The Organic House - Clementine 70% Cacao Philippines - Bon Bulak (bar) - Oct. 31, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

The Organic House
Clementine 70% Cacao Philippines - Bon Bulak (bar)
Good ++ - Good +++
Weight: .97 oz. (27.5 g.) / 1.94 oz. (55 g.) in total bar
Calories: 147 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $13.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order

First, Happy Halloween to all who celebrate! (It's a big chocolate and candy holiday here in the U.S.) 

Welcome to Day #12 of Chocolate and Fruits Theme Week. Round-shaped and orange-hued fruits* (an homage to pumpkins) were enjoyed--along with this Clementine (think mandarin orange) dark chocolate.

Today's single origin Clementine 70% Cacao Philippines - Bon Bulak (bar) from The Organic House (Burlington, ON, Canada) was made using cacao from Kablon Farms, "a 70-hectare bio diversified, sustainable farm (3 locations in a 10 km radius) in South Cotabato, in Davao, Philippines."** 

Aroma and flavor notes included: flavorful, balanced dark chocolate; coconut nectar (subtle warm, brown sugar/maple sugar); and gentle citrus (orange, tangerine); very faint nectarine and mango fruits; and barely detectable roasted coffee. All these notes harmonized well together into a thoughtful, flavorful blend.

Texture: This bar broke with a well-tempered snap, and had a smooth texture, melt and mouthfeel.

I loved this well-executed, flavorful blend of single origin cacao from Bon Bulak (Philippines); warm, brown/coconut nectar; and subtle, and a soft, authentic citrus/orange fruit(s) tart sweetness. And I was impressed that the makers were able to create this tasty bar from a short list of four, organic ingredients.

Maker's Tasting Notes: "Smooth chocolate with a light sweet orange finish, accompanied with notes of tropical fruits and toasted brown sugar."

Ingredients: "Organic cacao beans, Organic coconut flower nectar, Organic cacao butter, Organic clementine."

Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility that uses tree nuts."

* Note to self: It's difficult to carve a jack-o-lantern (Halloween pumpkin) face into an orange. We tried it. ...And let that be a lesson to us. This bar, on the other hand, was enjoyed very much by everyone who tasted it.

**Cacao has a longer history in the Philippines than one might think. Spanish trade ships from Mexico brought cacao seedlings to the Philippines in the 1700s.

Preston's + Javier Confectionery - Ginger & Valencia Delight Dark Chocolate (bar) - Oct. 30, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Preston's Candy + Javier Confectionery

Ginger & Valencia Delight Chocolate Bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.17 oz. (33 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 160 calories (per label) in 1/3 bar (8 pieces)
Cost: $12.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA 

Welcome to Day #11 of Chocolate and Fruits Theme Week -- featuring a variety of fruits blended with chocolate(s).*

Today's generously-sized Ginger & Valencia Delight Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Preston's Candy + Javier Confectionery (Burlingame, CA).**

Aroma notes included smooth, dark chocolate and strong, sweet vanilla beans (vanilla marshmallow, cake and ice cream).

Flavor notes included a deeper dive into the chocolate-y dark chocolate that was smooth and uniform, and more vanilla.

Texture: This hearty bar had a generously thick, smooth (almost creamy) 63% bittersweet, dark chocolate base. Embedded in this chocolate-y base were pieces of authentic, relatively moist and chewy dried pieces of candied ginger and citrus. 

I enjoyed the rich, chocolate-y flavor (fudge brownie) with the generous helping of warm vanilla beans and, by comparison, almost faint ginger and Valencia (orange peel) in some bites (compared to the chocolate and vanilla), and the smooth blend of textures.

Ingredients: "63% Bittersweet chocolate (cacao beans, pure cane sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin, vanilla beans), Crystallized Ginger, candied orange peel (orange peel, glucose-fructose syrup, sugar)."

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

*Fruits featured so far this week have included: passion fruit, mango, pineapple; lemon; pomegranate; longan, persimmon and candied winter melon; mulberry; cherry; scorpion pepper (yep, it's a technically a fruit); raspberry; apricot; and orange (peel). Fruits waiting in the wings (will appear soon) include: more orange, clementine, cacao fruit, (and more cherry).

**Preston's Candy & Ice Cream opened in 1946 and, until fairly recently, served up sweet treats to customers in downtown Burlingame, CA, at 1170 Broadway Ave. Happily the store is still there, although it became Preston's Candy + Javier Confectionery--after Javier Santiago, a chocolatier (from Mexico) who purchased the historic Preston's a few years ago. 

