Bixby Chocolate - Guatemala 70% Dark Chocolate Bar - Feb. 11, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Bixby Chocolate
Guatemala 70% Dark Chocolate Bar
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28 g.) / 2 oz. (56 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.50 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate & Central America Theme Week. 

Today's Guatemala 70% Dark Chocolate Bar was manufactured by Bixby & Co. (Rockland, Maine).

Aroma and flavor notes for this bar included: dark chocolate (chocolate-y, very slightly roast-y); diffuse tart-sweet/tropical fruit; very faint (warm) spice and floral (cinnamon + vanilla).

Texture: smooth, dark chocolate with an even melt, with very subtle fruit astringency.

I appreciated the makers' choice of a short list of three, organic ingredients, and the subtle complexity of the chocolate and the inherent fruit notes.

Ingredients: "Organic Cacao Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cacao Butter."

Allergen-related information: "Manufactured in a facility that processes: milk, peanuts, soy, and tree nut ingredients."

Moire Origin Stories - Cacao Verapaz, Guatemala 72% Dark Chocolate (bar) - Feb. 10, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Moire Cacao - Origin Stories
Cacao Verapaz, Guatemala 72% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good +++
Weight: .97 oz. (27.5 g.) / 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 170 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $18.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Chocolate Dispensary, Los Angeles, CA

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate & Central America Theme Week.

Today's Moire Cacao Verapaz, Guatemala 72% Dark Chocolate (bar) was made by Eero Fortuna, LLC (Los Angeles, CA).

Aroma notes included: pleasing dark chocolate (rich fudge brownie, dark ganache) with a touch of milk or cream (there was no dairy in this bar) and diffuse fruit/dried fruit (berries, figs, dates); and (barely detectable) flickers of well-balanced woodsy/nutty/sweet green earth/forest; a slight umami (plum, soy and ginger sauce); faint caramel and maple nut.

Texture: relatively smooth dark chocolate texture, with a very, very fine textural quality from ground-in soft, perfectly ripe dates. (The ripe, high-quality dates and careful manufacturing meant a lack of grainy, dry date texture in the melt and mouthfeel. Thank you!)

Flavor notes included: smooth, dark chocolate with smooth fruit (date and diffuse tropical fruit, berry (ripe blackberry), currant, and faint citrus); and faint nuts/peanut butter in the finish. And just when I thought the flavors had run their course, a bit more stone fruit (apricot) showed up for a few seconds, and then disappeared

I loved this delicious, addictive and well-executed 72% dark chocolate. It had smooth but very flavorful and sophisticated complexity--with a few notes making brief hide-and-seek cameo appearances. The cacao percentage, cacao quality, and the sweetness levels all seemed just right. 

This was a very tasty, chocolate-y and fruit-forward bar. It was also the best date-sweetened bar I recall ever tasting. 

Thank you to Moire/Eeero Fortuna for working with just three, organic, high-quality ingredients--and for thoughtfully sourcing the Cacao Verapaz (Cahabon, Guatemala) single origin cacao that harmonized so well with the dates.

Maker's Tasting Notes: "Chocolate Brownie, Ripe Currants"

Ingredients: Organic Cacao Beans, Organic Date Powder, Organic Cocoa Butter

Allergen-related information: Processed in a Facility That Also Processes Nuts.

Choco Del Mar - Maya Mountain 70% Cocoa (bar) - Feb. 9, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Choco Del Mar
Maya Mountain 70% Cocoa (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Choco Del Mar, online order

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate and Central America Theme Week.

Today's Maya Mountain 70% Cocoa (bar) was made by Choco Del Mar (Los Altos, CA), using single origin cacao beans from Maya Mountain Cacao in Belize.

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate (drinking chocolate), fruit (red berry, red raspberry) and cream. (Note: there was no actual cream/milk in this bar.)

Texture: smooth, rich texture with a satisfying melt

Flavor notes included: rich dark chocolate (dark ganache, dark cacao with faint and well balanced bitterness); fruit (mixed berry, raspberry; dark raspberry + dark red fruit jam); and barely detectable spice (black pepper) and saltine cracker.

I enjoyed this well-executed flavorful and fruity dark chocolate with balanced complex aroma and flavor notes--all developed from just three ingredients.

