Bonnie Espresso Meets Chunky Coconut in Raw Chocolate

We return to the folks from FINE & RAW Chocolate this time you Chocolate Priestess turned to our specialist Acolytes to help with our testing because as you all may recall from our first year of publishing, the Chocolate Priestess's reactions to coconut or coffee was pretty "Yep, that's in it and yuck" which is not fair to the companies that send us protects to test and share with all of you. Our specialists tested these within a month of our receiving them but because our where we all live, our Mocha Acolyte had to tackle both (luckily she likes coconut). I wish we had been able to connect with our Coconut Acolyte but here's a reminder to brands: If you send us flavors without checking in with us first, we may not be able to always to to our experts while your products are truly fresh in in their best shape. FINE & RAW Chocolate sent us these two bars for free in exchange for a fair and honest review; no other form of compensation was received.

We'll begin with the Brooklyn Bonnie Espresso bar made with all organic ingredients including the espresso bean. This bar is on the darker side at 70% cacao. The Bonnie on the wrapper looks like a sneaky thief, doesn't she? Our Acolyte reports: I love the fact that you can see the espresso nibs on the back and it snaps beautifully, that was a pretty snap. Nice blend of chocolate and coffee for the scent. Makes a loud snap when I take a bite. Bitter is the first flavor, BITTER. I'm not getting any sweetness, it needs more coconut sugar. When I get a good amount of the espresso it makes a different bitterness, the two types of bitter blended to make it more pleasant. The nibs are throughout, not only on the bottom even though you can see them primarily on the outside of the bars, both front and back. The two flavors blends throughout only varying by the extra nibs on the outside. If you like dark chocolate covered espresso beans you will love this! I'm really glad that they make because I'm the type of person who loves to savor good chocolate and this is dark enough that it also slows me down, a normal sized bar would feel overwhelming. I feel like I can save it and not feel pushed emotionally.

Now let's look at the Cacao & Coconut Chunky bar made with organic dried coconut and coconut butter which is 70% cacao. the flowers on the wrapper are more red than on the brand website. Our Acolyte says: Really pretty looking, all nice and smooth. You can definitely smell the coconut and the chocolate but there are no chunks in it... so when it says chunky? (I explain the line title) I love that you can see the thick layer of ganache on top when you cut it open. Oh, that's bitter. That was really nice, the hardness of biting through the ganache, but the chocolate is creamy and smooth, so you have a nice texture of hardness and soft. it is really bitter. I don't taste the coconut even after I really concentrate, letting the bar melt in my mouth brings out the coconut flavor more. The agave is not adding any negative sweetness. This is the sort of intense chocolate bar that you don't want to eat all at once. I could share it or eat it slowly but it really good.

This third feature articles closes off our review of all the products that FINE & RAW Chocolate sent to us at the beginning of the year. Some brands us raw chocolate as a passing fad, but this company is centered around making the best products they can with raw chocolate. They have a lot of variety in terms of lines and flavors so please check them out.