The stocking chocolate rating thread
Brent and Andrei and I opened our stockings from each other tonight and I got no less than 10 bars of chocolate in mine! Yum yum yummy!
Here I will taste test each one and rate them for you, and probably get a bit sick in the process, but I'm willing to make that kind of sacrifice.
All of these can be found at Nature's Best (I know because Brent left the price tags on every one).
1. Terra Nostra Pomegranate Truffle Robust 60% Cacao. Vegan, Organic, Fair Trade, Kosher. At first when I tried this bar I thought the pomegranate was a bit sour, but it grew on me. I like the fruity filling - usually truffles are very rich and too strong, but the pomegranate was lighter and delicious.
2. Dagoba Prima Materia 100%. Vegan, organic, Fair Trade, Kosher. Um, this was 100% cacao. As in baking chocolate. I love Dagoba, but why in the world would they sell 100% as a candy bar in a candy store. Whatever. I took one bite and a huge gulp of water. I've even enjoyed 95% before, but this? Blech. We'll save that one for baking - as it was intended.
3. ScharffenBerger 70% Cacao Pure Dark Chocolate. Kosher. Very sweet compared to the last bar. It also had vanilla beans in it and added a nice light flavor.
4. New Tree Bitter Orange/Crisped Rice Rejoice This one was milk chocolate, not dark which I usually eat. I did have to have two bites though, and shared one with Brent too. At first it tasted like those chocolate orange thingys which I love, but then it had a weird aftertaste. Looking at the ingredients, it also had lime extract too, which I think didn't mesh the best with the bitter orange. It seems like it would, but ... meh. Not like it'll stop me. :)
5. Vivani Dark Chocolate with Lemon Flavor - 70% cacao Vegan, Organic. I love love love plain, unadulterated dark chocolate and this one fits the bill. But it has just a bit of lemon that you can't taste, but can smell when you're eating it. At the end, I tasted lemon and not chocolate, which was not the best, but still good chocolate.
6. Endangered Species Milk Chocolate with Pecan Praline - Gorilla Endangered Species Chocolate donates 10% of their profits to support endangered species, habitat, and humanity. Fair Trade. Pecans in chocolate bars is not common, I think. I'm not a huge fan of toffee - which is the same thing as praline, right? So it wasn't my favorite chocolate, but I think I'll like it anyway - just not too much at a time.
7. Endangered Species Milk Chocolate with Rice Crisp - Manatee Fair Trade. Eh. Just plain milk chocolate with a few crispies thrown in. Not very good crispies. Like I said - eh.
8. Endangered Species Milk Chocolate with Coconut and Macadamia Nuts - Orangutan Fair Trade. I looove coconut and I wish this had more flavor in it. I could barely taste it. But it tasted better than plain milk chocolate, so I'm not complaining.
9. Endangered Species Milk Chocolate with Cherries - Dolphin Fair Trade. Yummy! I love berries in chocolate. Yummy again. Again, though, not enough. Endangered Species chocolate has endangered flavoring. I had to take a few bites to get enough cherry goodness. But still, so so good. Drroooolllll.
10. Dagoba Super Fruit - Acai, Gogi Berries, and Currants - 74% cacao Fair Trade, Organic, Vegan, Kosher. I had to look up what Acai was and apparantly it's some kind of grape like fruit and also a super antioxidant. Oooh - save the best for last. I love Dagoba anyway and 70ish% is my favorite cacao number. I didn't really taste the fruit, but it wasn't plain either. This bar will be the first gone, I'm sure.
--
And for a bonus round - I also got some other goodies in my stocking which I will also tell you all about. Brent must have been feeling very generous today - or maybe feeling sorry for me lol!
Beurre Karite Lavender Hand Cream -- This was in a metal tube and had the consistancy of toothpaste. I'm not a huge fan of lavender essential oil, and even though it was strong smelling, it was okay. The cream was great - I guess paying a bundle for hand cream is worth it. It was not too greasy or thin - just perfect and made my hands super soft. I didn't need much to do a great job. I predict this will get much use since my hands get so dry in the winter and my regular lotion I need to use two or three times in a row before my hands aren't dried out all the time. Now... where do I hide it....
Beurre Karite Dry Skin Foot Cream -- So, are my feet that bad that Brent can't bear to have me next to him at night? Hopefully not. This was in the same type of metal tube and also very thick. It smelled delciously pepperminty and felt wonderfull on my one foot - so much that my other foot felt angry and dry and jealous. Maybe I can bribe Brent to help me out with that - I have lots of chocolate to bribe him with.
Burt's Beeswax Moisturizing Day Creame - This smelled like a cross between medicine and perfume -not what you expect from a natural product like Burt's Bees. It was nice and soft on my windblown cheecks though. Now my hands are getting greasy from testing all these products, but that's better than the alternative - dry hands drive me nuts.
Last but not least - Burt's Bees Peppermint Lip Balm. I have used this brand for a while and I love it. Mint is my favorite flavor and I love the cool spiciness of peppermint oil. However, the other day Andrei borrowed my lip balm and broke it. So now I have a replacement tube, and I also bought some for his stocking so he can break his own next time :)
--
Well, now that I'm all chocolated and moisturized and have a little bit of a sugar rush, I have to try and sleep. Good luck with that. All the bars were so yummy, and in the past my stocking chocolate has not made it to the new year. Every year I try and make it last, but there's a law against that or something, right?
