{"id":39240,"date":"2023-07-13T14:08:21","date_gmt":"2023-07-13T21:08:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/?p=39240"},"modified":"2024-11-30T15:40:46","modified_gmt":"2024-11-30T23:40:46","slug":"it-aint-easy-being-green","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/local-chocolate\/it-aint-easy-being-green\/","title":{"rendered":"It ain\u2019t easy being green"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.internationalchocolatesalon.com\/the-best-vegan-chocolate-of-2023-and-awards-winners-announced\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2023 Best Vegan Chocolate competition<\/a> sponsored by TasteTV just confirmed for me what I think about vegan chocolate in general \u2014 while good chocolate is a difficult undertaking, making it vegan compounds the difficulties. It is extremely hard to replicate the taste and texture of traditional ingredients like refined cane sugar, butter, cream, and milk. Still there were some excellent entries this year \u2014 including from our local chocolatiers \u2014 and some other solid entries worth talking about.<\/p>\n<h2>SFBA<\/h2>\n<p>As usual I start with our local entries. All local entries earned 4 or 5 stars in my book this time. Whoo-hoo!<\/p>\n<h3>aL chocoLat Boutique<\/h3>\n<p>New competitor <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/local-chocolate\/al-chocolat-boutique\/\">aL chocoLat Boutique<\/a>,<\/strong> Los Gatos, has been an exciting addition to the local chocolate scene and these competitions with their intricate bonbons. We first tried their bonbons in this year\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/local-chocolate\/white-chocolate-gems\/\">white chocolate competition<\/a> in which I rated their entries 4 or 5 stars. This time was no different.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39402\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39402\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39402\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Mimosa-bonbon.jpg\" alt=\"Mimosa bonbon\" width=\"200\" height=\"194\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39402\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mimosa bonbon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The pretty Mimosa bonbon was a dome of \u201cmilk chocolate\u201d sponge painted yellow and circled by a silver swoosh around the base. Inside the thin shell a bright orange layer was topped by a light brown layer.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39425\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39425\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39425\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Mimosa-cross-section.jpg\" alt=\"Mimosa cross section\" width=\"200\" height=\"131\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39425\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Mimosa cross section<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>This vegan champagne and orange piece had an orange aroma and tasted very orangy with a little buzzy sensation on my tongue. It was also lightly chocolate but mostly orange. I rated this interesting tasty orange chocolate bonbon 5 stars, the highest rating.<\/p>\n<p>In the competition, aL chocoLat Boutique\u2019s Mimosa won Gold for Best Ingredient Combinations, Best Taste, and Top Vegan Chocolate; Silver for Best Flavored Chocolate; Bronze for Best Texture and Most Unique, and received Honorable Mentions for Best Dark Chocolate and Best Vegan Milk Chocolate. It was rated 4.5 stars.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39399\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39399\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39399\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Tahini-Crisp-bonbon.jpg\" alt=\"Tahini Crisp bonbon\" width=\"200\" height=\"199\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Tahini-Crisp-bonbon.jpg 200w, https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Tahini-Crisp-bonbon-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 85vw, 200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39399\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Tahini Crisp bonbon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The Tahini Crisp was a stunning red bonbon with a single silver swirl activating the piece. Inside the \u201cmilk chocolate\u201d shell looked like milk chocolate ganache full of rice crispies.<\/p>\n<p>It had an immediate mild but distinct tahini flavor blending with chocolate. There were little salt hits throughout the piece and it had a good crispy crunch. I thought the tahini chocolate balance worked and I rated it 5 stars.<\/p>\n<p>aL chocoLat Boutique\u2019s Tahini Crisp won Gold for Best Texture and Most Unique; Bronze for Best Taste, Best Flavored Chocolate, and Top Vegan Chocolate; and received Honorable Mentions for Best Ingredient Combinations and Best Dark Chocolate. It was rated 4.5 stars.