{"id":39747,"date":"2023-09-12T11:32:31","date_gmt":"2023-09-12T18:32:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/?p=39747"},"modified":"2024-11-30T17:11:53","modified_gmt":"2024-12-01T01:11:53","slug":"vegan-converts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/local-chocolate\/vegan-converts\/","title":{"rendered":"Vegan converts"},"content":{"rendered":"

The last time we were checking out at our local produce market the clerk told us they had over ordered some chocolate bars and so they were giving a free bar to anyone who bought $50 or more in groceries. They worried the bars would expire before they were all purchased (they over ordered by a LOT). So we\u00a0could have our pick from 3 different bars.<\/p>\n

Turned out they were from Berkeley based TCHO<\/a><\/strong>. And after chatting for a bit the clerk gave us one of each! (It pays to be a regular.)<\/p>\n

\"3
The 3 TCHO vegan chocolate bars our local produce market gifted us<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"TCHO
TCHO\u2019s discontinued Galactic Gelato<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

TCHO converted from conventional chocolate to all vegan last year. They kept their logo and the square packaging (their new slogan is \u201cChocolate. Fair & Square\u201d) but they otherwise did an entire rebranding \u2014 along with dropping all their existing non-vegan products. Goodbye Astronaut Ice Cream Chocolate!<\/p>\n

This seems rather extreme. A company that has been around since 2005 got rid of their entire line of products. They didn\u2019t just add a vegan line or recreate their existing products as vegan \u2014they basically chucked it all out and started anew. Whew!<\/p>\n

Why the reset?<\/h2>\n

According to an article in VegNews<\/a> the drastic change was due to TCHO\u2019s mission to reduce their environmental impact. Eliminating dairy was important to TCHO because it means reduced greenhouse gases (less dairy cows = less methane released into the atmosphere).<\/p>\n

While going vegan TCHO also redid their packaging to be all recycled\/recyleable\/compostable. They even changed the format of the chocolate inside: Instead of a square chocolate bar the packages contain 3 sealed packs containing one mini-bar each.<\/p>\n

The cynic in me said they did the 3 bars so they could keep the same size package while putting less product in it \u00e0 la Toblerone\u2019s noticeable shrinkflation<\/a>. But no \u2014 at least not with the bars I got \u2014 they remained the same weight: 2.5 oz. Kudos, THCO <\/p>\n

\"Inside
Individually wrapped mini-bars next to their opened TCHO package<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The mini-bars are very practical. I take tap dancing lessons which includes a mile walk to the studio. I can take one of these individually wrapped mini-bars along for an energy boost. Bonus: The mold makes it easy to break into pieces to share with fellow tappers \u2014 and if it\u2019s hot enough on my walk to melt it can\u2019t make a mess in my dance bag.<\/p>\n

Flavor wheel stays<\/h2>\n

New formulas, new packaging, new shapes, new molds but TCHO has kept their flavor wheel<\/a> which is what we remember about TCHO from when we first started writing about chocolate and before TCHO did flavored bars. They would offer samples of their different chocolates and ask you where each one fell on their flavor wheel.<\/p>\n

It seems like it\u2019s still relevant for describing their chocolate although they have tweaked it some. Originally one section said Chocolatey, now it says Fudgy.<\/p>\n

\"TCHO
TCHO\u2019s updated flavor wheel<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

On the flavor wheel webpage they describe the descriptors and list which country\u2019s beans they use that fit the different flavors. For example, they list Ecuadorian beans under Nutty and Floral; Ghanaian beans under Fudgy and Earthy.<\/p>\n

They have 6 regular vegan bar options \u2014 they are the ones I\u2019ve been seeing in stores and they are available on TCHO\u2019s website. They also have several special flavors on their website \u2014 I don\u2019t know if these small batch\/limited editions are all temporary or maybe sneak peeks of future lines but I haven\u2019t seen them anywhere else yet.<\/p>\n

Each TCHO mini-bar was segmented into 3 squares and the embossed geometric designs on the bars echoed the designs on the compostable wrappers. The 3 samples we got all had semi-hard breaks and a smooth texture.<\/p>\n

Choco Latt\u00e9<\/h2>\n

We tried the Choco Latt\u00e9 first. It had a 47% cacao shell and its 3 segments were filled with coffee truffle. This flavored \u201cmilk\u201d chocolate used oat milk and coffee beans from Oakland\u2019s Blue Bottle Coffee. Like all TCHO bars the ingredients for the Choco Latt\u00e9 bar were organic, non GMO, non soy, fair trade, and kosher.<\/p>\n

\"TCHO
TCHO mini-bar<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Side note: While TCHO yeeted their old bars, they didn\u2019t necessarily get rid of their old suppliers. Blue Bottle is a long time partner of TCHO\u2019s and worked with them to create their first flavored bar (back in 2012), the Mokaccino, which was an infused solid milk chocolate bar.<\/p>\n

The truffle filled Choco Latt\u00e9 bar had an initial coffee flavor but then it tasted too much like oat milk for me. The 2nd time I tried it tasted more coffee-ish and less oat-y. Maybe I was experiencing some kind of palate fatigue or I was getting used to the combination.<\/p>\n

Oat milk is such a distinct flavor to me, if it\u2019s not the featured flavor of the bar I think the maker should use a different, less noticeable plant based milk. But if oat milk is your go-to addition to your coffee, I think you will like this bar. The chocolate itself had a fudgy flavor under the oat milk and coffee flavors.<\/p>\n

