NibMor Organic Daily Dose – Mint Dark Chocolate

NibMor (short for Nibble More) chocolate snack company makes small, 0.35 ounce squares of chocolate perfect for nibbling. They call it “Our Daily Dose” and it’s intended to be just the right amount for a delicious and healthy snack or end-of-meal treat.

My daily dose is a 72% dark chocolate with cacao nibs and mint.

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Unreal Dark Chocolate Almond Butter

As a kid I loved Reeses’ Peanut Butter Cups. The day after Trick or Treating for Halloween, my siblings and I would trade candy, each of us looking for more of our favorites. However, none of us would give up our peanut butter cups. We all coveted them and would be envious of the person that got more of them in their candy bag.

My favorite way to eat them was cold. I’d put one in the refrigerator after school and by homework time, I’d treat myself to an ice cold, milk chocolate covered, sugary peanut butter filled confection.

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Road Crew Clusters Dark Chocolate Detour

Road Crew Clusters’ Dark Chocolate Detour is a sweet and salty snack of semi-sweet chocolate coated peanuts, rice puffs, and pretzels.

Ah, snacks. Sweet. Salty. Sweet and salty. Why do sweet and salty things taste so good together? Scientists think they know why. It all comes down to the cells that make up our taste buds. Certain cells are activated by sugar and we taste “sweet”. And some “sweet” cells are only activated when accompanied by salt.

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Moonstruck Dark Chocolate Espresso Bean

Moonstruck Chocolate Company is crafted in Portland, Oregon. According to their website, http://www.moonstruckchocolate.com, they pair “…decadent chocolate with fresh flavors found in the Pacific Northwest and beyond…”

Today’s review comes from Moonstruck’s 68% dark chocolate with crushed espresso beans from Sumatra. I found this at a local grocery store among a long aisle of chocolates and candies. Perhaps it was the fun packaging with moon and stars that caught my eye. But more likely, it was my inner “chocolate homing device” that instantly targeted and locked on to the dark chocolate and coffee combination!

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Barnana Organic Chocolate Banana Brittle

Barnana’s Chocolate Banana Brittle are crunchy, bite-sized squares that look like thin cookies. They have a rich brown color and they are sprinkled with chocolate chips and toasted coconut flakes on top.

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chocolate and wine pairings

Four Chocolate and Wine Pairing Suggestions

There was a time when pairing chocolate and wine was relatively easy. Chocolate was simply chocolate. It was sweet, little was added to it outside of nuts and any red wine would do. Likewise, the wine industry wasn’t interested in making anything more interesting than Merlot.

Given the changes in both industries, here’s a new age wine pairing suggestion for some of your favorite chocolates here at Chocolate University online.

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Hands Off My Chocolate – Double Dark

Hands Off My Chocolate Double Dark is a 70% bar made in Belgium. It’s tasty and fun. I say fun because it’s molded into a geometric shape of attached circles with the majority of circles boasting the word “Mine” on them. There is only one stamped with “Yours," and it's crossed out!

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Trader Joe’s Cold Brew Coffee Chocolate Bar

Trader Joe’s Cold Brew Coffee chocolate is a 70% dark, caramel filled bar. Strong coffee aromas emanate from the package as soon as you rip open the foil wrapper. I love the smell of coffee!

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Taza Stone Ground Cacao Crunch

Cacao Crunch is an 80% dark, stone ground chocolate made by Taza Chocolate.

A couple years ago I reviewed another chocolate by Taza, a very dark (87%) single origin Bolivian bar. I pointed out its unusual texture due to the stone ground processing technique. That texture still prevails in today’s bar and is tightly woven into the whole tasting experience.

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Huckleberries

Wild Huckleberry Dark Chocolate Sea Salt

A dear friend of mine recently returned from a visit to Colorado. She brought me a gift of chocolate from the Creede Trading Company in Creede, Colorado. She thought the bar, Wild Huckleberry Dark Chocolate with Sea Salt, would be something I’d enjoy. Indeed! I’ve trained her well.

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