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39400\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39400\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39400\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Sweet-Fig-Walnut-bonbon.jpg\" alt=\"Sweet Fig &amp; Walnut bonbon\" width=\"200\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Sweet-Fig-Walnut-bonbon.jpg 200w, https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Sweet-Fig-Walnut-bonbon-150x150.jpg 150w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 200px) 85vw, 200px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39400\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Sweet Fig &amp; Walnut bonbon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Their 3rd entry Sweet Fig &amp; Walnut was just as pretty with yellow dots on silver and gold swishes looking like <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vangoghgallery.com\/painting\/starry-night.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Van Gogh\u2019s Starry Night<\/a>. Another \u201cmilk chocolate\u201d shell this time filled with a reddish fig jam and pieces of walnut. An interesting touch was the bottom shell had smaller pieces of walnut mixed in the chocolate.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39424\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39424\" style=\"width: 320px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39424\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Inside-of-Sweet-Fig-Walnut.jpg\" alt=\"Inside of Sweet Fig &amp; Walnut\" width=\"320\" height=\"128\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39424\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Inside of Sweet Fig &amp; Walnut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>It smelled like fig and tasted like fig but sweeter so the name was accurate. It was full of crunchy caramelized walnuts. With these strong flavors the chocolate was almost not there. I rated it 4 stars just because I\u2019d like a little more chocolate. Maybe if it was in dark chocolate I would have given it 5 stars like their other 2 entries.<\/p>\n<p>aL chocoLat Boutique\u2019s Sweet Fig &amp; Walnut won Silver for Best Flavored Chocolate and received an Honorable Mention for Best Texture. It was rated 4 stars.<\/p>\n<p>You can buy aL chocoLat Boutique bonbons online and at special events. <a href=\"https:\/\/alchocolatboutique.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Visit their website<\/a> for more info.<\/p>\n<h3>Sonoma Chocolatiers<\/h3>\n<p>Veteran SFBA chocolatier and regular Salon competitor <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/local-chocolate\/sonoma-chocolatiers-2020\/\">Sonoma Chocolatiers<\/a> <\/strong>uses dark chocolate for all of their sweets, and they have an interesting assortment of chocolate molds, some antique, that they use for their ever-changing line of bonbons. There were no molded chocolates in their entries this time \u2014 these were either hand shaped and\/or enrobed \u2014 but I found all 3 entries to be top tier.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39403\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39403\" style=\"width: 320px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39403\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Salted-Caramel-Turtle.jpg\" alt=\"Salted Caramel Turtle\" width=\"320\" height=\"265\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39403\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Salted Caramel Turtle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I could smell the roasted pecans in the Salted Caramel Pecan Turtle as soon as I opened the package. It was a good nut and chocolate experience, both taste and texture wise, but I didn\u2019t taste caramel or get any chewy caramel texture so I was slightly disappointed in the soft caramel center. I rated it 4 stars on the basis of the chocolate and roasted pecans.<\/p>\n<p>In the competition Sonoma Chocolatiers\u2019 Salted Caramel Pecan Turtle won Silver for Best Taste and Bronze for Best Texture and Best Flavored Chocolate. It was rated 4.5 stars.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39404\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39404\" style=\"width: 320px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39404\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Cherry-Hazelnut-Bar.jpg\" alt=\"Cherry Hazelnut Bar\" width=\"320\" height=\"261\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39404\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cherry Hazelnut Bar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The mini Double Cherry Hazelnut Bar had whole hazelnuts on top and sour cherry ganache inside the dark chocolate shell. It tasted mostly of cherry and chocolate. Hazelnuts were there for the crunch. I rated it 4 stars.<\/p>\n<p>Sonoma Chocolatiers\u2019 Double Cherry Hazelnut Bar won Bronze for Best Ingredient Combinations, Best Texture, and Best Flavored Chocolate, and Honorable Mentions for Best Taste and Best Dark Chocolate. It was rated 4.5 stars.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39405\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39405\" style=\"width: 320px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39405\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Lemon-Coconut-Pistachio-Truffle.jpg\" alt=\"Lemon Coconut Pistachio Truffle\" width=\"320\" height=\"256\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39405\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Lemon Coconut Pistachio Truffles<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The hand of the maker was most visible in the hand rolled Lemon Coconut Pistachio Truffles. Imperfect spheres of dark chocolate ganache covered with bright green chopped pistachios were attractive in their wabi sabi-ness.