Compartés California Dreaming

I found this bar at a high end grocery in Pike Market in Seattle and fell in love with the cover immediately.

I realized that this brand Compartés was my arch-enemy, after the whole dreaded dark-white chocolate bait & switch from six months ago, but that cover made me buy it. Besides, how bad could a dark chocolate and brownie bar be? And guess what? It was pretty good. Not great. But a decent dark chocolate with little chunks of brownie. It reminded me of Ben & Jerry’s Chocolate Fudge Brownie Ice Cream, which I have also been eating lately. Still, I’d rather eat the ice cream, and I’d certainly rather give B&J my money.

I never forget, Compartés. And about white chocolate, I never forgive.

These Are The Chocolates You Are Looking For

My co-worker Dini M. found more Star Wars chocolate at Disneyland this week.

These were really yummy, for milk chocolate. They had soft centers and rice krispies inside, and I really liked them. Plus, each one was stamped with the likeness of BB-8.

I have also had Disney’s two dark chocolate Star Wars candies, the Sea Salt and the Caramel, also both gifts from Dini. These chocolates were amazing, and I think Disney is really upping their chocolate game lately.

Thanks Dini!

Dandelion 70% Maya Mountain Belize Chocolate

I found this fancy bar at a high end grocery store in Pike Market in Seattle.

Sorry for the fuzzy photo, but I was excited about this fancy bar. How fancy was the bar? It was sourced directly by Greg. Yes…Greg! Maybe one day I will meet this Greg.

But seriously, it only contains two ingredients: cocoa beans and cane sugar. How pure is that? And it tasted delicious. I couldn’t quite place the aftertaste, but it was strong. My co-workers thought it was citrus, but I thought it was more metallic. It certainly did not taste of honey, caramel, strawberries or cream like the label says. But it was good.

I will have to find more Dandelion chocolate.

Indi Nicaragua Chocolate

I got this bar at the Indi chocolatier in Pike Market in Seattle.

Like their Ecuador Heirloom bar, this bar was also 72% cacao. And it tasted like it, with a deep rich chocolate flavor. However, I didn’t taste much of a singular note like the Ecuador bar, or the two Friisholm bars that came from Nicaragua. I mean, it was still great chocolate, but it didn’t taste like a single origin bar, and the Ecuador bar was so much richer. Still, I have one more bar to try from this chocolate maker, and my hopes are high.

Cadbury Old Gold Original Dark Chocolate

I saw this bar in a grocery store in Sydney, and I remembered how much I loved the almond version, so I got this to compare.

This bar was good, but I liked the almond bar better. At 45% cacao, this bar is dark but not very, and the chocolate on its own is just OK. But cover it in almonds and wow, super yummy. Do yourself a favor, skip this bar and try the almond one!

Lotte Choco Pie

My co-worker Charlie S. brought these into work while I was out of the office, but he saved me a couple to try.

They come in individually wrapped pies.

These are two soft chocolate wafers with marshmallow creme between them, and the whole thing is covered in dark chocolate. I liked these. I realized I had had them before, in a box that another co-worker brought from South Korea. These are just as good!

Thanks Charlie!

Cacao Prieto Dominican Cacao 72% Dark Chocolate With Brined Almonds And Salt

I found this bar in Seattle, right next to the same brand’s orchid bar.

There was a wonderful story on the back about how the chocolate maker’s great-grandfather started the business, back in the Dominican Republic. The story is very sweet, and it made me realize that this bar is not just single origin by country or county, but it is a bar from a single farm!

There was also a cute postcard included with the bar.

The back of the postcard explains that it is the chocolate maker’s parents, riding a bike on the Coney Island boardwalk.

So after all of these touching stories, how was the chocolate? Really good! Very chocolatey, with an unusual aftertaste. Unlike with the orchid bar, I couldn’t taste any floral notes at all. It was a little bit of a citrus note, or perhaps a touch of vinegar. Maybe the brined almonds contributed to that, but I ate one alone and it just tasted salty. My co-workers couldn’t identify it either, but they really liked this bar, going for seconds and sometimes thirds (it was a big bar at over four ounces). I think they liked it better than the orchid bar!