Merry Christmas everyone! :)
Here I will taste test each one and rate them for you, and probably get a bit sick in the process, but I'm willing to make that kind of sacrifice.
All of these can be found at Nature's Best (I know because Brent left the price tags on every one).
1. Terra Nostra Pomegranate Truffle Robust 60% Cacao. Vegan, Organic, Fair Trade, Kosher. At first when I tried this bar I thought the pomegranate was a bit sour, but it grew on me. I like the fruity filling - usually truffles are very rich and too strong, but the pomegranate was lighter and delicious.
2. Dagoba Prima Materia 100%. Vegan, organic, Fair Trade, Kosher. Um, this was 100% cacao. As in baking chocolate. I love Dagoba, but why in the world would they sell 100% as a candy bar in a candy store. Whatever. I took one bite and a huge gulp of water. I've even enjoyed 95% before, but this? Blech. We'll save that one for baking - as it was intended.
3. ScharffenBerger 70% Cacao Pure Dark Chocolate. Kosher. Very sweet compared to the last bar. It also had vanilla beans in it and added a nice light flavor.
4. New Tree Bitter Orange/Crisped Rice Rejoice This one was milk chocolate, not dark which I usually eat. I did have to have two bites though, and shared one with Brent too. At first it tasted like those chocolate orange thingys which I love, but then it had a weird aftertaste. Looking at the ingredients, it also had lime extract too, which I think didn't mesh the best with the bitter orange. It seems like it would, but ... meh. Not like it'll stop me. :)
5. Vivani Dark Chocolate with Lemon Flavor - 70% cacao Vegan, Organic. I love love love plain, unadulterated dark chocolate and this one fits the bill. But it has just a bit of lemon that you can't taste, but can smell when you're eating it. At the end, I tasted lemon and not chocolate, which was not the best, but still good chocolate.
6. Endangered Species Milk Chocolate with Pecan Praline - Gorilla Endangered Species Chocolate donates 10% of their profits to support endangered species, habitat, and humanity. Fair Trade. Pecans in chocolate bars is not common, I think. I'm not a huge fan of toffee - which is the same thing as praline, right? So it wasn't my favorite chocolate, but I think I'll like it anyway - just not too much at a time.
7. Endangered Species Milk Chocolate with Rice Crisp - Manatee Fair Trade. Eh. Just plain milk chocolate with a few crispies thrown in. Not very good crispies. Like I said - eh.
8. Endangered Species Milk Chocolate with Coconut and Macadamia Nuts - Orangutan Fair Trade. I looove coconut and I wish this had more flavor in it. I could barely taste it. But it tasted better than plain milk chocolate, so I'm not complaining.
9. Endangered Species Milk Chocolate with Cherries - Dolphin Fair Trade. Yummy! I love berries in chocolate. Yummy again. Again, though, not enough. Endangered Species chocolate has endangered flavoring. I had to take a few bites to get enough cherry goodness. But still, so so good. Drroooolllll.
10. Dagoba Super Fruit - Acai, Gogi Berries, and Currants - 74% cacao Fair Trade, Organic, Vegan, Kosher. I had to look up what Acai was and apparantly it's some kind of grape like fruit and also a super antioxidant. Oooh - save the best for last. I love Dagoba anyway and 70ish% is my favorite cacao number. I didn't really taste the fruit, but it wasn't plain either. This bar will be the first gone, I'm sure.
--
And for a bonus round - I also got some other goodies in my stocking which I will also tell you all about. Brent must have been feeling very generous today - or maybe feeling sorry for me lol!
Beurre Karite Lavender Hand Cream -- This was in a metal tube and had the consistancy of toothpaste. I'm not a huge fan of lavender essential oil, and even though it was strong smelling, it was okay. The cream was great - I guess paying a bundle for hand cream is worth it. It was not too greasy or thin - just perfect and made my hands super soft. I didn't need much to do a great job. I predict this will get much use since my hands get so dry in the winter and my regular lotion I need to use two or three times in a row before my hands aren't dried out all the time. Now... where do I hide it....
Beurre Karite Dry Skin Foot Cream -- So, are my feet that bad that Brent can't bear to have me next to him at night? Hopefully not. This was in the same type of metal tube and also very thick. It smelled delciously pepperminty and felt wonderfull on my one foot - so much that my other foot felt angry and dry and jealous. Maybe I can bribe Brent to help me out with that - I have lots of chocolate to bribe him with.
Burt's Beeswax Moisturizing Day Creame - This smelled like a cross between medicine and perfume -not what you expect from a natural product like Burt's Bees. It was nice and soft on my windblown cheecks though. Now my hands are getting greasy from testing all these products, but that's better than the alternative - dry hands drive me nuts.
Last but not least - Burt's Bees Peppermint Lip Balm. I have used this brand for a while and I love it. Mint is my favorite flavor and I love the cool spiciness of peppermint oil. However, the other day Andrei borrowed my lip balm and broke it. So now I have a replacement tube, and I also bought some for his stocking so he can break his own next time :)
--
Well, now that I'm all chocolated and moisturized and have a little bit of a sugar rush, I have to try and sleep. Good luck with that. All the bars were so yummy, and in the past my stocking chocolate has not made it to the new year. Every year I try and make it last, but there's a law against that or something, right?
Merry Christmas everyone! :)
posted by Tracy at 8:17 PM
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