I am a firm believer in the principle that dark chocolate is a health food–antioxidants and all, you know. It is also a satisfying treat that doesn’t have that many calories.
When I travel, I like to have some dark chocolate on hand so I can fight off the urge to polish off the cheesecake or seven-layer chocolate cake that seem to be standard fare for conference meals. On my most recent trip, I forgot to pack some in my bag, but was craving *a little something* after a long day. I went foraging in the hotel gift shop, and the best I could find was a Hershey’s Special Dark bar:
I broke off a row of squares and tried to savor it, but it just wasn’t that good. It felt grittier and more sugary than the chocolates I am used to. And no wonder–it only has a 45% cocoa content, while I usually opt for 70% or higher.
The next morning when I was getting my breakfast at Starbucks, I noticed that they have a new dark chocolate bar:
I added it to my order and stashed it in my hotel room so I wouldn’t be tempted to nibble on it throughout my day of conference sessions. I made it through a business dinner, got a glass of wine from the hotel bar to enjoy in my room (an easy way to avoid the outrageous mini bar charges!), and settled in for my taste test.
I have to say, it was really good. I didn’t really notice the Via (instant coffee) bits, although I’m sure they added some flavor. The chocolate was much darker and much more satisfying than the Special Dark, and it took some willpower to stick to a 1/2 bar (about 1/2 ounce) serving.
I can’t find information on the cocoa content, but apparently it is made by Santander Chocolates which produces single origin Colombian chocolate–no shortcuts there!
Starbucks already has the lock on my preferred on-the-go breakfast (Low-Fat Turkey Bacon & Egg Sandwich or Perfect Oatmeal) and is a reliable place to pick up a normal-sized sandwich for lunch or dinner (if I’m working late). Now I’ll have to add it to my list of convenient places to pick up some excellent dark chocolate. 😀
![The Ultimate Coffee Date](http://got2run4me.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/Ultimate-Coffee-Date.png" "The Ultimate Coffee Date")
Ooooh… I actual like the special dark so I'll have to try the starbucks one. My favorite dark chocolate though is ghirardeli dark chocolate chips. They are actually larger than chips, "disks" if you will. Love them. Great post!
Cooth, I'm sure you needed the whole thing at the meet mire than I needed it after a day of sitting in a conference room!
Erin – Oh, those sound dangerous. I need more automatic portion control than a bag of chocolate chips could provide!
Oh, and wait until you see my cookie post coming later this week!
A bit of dark chocolate does me really well during a meet, believe it or not. I also try to bring some with me, but when I went over to Tampa at the beginning of November I found myself without also.
Guess who came to the rescue? Starbucks! Same bar! I agree, hands down over the Hershey's Special Dark.
I ate the whole thing tho (oh did I eat that day)!
🙂
That's too bad you didn't like the Hershy's Special Dark.. I buy a package of "fun" size bars to treat my sugar tooth. One mini bar is only 75 calories, so I love it.
But hey, you're smart to plan ahead on your trips like that!