Marou Chocolate - Pineapple Bites with Craft Dark Chocolate - Nov. 6, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Marou Faiseurs De Chocolat
(Marou Chocolate Makers)
Pineapple Bites with Craft Dark Chocolate
Good ++
Weight: 1.76 oz. (50 g.) / 3.5 oz. (100 g.) in total package
Calories: 215 calories in 1/2 package
Cost: $18.00 for 1 package
Purchased from: Chocolate Dispensary, online order

Welcome to Day #18 of Chocolate and Fruits Theme Week.

Today's Pineapple Bites with Craft Dark Chocolate offering, from Marou Faiseurs De Chocolat (Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam), was imported to the U.S. by A Priori Specialty Food, Salt Lake City, UT.

Aroma and flavor notes included: subtly sweet, smooth dark chocolate with tropical/sweet tart fruit (delicate, authentic and sweet pineapple aroma and taste).

Texture: softly chewy pieces of dried pineapple, covered with soft, smooth dark chocolate.

I enjoyed the blend of naturally sweet (not overly candied) dried, softly chewy pineapple pieces and smooth dark chocolate. Marou makes chocolate using cacao grown in the six southernmost provinces of Vietnam. 

Marou is one of the small percentage of chocolate makers featured on Chocolate Banquet (and in the world) that makes chocolate "in-country". (Chocolates are made in the same country where the cacao is grown.)

Ingredients: Dried Pineapple (Pineapple, Cane Sugar, Acid Citric, Preservatives (E223)), Dark Chocolate (Cacao Nibs, Cane Sugar, Cacao Butter).

Allergen-related information: "May Contain Milk, Eggs, Cashews, Peanuts Sulphites."

Meurisse Chocolate - Dark Orange - Dark Chocolate Bar (Papua New Guinea) - Nov. 5, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

Meurisse Chocolate
Dark Orange Dark Chocolate Bar 
Good ++ 
Weight: .88 oz. (25 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total bar
Calories: 140 calories in 1/4 bar
Cost: $14.95 for 1 bar
Purchased from: Il Parco Cafe (in the Presidio), San Francisco, CA

Welcome to Day #17 of Chocolate and Fruits Theme Week.

Today's Dark Orange Dark Chocolate Bar was made by Muerisse Chocolate NV (Antwerp, Belgium), using single origin cocoa from Papua New Guinea.

Aroma and flavor notes for this attractively packaged bar included: smooth dark chocolate (chocolate-y, fudge brownie); light, balanced orange; and barely detectable vanilla.

Texture: The base dark chocolate had a smooth texture that was peppered with tiny, crunchy bits of (possibly freeze-dried) orange peel.

I enjoyed the smooth, authentic flavors that weren't too sweet. And I appreciated that the orange was not overly sweet (candied) and was used as a chewy textural element as well as a lighter citrus flavor. The same was true with the restrained use of vanilla. The relatively short list of ingredients, use of single origin cocoa, balanced flavors and overall taste, and packaging all left an impression of natural elegance.

Ingredients: Cocoa mass*, cane sugar*, cocoa butter*, orange* (5%), natural vanilla powder*, orange essential oil* (* from organic agriculture) 73% minimum cocoa

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of milk, soy, pistachio, almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts."

 

Taza Chocolate - 70% Dark Chocolate Raspberry Crunch (bar) - Nov. 4, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Taza Chocolate
70% Dark Chocolate Raspberry Crunch (bar) 
Good ++ 
Weight: 1.23 oz. (35 g.) / 2.5 oz. (70 g.) in total bar 

Calories: 190 calories in 1/2 bar
Cost: $N/A - gift from friends 
Purchased from: N/A - gift from friends

Welcome to Day #15 of Chocolate and Fruits Theme Week.

Today's 70% Dark Chocolate Raspberry Crunch (bar) was made by Taza Chocolate (Somerville, MA).

Taza Chocolate was established in 2005. Founder Alex Whitmore was inspired by Mexican stone-ground chocolates--such as the disks/wheels of drinking chocolates you might see in specialty markets in the U.S.--after traveling in Oaxaca, Mexico. The company uses organic cacao (and other ingredients) and maintains direct relationships with cacao growers/sources in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Aroma notes for this vegan and dairy-free, bean-to-bar chocolate "Crunch" bar included: red raspberry jam and smooth dark chocolate.

