Chocolate and Fruit, an endless combination...that can spice up your sex life?

I love chocolate and fresh fruit.  Most particularly, I like cherries, strawberries and kiwi dipped in warm dark chocolate ganache.  However, I am not generally one of those people who like chocolate and dried fruit combined.  I usually passed on the chocolate covered apricots that so many chocolatiers love to make, or chocolate covered maraschino cherries...no, definitely not for me.  And lately I have not particularly liked any kind of sweet dried fruit mixed with dark chocolate.  However, I still try them, because my mission in life is to try every single kind of fine chocolate bar that exists - in every flavour.  So despite turning my nose up at  most dried fruit/chocolate combinations, I embrace them and hope with each tasting that I will find one that I love.

Today I am trying one of those combinations that is so particularly interesting that I may just fall in love with it.  I am tasting the Flirt Organic Dark Chocolate bar with Acai and Cherries by Zazubean, a Vancouvery-based chocolate company.  When I opened the package I smelled strong organic chocolate aroma combined with something burnt and very strong pepper or spice.  When tasted, the spice is completely overwhelming and the cherries and Acai berries are a bit underwhelming - which is good for someone like me who does not like the sweetness of dried fruit in my chocolate.  In fact, the flavour profile is so weirdly interesting, that I am compelled to look at the ingredients list and am immediately shocked at what I am seeing.  The ingredients include: damiana leaf 1000mg, horny goat weed 500mg, maca root 500mg in addition to the cherry, acai, vanilla, etc. So what the heck is horny goat weed anyway?!?  And why am I eating it in chocolate?!? And why do all these things taste like burnt pepper?

For answers, I've turned to trusty ol' Google. Of course I looked up "horny goat weed" first - ha ha.  And of course, as the name sort of suggests, it is believed to be an aphrodisiac.  In fact, one article suggested that it is an alternative to Viagra for men! I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I bought this chocolate bar.  I suppose I should have been alerted by the name "Flirt"and slogan "Be Bold. Be Sexy." on the front of the package. 

As it turns out, horny goat weed is not the only aphrodisiac in this chocolate bar.  Damiana leaf is commonly used as a female aphrodisiac. It is also thought to help with hormone balancing. And finally, maca root is used for fertility enhancement and hormone balancing.  Well...well...well...I suppose I should have timed the eating of this chocolate bar a little better. I am eating it by myself in the middle of the afternoon!  So as to whether this chocolate bar works as it is intended, I can't really say.  But if you are looking for something to "spice" up your sex life, why not give it a try?

The good points of the Flirt Zazubean chocolate bar are: the ingredients are organic, it is portion-controlled (56 grams), it is all natural with real vanilla, and it is Fair Trade certified. The downside is the cost (I paid $4.95 for this 56 gram bar), and the flavour is a bit overwhelming at times.

Overall the flavour is so interesting that you almost have to keep eating it to figure out what the heck it tastes like. It's very non-dessert chocolate, because it is so spicy. It also is not like any other chocolate-dried fruit combo bars that I've tasted.  I haven't decided yet if I like it., but I can say that I certainly like the idea behind it.

Here is the info on this chocolate bar:

Flirt (Be Bold. Be Sexy) Organic Dark Chocolate by Zazubean, 56 grams, 70% cacao
"Formulated in Canada, made in the USA for Zazubean Organic Chocolates", Vancouver, B.C. Canada
www.zazubean.com
Ingredients: Cocoa beans*+, evaporated cane juice*+, cocoa butter*+, cherries*, acai*, damiana leaf 100 mg*, horny goat weed 500 mg*, maca root 500 mg*, glycerin, agave nectar*, vanilla*.  Made on shared equipment with products containing wheat, eggs, milk, cherry pits, peanuts and other nuts. +Fair Trade Certified(tm), *Certified Organic.