<\/p>\n<p>They smelled coconutty and had an immediate citrus\/lemon taste than coconut. The citrus was strong turning bitter, thankfully the bitterness went away as I chewed the pistachios. It had the soft chewiness of pistachios and coconut. Pistachio was a subtle taste \u2014 it couldn\u2019t compete with the stronger coconut and citrus flavors. I rated it 4 stars.<\/p>\n<p>Sonoma Chocolatiers\u2019 Lemon Coconut Pistachio Truffle won Silver for Best Texture and Best Flavored Chocolate, Bronze for Most Unique, and received Honorable Mentions for Best Ingredient Combinations and Top Vegan Chocolate. It was rated 4 stars.<\/p>\n<p>Sonoma Chocolatiers\u2019 chocolates are available at their store, <a href=\"https:\/\/sonomachocolatiers.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">online<\/a>, at special events, and at <a href=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/local-chocolate\/olivers-market-stony-point\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Oliver\u2019s Market<\/a>, a Sonoma County supermarket chain.<\/p>\n<h2>Top tier<\/h2>\n<p>In addition to the excellent local entries this year were some other notables including an entry that surprised me and a most improved competitor.<\/p>\n<h3>Nature\u2019s Garden<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39406\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39406\" style=\"width: 420px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39406\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Strawberry-Almonds.jpg\" alt=\"Strawberry Almonds\" width=\"420\" height=\"395\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Strawberry-Almonds.jpg 420w, https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Strawberry-Almonds-320x301.jpg 320w, https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Strawberry-Almonds-400x376.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 85vw, 420px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39406\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Strawberry Almonds<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>I thought I would dislike the entry from new competitor <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/naturesgarden.net\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Nature\u2019s Garden<\/a>,<\/strong> Totowa, NJ. When I opened the package of Strawberry Oatmilk Almonds it blasted me back to childhood with a smell like Strawberry Quik.<\/p>\n<p>Thankfully it tasted better \u2014 almonds, a little tart strawberry, and the distinct taste of oat milk \u2014 why not almond milk instead? Seems like that would be the obvious choice.<\/p>\n<p>I actually liked these. Good whole almonds and the coating was thin so the balance was right. They were mostly nutty and not too sweet. I rated Nature\u2019s Garden\u2019s Strawberry Oatmilk Almonds 4 stars.<\/p>\n<p>Nature&#8217;s Garden\u2019s Strawberry Oatmilk Chocolate Almonds won Silver for Best Vegan Milk Chocolate and Best Flavored Chocolate, Bronze for Best Ingredient Combinations, and Honorable Mentions for Best Texture, Most Unique, and Top Vegan Chocolate. They were rated 4 stars.<\/p>\n<p>You can order Nature\u2019s Garden snacks on their website.<\/p>\n<h3>Lulubee Artisinal Chocolates<\/h3>\n<p>New competitor,\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/lulubeechocolates.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Lulubee Artisinal Chocolates<\/a>,<\/strong> Lincoln, NE, submitted 2 pretty, well made bonbons. One I thought was top tier and the second was a good effort.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39407\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39407\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39407\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Strawberry-Rhubarb-Bonbon.jpg\" alt=\"Strawberry Rhubarb Bonbon\" width=\"200\" height=\"216\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39407\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Strawberry Rhubarb Bonbon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Continuing the strawberry pink trend from Nature\u2019s Garden\u2019s submission Lulubee Artisinal Chocolates\u2019 Strawberry Rhubarb Bonbon was a tall shiny pink and rose colored dome. Inside the thin dark chocolate shell were 2 layers: dark red jelly layered on top of a dark pink jelly.<\/p>\n<p>Good tart definitely rhubarb was the bottom layer. While visually on top strawberry was underneath supporting the rhubarb flavor. A lot of times people reverse this ratio \u2014 maybe they don\u2019t like the assertive tartness of rhubarb. I liked that this piece was so rhubarb-y and I rated it 4 stars.<\/p>\n<p>In the competition Lulubee Artisanal Chocolates\u2019 Strawberry Rhubarb Bonbon won Gold for Best Taste and Best Flavored Chocolate; Silver for Best Ingredient Combinations, Best Texture, and Top Vegan Chocolate; and received an Honorable Mention for Best Dark Chocolate. It was rated 4.5 stars.<\/p>\n<p>You can buy Lulubee Artisinal Chocolates online, at their store in Lincoln, and at other locations around NE.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"punto\">Chocopunto by Mabel<\/h3>\n<p>Return competitor, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/chocopunto.