Texture: This well-tempered bar broke with a snap. And the base dark chocolate had a stone-ground (slightly coarser texture) and crispy/crunchy texture due to puffed quinoa.  The maker(s) remind us: "This bar isn't silky smooth--on purpose." Why? Less refining* and grinding results in preserving more flavors and nutrients. (And if you start with a higher-quality cacao, you don't want to lose some of those flavors.)

I liked the blend of smooth and crunchy textures; and the balanced, chocolate-y 70% cacao flavor. The sweetness level was where I like it. I also appreciated the use of organic and gluten-free ingredients.

And while the raspberry fruit flavor was a little strong (enhanced), it tasted relatively authentic. (I'd be interested in tasting this dark chocolate with just the Organic Raspberry Flavor Oil--without the addition of Natural Flavors.)

Ingredients: Organic Cacao Beans, Organic Cane Sugar, Organic Cocoa Butter, Organic Puffed Quinoa, Organic Raspberry Flavor Oil (Organic Sunflower Oil and Natural Flavors). 

Allergen-related information: "May Contain Traces of Tree Nuts and Sesame Seeds.

*Refining is typically done with machines with granite/stone grinding wheels with the goal of reducing particle size. The longer the ground cacao beans spend in the refiner, the smaller the particle size. (Some makers have refiners going for days to achieve particle sizes less than 20 microns.) Time in a refiner is often followed by more time spent in conching machines that coat each tiny cacao solid particle with cocoa butter. 

Longer times spent in these machines may result in smoother textures and flavors, but the additional oxidation can also result in volatile flavor loss, and loss of nutrients/nutritional properties. 

ChocolateSpiel - 75% Monk Fruit (bar) - Nov. 3, 2026

Chocolate of The Day

ChocolateSpiel
75% Monk Fruit (bar)
Good + - Good ++ 
Weight: 1 oz. (27 g.) in 1 bar
Calories: 108 calories in 1 bar
Cost: $8.00 for 1 bar
Purchased from: ChocolateSpiel, online order

Welcome to Day #15 of Chocolate and Fruits Theme Week.

Today's 75% Monk Fruit* (bar) was from ChocolateSpiel (Seattle, WA). Chocolate Maker and founder, Angi, (a former chemical engineer) produces a variety of fun and colorful bars and bonbons, speckled with colorful (cocoa butter based) "paint(s)". I found her chocolates on Etsy.com.

This dark chocolate was sweetened with monk fruit, and was made with cacao from the Dominican Republic.

Aroma and flavor notes for this colorful bar included: smooth dark chocolate, that was low in acidity and bitterness, and very faint fruit. There was also barely detectable menthol flavor/cooling mouthfeel from the monk fruit; but nothing as strong as some artificial sweetener flavors. 

Texture: This smooth textured bar had an even melt and broke with a well-tempered snap.  

I enjoyed this attractively "painted" smooth dark chocolate bar with (chocolate-y) flavor and lack of a sugar buzz. I also appreciated the relatively short list of ingredients.

Ingredients: cocoa, monk fruit sweetener, cocoa butter, colored cocoa butter. 

Allergen-related information: "May contain traces of peanuts, gluten and tree nuts."

*Monk fruit (Siraitia grosvenorii), also known as luo han guo, is part of the Cucurbitaceae family (melons, cucumbers). It's native to southern China. 

I first saw monk fruit in Hawaii on a coffee and fruit farm. I remember it as small, slightly brownish, and passion fruit-like, growing on a vine. It is difficult to grow in less humid, mainland, U.S. states. Climate warming has allowed me to grow passion fruit easily (no more frosts in the winter) where I live in California; but monk fruit is apparently difficult to grow, and male and female plants likely require human pollination help); so I'm more likely to try growing stevia, a less finicky plant sweetener from the Americas.

I tasted the above-mentioned monk fruit in Hawaii during a coffee tasting. The monk fruit (that was made into a powder using a water extraction process) made the bitterness all but disappear from the coffee we were tasting. It was a culinary magic trick. 

Pure monk fruit can be over 200x as sweet as sugar, so a little bit goes a long way. Also, the powder is so concentrated that the quantities needed are very small (making it more challenging to measure accurately and perhaps harder to mix uniformly with foods), as you'll notice a spike more readily. 

To address this challenge (and to cut costs), monk fruit powder is often mixed with bulking/filler agents like erythritol, maltitol, dextrose or other additives, in part to make it easier to mix uniformly into desserts, drinks or chocolates.