Javier offers his own chocolate bars and creations as well as many Preston's classic flavors/items. And he's worked to preserve elements of the original business (e.g. the historic sign, original flavors/crowd favorites). Great combination of old and new (and some would say, timeless) chocolate bars and confections.

Stuhmer - Dark Chocolate filled with Sour Cherry Cream (bar) & Dark Chocolate with Orange (bar) - Oct. 29, 2026

Chocolate(s) of The Day

Stuhmer 
Dark Chocolate filled with Sour Cherry Cream (bar)
Good + - Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 3.53 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 138.1 calories in 1 oz. of bar
Cost: $N/A - gift from a friend
Purchased from: N/A - gift from a friend (Thank you Marsha!)

Stuhmer
Dark Chocolate with Orange (bar)
Good ++
Weight: 1.59 oz. (45 g.) / 3.18 oz. (90 g.) in total bar
Calories: 236.25 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $N/A - gift from a friend
Purchased from: N/A - gift from a friend (Thank you Marsha!)

Welcome to Day #10 of Chocolate & Fruits Theme Week. 

Today's cherry bar and orange bar from Stuhmer (Maklar, Hungary) were purchased by a friend who was visiting Europe--and kindly given to me.

Dark Chocolate filled with Sour Cherry Cream 

Aroma and flavor notes included: smooth, chocolate-y (brownie) dark chocolate, and (especially after you take a bite into the filling) a sweet, red fruit burst sweet with tart-sweet cherry flavoring.

Texture: smooth dark chocolate, and smooth, almost flowing, velvety sweet cherry filling.

The cherry filling and dark chocolate were balanced and relatively smooth; however, the filling was very sweet and made the bar taste more like chocolate and cherry candy. If you have a sweet tooth, you might enjoy this; but it was too sweet for me.

Ingredients: dark chocolate (65%) (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier: soy lecithin, flavor: natural vanilla), white chocolate (sugar, cocoa butter, whole milk powder, emulsifier: soy lecithin, flavor: natural vanilla), sour cherry concentrate 14%, honey.

Allergen-related ingredients: Contains Soy, Milk. "May contain traces of nuts, eggs and gluten."

Dark Chocolate with Orange

Aroma and flavor notes included: smooth dark chocolate (lightly smoked brownie) dark chocolate, and with light citrus (gently tangy-sweet orange peel).

Texture: smooth dark chocolate, interspersed with a tiny riot of chewy orange bits. The melt was relatively smooth, but there was a light, not unattractive (almost umami), residual blend of barely detectable oil, smoke and earth at the very end of the finish.

The sweetness and light vanilla levels seemed just right (not excessive); and the overall flavor blend was quite pleasant.

Ingredients: dark chocolate (cocoa mass, sugar, cocoa butter, emulsifier: soy lecithin, flavour: natural vanilla), candied orange peel 15% (orange peel 53%, fructose-glucose syrup, sugar, antioxidant: (citric acid), dextrose).

Allergen-related ingredients: Contains: Soy. May contain traces of milk, nuts and gluten. Cocoa solids: min. 70%

Preston's - Apricot Bliss Dark Chocolate Bar - Oct. 28, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Preston's Candy + Javier Confectionery
Apricot Bliss Chocolate Bar
Good ++
Weight: 1.17 oz. (33 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 180 calories (per label) in 1/3 bar
Cost: $12.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: The Market at Edgewood, Palo Alto, CA 

Welcome to Day #9 of Chocolate and Fruits Theme Week -- a series that includes a variety of fruits blended with chocolate(s).*

Today's generously-sized Apricot Bliss Dark Chocolate (bar) was from Preston's Candy + Javier Confectionery (Burlingame, CA).**

I enjoyed the rich, chocolate-y flavor (fudge brownie) with warm vanilla beans and authentic dried apricot pieces and the blend of textures--with dark smooth dark chocolate and lightly-sweetened, dried apricot pieces.

Texture: This hearty bar had a generously thick, smooth (almost creamy) 63% bittersweet, dark chocolate base. Embedded in this chocolate-y base were pieces of authentic, relatively moist and chewy dried apricot. (I grew up around apricot and cherry orchards, so I'm always happy to feature these two flavors.)

Ingredients: 63% bittersweet chocolate (cacao beans, pure cane sugar, cocoa butter, soya lecithin, vanilla beans), dried apricots (apricots, sulfur.)

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

*The fruits featured so far this week have included: passion fruit, mango, pineapple; lemon; pomegranate; longan, persimmon and candied winter melon; mulberry; cherry; scorpion pepper (yep, it's a technically a fruit); raspberry; and apricot. Fruits waiting in the wings (will appear soon) include: orange, clementine, cacao fruit, (and more cherry).