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chocopunto by Mabel<\/a>,<\/strong> Dominican Republic, makes bars using local cacao. They first competed in last year\u2019s vegan competition but they didn\u2019t make my cutoff. This year they came back better with 3 bars each in the chocolate bar and vegan competitions and they all made my cutoff. Wow, talk about most improved!<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39408\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39408\" style=\"width: 220px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39408\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/55-Dark.jpg\" alt=\"55% Dark\" width=\"220\" height=\"426\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/55-Dark.jpg 220w, https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/55-Dark-207x400.jpg 207w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 220px) 85vw, 220px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39408\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">55% Dark Chocolate<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Like the <a href=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/local-chocolate\/a-few-good-bars\/#punto\">chocolate bar competition<\/a>, 2 of the 3 Chocopunto vegan entries made it into my top tier, and I found the 3rd one good enough to make my list. The first bar we tried from Chocopunto in this competition was the 55% Dark Chocolate bar made with Dominican Republic cacao. It had a good snap that was harder than I expected for a 55%.<\/p>\n<p>It smelled chocolatey and tasted raisiny with a little licorice before turning nutty and generically sweet. From my description I hope you can tell that the taste was unusual but not bad. The bar had a smooth texture and I rated it 4 stars.<\/p>\n<p>Chocopunto by Mabel\u2019s 55% Dark Chocolate bar won Gold for Best Dark Chocolate and Silver for Best Texture. It was rated 4.5 stars.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39409\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39409\" style=\"width: 220px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39409\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/95-Dark.jpg\" alt=\"95% Dark\" width=\"220\" height=\"425\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/95-Dark.jpg 220w, https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/95-Dark-207x400.jpg 207w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 220px) 85vw, 220px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39409\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">95% Dark Chocolate<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>At the other end of the cacao range, their 95% Dark Chocolate bar made with the same origin beans had a hard snap and was bitter but not as much as I expected of such a high percentage. It was palatable, generally savory\u2014 nutty and a little vegetal.<\/p>\n<p>Like the 55% it had a smooth texture. It had a drying sensation afterwards. If your upper limit is 85% you could enjoy this one. I rated it 4 stars.<\/p>\n<p>Chocopunto by Mabel\u2019s 95% Dark Chocolate bar won Gold for Best Dark Chocolate, Silver for Best Texture, and received Honorable Mentions for Best Taste and Top Vegan Chocolate. It was rated 4.5 stars.<\/p>\n<p>It looks like their website is currently under construction but keep checking it to see if they offer international sales online.<\/p>\n<h2>Worthy of mention<\/h2>\n<p>After the top tier entries were several other good entries you might find interesting.<\/p>\n<h3>Lulubee Artisinal Chocolates<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39411\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39411\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39411\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Almond-Caramel-Crunch-Bonbon.jpg\" alt=\"Almond Caramel Crunch Bonbon\" width=\"200\" height=\"225\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39411\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Almond Caramel Crunch Bonbon<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>First time competitor Lulubee Artisinal Chocolates\u2019 second entry, the Almond Caramel Crunch Bonbon, was an attractive<br \/>\ntall dark brown dome with white and gold daubed on top.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39423\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39423\" style=\"width: 200px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39423\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Almond-Caramel-Crunch-Bonbon-interior.jpg\" alt=\"Almond Caramel Crunch Bonbon interior\" width=\"200\" height=\"169\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39423\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Almond Caramel Crunch Bonbon interior<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Like their Strawberry Rhubarb Bonbon, it was well made with an evenly thin shell. Inside the shell a whole almond sat between a layer of ganache on the bottom and caramel on top.<\/p>\n<p>It had a slightly sugary texture, and the initial taste was all chocolate, then caramelized almond and a little salt. I didn\u2019t rate it higher because it was too sweet for me and the almond tasted a little burnt. I rated it 3 stars.<\/p>\n<p>Lulubee Artisanal Chocolates\u2019 Almond Caramel Crunch Bonbon won Silver for Best Taste, Bronze for Best Texture and Top Vegan Chocolate, and received an Honorable Mention for Best Dark Chocolate. It was rated 4 stars.