Camino Coconut

The Canadian chocolatier Camino uses mostly Fair Trade ingredients to make their chocolate bars; they . This one features coconut. The ingredient listing looks good, cacao mass, golden cane sugar, coconut flakes, cacao butter, whole cane sugar and ground vanilla beans (the coconut flakes are not Fair Trade). The cacao content is at 65%.

How does it taste? I like the flavour combination of coconut and dark chocolate certainly, and have enjoyed it in other bars. The chocolate itself is not the most flavourful and is not smooth, but it is a pleasant eating bar, especially if you like that combination. I don't think that I would buy this bar again.

Chocosol 5 Chili Bullet

The Canadian chocolatier Chocosol makes wonderful flavourful chocolate, sold in a variety of farmer's markets (to which they use pedal power to transport the chocolate). This one is a spicy one, featuring 5 kinds of chilis and spices. The ingredient listing, as always, looks good, cacao, raw sugar, cacao butter, 5 kinds of chilis, allspice, achiote (source of the natural colour annatto) and sea salt. There is no indication of the cacao content.

How does it taste? Like all the other bars I've tasted, this one is excellent chocolate, very flavourful, and the chili is not too powerful or overwhelming (my 5 year old niece has eaten it, and liked it). There are chili seeds on the bottom, but these are not hot. I would definitely buy this bar again, or any of their excellent offerings.

Zazubean Nutbar

The Canadian chocolatier Zazubean, whose chocolate is made in Switzerland, has many interesting combinations of flavour ingredients; this one features coconut and almond, as well as camu camu (a superfruit from Peru with a high Vitamin C content). The ingredient listing looks good, cocoa mass, cane sugar, coconut flakes, cocoa butter, almonds, Camu Camu and vanilla. The cacao content is at 70%.

How does it taste? I like the combination of coconut and dark chocolate, and this bar is no exception. The almonds are small pieces and not so forefront in flavour, and while you can rest assured that you will be getting a dose of Vitamin C from the Camu Camu, you won't be able to taste anything (Camu Camu on its own has a good flavour, sweet). This is a bar that I would buy again, but not my first choice.

Zazubean Lunatic

Zazubean is a Canadian chocolatier whose Organic bars are manufactured in Switzerland, they make bars out of interesting combinations. This one features mint and cacao nibs, along with maca. The ingredient listing is good, cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa nibs, cocoa butter, maca, vanilla and peppermint oil. The cacao content is at 73%.

How does it taste? Mint and chocolate goes well together, but, in this bar, there is an underlying bitterness that could be attributed to the maca or the cacao nibs. The crunchiness of the cacao nibs is a little disconcerting and off-putting. This is one of my least favourite of the Zazubean bars that I've tasted, and I doubt that I would buy it again.

Zazubean Hottie

The Canadian chocolatier Zazubean makes interesting chocolate from cacao beans in the Dominican Republic and Ecuador, with interesting combinations of ingredients; this one features chili and cinnamon and yerba mate (a South American herbal caffeine substitute). The ingredient listing is good, cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter, cinnamon, yerba mate, vanilla and chili pepper. The cacao content is at 70%. The bar is actually manufactured in Switzerland for Zazubean. It's tagline is Get Fired Up.

How does it taste? Well, this one is definitely about the cinnamon, though you can also taste the chili pepper, the heat is definitely there, so think spicy cinnamon. The yerba mate was lost in the flavour, but perhaps it gave me the energizing effect without the herbal taste I normally associate with it. The chocolate snaps well and tastes good. Cinnamon is a flavour I don't really care for, so I don't think I would buy this bar again.

Zazubean Flirt

The Canadian chocolatier Zazubean makes interesting chocolate from cacao beans in the Dominican Republic and Ecuador, with interesting combinations of ingredients; this one features raspberry and cherry and acai (a South American superfruit). The ingredient listing is good, cocoa mass, cane sugar, cocoa butter, raspberries, acai, cherries and vanilla. The cacao content is at 70%. The bar is actually manufactured in Switzerland for Zazubean.

How does it taste? Well, this one is mostly about the raspberry, if you like them, then this bar is for you. I found them to be not so dry but still very crunchy. The chocolate is tasty, snaps well and smells good. I didn't get the cherries at all, the acai might have been there, just a little bit. I don't think that I would buy this bar again.

Zazubean Cheeky

The Canadian chocolatier Zazubean makes interesting dark chocolate bars with unique flavours; this one features banana, salted toffee and maca. The cacao content is at 70%, while the cacao beans come from Dominican Republic and Ecuador. The ingredient listing is good, cocoa mass, cane sugar, toffee (cane sugar and whole milk powder), cocoa butter, bananas, sea salt, maca and vanilla. Most of the ingredients are Organic, while many of them are FairTrade. The bar is made in Switzerland. The tagline is "Be the Sassy Monkey".

How does it taste? The chocolate is good tasting, and melts well in the mouth. I don't get the banana at all, and the maca, if anything, has an underlying taste that might come from the chocolate, I can't tell. The salted toffee is very crunchy, I mean very crunchy, a little disconcerting. Overall, I would say that this is a good bar, not really that "Sassy", but not one I would buy again.

