Utopick - Milk Chocolate Sparkling Passionfruit 56% Cocoa (bar) - Aug. 5, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Utopick
Milk Chocolate Sparkling Passionfruit 56% Cocoa (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.41 oz. (40 g.) / 2.82 oz. (80 g.) in total bar
Calories: 238.8 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: Missing information - estimate $13.00
Purchased from: Oceana Market, Pacifica, CA

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate & Passion Fruit Theme Week.

Today's Milk Chocolate Sparkling Passionfruit 56% Cocoa (bar) was from Utopick Chocolates s.l. (Valencia, Spain).

Aroma and flavor notes included: sweet dark milk chocolate with a hint of caramel, effervescent popping candy bits and warm tart-sweet passion fruit. It had the fun of a sparkling, passion fruit cocktail (mixed with a peach-apricot Bellini), surrounded by a creamy, craft chocolate mousse-tart, all in one bite. No small feat.

Texture: creamy milk chocolate with crunchy, fizzy bits of popping candy.

Even though this was on the sweeter side, I enjoyed the upbeat, layered tasting experience of this chocolate. It seemed perfect for a summer tasting--but could be enjoyed year-round.

Ingredients: Cocoa beans, cane sugar, pure cocoa butter, whole milk powder; Popping candy (8%): sucrose, cocoa butter, lactose (13.2%), skim milk powder, cocoa mass, glucose, anhydrous butter, soy lecithin (E322), vanilla -- vanillin, flavorings, raising agent: carbon dioxide (E290), freeze-dried passion fruit (4%): cocoa butter, glucose syrup, passion fruit juice concentrate, maltodextrin, apricot pulp, thickeners: modified starch (E1414) and sodium alginate (E401).

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk, Soy.

"May contain traces of: Gluten, eggs, celery, peanuts, nuts, mustard, sulfur dioxide and sesame seeds, soy, sulfites."

Definite - Passion Fruit 69% Cacao Dominican Republic Bhonacao (bar) - Aug. 4, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Definite Chocolate
Passion Fruit 69% Cacao Dominican Republic Bhonacao (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 1.75 oz. (50g.) in total bar
Calories: 150 calories in 1/2 bar 
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

Welcome to Day #7 of Chocolate & Passion Fruit Theme Week. 

Today's Passion Fruit 69% Cacao Dominican Republic Bhonacao (bar) was from Definite Chocolate, S.R.L. (Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic (DR)).

About the cacao...

The cacao used to make this chocolate bar was grown and processed "in country." Cacao (beans) were transformed into chocolate in the same country where the cacao had been grown. Typically sacks of cacao beans are shipped to the U.S., Europe or elsewhere for the final manufacturing steps in bean-to-bar chocolates. 

And, I could actually taste the nuances in this single origin DR chocolate; the passion fruit added a pleasant tart-sweet flavor and there wasn't too much sugar. (Thank you!) What a difference when a chocolate is made with just three, high-quality ingredients.

About the fruit...

Passion fruit is native to South America, but even within the Americas this fruit is known by several different names. In the Dominican Republic it is called chinola. (On the other side of the large island of Hispaniola (that DR and Haiti share), it's known by its Haitian Creole name, grenadya.)

Aroma and flavor notes included: bold, well-executed dark chocolate (chocolate-y with barely detectable and well-balanced earth) and authentic tart-sweet tropical fruit (chinola aka passion fruit).

Texture: smooth dark chocolate; there were no fruit pulp or seed bits from the passion fruit.

Ingredients: "Cacao, cane sugar, cacao butter, freeze-dried passion fruit." 

Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility that handles nuts & milk."

*Bhonacao is a cacao processing organization located in Paraiso in the Barahona province of the Dominican Republic.

Karu - Maracuya Dark Milk Chocolate with Passion Fruit (bar) - Aug. 3, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Karu
Maracuya Dark Milk Chocolate with Passion Fruit (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 2.1 oz. (60 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Xocolatl Garden, Carmel, CA

Welcome to Day #6 of Chocolate & Passion Fruit Theme Week.