<\/p>\n<h3>Chocopunto by Mabel<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39410\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39410\" style=\"width: 220px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39410\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/60-Coconut-Milk.jpg\" alt=\"60% Coconut Milk\" width=\"220\" height=\"422\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/60-Coconut-Milk.jpg 220w, https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/60-Coconut-Milk-209x400.jpg 209w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 220px) 85vw, 220px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39410\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">60% with Coconut Milk<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The 3rd entry from Chocopunto was a 60% Coconut Milk Chocolate bar. It was another well made bar with a good snap and smooth texture.<\/p>\n<p>It was very bitter for a 60% and had a slightly drying sensation like you experience with higher cacao percentage dark chocolates. It wasn\u2019t horrible just unexpectedly bitter to start. It got better as the coconut milk kicked in as the piece melted.<\/p>\n<p>It was a raisiny chocolate with a definitely coconut milk flavor and a coconut chocolate aftertaste. I rated it 3 stars.<\/p>\n<p>Chocopunto by Mabel\u2019s 60% Coconut Milk Chocolate bar won Silver for Best Texture and Best Dark Chocolate, Bronze for Best Vegan Milk Chocolate and Top Vegan Chocolate, and received an Honorable Mention for Best Taste. It was rated 4 stars.<\/p>\n<h3>Sandhill Chocolate Company<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39412\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39412\" style=\"width: 220px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39412\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Oat-Milk-and-Sea-Salt-bar.jpg\" alt=\"Oat Milk and Sea Salt bar\" width=\"220\" height=\"533\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Oat-Milk-and-Sea-Salt-bar.jpg 220w, https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Oat-Milk-and-Sea-Salt-bar-165x400.jpg 165w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 220px) 85vw, 220px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39412\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oat Milk and Sea Salt bar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>New competitor, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sandhillchocolate.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Sandhill Chocolate Company<\/a>,<\/strong> Orlando, FL, makes bean to bar chocolate and also entered 3 bars in this year\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/local-chocolate\/a-few-good-bars\/#sandhill\">bar competition<\/a> that all made my list. They entered 2 in this competition and one of them made my cutoff.<\/p>\n<p>Sandhill Chocolate Company\u2019s 50% Oat Milk and Sea Salt used Tanzanian chocolate. The bar had a medium snap and smooth texture.<\/p>\n<p>It took longer to melt than I expected for a 50% milk chocolate with the salt hitting immediately then a little caramel taste appeared as it melted. It had a definitely oat milk savory flavor and was a little coffee-ish tasting too. I rated it 3 stars.<\/p>\n<p>Sandhill Chocolate Company\u2019s 50% Oat Milk &amp; Sea Salt won Silver for Best Texture, Best Vegan Milk Chocolate, and Best Flavored Chocolate, and Bronze for Best Dark Chocolate. It was rated 4 stars.<\/p>\n<p>You can buy Sandhill Chocolate bars, candied nuts, and chocolate drinks online, at their factory store, and some FL farmers\u2019 markets.<\/p>\n<h3>MFG Toffee &amp; Bark Company<\/h3>\n<p>We were first introduced to new competitor<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/mfgtoffeebarkco.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">MFG Toffee &amp; Bark Co.<\/a><\/strong> of Baltimore, MD, in <a href=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/local-chocolate\/white-chocolate-gems\/#mfg\">this year\u2019s white chocolate competition<\/a> in which they submitted a latte inspired toffee that was pretty and tasty and made my top tier recommended list.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39413\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39413\" style=\"width: 420px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39413\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/California-Strawberry-Coriander-Bark.jpg\" alt=\"California Strawberry Coriander Bark\" width=\"420\" height=\"347\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/California-Strawberry-Coriander-Bark.jpg 420w, https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/California-Strawberry-Coriander-Bark-320x264.jpg 320w, https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/California-Strawberry-Coriander-Bark-400x330.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 85vw, 420px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39413\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">California Strawberry Coriander Bark<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>MFG Toffee &amp; Bark Company\u2019s California Strawberry Coriander Bark was a dark chocolate bark packed with pieces of freeze dried strawberries and decorated with dried rose petals. It was sweet with a subtle strawberry flavor. It was also a little perfumy tasting from the rose petals and coriander.