Ingredients: Cocoa Nibs, Cane Sugar, Cocoa Butter

Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility that processes milk, nuts, and other common allergens."

Loon Chocolate - 75% Maya Mountain Belize (bar) - Feb. 8, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Loon Chocolate
75% Maya Mountain Belize (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $10.00 for 1 bar 
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate and Central America Theme Week, including several bars crafted from Belize cacao.

Maya Mountain Cacao* operates in Southern Belize, a region known for its fine cacao. Makers of many (if not most) of the single origin Belize chocolate bars available in the U.S. will have obtained their cacao beans through Maya Mountain Cacao.

Today's Loon Chocolate 75% Maya Mountain Belize (bar) was manufactured by White Birch Living LLC (Manchester, NH). The small batch chocolate makers hand sort, roast, shell and stone grind the raw cacao they receive.

Aroma and flavor notes for this relatively robust dark chocolate included: dark chocolate (ultra-dark fruity fudge) with flavorful diffuse dried fruits (citrus, tropical fruits, pineapple, mango, fig jam cookie) and very faint warm spice (vanilla) and sweet green/herbal. 

Texture: Smooth, satisfying thick (in a cold room) melt and mouthfeel with a very light astringency. 

I enjoyed this well-balanced, relatively bold, complex and flavorful bar--and the subtle interplay between the cacao's light bitterness and sweet/sour fruit elements. This chocolate had authentic, concentrated fruit sweetness, without being too sweet.

All this flavor was developed from just three (organic) ingredients. 

Ingredients: Organic Cacao, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter

Allergen-related information: "Produced in a Facility That Uses Almonds, Milk and Wheat"

*Maya Mountain Cacao (MMC) is a specialty cacao sourcing company that works across the Toledo, Stann Creek and Cayo districts of Belize. 

MMC purchases fresh cacao, ferments and dried the cacao, and exports the cacao beans to numerous specialty chocolate makers in the U.S. and Europe.

Southern Belize is also known for having a very favorable growing climate for good cacao and for its rich cacao-related history.

Cacao has been cultivated in Belize for over 2,000 years, and has been used as food (and currency) by the Maya people. Cacao in this area has also been recognized by the Heirloom Cacao Preservation Fund for its unique flavors and genetically distinct characteristics. 

Dandelion Chocolate - 70% Maya Mountain Belize (2024 Harvest) - Feb. 7, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Dandelion Chocolate
70% Maya Mountain Belize (2024 Harvest) (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (57 g.) in total bar
Calories: 130 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $N/A - gift
Purchased from: N/A - gift from friends - Thank you Evan, Maddy & Isla!

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate and Central America Theme Week, including several bars crafted from Belize cacao.

Today's 70% Maya Mountain Belize (2024 Harvest) (bar) was made by Dandelion Chocolate (San Francisco, CA).

Aroma notes for this chocolate included: dark, relatively bold chocolate with faint molasses and peat notes with a subtle, well-managed bitterness. (The faint peat note receded after the package was opened for several minutes.)

Texture: Relatively smooth with a very faint, tannic astringency 

Flavor notes included: Bold dark chocolate with balanced/managed bitterness and tannins with initial chocolate-y sweetness, followed by sour, dried fruit (citrus peel + apple + plum marmalade), barely detectable molasses, and light wood. 

After a few bites, the "sour"/marmalade fruit mellowed into tart-sweet red fruit and berry territory. 

This chocolate tasted more bold/intense than 70% cacao; it was closer to an 80%er. A fruit ale-like (almost hoppy)* bitterness lingered into a fairly long, ultra-dark chocolate-y finish. 

Note to milk chocolate fans with a sweet tooth...This Belize bar was full of flavors; but some of these flavors might be a bit intense for those easily frightened by bolder dark chocolates.

I really appreciated the makers' short list of just two ingredients; no added cocoa butter; and the choice of single origin (Maya Mountain Cacao, Belize) from a single harvest year (2024). 

I've long appreciated Dandelion Chocolate's range of single origin chocolates -- made with a group of different makers in their San Francisco location(s). A Belize bar one year might be slightly different than the next. The more specific the cacao type, origin, harvest and maker's roasting choices are, the more unique and special the flavor profile will be. 