**Preston's Candy & Ice Cream opened in 1946 and, until fairly recently, served up sweet treats to customers in downtown Burlingame, CA, at 1170 Broadway Ave. Happily the store is still there, although it became Preston's Candy + Javier Confectionery--after Javier Santiago, a chocolatier (from Mexico) who purchased the historic Preston's a few years ago. 

Javier offers his own chocolate bars and creations as well as many Preston's classic flavors/items. And he's worked to preserve elements of the original business (e.g. the historic sign, original flavors/crowd favorites). Great combination of old and new (and some would say, timeless) chocolate bars and confections.

 

Scorpion Pepper 70% Dark Chocolate (bar) & Raspberry Cream 38% White Chocolate (bar) - Oct. 27, 2026

Chocolate(s) of The Day

Scorpion Pepper - 70% Dark Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) in 1 small bar
Calories: 79 calories (estimate) in 1 small bar
Cost: N/A - gift from a friend (thank you Wendy!)
Purchased from: NA - gift from a friend 

Sted Foods
Raspberry Cream 38% White Chocolate (bar)

Good ++
Weight: 1 oz. (28.3 g.) / 2 oz. (56.6 g.)
Calories: 170 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $9.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Sted Foods, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate & Fruits Theme Week, featuring three different bars from Sted Foods in Minnesota.

(See previous entry, for information on the first of the three chocolate bars featured today from Sted Foods--the "Cherry Nibbler" 50% Dark Milk Chocolate bar (with crunchy cacao nibs, cherry bits and vanilla.))

All three bars contain a different fruit. And yes, the Scorpion Pepper is, technically, a fruit. 

Today's Sted Foods Scorpion Pepper 70% Dark Chocolate and Raspberry Cream 38% White Chocolate bars were manufactured by TC Foods, LLC (Fergus Falls, MN).

Scorpion Pepper 70% Dark Chocolate (bar)

Aroma and flavor notes for this small bar included: refreshing, smooth and subtly complex dark chocolate with very faint butter, and faint chili pepper fruit, with spicy chili heat kicking in after the first several seconds.

Texture: smooth, relatively creamy dark chocolate. (The scorpion pepper was fully incorporated into the chocolate. There were no pepper bits or spice grit.)

I appreciated this blend of pleasant, smooth dark chocolate and the contrasting spiciness of the scorpion pepper that blossomed toward the end of the tasting experience. After the spiciness receded, the pleasant, chocolate-y dark chocolate (with faint caramel and fudge brownie notes) returned.

Maker's tasting notes: "This bar has just a touch of heat from Trinidad scorpion pepper. You'll get the endorphin rush of heat from the pepper, balanced with the richness of our dark chocolate."

Ingredients: "organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic scorpion pepper powder"

Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility that uses coconut, almonds, pecans, and milk"

Raspberry Cream 38% White Chocolate (bar)

White chocolates (with no cocoa solids) may not count here as they lack the darker cocoa solids/mass; but I sometimes include them, or pair them, with other dark or dark milk chocolate bars from the same maker. Such was the case today with this Sted Foods Raspberry Cream 38% white chocolate.

Aroma notes included: a dessert chocolate with aromatic sweet berries (fresh raspberries) and sweet white chocolate 

Flavor notes included: authentic-tasting, tart-sweet raspberry fruit (including some seeds and fruit) and cream. There was no added vanilla (unlike many other sweet white chocolates), which meant the focus stayed on the raspberry flavors and textures. It was more true to its name: Raspberry Cream, vs. a white pudding or other cream-based dessert with raspberry flavoring.

Texture: a pleasing blend of creamy white chocolate with authentic and effectively integrated raspberry textures (raspberry seeds, dried raspberry pulp) that made this more interesting than a plain white chocolate. 

I appreciated the short list of quality and organic ingredients in all three of today's featured Sted Foods bars. And I was glad to have been able to try Dark Milk, Dark Chocolate and White Chocolate bars for this chocolate + fruit series.

Maker's tasting notes: "This bar evokes the joy of sunny days spent gathering freshly picked raspberries. Each bite melds the sweet and tangy flavor of ripe raspberries with the creamy richness of white chocolate."

Ingredients: "organic cocoa butter, organic cane sugar, organic whole milk powder, organic dried raspberry"

Allergen-related information: "Made in a facility that uses sesame seeds, pecans, almonds, coconut, cashews, hazelnuts, and milk."