Dream of Sweden - Raspberry Truffles - Nov. 2, 2026

Chocolate of the Day

Dream of Sweden AB
Raspberry Truffles 
Good + 
Weight: 1.06 oz. (30 g.) / 3.52 oz. (100 g.) in total box of approx. 9 truffles 

Calories: 170 calories in 3 truffles (1 serving)
Cost: $11.99 for 1 box
Purchased from: Alameda South Shore Center, Alameda, CA

Welcome to Day #14 of Chocolate and Fruits Theme Week.

Today's Raspberry Truffles were from Dream of Sweden AB (Jonkoping, Sweden), and were imported into the U.S. by Dream of Sweden North America LLC (Atlanta, GA).

Aroma notes for these cocoa-dusted truffles included: fairly strong raspberry flavoring, and subtle chocolate (cocoa). Flavor notes included a smooth, creamy chocolate-y taste as well as the prominent raspberry flavoring.

Texture: creamy with a rapid, almost buttery, decadent melt. (Vegetable fat was the number one ingredient.)

I liked the chocolate-y flavor, and really liked the texture and melt. I also appreciated the resemblance to "real", cocoa-dusted chocolate truffles from Europe (vs. the large chocolate covered bonbons that are sometimes referred to as chocolate truffles in the U.S.).

I wasn't as fond about the raspberry flavors. It tasted like the raspberry fruit was amped up with artificial flavor. (It was. Note: I don't care for added artificial or "natural" flavors.) The long ingredients list and artificial flavor(s) were the reasons for the slightly lower rating.

The sweetness level was about what most people will expect for truffles. (They were sweet, but not excessively so.)

Ingredients: Vegetable fat (Coconut, palmkernel), sugar, fat reduced cocoa powder (12%), whey powder (Milk), raspberry flakes (0.6%) (raspberry 40%, sugar 35%, maize starch 25%), emulsifier (Soya lecithin), artificial flavors (vanilla and raspberry)

Allergen-related information: Contains: Milk, Soy and Coconut. Made in a plant that also processes: Hazelnuts and Almonds.

Cacao & Cardamom - Cigar Collection (Root Beer, Cracker Jack chocolate cigars) - Nov. 1, 2026

Chocolate(s) of The Day

Cacao & Cardamom
Cigar Collection - "Root Beer" cigar - Good ++
Cigar Collection - "Cracker Jack" cigar - Good ++

Weight: 2.8 oz. (80 g.) / 8.4 oz. (240 g.) in a box of 6 cigars
Calories: 434 calories in 2 cigars
Cost: $36.00 + shipping for 1 box of 6 chocolate cigars
Purchased from: Cacao & Cardamom, online order

Welcome to Day #13 of Chocolate and Fruits Theme Week.

Today's two Root Beer and Cracker Jack (filled) chocolate cigars were part of a high-end, flashy* six-cigar chocolate box from Cacao & Cardamom (Houston, TX).

The company offers many high-end and attractive bars, bon bons and other chocolate confections.

Each of today's chocolate cigars were filled with two layers (one atop the other) that deliciously verified their respective namesake flavors. 

The root beer flavor had a darker root beer layer, and a white, light-as-a-marshmallow layer (could have been representing the foam floating atop a root beer soft drink, or vanilla ice cream on/in a root beer float).

The Cracker Jack** flavored cigar had a caramel layer and had authentic nut and caramel corn notes (and texture -- with tiny pieces of caramel corn and nuts.  

The smooth chocolate (likely milk chocolate) exteriors surrounded perfectly proportioned layers of confectionery heaven with addictive flavor and texture combinations. Not overly sweet, not artificial-tasting. Both flavors evoked happy childhood beverage and classic candy memories.

I really enjoyed these chocolate cigars. This cigar collection would be a great gift for a celebration. (Cacao & Cardamom also makes cigar flavors that are inspired by cocktails.)

For those who are wondering when the fruits will be discussed--this being fruits week...These two, sweet stogies were paired with a fall fresh fruit plate: slices of soft persimmon, juicy orange, and crisp fall apple.

Ingredients: Contact Cacao & Cardamom for information, ingredients, possible allergens.

Allergen-related information: Contains Nuts. (May contain Milk, other allergens.)

*The gift box had a slim string of lights at the bottom that shone when I opened the box. The shiny pattern on the inside of the box enhanced the effect of spotlighting the cigars.

**Cracker Jack was a sweet, nutty and slightly salty snack sold in many movie theaters that came with a prize. Caramel corn (popcorn pieces covered in a caramel-y coating), peanuts and a surprise--all in one box. The word crackerjack has also been used as a term that can mean "exceptionally good" or first rate.

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.