Chocri: (Untitled)

As a little early birthday present, Michael and Wonja ordered a couple of custom-designed chocolate bars to be sent to me at school. They used a company called Chocri, which is based in Germany and lets you design your own chocolate bars from over 100 toppings. This bar was Wonja's design -- it has strawberry, basil, pine nuts, and candied lilac (!) Also, they give you a bar code to re-order the same chocolate bar that was made for you -- so they keep every bar recipe on file.

Chocri: (Untitled)
Cocoa content: 64%
Notable ingredients: strawberry; basil; pine nuts; candied lilac
Origin: n/a

Everyone has to visit this website. It's amazing. I did a little trial run to see what toppings Chocri offers, and some of them are really out there: I could make a bar with chives, licorice, and a couple of marzipan carrots for instance. Chocri will also write things on the bar if you so desire, and you can order from a list of pre-designed bars with themes such as "Happy Graduation" and "Summer Fever." Wonja's design feels kind of like a summery salad atop a chocolate bar.

The strawberry and candied lilac were really interesting ingredients, and they nicely balanced the savory taste of the basil and the slight bitterness of pine nuts. You wouldn't normally think of pine nuts going on a chocolate bar, and while they fit in with the other ingredients, I would say that slivered almonds might have been more effective. Also, the pine nuts were so plentiful (as you can see) that they sort of overwhelmed the taste of the chocolate at times. I thought to break off two pieces and eat them like a little sandwich with the toppings on the inside, and it worked better that way because the chocolate had a chance to catch up with the pine nuts. The candied lilac was divine and original.

I think the chocolate itself was pretty good -- honestly, it was hard to tell because there was so much on top. But it definitely had a good, pure texture and an impressive snap. Overall, this whole concept is so cool and I like that Wonja got super creative with the toppings. Why order a custom chocolate bar if you're not going to take risks with flavor?

This grade represents the taste of the bar, my admiration of its concept, and my appreciation for the gift! A.

Endangered Species: Dark Chocolate w/ Goji Berries, Pecans, & Maca

Firstly, let me just say: I got my comeuppance when I dissed goji berries a couple weeks ago. My mom bought me this bar (again, Eden Gourmet in South Orange, NJ) and -- what could I say? 

The deal with Endangered Species Chocolate is that it gives 10% of profits to nonprofit organizations in support of "species, habitat, and humanity" -- they change their partners every two years or so. The inside wrapper gives you information about how to support endangered species and sustainable forest farmland, and humane working conditions for farmers, etc.

It also teaches you a thing or two about the spider monkey -- at least this bar does. "Acrobatic and swift, spider monkeys travel in foraging groups seeking tasty seeds and fruits." I guess the idea is that the spider monkey would like this particular bar, which sort of has some of that stuff in it. I would never feed an animal chocolate. Here are some stats:

Endangered Species: Dark Chocolate w/ Goji Berries, Pecans, and Maca

Cocoa content: 70%

Notable ingredients: goji berries, pecans, maca, organic chocolate liquor

Origin: Blend, made in USA

Maca is an herb -- or maybe a root -- harvested in the Andes. Endangered Species says it enhances your energy and stress-handling abilities; Wikipedia says maybe it improves libido and semen quality. Goji berries, in case you've never had them, are little red puckered things that grow in China and appeal to health food people. Pecans are pecans.

What's funny about this bar is that I can hardly detect ANY of the aforementioned ingredients in it. If I break off pieces I can kind of make out flecks of pecan, but I neither see nor taste the goji or the maca. ES doesn't talk about how it mixes in the ingredients, but I suspect some sort of infusion thing is going on. The chocolate itself is great -- snappy, consistent texture, sweet, and finally, thick. I am sick of thin, pointy bars of chocolate that hurt the roof of my mouth. So I feel that this is a wonderful bar of chocolate that I could easily mistake for being solid dark. I'm choosing not to detract points for that because at the end of the day, I just want to HAVE KNOWN good chocolates. A-.

NB: I tagged goji under fruit.