Ingredients: Cacao Beans & Cane Sugar

Allergen-related information: "Contains No Dairy, Gluten, Nuts or Soy"

*Note: I drank some hop water, then re-tasted this chocolate. The chocolate tasted much mellower, balanced, sweeter and less bitter. So, this bar might be great paired with a hop-heavy ale or stout, or a smoky/peaty whiskey.

Amano Artisan Chocolate - El Cayo Belize 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate (bar) - Feb. 6, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Amano Artisan Chocolate
El Cayo Belize 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 202 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $15.00 for 1 bar (current price)
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate and Central America Theme Week, including several bars crafted from Belize cacao.

Today's El Cayo Belize 70% Cocoa Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Amano Artisan Chocolate (Orem, UT).

Aroma notes for this attractively packaged* dark chocolate included: dark chocolate with dried fruits (cacao pulp, pear, red raspberry, cherry, green fig, green walnuts in syrup, and fig + vanilla cookie.

Texture: relatively smooth, thick (in a cold room), satisfying melt and mouthfeel.

Flavor notes included: chocolate-y dark chocolate (fudge brownie), vanilla marshmallow, dried fruits (mentioned above -- red berry/raspberry, red cherry and ripe plum notes arriving first, followed by tiny spikes of dried fig, dried plum, with fig + vanilla cookie (and almost undetectable sugar molasses chocolate cake/Boston Brown Bread and nuts) toward at the end of a wonderfully long finish.

I really enjoyed the flavorful, fruit-forward complexity in this well-executed Belize dark chocolate. Savor this chocolate slowly to fully enjoy all this bar has to offer from start to finish.

Normally, I'm not a huge fan of vanilla (or vanillin) being added to single origin dark chocolates. However, the judicious dose of ground vanilla bean(s) in today's bar, added a cookie/baked goods warmth and very nicely complemented the fruit notes without being too overwhelming (thank you!).

Maker's Tasting Notes: "...strong chocolate base with notes of raspberries, pears, dried cherries, and plums."

Ingredients: Cocoa Beans, Pure Cane Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Whole Vanilla Beans

Allergen-related information: "May Contain Traces of Peanuts, Tree Nuts, Soy, Wheat and Milk  Products"

*The colorful artwork on the packaging was by painter Martina Shapiro.

 

L'Amourette Chocolat - Limited Edition 75% Trinitario Cacao Medalla Nicaragua (bar) - Feb. 5, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

L'Amourette Chocolat LLC 
Limited Edition 75% Trinitario Cacao Medalla Nicaragua (bar)
Good +++
Weight: 1.25 oz. (35 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar
Calories: 194 calories (estimate) in 1/2 bar
Cost: $11.99 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Country Sun Natural Foods, Palo Alto, CA 

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate and Central America Week.

Today's Limited Edition 75% Trinitario Cacao Medalla Nicaragua (bar) was made by L'Amourette Chocolat LLC (San Francisco, CA).

L'Amourette was founded in 2011 by Andre V. (and partner Roxanne). They offer European style dark chocolates: single origin chocolate bars; bars containing flavor inclusions; toffee; and truffles.

The Medalla cacao in this bar is a fine aroma cacao variety from Nicaragua, from Ingemann Fine Cocoa (Managua, Nicaragua). Chief chocolate maker Andre V., describes Medalla cacao pods as being "round and vibrant yellow."

Aroma notes included: flavorful dark chocolate; sweet green (green walnuts in syrup); dried fruits (fig, date, tropical fruit (cacao pulp, banana, pineapple, gentle citrus (orange, lemon), mango, mangosteen, other); and diffuse, warm spices & brown sugar-molasses cookie. 

Texture: smooth, thick (creamy nut butter-like) melt and mouthfeel.

Flavor notes included: a dazzling, harmonious array of rich, flavorful chocolate and fruit notes (fudge brownie with mixed tropical fruit jam, cacao pulp, dates, figs and brown sugar). All this, with a nicely-balanced fruit acidity and bitterness. This bar had a lingering finish with almond butter and berry notes at the very end.

I loved the well-executed vibrant complexity of aromas and flavors in this chocolate.

Maker's description: "Notes of dried fruit, molasses, Caribbean spices, and oats..."

Ingredients: Trinitario Cacao Beans, Cacao Butter, Cane Sugar

Allergen-related information: Manufactured in a facility that also processes peanuts.