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From Ethel M in Vegas we picked up a small chocolate bar to try. For those who don’t recognize the brand, Ethel’s is to M&M’s as Lexus is to Toyota. Whenever in Vegas, we’ll try to pick up some of their truffles - they have some really wonderful alcoholic-inspired ones, like the margarita and the […]

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Like Costco, Trader Joe’s is a supplier of all good things, in our view. So how could you go wrong with a 71% cocao dark chocolate bar from them? Especially when it’s made in Switzerland, with fairly traded cocao beans? Well, the answer is you can’t.
This a good, solid, smooth bar with a great taste. […]

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One look at the bright red wrapper of this bar and you would think we’ve finally found the end-all of spicy chocolate bars: two chili peppers and a piece of chocolate are pictured with “Extra Fine dark chocolate with chili.”
However, after trying it, we’re sorry to say that this isn’t it. That isn’t to say […]

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We really like some of these Dagoba bars we have managed to find. We hadn’t noticed this one before and were immediately intrigued by the concept: blueberries and lavender.
This has a really great aroma and mouthfeel - the lavender is a wonderful complement to the blueberries. Like other Dagoba dark chocolate, this has a relatively […]

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Found this in the discount bin of our local Target. This is a nice, fairly spicy bar, with good texture from the cocao been nibs mixed in. I was surprised, honestly, with the balance of ingredients in this bar; it’s not what we expected. What threw us off is that the ingredients list “spices” […]

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Another Choxie from Target, this is more candy bar than chocolate. Dark chocolate coating around soft, lemon white chocolate truffle filling inside. Nice, light, airy, almost fluffy tasting. I think lemon is so-so; it could be nicer if it were less sweet and more tart. If you’re a dark chocolate fan, you can skip this […]

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Ah, Lindt. Seeing those five letters makes my salivary glands kick in, and vague memories of immature chocolate and red wine pairings from college waft around in my brain.
On the whole, Lindt chocolate bars, especially the plainest ones, are consistently sublime. High cocao content, beautifully blended and meltingly smooth. Never a bitter aftertaste, and always […]

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Nice dark chocolate (72% cocoa), made by Redstone Foods in Texas. Infused with chipotle chili pepper, this has a methodically increasing heat level as the chocolate washes away out of your mouth. The heat is pretty even and strong, and hits its peak about half a minute after the last bit of chocolate is gone.
This […]

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Turn up the heat! Finally, a dark chocolate with some teeth. Dry chilies that kick it up a notch. Frey chocolates, a Swiss chocolate company (the only one left?) recently introduced to the American market via Target stores. And all we can say is: thanks, Target!
Here’s a dark chocolate with oomph. The chili creeps in […]

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Wow - once in a while you try a chocolate that really makes you stop and think about what you’re trying. This is one of them - what a delicious combination of dark swiss chocolate (55%), lemon powder and black pepper. Made by Frey Chocolate, a Swiss chocolatier recently (2006?) introduced their chocolate into the […]

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Yeah yeah, I know, we have a review of this bar already. It’s just that after focusing several fruity chocolate bars, my thoughts turn to meat. And this is such a great chocolate. What really triggered this? It was the seeds from the freeze dried raspberries of a Chocolove bar that got me hankering for […]

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A nice dark semi-sweet bar from the Chocolove folks in Boulder - made with freeze-dried raspberries and 55% dark chocolate. An interesting comparison to their Cherry-Almond bar: the seeds of the raspberries provide the crunchiness amongst one’s teeth after all the chocolate has melted away. With a great belgian chocolate base, this is a another […]

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So I’m not a huge almond lover - not in my top ten favorite nuts - but in this chocolate bar, I think it works wonderfully. You try to break off a piece of this bar, and you can see almonds, but you can’t get to them because the dried cherries are keeping everything together […]

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The third chocolate in our Dagoba trilogy this evening is the Super Fruit. Made with acai powder, goji berries and currants - where does these guys in Oregon come up with these ingredients? It’s not like we walk into a Trader Joes and find this in the dried fruit and nuts section… So goji berries […]

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So I’m reading this label and wondering what the heck ‘nibs’ are. Are nibs to cocoa beans what giblets are to turkey? Turns out, it’s probably what you expect it to be: roasted cocoa beans, broken into smaller pieces, essentially a purist’s version of chocolate chips.
Back to the chocolate - like the Lemon-Ginger chocolate from […]

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