Today's Karu Maracuya Dark Milk Chocolate with Passion Fruit (bar) was made in Bogota, Colombia using cacao grown in the Tumaco region of Colombia.

Aroma and flavor notes included: smooth dark chocolate (dark, creamy, chocolate ganache) and authentic tropical fruit (passion fruit)

Texture: relatively smooth dark milk chocolate with tiny crunchy flecks of passion fruit seeds.

I enjoyed the natural tart-sweetness and relatively dark-tasting 50% cacao, single origin milk chocolate.

I also appreciated the short list of quality ingredients and the jaguar-themed packaging. The larger bar was scored into four, generously-sized squares. Each of the squares were embossed with a jaguar image. The inner gold wrapper was covered with milk chocolate hued brown leopard spots; and the outer packaging was a forest of sunny greens and yellows with images of maracuya (passion fruit) fruits--including some that were cut open to reveal delectable golden pulp and seeds inside.

Ingredients: Cacao, Cacao Butter, Cane Sugar, Milk Powder, Freeze-Dried Passion Fruit

Allergen-related information: "Produced in facilities processing milk and nuts"
 

Mayana - Spring Passion Bar - Aug. 2, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Mayana Chocolate
Spring Passion Bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.4 oz. (40 g.) in total bar
Calories: 200 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $4.29 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Whole Foods, Cupertino, CA 

Welcome to Day #5 of Chocolate & Passion Fruit Theme Week.

Today's Spring Passion Bar was from Mayana Chocolate (Spooner, WI).

Aroma and flavor notes included: chocolate, authentic-tasting, tart-sweet passion fruit + buttery, slightly salted caramel, faint vanilla and sweet marshmallow. 

A generous layer of passion fruit-infused caramel was topped with a layer of soft, pillow-y marshmallow; and these two layers were enrobed in a chocolate shell to form a finished filled chocolate bar.

I enjoyed the soft, almost silken texture of the caramel, the slight crackle-crunch of the chocolate shell when I bit into it; and the very attractive and authentic passion fruit flavor.

Ingredients: Dark chocolate (Cocoa liquor, sugar, cocoa butter, sunflower/soy lecithin, natural vanilla, glucose syrup, sugar, heavy cream, butter (cream, salt), passion fruit puree, dextrose, sea salt, gelatin, passionfruit powder, lime powder, passion fruit extract).

Allergen-related information: "Contains Milk & soy. May contain: Traces of tree nuts, peanuts, eggs & wheat."

Stoked Chocolates - Passion Fruit Caramels - Aug. 1, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Stoked Chocolates
Passion Fruit Caramels
Good ++ 
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) / 2 oz. (48 g.) in total box of 6 caramels 
Calories: 73 calories (estimate) in 2 caramels/pieces
Cost: $16.00 + shipping
Purchased from: Stoked Chocolates, online order

Welcome to Day #4 of Chocolate & Passion Fruit Theme Week.

Today's Passion Fruit Caramels were from Stoked Chocolates (Hermosa Beach, CA).

Aroma and flavor notes for these purple-hued, dome-shaped chocolate confections included smooth, dark chocolate (chocolate-y, dark ganache) outer "shells" filled with a tart-sweet, authentic passion fruit caramel filling. 

Texture: The firm chocolate outer shells had a creamy dark chocolate melt. And the passion fruit caramel interiors were silky smooth and satisfying (not too heavy or sweet).

I enjoyed the well-executed flavors and texture; and the illustration of the octopus on the outside of the box was lovely.

Ingredients: (No ingredients listed on label); contact company for more information

Allergen-related information: Contact company for more information

World Market - Dark Chocolate Filled with Passion Fruit (filled bar) - July 31, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

(Made for World Market by Astor Chocolate Corp.)
Dark Chocolate Filled with Passion Fruit (filled bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.5 oz. (42.5 g.) / 3 oz. (85 g.) in total bar
Calories: 210 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $4.99 (estimate) for 1 bar
Purchased from: World Market, San Jose, CA

Welcome to Day #3 of Chocolate & Passion Fruit Theme Week. 