Sted Foods - Cherry Nibbler 50% Dark Milk Chocolate (bar) - Oct. 27, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Sted Foods
Cherry Nibbler 50% Dark Milk Chocolate (bar)
Good ++ 
Weight: .5 oz. (14.1 g.) in 1 small bar
Calories: 79 calories (estimate) in 1 small bar
Cost: $3.00 for 1 bar (bought in a pack of 10 small bars for $30.00)
Purchased from: Sted Foods, online order

Welcome to Day #8 of Chocolate & Fruits Theme Week.

Today's Sted Foods Cherry Nibbler 50% Dark Milk Chocolate (bar) was manufactured by TC Foods, LLC (Fergus Falls, MN).

Aroma notes included: chocolate-y (fudge brownie and vanilla), and chocolate + cherry desserts (chocolate cake/torte/soft cookie).

Flavor notes included: smooth, milky/creamy and fudge-y chocolate with cacao nibs and sweet cherry bits.

Texture: smooth, creamy dark milk chocolate, crunchy cacao nibs, and softly chewy, almost velvety, cherry bits.

I really enjoyed this tasty and well-executed blend of bright flavors and textures: smooth, relatively creamy chocolate; crunchy cacao nibs; sweetly tart cherry bits; and cheery, warm vanilla.

The maker's tasting notes mention that black forest cake inspired this bar. If that was the goal, the result was a success! This well-crafted chocolate did bring back some fond chocolate-y memories. (Black Forest Cake was a favorite chocolate dessert when I was young.) 

Maker's tasting notes: "Fruits + Indulgence + Black Forest Cake"

My only regret: this .5 oz. (14.1 g.) Cherry Nibbler bar was small. Great size for a modest snack; but it disappeared quickly. And, speaking of disappearing, this may have been a seasonal bar. (It's not currently listed on the Sted Foods website. Fingers crossed it will reappear in the Spring.)

So, I decided to taste two more "fruit" containing chocolate bars from Sted Foods. See next entry...

Ingredients: "organic cocoa beans, organic cane sugar, organic cocoa butter, organic whole milk powder, organic freeze-dried cherry, organic cocoa nibs, organic vanilla bean powder"

Allergen-related information: "Contains Milk. Made in a facility that uses sesame seeds, pecans, almonds, coconut, cashews, hazelnuts, and milk"  "Free From Soy, Gluten & Palm Oil"

Lucid Chocolatier - Mulberry 54% dark milk (bar) - Oct. 26, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Lucid Chocolatier 
Mulberry 54% dark milk chocolate (bar)
Good++ - Good +++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) in total bar
Calories: 256.5 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $23.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Bar & Cocoa, online order 

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

Today's Mulberry 54% dark milk chocolate (bar) was from Lucid Chocolatier, in the Wairarapa region, Aotearoa, North Island, New Zealand. It was part of the company's "Finite Collection" of special, small batch chocolates using Peruvian cacao.

Lucid Chocolatier is located on "a family sheep and beef farm" in coastal Wairarapa. And the mulberries--that played a starring role in this micro-lot bar--were hand-harvested from a 100+ years old mulberry tree on the farm.

Founder and chocolate maker Johnty Tatham explains: "We strive to create curious and intoxicating craft chocolate." 

Judging from their chocolate infused with Tawny Port (featured earlier in 2026) and today's dark milk bar-- made with Piura cacao and mulberries from the family tree--they're succeeding at creating delicious well-executed chocolates.

Aroma and flavor notes for this chocolate included: aromatic dark chocolate (balanced, flavorful, single origin, relatively low in bitterness) with tart sweet mulberry + very faint dark berry, dried grapes and sultanas. Attractive berry-fruit acidity and complementary cacao flavors.

This bar was made using Piura, a rare native variety of cacao in Peru, known for bright, fresh and fruit flavors. The maker's blend with the freeze-dried mulberries resulted in a complementary and vibrant tasting experience. The milk mellowed the fruit acidity without dulling it.

Texture: This well-tempered bar broke with a snap, had an even, satisfying melt, and smooth texture. (Roast: Medium well; and conch time was 74 hours.) The freeze-dried mulberries were almost completely incorporated into the chocolate.

I loved the bold, balanced mulberry and dark milk (single origin) Piura cacao chocolate blend, especially the authentic, ripe, tart-sweet berries--mellowed by a very subtle touch of milk. Warning: This bar can be addicting. 

I'm  looking forward to trying more craft chocolate(s) from this rural New Zealand maker soon.

Maker's Tasting Notes: "Mulberry, Cream, Malt"

Ingredients: Cacao Mass*, Cane Sugar*, Cacao Butter*, Milk Powder*, Mulberry (*Organic)

Allergen-related information: Contains Milk. May Contain: Milk, Wheat, Gluten, Tree Nuts (Almonds, Hazelnuts, Pecan, Macadamia, Pistachio)