Dark Duo<\/h2>\n

I liked the Dark Duo much more than the Choco Latt\u00e9. It combined a shell made of single origin dark chocolate cacao from Ghana with a truffle filling of single origin dark chocolate cacao from Peru. It was a little bitter but very chocolatey overall with a slightly sugary texture.<\/p>\n

I thought it was a good combo of fruity chocolates. According to the flavor wheel assignments I should have tasted fudgy and earthy notes from the Ghanaian cacao but this seemed like a fruity chocolate bar so maybe the Peruvian chocolate was just stronger tasting.<\/p>\n

Aww Nuts!<\/h2>\n
\"Aww
Aww Nuts! cross section<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Aww Nuts! was a dark chocolate bar filled with almond butter and sea salt. No cacao origin was listed for the chocolate in the shell but the fruity chocolate was bitter and overwhelmed the almond butter.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know why they chose almond butter because I think peanut butter would be better \u2014 it\u2019s more assertive tasting and would stand up to the dark chocolate better. Or maybe they need to change the ratio of nut butter to chocolate \u2014 the shell was pretty thick and the filling pretty thin. Or use a vegan milk chocolate couverture.<\/p>\n

I liked the small crunchy texture of the nut butter\u2014 more crunch than a smooth nut butter texture but less than a crunchy nut butter. Overall Cacaopod and I were disappointed: Aww Nuts! tasted mostly bitter and salty.<\/p>\n

The next time we visited the produce market their free chocolate offer was over, but they had a couple of other TCHO vegan bars. So we bought them to try.<\/p>\n

\"Born
Born Fruity & Toffee Time packages<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Born Fruity<\/h2>\n

I don\u2019t get the name of the first one we tried \u2014Born Fruity \u2014 but I liked this bar. It\u2019s a single-origin truffle filled chocolate bar made with cacao from Peru.<\/p>\n

The packaging mentions the chocolate\u2019s fruitiness and Peruvian cacao usually has very strong fruit notes. This bar fits its descriptor well. It smelled like raisins and was very fruity tasting \u2014 primarily raisin and cherry. It wasn\u2019t bitter and had a smooth texture like the other bars.<\/p>\n

We both liked it \u2014 it had an agreeable flavor and a good aftertaste. I think it\u2019s the best TCHO bar from this new vegan line.<\/p>\n

Toffee Time<\/h2>\n

The Toffee Time bar is the only solid bar in TCHO\u2019s base line. It\u2019s another oat milk chocolate bar and included cashew butter, coconut sugar, cane sugar, rice syrup, sea salt, vanilla beans, and some background stuff like sunflower lecithin.<\/p>\n

\"Toffee
Toffee Time cross section<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

When I say it was a solid bar I mean it had a solid inside with small toffee bits scattered throughout and coated in a smooth chocolate. The packaging said the toffee pieces were plant based but I don\u2019t know which ingredients went into the toffee. Maybe the cashew butter and some of the sweeteners because the chocolate didn\u2019t taste nutty.<\/p>\n

This bar wasn\u2019t too sweet or oat-y. It wasn\u2019t bitter but it was too salty for me. The salt stood out and lingered. \u00a0The toffee bits gave it a candy bar vibe.<\/p>\n

\"Holy
Pulling the center mini-bar out of the Holy Fudge open package reveals a solitary figure walking through a cacao plantation<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Holy Fudge<\/h2>\n

My produce market doesn\u2019t carry the last one of TCHO\u2019s regular vegan bars \u2014 maybe because of the name?<\/p>\n

I found it at Berkeley Bowl<\/a> \u2014 and noticed they were offering any 2 TCHO bars for $7. On TCHO\u2019s website individual bars are $6 so this is a big deal. Maybe Berkeley Bowl over ordered too?<\/p>\n

The Holy Fudge bar is made with Ghanaian dark chocolate. The package said the flavor evokes the taste of crispy brownie edges. I didn\u2019t get that \u2014 for me crispy brownie edges means extra chewy chocolate \u2014 but the chocolate does taste predominantly fudgy. After trying it Cacaopod said, \u201cTruth in advertising \u2014 it\u2019s fudgy.\u201d<\/p>\n

It was also bitter. Maybe that\u2019s what they meant by \u201ccrispy\u201d \u2014 it\u2019s not extremely bitter but it was distinctly bitter which I hadn\u2019t expected.<\/p>\n

You can find bars from TCHO\u2019s base line in grocery stores everywhere it seems \u2014 but maybe that\u2019s just the Bay Area because I\u2019m still not traveling since COVID so your results may vary.<\/p>\n

If you can\u2019t find them in your local grocery store, you can order them online<\/a> \u2014 which is also where you can find their limited edition\/small batch bars like Hoppy Hour and Perfect Matcha.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

To be a vegan is a big commitment to a mindful way of eating. So what does it mean when a big company switches its entire product line to only vegan chocolate?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":39947,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[42,15,169],"tags":[1569,1574,1575,239,1573,1397,833,331,271,633,543,121],"class_list":["post-39747","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-east-bay-chocolate","category-local-chocolate","category-reviews","tag-almond-butter","tag-cashew-butter","tag-coconut-sugar","tag-coffee","tag-ghana","tag-oat-milk","tag-peru","tag-sea-salt","tag-single-origin","tag-tcho","tag-toffee","tag-vegan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39747","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=39747"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39747\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":44976,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39747\/revisions\/44976"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39947"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39747"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39747"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chocolatebythebay.com\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39747"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}