Today's Dark Chocolate Filled with Passion Fruit (filled bar) was manufactured for World Market by Astor Chocolate Corp. (Lakewood, NJ).

Aroma notes included: dark chocolate with very faint wood and black pepper and very faint tropical/passion fruit.

Texture: firm dark chocolate surrounded a thin layer of soft/silky (almost flowing caramel-like) fruity filling.

Flavor notes included: smooth dark chocolate (with some enjoyable complex notes) filled with a thin layer of soft and quite sweet passion fruit filling (with faint caramel and tropical fruit/and sweet citric notes).

Warning: this can be somewhat addictive if you eat this if you're hungry.

This was a sweet and tasty filled dark chocolate bar. Sadly, the long list of ingredients (additives, preservatives) and the extra sweetness (sugars) kept me from eating more.

Ingredients: Dark Chocolate (Chocolate Liquor, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Soy Lecithin, Natural Vanilla Flavor), Passion Fruit Cream Filling (Sugar, Corn Syrup, Cream [Heavy Cream, Milk, Contains Less Than 0.5% of Mono and Diglycerides, Polysorbate 80, Carrageenan], Passion Fruit Puree [Water, Passion Fruit Juice Concentrate, Sugar, Pectin, Ascorbic Acid, Xanthan Gum, Tara Gum], Butter [Cream, Natural Flavor], Invert Syrup, Citric Acid, Natural Flavor, Yellow Coloring [Water, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Glycerin, Yellow 5, Sugar, Modified Corn Starch, Carrageenan, Maltodextrin, Corn Sugar, Potassium Sorbate [Preservative], Xanthan Gum, Citric Acid).

Allergen-related information: "Contains Milk and Soy. May Contain: Wheat, Peanuts and Tree Nuts"

Trader Joe's - Dark Chocolate Mango & Passion Fruit Creme Thin Cups - July 30, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Trader Joe's 
Dark Chocolate Mango & Passion Fruit Creme Thin Cups
Good ++
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 7.04 oz. (200 g.) in total package 
Calories: 170 calories in 1 serving (6 pieces)
Cost: $4.29 for 1 large package
Purchased from: Stoked Chocolates, online order

Welcome to Day #2 of Chocolate & Passion Fruit Theme Week.

Today's Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Mango & Passion Fruit Creme Thin Cups were a product of Slovakia.

Aroma and notes included: dark chocolate, tropical fruit (mango, other) and very faint wood (cedar) and black pepper. (The initial black pepper note (which I didn't mind) dissipated after the package was left open for just a few minutes.)

Texture: firm dark chocolate cups filled with a softer "creme" fruit-flavored filling 

Flavor notes included: dark chocolate (chocolate-y, wood, nut) and tropical fruits (mango, passion fruit, and faint sweet citrus). There was a pleasant mango note in the finish.

I appreciated that the dark chocolate had some subtle flavor complexity and that it wasn't too sweet. (Thank you!) And the fruit creme filling was balanced (interesting, tropical fruits without being too sweet or tart). I liked the thin chocolate cups (more dark chocolate this way).

A note of caution: These thin cups were "loose" in a generously-sized bag, i.e. they were not individually wrapped. Great for families or putting out on a plate for large gatherings; but, as with any chocolate, don't leave the package in a car or in direct sun. They might melt a bit and fuse together.

Ingredients: Dark Chocolate (Unsweetened Chocolate, Sugar, Cocoa Butter, Sunflower Lecithin [Emulsifier], Natural Vanilla Flavor), Sugar, Vegetable Oil (Palm Kernel Oil, Palm Oil), Whole Milk Powder, Natural Flavors, Citric Acid (Acidulant), Sunflower Lecithin (Emulsifier), Beta-Carotene (Color).

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk. "May Contain Soy, Almond, Cashew, Hazelnut, Pecan, Pistachio."