<\/p>\n<p>I thought a more intense strawberry flavor would be better and personally would ditch the rose petals. I rated it 3 stars.<\/p>\n<p>MFG Toffee &amp; Bark Company\u2019s California Strawberry Coriander Bark won Silver for Best Flavored Chocolate and received Honorable Mentions for Best Taste, Best Texture, Most Unique, and Top Vegan Chocolate. It was rated 4 stars.<\/p>\n<p>You can buy MFG Toffee &amp; Bark Co. confections online.<\/p>\n<h3>7th Heaven<\/h3>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39414\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39414\" style=\"width: 440px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39414\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/White-Cookies-bar.jpg\" alt=\"White &amp; Cookies bar\" width=\"440\" height=\"462\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/White-Cookies-bar.jpg 440w, https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/White-Cookies-bar-320x336.jpg 320w, https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/White-Cookies-bar-400x420.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 440px) 85vw, 440px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39414\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">White &amp; Cookies image vs. reality<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cNew\u201d competitor, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.7thheavenchocolate.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">7th Heaven<\/a>,<\/strong> is really another chocolatier rebranded. Previously known as Panda Chocolate I\u2019ve seen them a couple of times before in these competitions and <a href=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/outsidechocolate\/chocolateroundtheworld\/chocolate-but-make-it-vegan\/#soy\">they made my cutoff once before<\/a>. This time, I thought their White &amp; Cookies Chocolate Treat Bar was good enough to make my list.<\/p>\n<p>It didn\u2019t look likely to make my list. Cookies &amp; Cream isn\u2019t my thing, white is not my preferred chocolate, and when I opened the package the bar was a spotted gray chocolate \u2014 definitely not the bright white with pieces of cookie inside as pictured on the package.<\/p>\n<p>I enjoyed its sugar and cookie crumb crunch. It wasn\u2019t too sweet and it tasted like Oreo cookies. A little bit of nostalgia and I wasn\u2019t mad about it. I rated it 3 stars.<\/p>\n<p>7th Heaven\u2019s White &amp; Cookies Chocolate Treat Bar received Honorable Mention for Best Texture. It was rated 3.5 stars.<\/p>\n<p>7th Heaven\u2019s bars are sold online and in some stores around NYC.<\/p>\n<h3 id=\"play\">Playin Choc<\/h3>\n<p>Return competitor but first-timer in my list, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/playinchoc.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Playin Choc<\/a>,<\/strong> Southend-on-Sea, UK, makes bean to bar chocolate from Peruvian cacao. Previously I didn\u2019t like their cacao and found the coconut in the bars overpowering. This time everything looked the same but the taste was much improved.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39415\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39415\" style=\"width: 850px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39415\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PLAYinCHOC-bars.jpg\" alt=\"PLAYinCHOC bars\" width=\"850\" height=\"390\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PLAYinCHOC-bars.jpg 850w, https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PLAYinCHOC-bars-320x147.jpg 320w, https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PLAYinCHOC-bars-640x294.jpg 640w, https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PLAYinCHOC-bars-768x352.jpg 768w, https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/PLAYinCHOC-bars-400x184.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 709px) 85vw, (max-width: 909px) 67vw, (max-width: 1362px) 62vw, 840px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39415\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">PLAYin CHOC bars<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>PLAYin CHOC\u2019s Organic Peruvian Dark Chocolate smelled raisiny which was an immediate improvement over the too strongly coconut previous iteration. It started out a little bitter but not bad and mostly tasted chocolatey. It had a drying sensation afterwards. I rated it 3 stars.<\/p>\n<p>In the competition PLAYin CHOC\u2019s Organic Peruvian Dark Chocolate won Silver for Best Dark Chocolate and received an Honorable Mention for Best Texture. It was rated 4 stars.<\/p>\n<p>PLAYin CHOC\u2019s Organic Peruvian M.lk Chocolate had a soft break and smelled like coconut and maybe brown sugar? It had a slightly grainy feel and mostly tasted like coconut \u2014 it wasn\u2019t very chocolatey. I thought it was improved but now it has an unusual licorice\/bitter\/molasses taste. The label lists the same ingredients as last year so I don\u2019t know where that flavor came from. Still I thought it was acceptable and I rated it 3 stars.<\/p>\n<p>PLAYin CHOC\u2019s Organic Peruvian M.lk Chocolate won Gold for Best Vegan Milk Chocolate. It was rated 3.5 stars.<\/p>\n<p>You can buy PLAYin CHOC chocolates online.