Theo Chocolate, the only all Fair Trade and Organic chocolate company that makes their confections from bean to bar in the United States is growing. This year they added two new bars to their 3400 Phinney line, bringing the total to four milk chocolate bars and four dark chocolate bars.

They are all a standard format of two ounces in four sections and feature artwork on the wrapper by Kitten Chops.

I picked my full-sized samples of the new bars at the Natural Products Expo last month. The Fig, Fennel & Almond in 65% Dark was the one I was most looking forward to.

Let’s see, favorite things:

Figs? I never knew fig love until I had my own tree. Check!

Fennel? Love it in salads, prefer licorice in candy. Check!

Almonds? I eat them every day. Check!

65% Dark Chocolate? Not too dark, not too dry is the way I like it. Check!

Upon first bite this was too dark, too complex, kind of a mess. But like some Philip Glass piece, the spareness of each note eventually started making music.

It took about half the bar, but I started liking it more and more. The fennel stands out in the scent of the bar, a light and grassy licorice or anise note. Upon letting a bite melt it becomes a bit acidic, a little tangy and rather like raisins, but fresher. Not quite figgy but the seeds help. Later the little bits of crushed almonds pull it all back together.

The chocolate is dry and not quite as buttery as I’d like for a “candy bar” but for a chocolate bar, it has a nice bitter component that keeps the figs from feeling to sticky sweet. Still, it requires a bit too much effort for me to just eat the bar.

Rating: 6 out of 10

I had a very hard time with this bar ... I have a very hard time not eating it all before I finished writing this review.

It’s simply called Hazelnut Crunch Milk Chocolate.

It smells hazelnutty, and has little bits of crushed hazelnuts and a toffee crunch mixed into the creamy and rather dark milk chocolate.

The toffee bits are what makes this really fabulous. They’re very salty (in fact, there’s a lot of salt in this bar: 140 mgs) but man, each little milligram makes a little jolt of electrical energy delivering those flavors right to the pleasure centers of my brain.

Rating: 9 out of 10

Where I had trouble with the FF&A, the Hazelnut Crunch was one I couldn’t believe I ate the whole thing when it was gone. It’s a perfect afternoon bar, not too filling, not too sickly sweet and the little dose of nuts makes it feel very satisfying. In fact, I’d probably eat it anytime, anywhere ... but the Fig, Fennel & Almond would definitely need to be the kind of bar where I’d need to be in the mood.

Theo’s 3400 Phinney line is now Kosher (dairy). 

Name:	3400 Phinney: Fig, Fennel & Almond and Hazelnut Crunch	RATING: SUPERB YUMMY TASTY WORTH IT TEMPTING PLEASANT BENIGN UNAPPEALING APPALLING INEDIBLE
Brand:	Theo Chocolate
Place Purchased:	samples from ExpoWest
Price:	$3.25 retail
Size:	2 ounces
Calories per ounce:	140 & 165
Categories:	Chocolate, Nuts, Toffee, United States, Theo, Kosher, Fair Trade, Organic, All-Natural

I tried the Theo Chocolate BonBons earlier this year and have had the bars sitting around for a while. I’m feeling quite pressured to eat them all (though they need to be savored) before Los Angeles gets so hot it bursts into flames (oops, we’re already on fire).

Theo makes chocolate from bean to bar (actually roasting their own beans on site) using fair trade and organic ingredients. Don’t let all that squishy-hippy stuff fool you, this is quality stuff without compromise.

Even the wrappers are sassy and fun (designed by KittenChops) instead of making you feel like you did a good deed. Come on! Half the fun is feeling that your chocolate bar is an indulgence ... a wrapper that tells you how many lives you may have saved, how many species will continue to exist because of your support ... all the wonderful skin-clarifying, artery-blasting ingredients that are contained within might be nice (and might get you to buy it) but they aren’t going to get your salivary glands going.

The dark bars contain 65% cocoa solids, so these are dark, but not too intense.

Bread & Chocolate Dark Chocolate: An innovative twist on a traditional pairing, featuring dark chocolate with buttery, toasted artisan breadcrumbs and the perfect amount of salt. This is less of a candy bar and more of a savory treat. The dark chocolate is very dark with strong smoke notes and tobacco flavors ... then there is the little crisp, which is the bread part. It’s kind of like buttery Townhouse crackers and rich chocolate. Very creamy, but also kind of dry.

Coffee Dark Chocolate: Dark chocolate and a robust locally-roasted organic, Fair-Trade-Certified(tm) coffee combine to create a full-bodied flavor. This is a deep dark bar with some serious coffee in it. Though I love coffee and chocolate, this just isn’t for me. The coffee is very strong and kind of acidic ... just overwhelming. If you’re looking for a serious choco-coffee jolt, this might be it.