Chocosol Darkness

I've tried and enjoyed the Hemp Gold bar from the artisanal Canadian chocolatier Chocosol (too bad I missed their chocolate exhibit on Family Day at the ROM!), this is another bar of theirs that features their chocolate front and center. The ingredient listing is very short, cacao, cacao butter and raw sugar. There is no indication of cacao content, but it is definitely a dark chocolate bar; certainly given the name!

How does it taste? Chocosol's chocolate is a treat to eat, and this definitely showcases their art. The chocolate is smooth and full of the goodness good dark chocolate gives. I would definitely seek this bar out.

Chocosol Hemp Gold

I've read and heard so much about the artisan Canadian chocolatier Chocosol (too bad I missed their chocolate exhibit on Family Day at the ROM!), and definitely wanted to try their chocolate; I've mostly seen them at various Farmer's Markets in the Toronto area - they travel by bike to and fro. This bar contains one of my other favourite ingredients, hemp, in the form of hemp seeds. The ingredient listing is short, and, well, not sweet, but good, cacao, hemp nut, cacao butter, maple butter and sea salt. There is no indication of cacao content, but it is definitely a dark chocolate bar.

How does it taste? This definitely lives up to the hype and could become one of my favourite chocolate bars, despite its cost. The hemp nuts give it a little crunch that is a little disconcerting but not off-putting, and the maple butter gives it a good flavour that is not overwhelming, but makes the good chocolate better. I would definitely seek this bar out.

Camino Raspberries

The Canadian chocolatier Camino makes its chocolate bars from FairTrade ingredients (FairTrade means the grower receives a greater selling value for their product); it also uses Organic ingredients. The bar is made in Switzerland for Camino. The cacao content of this bar is 65%. The ingredient listing is good, cacao mass, golden cane sugar, cacao butter, whole cane sugar, raspberries and ground vanilla beans.

How does it taste? The chocolate is good, tasty. What I didn't care for in this bar is the dried raspberries, which ended up tasting like raspberry "seeds", like they had taken the fruit out of it and left the seeds. Enough said. I don't think that I would buy this bar again.

Equita Mint

Equita is a Canadian chocolatier from Montreal who makes its chocolate bars from FairTrade ingredients (FairTrade means the grower receives a greater selling value for their product); it also uses Organic ingredients. This bar is made in Switzerland for Equita. The cacao content of this bar is 61%. The ingredient listing is good, cacao mass, cane sugar, mint crisp (cane sugar and natural mint flavour) and cacao butter.

How does it taste? The chocolate is good, tasty. The mint is not overwhelming, like some mint bars I've tried (perhaps spearmint rather than peppermint), and the mint crackle gives the bar a chewy crunchy mouthfeel to it, kind of like eating minty-chocolatey-sugar, which I admit I liked. I would buy this bar again.

Hardbite Smokin' BBQ

This flavour from Hardbite is one I like second best, after the Rock Salt and Vinegar. There is a definite smokiness to the flavour, and the BBQ flavour is not strong, nor spicy. I think their disclaimer is kind of funny; Mass consumption of this product may cause some individuals to have too much fun.

Theobroma Chocolat Dark

The plain dark chocolate bar gives you a good guage of how good their chocolate is, and this is such a bar. The Quebec, Canada chocolatier Theobroma Chocolat makes chocolate from natural and pure ingredients using sustainable agriculture; they use a variety of Trinaterio and Forasterio beans from Africa and South America; this bar is at 60% cacao content.The ingredient listing is good and short, cocoa mass, sugar cane, cocoa butter and soy lecithin (all but the lecithin are organic).

How does it taste? The chocolate is good, snaps well, smells good, and is a good dark chocolate. It tells me that it can stand on its own, and that other ingredients just enhance the flavour. I still prefer the Banana Chunks bar, but this one is pretty good.

Theobroma Chocolat Coconut Chunks

The Quebec, Canada chocolatier Theobroma Chocolat makes chocolate from natural and pure ingredients using sustainable agriculture; they use a variety of Trinaterio and Forasterio beans from Africa and South America; this bar is at 60% cacao content.The ingredient listing is good and short, cocoa mass, sugar cane, cocoa butter, coconut and soy lecithin (all but the lecithin are organic).

How did it taste? The chocolate was good and tasty, snapped well and smelled good. I kept thinking to myself that perhaps the coconut would taste better if it was toasted, but it still tasted pretty good. I might buy this bar again, despite its expense, $2-3 for a 35 g bar.

Theobroma Chocolat Raspberry Chunks

Theobroma Chocolat is a Canadian chocolatier from Quebec; their philosophy is to use natural and pure, organic, ingredients that are rarely refined or converted, from sustainable agriculture. The cacao beans that they use are a mixture of Trinaterio and Forasterio from Africa and South American. This particular bar is at 60% cacao content, and is fairly expensive, I've seen it for $2 and also for over $3 for a 35 g thin bar (1/3 of a normal 100 g bar, which is about what I normally eat in a day). The ingredient listing is good and short, cocoa mass, sugar cane, cocoa butter, raspberry and soy lecithin (all but the lecithin are organic).

How did it taste? Fairly good tasting chocolate, with fresh tasting chunks of raspberry. The bar snapped well and smelled good. Despite its high price, I would occasionally like to eat this bar again.