<\/p>\n<h3>Delysia Chocolatier<\/h3>\n<p>Experimental chocolatier and competition veteran, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/delysia.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Delysia Chocolatier<\/a>,\u00a0<\/strong>Austin, TX, entered a bonbon set that I thought was good.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_39416\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-39416\" style=\"width: 420px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-39416\" src=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Cosmic-Delight-collection.jpg\" alt=\"Cosmic Delight collection\" width=\"420\" height=\"407\" srcset=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Cosmic-Delight-collection.jpg 420w, https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Cosmic-Delight-collection-320x310.jpg 320w, https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/Cosmic-Delight-collection-400x388.jpg 400w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 420px) 85vw, 420px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-39416\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Cosmic Delight collection<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Delysia Chocolatier\u2019s Cosmic Delight contained 2 outer space themed truffles. The Galactic Caramel Espresso Chocolate Truffle was a typically Delysian thick shelled bonbon with the dark chocolate shell containing a<br \/>\nliquid caramel on ganache inside. It had a nice combo chocolate and light espresso flavor. The caramel was not enough to make an impression and although the description mentioned a \u201ccelestial saltiness\u201d the piece was not salty.<\/p>\n<p>The second piece in the set, Meteoroid Spiced Citrus Chocolate Truffle, was a dark chocolate shell holding a dark chocolate ganache flavored with chili peppers and orange. The shell was thinner than usual for Delysia but I wouldn\u2019t call it a thin shell.<\/p>\n<p>It tasted like orange chocolate at first which was quickly followed by chili heat. The heat built until it obliterated the orange \u2014 it was that hot. Orange chocolate made a faint reappearance but heat dominated.<\/p>\n<p>I rated the set 3 stars. In the competition Delysia Chocolatier\u2019s Cosmos Delight won Gold for Best Flavored Chocolate and received an Honorable Mention for Best Dark Chocolate. It was rated 4 stars.<\/p>\n<p>I also liked Delysia\u2019s Cardamom Pistachio Rose bar which they entered in both this and the <a href=\"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/local-chocolate\/a-few-good-bars\/#delysia\">chocolate bar competition<\/a>. I rated it 3 stars.<\/p>\n<p>Delysia Chocolatier\u2019s Cardamom Pistachio Rose Dark Chocolate Bar won Silver for Most Unique, Best Dark Chocolate, and Best Flavored Chocolate; Bronze for Top Vegan Chocolate; and received Honorable Mentions for Best Ingredient Combinations and Best Texture. It was rated 4 stars.<\/p>\n<p>Delysia chocolates are available online and at their shop in Austin.<\/p>\n<h2>Good job everybody<\/h2>\n<p>I was glad to see Chocopunto and PLAYin CHOC improved their chocolates over the past year. And the rebranded 7th Heaven seems to have reformulated their chocolates to American tastes. And while I never know what to expect from Delysia, one of the most experimental chocolatiers out there, I was happy to see some thinning of their shells.<\/p>\n<p>I was happy to see our local entrants do so well this time and to find some new stars out there in the wider vegan chocolate universe. While my article only covers my average and above choices, you can view the full <a href=\"https:\/\/www.internationalchocolatesalon.com\/the-best-vegan-chocolate-of-2023-and-awards-winners-announced\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">list of winners<\/a> on the International Chocolate Salon site.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A round of applause please for the chocolate makers and chocolatiers going the extra mile to make vegan chocolate that tastes as good as the original<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":39427,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[58,1564,1563,946,15,884,222,1078],"tags":[1566,1543,1562,1217,1567,1552,1568,1565,1561,1065,274,121],"class_list":["post-39240","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-chocolate","category-caribbean-chocolate","category-central-american","category-european-chocolate","category-local-chocolate","category-north-bay","category-peninsula-chocolate","category-veteran-sfba-chocolatier","tag-7th-heaven","tag-al-chocolat-boutique","tag-choco-punto-by-mabel","tag-delysia-chocolatier","tag-lulubee-artisinal-chocolates","tag-mfg-toffee-bark-co","tag-natures-garden","tag-playinchoc","tag-sandhill-chocolate-company","tag-sonoma-chocolatiers","tag-tastetv","tag-vegan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39240","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39240"}],"version-history":[{"count":24,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39240\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44958,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39240\/revisions\/44958"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39427"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39240"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39240"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39240"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}