Nib Brittle Dark Chocolate: Dark chocolate with organic roasted cocoa nibs in sweet and crunchy brittle. This was by far my favorite. The dark chocolate supports the deep berry flavors of the nibs and caramelized sugar crunch that coat them. The nibs were smooth and crunchy without a hint of fibery chew or bitterness. Very different from the Scharffen Berger nibby bar, Theo doesn’t have that acidity ... just smooth and with the mellow crunch of the sugared nibs.

The Theo Chocolate bars are actually called 3400 Phinney Bars, named after the address of the Theo Chocolate Factory in Seattle. Not only are they not afraid of you knowing where they are, they actually welcome visitors and offer tours with tastings, of course, as well as a factory store. I’m hoping to get up there next fall to really dive into their complete chocolate experience.

The Milk Chocolate bars boast 40% cacao content, so they’re pretty rich.

Vanilla Milk Chocolate: A harmonious blend of finely ground Madagascar vanilla bean and milk chocolate. A perfectly simple milk chocolate bar with lovely and bold notes of vanilla and hints of tobacco, caramel and woodsy cedar.

Chai Milk Chocolate: Milk chocolate with a warming blend of chai spices and black tea. This was a great mellow bar. The spices weren’t too strong, the chocolate creamy and smooth and not too sweet (some real chai is far too sweet for me). A great combination.

Coconut Curry Milk Chocolate: Milk chocolate with toasted coconut and savory curry spices. This is a seriously savory curry bar with light little crunchy chips of toasted coconut. It gave my lips quite a burn long after I was done with it.

All the bars a welcome change from the ordinary candy bar. The two I would find myself munching on regularly would be the Nib Brittle and Chai Milk Chocolate. They are expensive though, so only for special occasions. I could see tucking these into a special picnic at Pt. Dume or going to the Hollywood Bowl for a concert, but I just can’t buy them every day ... but knowing that the cocoa is grown responsibly (socially & environmentally) would help me pony up the dough.

You can find the bars online at Theo, Chocosphere and at stores like Whole Foods. (The bars are not Kosher certified.)

Name:	3400 Phinney Bars	RATING: SUPERB YUMMY TASTY WORTH IT TEMPTING PLEASANT BENIGN UNAPPEALING APPALLING INEDIBLE
Brand:	Theo Chocolate
Place Purchased:	samples from Theo
Price:	retail $3.25 each
Size:	2 ounces
Calories per ounce:	varies
Categories:	Chocolate, Cookie, Coffee, Nibs, Coconut, United States, Theo, Fair Trade, Organic

Theo Chocolate is a new company that makes fair trade, organic chocolate from bean to bar (and bonbon) right in Seattle. Think about it ... they start with the raw materials and create not only the chocolate but go on to craft the fine ganaches and couveture - all without the use of pesticides, hormones or chemical fertilizers and giving the cacao folks a fair price for their beans. There are very few chocolate makers out there that do that, anywhere in the world, let alone here in the states. The only one that even comes close in the bean to bonbon arena Michel Cluizel in France.

I got to try just about everything Theo Chocolates makes at the Fancy Food Show last month including their Confections Collection.

Earl Grey - a beautifully smooth ganache with a rich and dark blend of tea and bergamot flavors in equally rich chocolate.

Ivory Coast - the essential chocolate truffle, dark and smooth with a buttery feel that helps with the woodsy and bitter notes of the chocolate.

Peanut Butter & Jelly - yes, right next to the most upscale of all chocolate expressions is the PB&J except this peanut butter is a praline (kind of crystallized) with a raspberry fruit paste to die for.

Fig Fennel - this has to be the homerun hit of the entire box. Not just because it’s so wonderfully flavorful, but because I’ve never had this combination in quite this way before.

Mint - it’s like it was muddled just for me only moments ago ... the mint tastes that fresh.

Peanut Butter - like the PB&J, this one has a peanut butter praline that’s not sweet at all but has a wonderful woodsy, nutty crunch to it. A little dry.

Scotch - exceptional with its savory smoky notes like tobacco and leather mixed in with the butter and raisin notes of the chocolate.

Burnt Sugar - I’ve had several of these now, the effect is rather like a light creme brulee, with all the flavor of the crusty sugar top and all the creaminess of chocolate and heavy cream in the truffle.

Lemon - the white truffle of the pack, it’s really lemony without being sticky white-chocolate sweet. It has both the tangy notes and the zesty flavors.

Vanilla - very vanilla, with little flecks of it in the ultra-smooth ganache and an overall bourbon note.

(I shared this box with my husband and he ate the Ginger truffle.)

These might be my new favorite chocolates, if only they were easier to get a hold of. I’ve not been to the factory, so I don’t know if you can just go in there and buy singles (or a whole box of one flavor). No compromises ... that’s what it’s all about. It’s still a guilty pleasure, but fewer things to feel guilty about.

I also have a complete assortment of their bars that I’m working my way through, so stay tuned for the reviews of those.