Maya Chocolates
Raspberry - 65% Dark Chocolate with Raspberry (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31.2 g.) / 2.2 oz. (62.4 g.) in total bar
Calories: 171 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.79 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA

Castronovo Chocolate
White Chocolate Lemon and Lemon Salt (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 1.1 oz. (31 g.) / 2.2 oz. (62 g.) in total bar
Calories: 95 calories in 1/4 bar
Cost: $12.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Castronovo Chocolate, online order

Happy Valentines Day and welcome to Day #1 of Chocolate and Salt Theme Week. 

Today's two chocolate bars sampled together were the perfect blend for hearts and chocolate day -- a yin and yang blend of dark chocolate and red fruit + white chocolate yellow citrus and sea salt sunshine. 

Maya Chocolates - Raspberry 65% Dark (bar)

Aroma notes included: citrus (sweet, tart lime), red raspberry and dark chocolate.

Texture: smooth dark chocolate and bits of berry pulp and crunchy raspberry seeds.

Flavor notes included: chocolate-y (rich fudge brownie) and authentic red raspberry.

Ingredients: "Unsweetened Chocolate, Cane Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin, Freeze Dried Raspberries"

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of milk (and) other tree nuts."

Castronovo - White Chocolate Lemon, Lemon Salt (bar) 

Aroma notes included: authentic, refreshing whole lemon (rind and fruit) and sweetness.

Smooth, creamy white chocolate (with fully incorporated/infused lemon and just the right touch of lemon sea salt) made for a very well-balanced, flavorful and enjoyable white chocolate. 

Castronovo chocolate maker, Denise Castronovo, cited memories of "Nanny's lemon meringue pie", light lemon desserts and Italian cookies (with lemon zest and icing) as her inspirations for this lovely bar.

Note: While I don't "count" white chocolate as a daily chocolate, I do feature ones I really like (that aren't too sweet), paired with a dark or milk chocolate on the same day.

Ingredients: "cocoa butter*, cane sugar*, whole milk*, lemon, lemon sea salt (*organic ingredients)"

Allergen-related information: "Contains milk. Made in a nut-free facility that uses wheat."